Resolve's Infertility Advocacy Day

Resolve is an organization dedicated to addressing the needs and concerns of people who are faced with infertility. June 25 is Resolve's Advocacy day, and hundreds of people will be descending on Congress to support legislation to help those facing infertility, including the Family Building Act of 2009 (H.R. 697). The Family Building Act amends the Public Health Service Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to require a group health plan that provides coverage for obstetrical services to include coverage for non-experimental treatment of infertility that is deemed appropriate by a participant or beneficiary and the treating physician. The bill would also require coverage for assisted reproductive technology only if certain conditions are met. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) will be introducing the Family Building Act to the Senate. This bill mirrors the House version of the bill.

What you can do:

1. Send a letter/email thanking Senator Gillibrand for her initiative.
2. Contact your Senator to either co-sponsor or support this bill.
3. HR 697 has been assigned to committees. Contact the House Committee members directly to show their support. The 3 assigned committees are:
   
   House Energy and Commerce

   House Education and Labor

   House Oversight and Government Reform
4. If you haven't already, contact your Representative to support HR 697 as well.

Daycare Decision

We finally have a daycare decision/solution!! As you know, daycare has been a struggle for us. We currently have Micah in daycare one day a week at the Children in the Shoe (Towers) daycare. Nearly two weeks ago, we were offered a full-time spot in the Fall with our first-choice daycare, Wonders Daycare. I went in to speak to Children in the Shoe to see when Micah would be switched to the older room and if we could increase days in the Fall, and we were informed that it would be unlikely they would either move him or increase his hours until he was at least 15-18 months old. I was upset by that news, but relieved that it gave us an easy excuse to leave them. While we like Children in the Shoe, we have not been pleased with the current primary caretaker for Micah, and we actually prefer the other location (BCC).

We decided to go check out Wonders again before making a final decision, and we also found another daycare center with an open spot that was recommended by a friend - Family Academy. We went to visit both places, and we still felt that Wonders was still the best place for Micah (even though Family Academy is significantly less expensive). Our biggest hesitation was that the offer was for "full-time daycare" - we just were not sure if that was best for us. After learning that the daycare rates increased by nearly $200/month at Wonders since we initially went on the wait list, we became certain that we preferred a part-time slot.

Initially, we were told there were no part-time slots available. After some begging on our part and hard work on their part, we were told we could have a part-time slot, but it would be Tuesdays and Thursdays. On the one hand, I thought that might work out fine, and we could hire a babysitter to cover the other days as needed. However, I then remembered that Micah and I are enrolled in a class on Thursdays in the Fall, and we would have to skip out on daycare Thursday afternoons for 16 weeks to attend our class (a thought that really bothered me - who wants to pay for daycare and not use it??). We also continued to discuss whether we should just accept the full-time slot. Elliot and I discussed and debated, and we decided that we still preferred part-time over full-time, so we were all ready to accept Tuesdays and Thursdays.

When I called back to accept, I was told they might be able to work it out so that we can have Monday, Wednesday and Friday instead, but she needed a few more days to figure it out. Naturally we were confused about what to do. The problem with Monday, Wednesday and Friday is Federal holidays and vacation weekends - you have to pay for those days even when the daycare is closed or if you leave town and do not use them. After several changes of heart and a lot of trepidation, we committed today to daycare on Monday, Wednesday and Friday next year (beginning in September).

Micah will be in the junior toddler room, which includes fun activities like music, art and gym. They also provide a hot lunch and snacks everyday for the kids. Everyday, they go outside and play on the playground (as long as the weather isn't too cold, too hot or too wet). He will be crawling around, playing with toys, and socializing with other children his age, and I am hoping it is a wonderful experience for him. I think we will do our best to limit how long he is there - at most, we will leave him there from 9:30 to 4:30 or *maybe* 5 on occasion.

I hope we made the right decision! We have to submit our registration form and fees, and then we are all set. Once we do that and lock down our spot, I think we will give our notice of termination to Children in the Shoe. We are still waiting to hear if they will have a spot in the junior toddler room at their BCC location, but I think this ship has sailed and it is time to switch providers.

Father's Day... bittersweet

Happy Father's Day! This year, we celebrated Elliot's first Father's Day. In honor of the big day, I bought Elliot a bike trailer so he can take Micah on his bike with him to daycare or on errands. He tried it out last week, and both of them seemed to love it.

Just a little video of the first ride in the trailer:

Before I get into the details of our celebration, I do want to take the time to say what an incredible father Elliot is. He is such a loving man - he is so gentle with Micah, changes his diapers (whenever possible, I let him change ALL the dirty ones), feeds him - whatever Micah needs. He has been doing Micah's laundry most of the time the past 6 months. They take naps together, and he makes time to play with him. Elliot takes him to daycare, shares in the feeding, and they go to synagogue together every Friday night and Saturday morning - their weekly Daddy/son outing. Micah plays "secretary" for Daddy sometimes when he is working. Elliot takes the time to talk to him, and he is very willing to do whatever is needed to care for him. Elliot comes to every doctor's appointment, too - he doesn't miss out on anything! Elliot makes up songs all the time so he can sing to Micah (his favorite seems to be "What's the matter baby boy?"), and Micah just lights up whenever he sees his Daddy. Elliot helps put him to bed every night (he takes him upstairs, dresses him for bed, reads him a book, gives him his medicine and then I go upstairs to nurse Micah), and he isn't afraid to be alone with Micah, give him a bath by himself, or put him to bed alone when I go out. It is apparent to anyone who sees the two of them together how much they adore each other. Happy Father's Day, Elliot - we love you!

