So Close Book Shower

I feel bad, I said I would participate in Tertia’s book shower on Monday already and only now have I found a few minutes to blog. I read So Close about 2 years ago and I was amazed at the strength of this woman, little did I know that I too would be following in her foot steps. Since venturing into DE the only person I ever wanted to deal with was Tertia so we are using her DE company, Nurture for our donor. I have found Tertia to be caring and compassionate during this time and really admire her even more.

Melissa has kindly put together this list of questions, so here goes (I answered all of them because Im anal):

Let’s get this party started.  The online shindig happens this upcoming Monday (the 4th) and takes place all day long.  So how does one recreate the feeling of a party online?  Well, frankly, it’s difficult.  But one thing every party has is conversation.  I’ve written five questions that can jump start your post for Monday.  Pick one and answer the question in a conversational tone; you know, as if we’re just chatting over appletinis (ohh yeah!) and mini quiches.

 

1. On page 20, Tertia has a moment where she predicts that her journey to parenthood may be more difficult than she thought even though nothing has happened yet to point in that direction.  Have you ever had a moment of premonition like that and if so, did it come true (this moment of premonition can be about fertility or any other aspect of life)?

 

I really don’t know why but I had a premonition that conceiving may be difficult for us. We had been married 6 months when the topic came up and eventhough we both were not exactly ready we decided to start trying and see where it took us. I don’t know but I had this niggling feeling that it wouldn’t be easy. My mom took 2 years to have my sister and judging by that I convinced hubby that we needed to start asap. I had been off the pill once before and didn’t get my period at all and broke out in the most horrendous acne so I was prepared this time and started taking Fertile XX right from the night I stopped the pill. I actually think that Fertile XX may have helped me to ovulate (more than any other herbal support). I started tracking temps and realised that when I ovulated on day 28 there was a problem. Hubby got tested soon after that and then we got the bad news that his sperm was poor, it all came tumbling down from then, so basically I really feel my instinct was telling me to start ttc and get help as soon as we could. I was 26 at the time and now Im 30 and still nothing so Im kinda glad I listened to my inner voice!

 

2. On page 35, Tertia explains where she draws her emotional support for the journey.  Where do you draw your support?

 

My husband, the forums and blogs I visit and the friends I have made along this journey.

 

3. On page 51, Tertia points out that she “looks for good signs everywhere.  Where I can’t find them, I make them up.”  What are some of the good signs you’ve made up in life?

 

Once I was driving behind a car with a license plate BFN – soon after that I got a BFN from an IUI cycle. Another separate time I saw a BMW with BFP and I got my very first BFP after that. Those 2 instances are the ones that stick out in my mind but there are tons others. Why is it that on this journey we do this to ourselves? Looking for a “sign” in something totally unrelated to ttc?

 

4. Tertia has an urge to chat with the others in her clinic waiting room.  Do you ever wish people would break into spontaneous, supportive conversation?  Describe your ideal waiting room.

To be honest Im not the talkative type in a waiting room, I prefer to be left alone but I often sit and wonder what brings the other people around me there. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all wear signs around our necks describing our issues: PCOS – crap eggs, 4 IVF’s, no baby. Another thing I always try and do is to guess someones age, Ive seen some seriously mature people sitting in the waiting room, not that it bothers me but its all just really fascinating. My perfect waiting room would have no stupid magazines. I have to wonder why a fertility clinic waiting room would have a pregnancy magazine in it, do they want to torture us? Or those stupid tabloid type mags with every second page filled with pregnancy announcements and preggy bellies, that drives me nuts.

 

5. The title for the book as well as the title of Tertia’s blog comes up on page 97 when she explains that she can’t give up because she’s so close.  Um…I actually just wanted to throw this out there in case someone wants to run with the idea of being “so close.”

 

I thought I was “so close” after we had achieved a pregnancy I automatically thought that the next would also result in a pregnancy, but um no it didn’t and now we are looking at donor eggs so there goes that theory of so close. BUT in the same breath I do think that we are “closer” and each cycle does bring us closer and I try and keep optimistic that we are very close!

 

Okay, so everyone will have a post on Monday (I’ll post the main list with a link to everyone’s blog in the morning so others can find each other).  Jump around the party and read the various thoughts. 

 

Give Tertia love and make it easy for your readers to purchase her book by linking to an online bookstore.  The link for Amazon is http://www.amazon.com/So-Close-Infertile-Addicted-Hope/dp/0620430303/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b/179-3646424-9683355 There are probably other places to purchase it as well if you prefer a different site.  You can also link to So Close so people can put together the author with the blog (http://www.tertia.org/ ).

 

Showers should also have games, so pose a blogging question to your readers.  Have they ever considered turning their blog into a book?  Whose blog would you most like to see turn into a book?  That sort of thing.

 

I would love to turn my blog into a book one day, but I think I need to blog more often for that, I would turn my blog into a book only for my benefit ie as a reminder but never to sell like Tertia did. One blog which is awesome and would make an excellent book is Sharon’s!!