Hard-boiled eggs to celebrate a birth

I learned yet another interesting Chinese tradition yesterday.  Jack Bauer came home yesterday bearing gifts -- two shrink-wrapped pickled hard-boiled eggs.  He received them in celebration of the birth of a baby.

The red-wrapped eggs symbolize happiness and prosperty, and if an even number of eggs is distributed, that's the way the family is announcing that "It's a boy!"  Odd numbers are for girls.  I could ponder on this for a moment, but I won't.

Of course, being the hypersensitive infertile that I am, I had to wonder if giving someone good eggs was supposed to help with fertility.  Good eggs = good eggs.  Or, if I ate them if it would stimulate some kind of Chinese medical reaction that would help me get pregnant.

However, I tend to think that the only thing that these pickled eggs would give me is a bad taste in my mouth and a stomach ache.

The irony of my Chinese misdiagnosis

I realize that I still need to do a post about my conversation with the traditional Chinese medicine expert - and I will.  It's pretty valuable info for those of us who have tried everything else.  But, today I had a funny thing happen.

I have to get a special kind of visa for my one-year stint here in China, and with that, I had to get a medical exam at a Chinese immigration medical facility.  As one who has gone through the gammit of medical tests and procedures for fertility testing, it was quite a hilarious and unique process.  You go from room to room getting blood drawn, having your eyes checked, an ECG, lung x-ray and a myriad of other tests, along with the other "foreigners" who are there trying to get the same visa as you - men and women, changing into robes in the same room, and only a curtain between your bare chest and the next guy waiting in the chair in the room when they did some of the exams.  Actually, it was quite an efficient process - I had seven tests done in less than 50 minutes.

One of the exams was just a general "thumping on your abdomen" kinda thing, but when the doctor saw my scar from my surgery to remove some uterine cysts (which apparently have nothing to do with my infertility), she wanted to know more about it.  So, I tried to slowly explain that it was for the removal of some cysts.

My official exam report came today, and Jack Bauer and I cracked up at the only "anomaly" listed on the four pages of paperwork.  It said "hysterectomy." 

I haven't had a hysterectomy, but I may as well not have a uterus, since it doesn't do me any good.  In fact, it only brings me grief once a month, if that often.  And when my "grief" doesn't arrive every 28 days, every day I wonder if maybe, just maybe this is the time I'm actually pregnant. 

So, perhaps my Chinese diagnosis isn't too far from the truth.

Taking charge of your INFERTILITY

I just learned that there is a special rate for the Infertility eClass, "Surviving the Hellidays -- Infertile Style"

Pre-register before noon EST n Sunday, and you'll get a discounted rate!  My theory is that you've spent more than $100 on ovulation test sticks and home pregnancy tests, you should probably consider this class.

Sign up it, and we'll all use our Taking Charge of Your Fertility books as firewood this winter!

Infertility eClass - Surviving the Hellidays

Do something for yourself this holiday season, and sign up for this!


I have only had a few aha! moments going through the journey of infertility that has made me consider that maybe all of this is truly meant to be.  And, one of them was my first meeting with my friend Lily. I met her because she was the co-leader of our city's local Resolve chapter, and she contacted me to speak about the lighter side of infertility.  From our first phone conversation, I knew that I had more than infertilty in common with her.  She is a kindred spirit and a wonderful soul.  And one of the most clever and creative people I've ever met.

Enter her brilliant idea.  Through her Web site, The Infertile Mind, she and another blogger, Infertile Naomi, have put together an eclass on infertility to help us get through what they call the "hellidays", such an appropriate moniker.

Surviving the Hellidays - The Infertile's E-Class to Making the Holidays a little Brighter or at least more Bearable will be a private space where infertiles can use their creativity through weekly assignments to help deal their emotional ups and downs through struggle of trying to get pregnant.

Trust me.  This is something that you won't want to miss.  I'm going to partcipate, and can't wait.  Click on the above link to get some more information.  Sign ups start on Monday, Nov. 16.

Next post is about my conversation about infertility with a traditional Chinese medicine expert.  Watch out Western world, I'm bringing this knowledge to the infertile masses!  Fascinating stuff!

Back to Reality

The last week encompassed both the best and the worst experiences I've ever had.  Meeting my darling boy for the first time was unlike anything I had ever imagined.  He was exactly the little guy I had dreamed of, and I can't get his precious little grin out of my mind.

Leaving him was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, and I still cry every time I think about that moment.  There is no question that we bonded while I was there, but I was grateful that he was fine going back to his nannies when we left (thank God for small blessings).

Feel free to catch up on my Vietnam adventure at http://www.lumeinnoodles.blogspot.com/

As hard as it was to leave, I went almost three weeks without seeing Jack Bauer, and needed his arms around me to soothe the pain of being with our boy.  Luckily, I have had an instant love affair with Shanghai and it's helping me take my mind off of Nate and the orphanage.

So, it's now back to writing about my second favorite topic - the lighter side of infertility.  Stay tuned.  More on the way soon.