Ocean Dreamer » blogs I like http://www.oceandreamer.org a single Seattle dyke exploring parenting, dog training, being gluten free, and more. Sun, 13 Jun 2010 16:43:44 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 new babies! http://www.oceandreamer.org/2008/08/15/new-babies/ http://www.oceandreamer.org/2008/08/15/new-babies/#comments Fri, 15 Aug 2008 19:53:06 +0000 erin http://www.oceandreamer.org/?p=96 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> Congrats to the folks at two of my favorite blogs on the birth of their babies:

Hooray for new babies in the blogosphere.

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]]> http://www.oceandreamer.org/2008/08/15/new-babies/feed/ 0 or not??? http://www.oceandreamer.org/2008/07/21/or-not/ http://www.oceandreamer.org/2008/07/21/or-not/#comments Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:51:04 +0000 erin http://www.oceandreamer.org/?p=84 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> Okay, so perhaps I had created a bubble of hallucination, as Sarah commented yesterday.  After my semi-confusing pregnancy test yesterday morning, I bought a set of 2 electric ones, so there would be less confusion.  I took one yesterday afternoon and it was negative – but, I thought, okay, maybe the HCG* hasn’t had time to build up yet.  Then I took another one this morning and it, too, was negative.  So, I don’t know….

I do know of one woman who didn’t get a positive HPT** until 6 days after her period was due.  However, I also know that for the past week or so I had been feeling bloated (not a normal PMS symptom for me) and had pressure in my abdomen.  Now that feeling is gone.  So maybe this was a very early miscarriage and there was still a tiny amount of HCG in my body?

In any case, as I was driving to an appointment this morning, I made peace with it.  It’s not something I can control and I won’t be doing myself any favors during the next couple of days if I’m just stressing about it (provided my period still hasn’t come).  The rollercoaster between yes and no has been really intense and crazy-making.  So, as best I can, I am going to just enjoy my vacation and when my answer comes (in the form of a period or lack thereof), I will know.  Until that time, I can’t get so wrapped up in it or I won’t be able to enjoy seeing my good friends and my family.

*HCG: Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (what pregnancy tests test for)

**HPT: Home Pregnancy Test

One of these days I am going to make an acronym page that folks can just refer to.

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]]> http://www.oceandreamer.org/2008/07/21/or-not/feed/ 3 a line is a line, yes? http://www.oceandreamer.org/2008/07/20/a-line-is-a-line-yes/ http://www.oceandreamer.org/2008/07/20/a-line-is-a-line-yes/#comments Sun, 20 Jul 2008 14:20:21 +0000 erin http://www.oceandreamer.org/?p=80 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> So today is 12 dpo* and I took a pregnancy test and – guess what – it has a *very* slight, so slight you almost can’t see it, second line.  The test and control lines are pink, and if the test line were any lighter, it seriously wouldn’t exist.  I’m posting a pic here, but it’s nearly impossible to see the line in the pic (and yes, that is My Miserable, Lonely, Lesbian Pregnancy underneath – more on that later).  When I took the test last month, it was clearly negative.  This one isn’t so clear and it *does* say that any 2nd line equals a BFP** – even if it’s very slight.  My BBT was above cover but low this morning, so I’m going to wait and take another test tomorrow.  If it’s positive, I’ll get a blood test.

To complicate things, I’m heading out of town at 4am Tuesday to go to the East Coast for two weeks.  So here’s hoping that, if I get a BFP tomorrow, I can also get in to the doc sometime that day.  I *so* don’t want to have to wait 2 weeks to get my results verified.

I’m still in a state of shock, I suppose, even with the heads up from Pam last week.  C & H at Now That You Know may also be preggers this cycle.  How cool would it be if it happened at the same time?  I would love to read about another’s experience as they go through pregnancy at nearly exactly the same time as me (give or take a day or two variation in the insems.)

