Flunking “Applied Biology 101” since Sept 2003

I suppose it doesn’t make a lot of sense to start blogging now, after 4 years, but better late than never, right?

For those not familiar with me, I’m Lori. I’ll be 27 soon, and my husband, Eddie, is 26. We have been trying to conceive since September of 2003. Obviously, since it’s September of 2007 and we still don’t have any kids, we’ve been failing. Miserably.

When we first started discussing the thought of even having a baby, Eddie was on deployment. We had just gotten married in December of 2002, and he was shipped out January 13. What was supposed to be a routine training exercise turned into an 8 month deployment. During this separation, I decided to start doing some reading, because I knew NOTHING about pregnancy, birth, or anything. NOTHING.

I discovered the iVillage message boards shortly after Eddie went on deployment, and have been visiting them ever since. I spend most of my time on the debate boards, and looking back, I can honestly say that my views about pretty much everything are dramatically different now than they were back then. Much of that will become apparent in as this blog evolves. I also read, read, read, and ended up with a monstrous collection of books about all things baby, from conception to kindergarten. The clueless was, at last, clued in (well, as much as one can be by reading, observing, talking to other moms, etc).

By the time Eddie got home in September of 2003, we were ready to have a baby, and I went off the pill. Neither of us had even the faintest inkling of what lay ahead.

Before I get too involved in this blog, I do want to extend a sincere thanks to everyone who’s kept me relatively sane through all of this. You’ve been immensely supportive through all of this. You all know who you are – the ones who have sent me encouraging e-mails, let me cry/bitch/vent, offered hugs or cyberhugs when I desperately needed them, who cheered with me when things were looking up and cried with me when the bottom fell out, and have been rooting for us since day 1 – you guys rock. Seriously.

And a special thanks to my husband. Eddie, you rock. I can’t imagine staying sane if I was going through this with anyone but you. Our marriage and our love have only gotten stronger through all of it. I love you, babe.

So now you know who we are. This blog may be at times funny, at times sad, at times full of the kind of language that would get a kid’s mouth washed out with soap. There may be some TMI now and then, though I try to keep the gory details to a minimum. With this topic, it’s kinda hard to avoid some mention of unmentionables. I apologize in advance.

Please feel free to e-mail me or to leave comments. If you’ve been there done that, or something resonated with you…I’d love to hear from you.