I feel a bit pervy even asking this, but here goes:

Anyone in the NYC area want to grab dinner with me on Saturday, 12 April? 

I am going to be in the city, Mr. MC can’t come with me, my best friend in NYC moved to LA, the people I am meeting up with do not arrive until Sunday, and I am DYING to go eat real Neopolitan Pizza at Pizza Fresca.  I can always go alone, of course, with a good book, but who wants to dine alone on glorious food when you can have company and bitch about infertility, pregnancy loss, and pregancy after a loss, right?   

The rest of Saturday will be spent getting a facial, shopping for something maternity-ish and fancy-ish to wear later that weekend, and trying not to buy a ton of cute baby stuff that we do not need (but I do kind of want even though I am currently having a strong reaction to the “baby-as-accessory” phenonmenon). 

Leave me a comment if you are interested!?   

Many Evangelical Christians do not let their children celebrate Halloween because they believe that it is akin to Satanic worship.

You know why I don’t let my children celebrate Halloween?

BECAUSE I DON’T HAVE ANY CHILDREN.

51 12 minutes until I can call about beta #2.

Update:

The OPK I took this AM is very, very dark so I optimistically did my Lovenox and my HCG injections even before getting beta results back. Mixing the water and powder was the hardest part for the HCG; the shot itself was nothing. The nurse told me that they can recalibrate any future results (she was sure they would do another draw on Friday) because they know how much HCG I injected myself with. She was also not at all alarmed by my 15.5 level on Monday and reassured me that Dr. SBS is not concerned with absolutes, only the rate of change.

Update, Part II:

I called back at 11:03. Guess who is working today? THE EVIL, PAINFULLY SLOW LAB TECH. I am to call back at 11:30.

Update, Part III:

I HATE my RE’s lab. H.A.T.E. I know it is a strong word, but “dislike” is not nearly powerful enough. I called back at 11:30. They don’t have the results because THEY NOW HAVE TO RECALIBRATE THE MACHINE THAT DOES THE HCG TEST. THEY HAVE TO DO THIS NOW. IT MAY HAVE BEEN GIVING INNACURATE RESULTS. Yes, I am glad they caught it but FUCK did it have to be this week? Today? I have to call back at 2:00, which is right before I teach. I am going to take a shower and try for another several hours not to think about it.

Update, Part IV:

HCG: 60 (more than doubled since Monday — still looks low to me but it did quadruple if it was 15 two days ago, right?)  I am between 13-14dpo.

Progesterone: 25

Repeat beta on Friday.

Deep exhale for first time since Monday.

Niobe thinks I am a Rockin’ Girl Blogger. The award itself doesn’t translate into much (there is no cash prize or free healthy baby giveaway) but it is such an honor to be named as such by someone who writes one of my favorite blogs.

From what I can deduce, I know get to nominate my favorite five Rockin’ Girl Bloggers for this award.

In alphabetical order, they are:

A Brief History of You: Anns is one of the few people who can write about the heartbreak of miscarriage, information about her uterine polyp removal, and her “Quest to Find the Perfect Shoes,” in such an endearing way.

Artificially Sweetened: I know ArtSweet IRL, but even if I didn’t I would love her blog. She is bitter, acerbic, and funny as heck. Also, pictures of Pepito always make me smile.

Babies or Not?: Amy has a fascinating story, one that continues to unfold, and I find myself checking back several times a day to see if she has posted. She is brutally honest, touchingly vulnerable, and writes in such a way that is poignant and engaging.

Into the Rabbit Hole: Alice just got some back news, and for anyone who has been there, it is painful to read. Sometimes she has lots to say, sometimes she is dramatically brief, but reading her blog makes me want to be her friend.

Ms. Planner: Ms. Planner and I are in almost the exact same situation with regards to our miscarriages and our lives, so sometimes I feel like I am reading conversations I have had with myself, but that is not the only reason I enjoy her blog. Her 3 August 2007 post, “About That Job Thing,” is a hauntingly beautiful piece of writing.

• My very cool friend just started a blog: babystep.wordpress.com  She is trying to get pregnant at 38, help raise a pre-teen step-daughter, work full-time, raise a puppy, and stay sane (not necessarily in that order).

• For those of you who obsess over pee stick results, here is my mostest favoritest website ever that deals with pee-stick technology: peeonastick.com

• If you want to buy inexpensive but accurate pee-sticks (either ovulation or pregnancy tests), check out early-pregnancy-tests.com

“When the Duggars were married in 1984 (she was 17 and he was 19), they didn’t want children immediately, feeling they could not afford them. After four years, Michelle stopped taking birth control pills to have their first child, then went back on birth control after giving birth.

When she got pregnant anyway only to suffer a miscarriage, which they attribute to the birth control pills, the couple felt that they had taken a child’s life. They prayed for forgiveness and for as many children as God decided to give them.

Inside of a year, Michelle gave birth to the first of their two sets of twins, and she hasn’t stopped since.” For the rest of the story, click here.

(And if you are sick to death of smiling, happy Duggars, click here.)

What impresses me is that she has only had one miscarriage. If about 20% of pregnancies end in miscarriage, she is defying the odds with only one.

Yes, I should have better things to do than play with this thing.  Yes, someone who can not seem to stay pregnant more than 10 weeks should have more important things to worry about than baby names. In my defense, I am in the midst of a baby-name emergency.  The girl’s name that my husband and I picked out years ago has appeared on a monogrammed kid’s towel in the Pottery Barn Kids catalog.  He told me it was getting very popular but seeing it right there on a towel was just too much.  Fucking Pottery Barn.   

He now wants to name a daughter after his grandmother, which I am totally in favor of in theory, except that she had a name that only a grandmother would have.  I am not sure if it isn’t just a wee bit too old-fashioned for a little girl. 

Nymbler