*dpo: days post-ovulation

**BFP: Big Fucking Positive

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]]> http://www.oceandreamer.org/2008/07/20/a-line-is-a-line-yes/feed/ 7 community http://www.oceandreamer.org/2008/06/16/community/ http://www.oceandreamer.org/2008/06/16/community/#comments Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:03:53 +0000 erin http://www.oceandreamer.org/?p=45
  • blog birthday! some reflections on 2 years of blogging & TTCing… I started this blog two years ago today. I started...
    • Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]>     I have begun to find other LGBTQ single parents (and prospective parents) by choice – first virtually and now in person – and that sense of community has been wonderful.  I started out feeling that there were very, very few of us in this subgroup of a subgroup of a subgroup – and put a lot of energy into finding others with similar experiences.  Now it seems that work is beginning to pay off.  First, there have been the wonderful folks in the blogosphere, including A at Queer Baby Making and R at Now Just One Mommy….  Then, Thursday night at our monthly Maybe Baby meeting, we had a wonderful speaker on foster-adoption that drew a whole slew of single LGBTQ parents-to-be (and one who’s already a parent).  I’m used to being the only non-coupled person in the room at those meetings, so meeting the others was especially wonderful.  And then, Saturday morning I took a lovely walk around Green Lake with another woman who is planning to be a single lesbian parent.  We talked about everything from building community to dating to dogs.  There is nothing like (the often rare incidence of) having aspects of your experience reflected back at you in others’ lives.

    So, to all the wonderful folks I’ve met so far, I’m glad to share part of this path with you and I look forward to seeing our community grow.

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    ]]>     http://www.oceandreamer.org/2008/06/16/community/feed/ 1     possessed printer http://www.oceandreamer.org/2008/06/13/possessed-printer/ http://www.oceandreamer.org/2008/06/13/possessed-printer/#comments Sat, 14 Jun 2008 01:08:52 +0000 erin http://www.oceandreamer.org/?p=42 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> I have the oddest printer.  A few weeks ago it stopped working.  After consulting the troubleshooting guide and getting solutions like “plug in the printer” that were *not* helpful, I decided to just reinstall it.  That worked fine for about a week, and then it failed on me again. :(   Since I’ve had such a busy couple of weeks, I hadn’t gotten around to contacting their customer service to try to find another solution.  Then, when I got home today and connected my laptop, the printer magically printed the two docs I had waiting in the queue.  Bizarre, huh?  And then, as soon as it finished printing those docs, guess what – it simply stopped working again.  WTF?  For now, I just reinstalled the software again.  We’ll see if it works for longer this time.

    In other news, I’m sending positive TTC-energy to C & H at Now That You Know, who seem to be having the same messed-up cycle issues that I’ve been having.

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    ]]>     http://www.oceandreamer.org/2008/06/13/possessed-printer/feed/ 2     add one more to the *short* list http://www.oceandreamer.org/2008/05/22/add-one-more-to-the-short-list/ http://www.oceandreamer.org/2008/05/22/add-one-more-to-the-short-list/#comments Thu, 22 May 2008 19:07:06 +0000 erin http://www.oceandreamer.org/?p=33
  • blog birthday! some reflections on 2 years of blogging & TTCing… I started this blog two years ago today. I started...
    • Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]>     This blog for single queer parents by choice, written by Angela, is chronicling her journey to parenthood (she’s due in a few months – congratulations!)  Its also a great resource for anyone considering the path of single LGBTQ parenthood, as she does an excellent job of expressing many of the experiences and emotions of being a single parent.  I’ve really enjoyed reading her blog so far – its brought me a real sense of community.

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    ]]>     http://www.oceandreamer.org/2008/05/22/add-one-more-to-the-short-list/feed/ 0     single moms are straight, lesbian moms are coupled http://www.oceandreamer.org/2008/05/20/single-moms-are-straight-lesbian-moms-are-coupled/ http://www.oceandreamer.org/2008/05/20/single-moms-are-straight-lesbian-moms-are-coupled/#comments Tue, 20 May 2008 16:56:08 +0000 erin http://www.oceandreamer.org/?p=31 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> Or so it seems. I am actively involved with Seattle’s group for queer folks who want to have kids, yet I’m the only one who’s single. Aside from this blog, I’ve only found three other blogs about single lesbian mama: “Adventures of a Single Lesbian Mom,” “Soul Bliss,” and “One Mommy … TTC.” Similarly, I’ve been reading several books for single moms by choice, but they are all geared towards straight women. (There is one book, Knock Yourself Up, which is written by a single lesbian mom – I haven’t read it yet but I have high hopes.) So far, the books, articles, and websites I’ve read focus on women giving up the Great American Dream of meeting a wonderful man, getting married, and raising a family together with said man. Um, excuse me? We don’t *all* have that dream. And its quite alienating to those of us who don’t to find a group that we think would represent us, only to find that in many ways it doesn’t – especially when there is no mention that some of us aren’t straight.

    And so I kept searching … and ended up deciding to start something myself. To that end, I’ve created two websites: Single Lesbian Moms by Choice and Single Lesbian Moms (by choice or chance). They’re just starting out right now, but come back, come back, I have big plans for them both – including blogs, listserves, resource pages, maybe even in-person meetups if there are enough people in given areas.

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