Barren Bitches Book Brigade

THIS IS A STUB FOR LATER... I'm out of town at a conference until tomorrow night, so I'm hoping I can post in the airport tomorrow night. Participants - please swing back by Wednesday; I should have this completed by then :)

So I'm participating in an online book club coordinated by the Stirrup Queen herself, Melissa Ford. The book we've read is hers: Navigating the Land of IF. It's a fantastic guide, especially for someone like me who's just been diagnosed.

Want to join in on the book club fun? Go here to find out more about the Barren Bitches Book Brigade; how you can participate and to read other readers' responses.

Here are my three questions:

Professional development vs. The Diet

The score? Diet's winning.

Tons of walking + tote full of swag + laptop computer in a bag + 3 full 20oz bottles of water a day = making up for any poor food choices I'm about to make tonight.

In Baltimore for a conference for work, and I'm having a wonderful time. My first out-of-town professional conference - it's been recharging and energizing all at once. I worried about not being able to keep up with Weight Watchers, but yesterday I was only over by 4 points, and I've still got 10 left for today. I'm making lots of smart choices - nixing the bun, loading up on salads and veggies before attacking the proteins, and only eating proteins in moderation. It's all about portion control, tons of H2O, schlepping up and down downtown Baltimore, and the most valuable thing I've been aware of most the last 2 days: knowing my hunger cues and cycles.

Re: my above equation... I love hitting up local NFT/Yelp finds. Yesterday I sought out the Lexington Market for lunch, and what a treat. Tons of food stalls: any cuisine you could think of, seafood, produce, fresh baked goods... the works! And there was even live jazz - these are the kind of traveling experiences I crave, I seek out- I love :)

Tonight, I'm trekking out via cab to Tapas Teatro, a hip little tapas bar with a killer wine list MELI, a hip lil bistro with live jazz tonight. I've got 10 daily points, 16 weekly points, and 14 activity points to cash in on plate after plate of tapas tonight (yes, I realized that's redudant as tapas means "plate") a lot of tasty French food and desserts. I think I deserve a little splurge, especially since it's on the company dollar! :)

Today is RESOLVE's Advocacy Day!

I'm doing my part by emailing & mailing elected officials, facebooking, and tweeting today... have you done your part?

More Advocacy Day info here at RESOLVE.

Demand affordable coverage for infertility treatment by insurance companies!

Click here to download a template letter to send to your elected officials.

A L(IF)e equation.

I was inspired by @PostSecret's tweet today:

My wife & I realized how boring our lives are when we got too excited with our new coffee maker. We came up with an equation to express it.

coffee maker excitement = (life - interesting) :: Do you have any life equations? I'll RT some that you send me.

So I was thinking, what's the equation for infertility?

I offer the following (mind you, my math is crap):

Infertility = Hope ((The way you thought it would be ÷ Things don't go as planned) - Doin' it the old fashioned way)

Or, to demonstrate it more visually:

(click to embiggen.)

I enjoy the chance to use my humor tag when I can.

RESOLVE Advocacy Day: Thur, June 25th!

If you haven't read already, this Thursday, June 25th is RESOLVE's Advocacy Day. Big stuff to talk about with lawmakers in DC, especially the House and Senate versions of the Family Building Act.

Sadly, the media debacles known as "Octomom" and "John & Kate Plus STFU Already" have tainted the American public's reception to insurance companies funding what appears to be frivolous, elective infertility treatments...

...but we know better! Check out RESOLVE's website to see what you can do to enlighten and educate your representatives, and to advocate for their support of these very important pieces of legislation. And it doesn't take a bus trip to D.C. to join in on the fun :)

Easy things you (yes you!) can do- right now:

1. Donate your Facebook status this week, especially Thursday! Change your status to: Today I'm donating my status to RESOLVE's Advocacy Day--leading the charge for greater access to affordable care for infertility patients. www.resolve.org/AdvocacyDay And if you're feeling bold, become a fan of RESOLVE on Facebook.
2. Tweet your advocacy to the masses! #RESOLVE #Infertility @RESOLVEOrg
   
3. Write/email your elected officials. Find your House Representatives here, or your Senators here.
4. Blog about it! Blog about what you're doing for Advocacy Day, how others can join and help out too, blog about why this is so important!
5. Share your story and photo with RESOLVE! I think names and faces of children brought into this world with IF treatments are particularly poignant, don't you?
   

What will you do to advocate for the IF community this week to the folks in Washington?

Diet Week 1 & Quick Update

Even with our lavish brunch on Saturday with nothing but plates of fine cheeses, fruits, salami, and crackers... I managed to lose 3 lbs last week! Ari lost 4.5! I'm ⅓ of the way there to my first goal (5%). Next step: add a little more physical activity to my life.

