Three years and three blogs earlier I started an anonymous IF blog because I needed a place to talk about my struggles, a place I could cry about a negative, wonder what was wrong with me, and say the things family and friends were growing tired of hearing. In my mind I planned to stop the blog once I got pregnant. Because you know, those two pink lines is the end of the TTC journey right? Ha. When I had my miscarriages, blogging kept me from going crazy. Ever since I began blogging about IF and loss, my plan was to stop blogging once I actually met my baby. I mean, I'm Waiting For Sunflower, once he's here, I'm not waiting anymore, right? [Mind you, I didn't plan to stop keeping up with any of your blogs! I just planned to stop blogging myself.]
Even though it feels ten years away, my son is coming soon (God Willing) and so I'm thinking about the future of this blog. Do I stay? Do I go? Do I start a new parenting after IF blog? Do I lift the anonymity and blog under my real name at a new site? My question to you: Do you plan to stop blogging upon parenting? If you are an IF parent blogger what makes you stay? Did you consider stopping once you had a baby? Just curious for your insights on this. [And I'd leave this blog up ofcourse as a success story. . . I know how much that meant to me when I first started on this road]
You staying gives other IFrs hope, to see that you were sucessful in your search for your rainbow baby. And all of us who prayed for sweet little Sunflower would love to see how he grows. Bur, in the end the decision is yours!
ReplyDeleteI really & truly hope that you will continue blogging, whether you rename this blog, or start a new one (and send me the new address!) I do think that I'll continue blogging even after Thor is born (as you say - God willing) because I've found this online community to be as real and as important to me as any friends I've made in the "real world" and I cannot imagine depriving myself of that, just because one segment of my life has segued into another.
ReplyDeleteIf nothing else, I love having the record of my life these last few years captured, and I am looking forward to having a record of Thor's first few years as well. I know I'll be too lazy to formally scrapbook stuff, but having an e-record of it all will be something I'll treasure forever, and I hope he will, too.
Here's hoping we all get to "meet" Sunflower and watch him strive toward the sun!
i don't think you need to give up this blog at all, i kept infertile myrtle after i had louise because let's face it, once infertile always infertile, we can't go back in time and erase our struggles with infertility, they will always be a part of us. plus, once you have sunflower you'll have a whole new crop of issues and questions you'll want to blog about. as far as anonymity, that's really a personal decision, maybe you'll want to stay anonymous if it's made you more comfortable to do so thus far but if not that's great too, either way and no matter what you decide i'd like to stay in contact with you, so if you switch blogs please let me know :)
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'll stop...but I'm sure posts will probably become fewer (like they did when I got pregnant)...but I love to continue to follow some stories after and hear occassional updates. I also understand when some people stop blogging....I'm going to wait to see how I feel afterwards before making that final decision.
ReplyDeleteI don't plan on stopping blogging. I started my blog after my second m/c and am still blogging now pregnant, and I continue to blog afterwards about parenting. I still have IF fellow bloggers, pregnant bloggers and parenting blogging friends. I guess I feel like I have gotten to "know" these people in the blog world, and I really don't want to leave. I like commenting and getting comments.
ReplyDeleteYou could always change your title without changing your blog.
I kind of like having my blog as an archive too.
Please don't stop blogging! I'd miss you and your posts.
ReplyDeleteI never even considered stopping blogging after Kara arrived. The blog is more like my diary to myself, and a way to get feedback and help from others. I'm too lazy to write in a diary, but blogging is easy, and the interaction with virtual friends is priceless.
I just found you a bit ago - and I'd miss reading your blog if you stopped!
ReplyDeleteI had my IF blog, inconsistent as it was, printed for my girls to read some day if they want, when they're old enough.
We have ours that really started at the pregnancy and continues now, although not as consistently as I'd like.
I am planning to continue blogging if (when) I finally get my baby. I just figure I'll merge it into a parenting blog, and I'm sure there will be posts on trying for the rest of my hopefully babies!
ReplyDeleteI'd miss you so much if you were gone! I hope you decide to stick around...
Motherhood is the next step that many IFers can end up at. I believe that being a mother to a miracle child (or children!) after struggling with IF gives many hope. I know that while I was TTC, my favorite blogs were the ones by those who succeeded in achieving their dream. However hopeless and pained I felt, they encouraged me by saying "see? I can do it, so can you!".
ReplyDeleteI have every intention of blogging now that I am a mother of two wonderful children. It's my turn now to give IFers some hope, maybe even answers to their own fertility questions in my story. If I can effect just one person in a positive way by showing it CAN happen, even for long-timers, it's worth it to keep blogging....
since I still don't have a baby, I can't answer those questions (but since I also blog somewhere else that is non IF related...)I can't answer that question.
ReplyDeleteHOWEVER... I"m going to be very sad if you stop blogging, becaseu i so love reading your posts, and your friendship.
I think the decision to stay or go is a personal one. I will say that my reason for continuing my blog is primarily to give my girls a record of what it was like to be their mom. My words are a gift to them, so that they know how loved and wanted they always were.
ReplyDeleteI think in a sense you will always be "waiting" for sunflower. Once he's born you'll be waiting to find out who he is and who he will become. It is truly the greatest and most rewarding wait you can experience. I do hope you'll stay though. :)
Hmmm...well, in my case, I just don't know. I found blogging in pregnancy difficult, and didn't get enough practice in to feel any differently this time around. Blogging after a successful pregnancy has always been part of my plan, but...who knows. I'll know when I know. And so will you. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to stop. When I made my blog I made it very broad. I think you should continue. There is slways something to get off your mind!
ReplyDeleteI started blogging a couple months ago (my babe is almost 2). I sort of split my blog posts, half is about me and ttc again and the end sentence is something funny about my babe. I love talking about her but I limit myself. I say keep your blog and keep on typing.
ReplyDeleteI hope that you don't stop writing, however you change your blog. I love reading your posts and your story is inspiring and feels me with hope. xx
ReplyDeleteYou'd better not stop blogging, missy... you are one of my faves! I carried two blogs for a while -- one for parenting and one for secondary IF. I did stop posting on the IF blog shortly after I got pregnant, because although IF is still part of me, it's not such a central focus of my life.
ReplyDeleteHowever you choose to move forward, I hope to still hear your voice in the blogosphere!
And meanwhile, anxiously awaiting news of your precious one's arrival... good luck!!
As a previous poster commented, the decision is yours. I hope you stay :)
ReplyDeleteI started my blog as one for whinging and venting about the frustrations of IF and loss, and it has somehow evolved into something more - writing about random stuff and food :)
I'll add my 2 cents worth. I don't know whether I'll keep blogging once I'm a mother, mostly because I'm not sure if I'll have time. But I hope I do.
ReplyDeleteI started blogging about IF to get support and advice - and I did. I have found that I still need that support and advice now that I'm pregnant because pregnancy after IF is scary. And I tend to think that parenting after IF will be scary too, and I'll still want that support. So even if I don't have time to write much, I will definitely still be reading.
ICLW