Sharing Kindness

I recently received my first blogging award (see to the left), from my due date buddy Farah at Fertilized (http://fertilizeme.blogspot.com/). Farah is expecting her first child, a sweet little boy, just days after Molly would have been due had she made it to full term, in June. Farah and I met early on in our pregnancies and enjoyed sharing due dates that were close in time. I appreciated being able to share so many milestones during my pregnancy with Farah, even after we found out that Molly would not likely survive much past her birth, if that. Farah was and has continued to be incredibly supportive through her comments on my blog, and references to me and my family on hers, during our journey with Molly. So it does not surprise me that she received this award from one of her dear blogging friends and I am greatly honored to have gotten this Kind Blogger Award from my dear Farah. Thank you Farah (if you hadn’t given me this award, you certainly would have been on my list of people to give it to)! It won’t be long now before you and your dear husband get to meet “Mini” (Farah’s nickname for her baby boy) and I am so proud of you both for making it through the challenges you have faced through infertility and now your pregnancy.

Now I get to pass on this wonderful award to a few the kindest bloggers I know and hopefully they will in turn keep paying it forward…

First, I bestow this Kind Blogger Award on my friend Sommer at Just One More… (http://sommer.cronck.com/). Sommer and I met over five years ago in a due date buddy group on Fertility Friend when we were both expecting our first children due in September 2003. We shared the joys and challenges of our first pregnancies together, followed by the wonder of being moms for the first time. We both started trying to conceive our second children (TTC#2) around the same time and unfortunately we both ended up struggling with secondary infertility. At some point on our TTC#2 journeys Sommer decided to start her blog. I don’t remember exactly when I started reading her blog, but I found it to be inspiring. Ultimately Sommer is the reason I began blogging, as I got so much out of following her blog, especially when she began IVF. So when Bob and I decided to try IVF, I knew from Sommer’s experience how helpful blogging could be for someone going through infertility (IF) treatments. I had no idea that there was an entire community of IF and Pregnancy Loss bloggers out here, but it wouldn’t be long before I discovered that. Even after Sommer was able to conceive and sustain #2 (and #3 as it turned out), she didn’t forget about me and has continued to be a frequent and very supportive commenter here on my blog. Anyway, Sommer is now the proud mother of her almost five year old daughter Calista (born about a month before our Sean) and twin six month old sons Ace and Nate. Sommer, I couldn’t be happier for you and am so glad that you, Skip and Calista got your “Just One More… or perhaps two!”

Second, I give this Kind Blogger Award to my friend T-Girl at …Just when I thought I had it all (http://justwhenithoughtihaditall.blogspot.com/). As I shared in another of my posts here recently, T-Girl was one of the first people to visit my blog, that I didn’t know before I started blogging, and reach out to me with encouraging comments on my blog. I think she actually found my blog through visiting Sommer’s. T-Girl was very supportive during all of our ART cycles and has continued to be during our pregnancy and journey with Molly. On numerous occasions T-Girl has referenced me, my family and our journey on her blog, asking her readers to send their thoughts, prayers and supportive comments our way, which means so much to me. She even created a memorial picture with Bob, Sean and my names on it in memory of Molly after she died (you can see it on the sidebar of her blog). T-Girl recently had her first child, a baby girl, and I am so happy for you T, your husband and your daughter! Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they adjust to life as a family of three.

Third, I give this Kind Blogger Award to my friend Kristie at Chadwick Family (http://chadwickzone.blogspot.com/). Kristie and I met in a “cycle buddy” group on Fertility Friend during the summer of 2002 when we were both trying to conceive our first children (TTC#1). We soon formed a more permanent buddy group with four other women we decided to call “S&Ks,” as all of our members names began with either an S or a K (pretty cleaver, eh?!). Most of us in the group went on to have our first children in 2003 and all of the women are now mothers to at least one child. We have kept in touch ever since and I continue to be amazed by the bonds Kristie and the rest of our S&Ks group made, especially since most of us have never met in person. Kristie unfortunately also ended up struggling with secondary infertility and when she did finally get pregnant with her miracle, her baby girl Leah was born very prematurely at 28 weeks gestation. Kristie began blogging soon after Leah was born, to share her family’s journey with their now thriving one year old daughter. I liked feeling a part of what the Chadwick family was going through and being able to support them through following and commenting on their blog. Likewise, when I began my blog, Kristie quickly became one of my most consistent and encouraging commenters. So thank you Kristie for your support and friendship over the years (can you believe it will have been six this summer?!). I am so happy that you, Kevin, Grant and Leah are all doing so well and are the awesome family of four that you so deserve to be!

Finally, last, but certainly not least, I bestow this Kind Blogger Award on, someone that I know Farah also gave it to, but my friend deserves to receive it more than one time for she is really that kind and special, Katie at Taking the Statistical Bullet (http://takingthestatisticalbullet.blogspot.com/). I don’t recall if Katie found my blog first or vice versa, but I know that the cleaver title of her blog is what drew me to her. I just loved the idea that Katie, myself and others who struggle(d) with primary or secondary infertility and/or pregnancy loss are “Taking the Statistical Bullet” for those who are able to attain and sustain pregnancies more easily. It didn’t take long for me to feel a strong connection to Katie, as the more we read each others blogs and left comments for each other, the more it seemed like I “knew” Katie. I so appreciate Katie’s world view and frequently find from reading her posts and her comments (that she so thoughtfully and consistently leaves for me and our mutual blogging friends) that we tend to think and approach life’s joys and challenges in similar manners. Katie has also been extremely supportive during our journey with Molly and even has a memorial ultrasound picture of our baby girl, with her name, date and time of birth and death, on the side bar of her blog. Anyway, Katie recently celebrated the huge milestone of being 24 weeks pregnant with her first child, a baby boy, and Katie, I am so happy for you and your husband!

So I know I probably spent more time on thanking Farah and paying forward the Kind Blogger Awards than necessary… However, I really enjoyed this trip down memory lane as I reminisced about why I chose the four amazing women I did to honor and reflected on how Farah, Sommer, T-Girl, Kristie, Katie and I came to be a special part of each other’s lives. I never dreamed that blogging would bring me such treasured friendships and for that I feel very blessed and grateful.

Take care, God bless and good night.

Love,
Kathy