Quick updates

Just popping in to join the chorus of congratulations on the arrival of Muddy’s gorgeous baby boy. He was born January 2, by c-section, at 36 weeks (after more than 3 months of bedrest) and is reportedly the cutest and biggest baby in the NICU (where he’s on a vent for some breathing difficulties). Muddy is dealing with some painful c-section aftermath, but is doing well. Updates to come as they’re available. And in the meantime, YAY!

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The DC Infertiles Meetup was fab, as everyone else has already said. I don’t have much more to add, really, except to note how much I love being with a group of people that just get it - even if we didn’t all have all the intimate details about each others’ cooters, we still all understood the general picture. When else can I leave a bathroom stall (in the Capitol building, no less) and have bunches of people who will listen to me vent about progesterone suppositories (which are better than they were before, but still gross) - and join in! So, that’s that part.

The rest of the DC trip (with one notable, charming, lemon-drop-sharing exception) was fairly unexceptional, though not in a bad way. I actually like my in-laws most of the time, but I’m allergic to their house, and off my allergy meds, so my breathing suffered a bit. But telling them about the twinkles (we showed them the u/s picture) was pretty fun. And helped buffer my MIL’s stream of well-intentioned assvice. Plus, they’ve decontaminated another room in the house, so I got to hang out and be social while still mostly breathing. So yeah, I’d say that was pretty good all around. Plus, my BIL was quietly supportive and kind and helpful, which was especially sweet.

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Food is generally not appetizing, and that is incredibly frustrating right now. Even if I’m not obsessing over Barbara Luke’s advice, it’s still problematic to be simultaneously hungry and repelled by food. And I’ve been to several grocery stores over the past couple of days in seach of food that appeals. I may have to start sampling the fast food options soon. I had McDonald’s chicken nuggets while we were in DC, and they were actually pretty satisfying. But that was then, so we’ll see.

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I finished the crazy papers, but am now busily trying to wrap up a research prospectus, in which I propose a plan of action for the next couple of years. This is an exercise in fiction, since it’s too soon to announce any news, so I have to write the thing as if what I’ll be doing for the next 18 months or so is working on a dissertation. Ha! (The general idea at this point, of course, is that I’ll be, um, otherwise occupied. At least, that’s the plan.)