We decided to celebrate Father's Day with both of our families this year. We drove up to New Jersey to visit Elliot's family on Friday. Our oldest niece, Melissa, was home from college, and she had not seen Micah since he was 8 days old! We arrived on Friday afternoon, and hung out with Brian and Stephanie and Aunt Jodi (Melissa was out and about, and Uncle Steven was still at work). Micah was showing off - he rolled over from front to back AND back to front over and over again, and then he sat and played with his gumball machine without falling over! Unfortunately, Micah was not cooperative at bedtime. He cried and cried for almost 1 hour, but I finally got him asleep in the pack-n-play in Brian's room around 8:30. We had chinese food for dinner, and then the fun began. Brian has discovered baking, so the two of us decided to run to the store (with Stephanie) to get a few supplies to make strawberry pie. We whipped up two of those and then called it a night. Here is some video of Micah showing off (and you'll hear the conversation we had planning the trip to the grocery store to buy the ingredients to make a strawberry pie):

The next morning, Micah woke up at 7 am, but fell back asleep after nursing until 9:30 am. He ate his breakfast, played with his cousins, and then we waited for his other Aunt Jody, Uncle Dan cousin Ethan, Poppy Ira and Grandma Roberta to arrive. When everyone arrived, Micah showed off all of his tricks and we gave his Poppy Ira his Father's Day gift...a framed photo of Micah. We all headed out to the mall to have a "cousins" photo taken for Father's Day. The photo was really cute! We went to an Italian restaurant for dinner, then back to the house for cake and pie.

Here is some video for good measure:

Micah had another rough night falling asleep, but he slept until 8:30 Sunday morning. We were out the door by 9:30, and arrived at Jen and Jeremy's house for brunch around 12:15. We had blintzes, quiche and strawberry pie for dessert. Micah played with his cousins Paige and Peyton and showed off his tricks again. We also gave my parents a framed photo of Micah - a trilogy of close-up shots of his face. After spending a few hours together, we headed home around 3:00. What a long (but fun) weekend!

I thought I would also take this time to thank my own father for being a wonderful Daddy. You were always there for me, without hesitation. When I waited until the last minute and you had to run all over creation picking things up and turning things in for me so I didn't miss an important deadline, you did it, without grumbling. You came to my swim meets and dance recitals and gymnastics events. You even came to a mother/daughter even with me once when mom couldn't be there. You took me to see shows and spent time with me. You made me go shopping with you sometimes - I still can't forgive you for that, but I'll let it slide. You drove my carpool, embarassed me in front of my friends, but most importantly, you've always been there to love and support me, without hesitation. I may not tell you often enough, but I love you, and I appreciate the person you are - there are few men in this world who are as good as you are, and you taught me to set the bar high and expect more from men. Thank you, Dad, for all you do for our family!

Despite all the wonderful things we have to celebrate, Father's Day is also bittersweet - one year ago on Father's Day, I entered my 2nd trimester and we sent out a note announcing my pregnancy. The next morning, I sent out a second note to family and friends announcing the death of my grandmother. What a crazy year...we miss you, Grandma "Cookie," and we think of you often. I'm sorry you never had the chance to meet Micah - I know how time with your family and all the little babies brought you such joy.

6 month photos

Sorry I've been so quiet - I stopped taking my asthma medicine for a few days (okay, almost 1 week) to try and increase my milk supply. Well, naturally, my asthma acted up as did my sinuses, and now I have a nasty case of allergic sinusitis/bronchitis. I'm on antibiotics and feeling better, but I'm also feeling kind of stupid. I didn't think a few days off would be a problem, and I was sure I could "catch it" before I got sick and get back on my meds, but I should have known better! By the time I realized things were getting bad, it was too late.

Anyway, here are the photos we had taken on Tuesday. Enjoy! Please excuse the big dark shadow on the profile picture - that was a scanning problem and I just don't have the bandwidth to fix that now.

Baby Food - Take 2

On Sunday night, I was inspired to make baby food for Micah. Elliot had purchased a variety of organic fruits and veggies, and I thought I would give it a try. I was excited to start with apples - I make homemade applesauce all the time, so I figured it would be a breeze. I peeled and chopped up the apples, added some water, and set it to cook. Fast forward....well, frankly I have no idea how long, because the next thing I remember is sitting on the couch and thinking "what is that smell? Who is cooking something?" That is right - I forgot I was making baby food. By the time I figured out what was cooking, the water had boiled out of the pot and the apples were all singed. I tried to salvage them... but they were no good. I was so mad at myself!

Luckily, I only used 4 apples. I cleaned out the very burnt pot, and started all over again. I peeled and chopped up 4 more apples, SET THE TIMER, and started them cooking, too. This time, the applesauce was perfect! Feeling confident, I decided to move on to bigger and better. I made a big vat of mixed vegetables (green beans, peas, carrots and corn). I also cooked up some pears, and pureed some mango. I made a few fruit combinations - apple mango, apple pear, and apple pear mango. I figured I could occasionally mix in some bananas when it is time to give them to Micah. Micah is now eating fruits - we added mango to the list on Monday with a banana mango oatmeal breakfast.

Unfortunately, I may have gotten too bold with all of my success. Once again, I had to push the limits - I decided to whip up a quick batch of zucchini, too. Naturally, I got distracted again. I checked on it and it was *almost* ready. I looked for the hand blender, cleaned it, checked again, and decided the zucchini needed another minute. While I was waiting, I decided to do some cleanup... which is where it all went wrong. I guess I got carried away on the cleanup, because by the time I checked the zucchini again, all the water had boiled off, and it, too, burned. I'm so sad - no zucchini for Micah! I need to pay better attention while I'm making things, or do a better job of setting the timer. After the zucchini debacle, I thought it best to call it quits. We still have an eggplant, peas, and green beans for me to cook another night. We'll see how Micah likes my cooking!