Before we left for vacation a couple of weeks ago, L felt like she was getting sick and decided to stay home for a day and rest. She was lucky and able to shake the bug. I managed to pick it up too, but I fought it off during our cruise and thought I had it licked too.

Unfortunately, I was wrong. It came back with a vengeance last week while I was traveling, and it really hit me over the weekend. I’m honestly not sure if it was just a bad cold (possible as I didn’t have a fever), some “regular” variant of the flu (possible as it seemed worse than a regular cold), or a full blown case of “bacon lung” (possible because I’ve read that you can have pork-itosis without having a fever). It seems that doctors have largely stopped testing to confirm cases of the swine flu, as long as you’re doing ok.

Of course, there are numerous media reports about how dangerous the swine flu is for pregnant women. Great! So, we’ve been trying to keep the house and me disinfected while I’ve battled this thing off. I’m (finally!) starting to feel a good deal better, but I’m not 100% yet. I’m hoping to be back into normal form by the weekend (as last weekend was a washout and we’ve got stuff to do). We also had to cancel dinner plans with some good friends, which we’ll need to reschedule for later this month as well.

We returned home on Sunday after an enjoyable and relaxing vacation. The Alaskan cruise was perfect given the circumstances — right amount of activity, relaxation, etc. L continues to feel and do fine. We’re now into the 2nd trimester (week #14 today). And it’s so far, so good.

I’m back off to Minneapolis this week for work (left this afternoon). It’s been a hectic past few weeks for me in terms of travel. I **think** I’ll have been home a total of 5 or 6 days in the past 4+ weeks. Fortunately, I should have a two week break after this trip.

I’ve discovered that while men don’t seem to generally want to talk about infertility when they’re in the midst of it, they seem to positively gush out details after they’ve successfully had children. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve heard all sorts of stories related to infertility, miscarriage, and childbirth.

These same men are also really willing to “tell their stories” about fatherhood. I’m going to start recording some of the more interesting observations and experiences here (after making them anonymous). I’m particularly interested by their willingness to share the raw emotion (good and bad) associated with these experiences.

In other news…

We spent some time this weekend getting ready for the trip. L was struggling with packing, because some of her clothing is starting not to fit properly. Due to her now more ample cleavage, many of her tops are either 1) actually too small, or 2) simply looking too good on (if you know what I mean). Pants are also becoming a struggle, as she doesn’t like anything too tight. It’s a challenge…

L is going for her next OB check-up this week. I’ll make sure to post details on it.

I’m headed to Washington DC tomorrow.

I’ve been away from the blog for almost a week. It’s been very hectic. L (and the baby) continue to do well.

What a whilrwind! Starting last Sunday, I traveled to Minnesota for an early morning Board of Directors meeting. On Tuesday, I was officially named a Vice President of the information technology company for which I work. I then flew to Washington DC for meetings today and only got back home well after midnight tonight.

Next week, I’m headed back to Washington (Mon-Wed). I then return home, pick up L, and then we’re off to Alaska on Friday for a 7 day cruise. Interestingly, we got a call from Holland America to upgrade to a deluxe balcony suite for only a couple of hundred bucks extra… so, I jumped on that chance!

This pleased L and thus conforms to my policy: what the pregnant lady wants, the pregnant lady gets.

I’ll write more over the weekend.

Now that we’re “out of the closet” so to speak, we’ve been telling friends and colleagues about our joyful news. In most cases, we haven’t mentioned the IVF, primarily because it just doesn’t come up. (I think twins might have yielded more baby-making related questions.) Of course, in a few instances, we’ve discussed our difficulties and the associated treatment, assuming people wanted to hear.

That said, I have one friend who I’ve avoided telling until yesterday.

Let’s call him “Bob.”

A few years ago, Bob was in town on business, and we met up for dinner at the world famous Bern’s Steak House in Tampa. We had an enjoyable meal and had moved onto the dessert room for dessert (surprise) and an after-dinner drink. Somehow the conversation moved on to children, and Bob confided in me the struggles he and his wife had had in TTC. At this time, L and I hadn’t even started TTC yet nor was I anything that even remotely resembled an expert on matters of infertility. So, I just patiently listened to the tale of woe, tried to remain sympathetic, and generally kept (thankfully based on what I’ve now learned) any stupid suggestions or opinions to myself.

Bottom line: after much treatment, Bob and his wife were not going to be able to biologically have kids.

Fast-forward to this week.

I had to tell Bob about our struggles and success (I only see him semi-regularly, but I couldn’t keep a child a secret for the rest of our lives). So, here’s what I said (after making small talk about other “news”):

I have some other news as well. After some unexpected challenges and then associated medical intervention (which I know you’re all too familiar with as well), L and I are expecting a child. She’s due in early February. Needless to say, we’re thrilled and excited by the prospect. We’re also extremely grateful for our good fortune in a way that I don’t think is possible unless you’ve struggled.

Seemingly, he took it very well. He offered me his congratulations and seemed to appreciate my sense of tact, saying something to the effect of “dealing with the emptiness is hard for us.”

Yeah, I know, my friend. Believe me. I know.