December 10, 2003 (10:30 AM)
I've been meaning to say thanks and respond to a question from my Laurel update - I can't believe that was two weeks ago already! Man, did that get away from me! Anyway, first off, THANKS for your posts. I cannot tell you how flaming relieved I am that Laurel is actually getting something out of going to school. She was so unresponsive a lot of the time and we were given such a dire prognosis about her intelligence as a result of the infantile spasms that when the early intervention folks used to talk about her transitioning to school, we used to just think to ourselves "Yeah, like it's even going to matter whether she goes to school." But it does!
About the
TTCing, after 12 cycles with no success we've done a bunch of testing.
My hormone levels have all been good and Bob's first SA was a bit shaky
but the second one was pretty good. The only thing they found that they
thought *might* make a difference was a polyp in my uterus, which was
removed by a hysteroscopy last Thursday. After he removed it the doc
said he didn't think it was having any effect after all though. 
I
have a follow-up appt with him next Tuesday and also, I'm going to try
acupuncture because I've heard a couple of success stories! I also have
some chronic neck/shoulder pain that I've tried everything else for so
I'm figuring what the heck. My first appt for that is Friday.
BTW, Laurel's first day with her new caregiver (I think she likes to be called a nanny, that seems weird to me though) was pretty awful - I think Laurel was looking at her and thinking, "Who are you and what have you done with Miss Donna?" - but yesterday went MUCH better. Bob (who has been working at home the last couple of days, the first one to be there to answer questions but the second because the heat was out in his office!) is feeling a little frustrated with the caregiver because she doesn't seem to have read everything I gave her and she's forgetting some things, but I think we threw a lot at her and it will take a while to assimilate it all. Hopefully things will settle in! Thanks again!
[In response to a post about feeling the stress of Christmas]
Hey, I can go you one better - we haven't even had the pictures taken
for the Christmas cards! Our neighbor the photographer took two weeks to
return my call and then I made an appt, came home from work mid-day, got
Laurel dressed and we slogged over there only to find he'd
double-booked! We waited for half an hour by which time Laurel was
melting down and we gave up and went home. He was supposed to call right
back to reschedule...that was a week ago. I am really seriously
considering getting a little chair, using a
sheet as a backdrop and taking the pictures myself. I'd probably get
better pictures, since she'd be more relaxed at home! But of course that
is just another thing to do in my copious spare time. 
Anyway, we have
no decorations up and have just barely started shopping so I feel your
pain!
Well, phew, here we are finally in MN with all our stuff!
We weren't too sure about the "all our stuff" part until
today! First there was the box of our presents that we sent ahead of us.
The day after we shipped it, it was scanned in Richmond and then listed
as an "exception" with an administrative code issued and no
further movement! But just when we were feeling like UPS was The Grinch
Who Stole Christmas, it showed up here yesterday. Then, we flew in from
Pittsburgh yesterday evening. First our plane was delayed for about an
hour, and then when we got here, Bob's luggage was here, my luggage was
here, Laurel's travel bed was here - but none of the rest of her
luggage! We always travel with two bags for her, one with clothes,
blankets, toys, books etc. and the other with her feeding equipment. But
both of them, and several other people's luggage as well, were left
behind in Pittsburgh! I think Bob is right that they did it because the
plane was overweight and they were too cheap to bump people because then
they'd have had to give them free tickets. Argh. Fortunately, it wasn't
a crisis because we had her medicine in our carry-ons along with a very
basic set of feeding equipment, and we'd had a case of formula shipped
ahead. But we had to put her to bed in her clothes, without the stuffed
alligator she always sleeps with or her white noise machine or her usual
blankets, and all of this of course in a strange place. She was
exhausted enough to fall asleep OK but she woke up early and wouldn't go
back down - we eventually gave up and put her in our bed. Rackin'
frackin' US Airways! 
Anyway, her luggage showed up late this
morning, so finally we have everything. Meanwhile, I'm almost ready for
Christmas, but I still need to write Christmas cards! BTW, the
taking-pictures-at-home experiment didn't work that well (not that I
really think she'd have been in a better mood at a photographers') so we
are using a picture from last summer (the one on the front page of the
website). Oh well. It's been a crazy season but at least we're here, our
stuff's here, and nobody is very ill! (I got Laurel's cold, but I'm
managing to keep it mostly in its place with Rhinocort and Cold-Eeze.)
Merry Christmas, everybody!