My caffeine cut back has been going very well. I had a half a chocolate bar on Saturday afternoon, but even that has less caffeine than the daily amount I was drinking prior to starting the diet. And I still haven't touched brown soda since last Sunday. The closest thing to soda that I've had (and even sparingly at that) is lightly flavored seltzer water. Since I've met my original one-week goal of no brown soda, I'm going to try for a goal of one month now.

In other news... Ari has a job interview on Wednesday! Wish him luck!

And, swing by Bella and Her Fella... they've got some great news over in their neck of the blogosphere as well :)

Feeling renewed

Sorry I've been a bit remiss in posting this week... I've been so caught up in #IranElection I pretty much forgot I had a blog.

Camping was incredible. Fort Z. braved the rainstorm Saturday night, despite very heavy rains for about 10 hours. Saturday day, the weather was gorgeous. Also, our campfire spaghetti dinner on Friday was delicious. Added bonus: I packed two tealights and we celebrated Shabbos in the woods. It was deeply calming and recharging. Friends joined us on Saturday, and we had a ton of fun swimming in the lake (my first time in a lake, ever), playing Apples to Apples, and making s'mores. And then Sunday, I went to a friend's book club she had arranged. It was great to spend the afternoon surrounded by intellectual women.

My birthday massage (rescheduled twice due to life) was amazing. Hot tub soak, hour long deep tissue/Swedish massage... what a wonderful gift from my husband. So wonderful, that we're going back tomorrow for a private hot-tub soak together!

No real updates on the IF front. My next appt is July 10; I'll need to have some b/w done to check out my thyroid levels beforehand, and I might call my Dr. to see if he can order a semen analysis before that appt as well. Recently, I've actually been in a very good place, emotionally; I think I had one random crying jag late last week, but otherwise I've been ok. The cold & cough I had been fighting from last month is finally gone, so I have a ton of energy back. Also, my new Levoxyl dose seems to be working wonders- a lot of energy back.

New blog widgets! My Inspire.com badge to the left. I just stumbled on these boards and found a wealth of new support, as well as a lot of fellow POF-ers. The RESOLVE board seems to be more active than the Inspire IF board, but both are chock full of regular posters. I like finding new support networks.

Also, if you click on the any blog post title, there's a Tweet This button at the bottom of the post. Feel free to tweet me into the tweet-o-sphere.

You may have noticed my weight ticker on the right. That's right, I'm on a diet. Ari and I are doing Weight Watchers together. We did it last summer and both lost a good amount of weight... and then the last 5 months of craptitude happened and we put a lot (and then some) back on. If I'm going to have kids, and if I want to be a successful candidate for IVF, I need to lose some serious weight. So I'm starting with my first goal: 5% of my current weight so far. Baby steps. I've almost made it through my first week, and I've been a little grouchy. That's probably b/c I also stopped consuming caffeine, entirely, 5 days ago.

Why the caffeine cut? Well, I drank WAY too much soda before the diet (no soda, not even diet, for 5 days now). And the soda eats away at the calcium in your bones, and since POF messes with your bone density, I really needed to wean myself off. I really need to think of soda as the occasional treat as opposed to daily staple. The first 2 days, I had a bad headache, and was walking around like a junkie looking to score. Now I'm more of in that calm, Zen-like acceptance, although I've been craving oolong tea really badly. I'll see how many days I can go w/o caffeine, period. My goal is to start at a week, and go from there. I've already noticed a huge difference: I sleep like the dead at night, hot flashes have decreased significantly, and that general sense of anxiety doesn't feel like it's looming over my shoulder every 10 minutes.

So that's life right now. Not thinking too much about babies, or my inability to have them. And it's a nice feeling, for a change.

Family Building Act making its way to the Senate!

Exciting news via RESOLVE this morning: Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) will be introducing the Family Building Act to the Senate! This bill mirrors the House version of the bill, (H.R. 697), and aims at making ART more affordable by requiring insurance companies to cover what is essentially a legitimate (and to some extent, curable) medical problem.

More info about the Senate version of the bill here at Senator Gillibrand's blog. Update: Full text of S. 1258 Senate bill here.

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 linked in the middle of the page.)
4. If you haven't already, contact your Representative to support HR 697 as well.

Please feel free to post on your blogs, message boards, and FB pages!

Show and Tell: Fort Z.

It's time for...

My virgin S&T post! I don't know how frequently I'll be doing this, but this week, I feature Fort Z., the affectionate name of our ridiculously large tent for 2 people. Since we're going camping this weekend, I thought it would be appropriate.

Let's take a look at this wondrous specimen of outdoor adventure, shall we? I nabbed these pics from the Kelty website.

The Kelty website describes our tent as a "reasonably priced... roomy tent that comes outfitted with a bonus screened-in vestibule with pull down shades. If you want protection from insects and critters, this tent is an obvious choice." An obvious choice indeed, b/c, as much as I love camping, bugs and critters scare the bejesus out of me. This tent was actually on our wedding registry (we registered with BB&B and REI), and someone actually got it for us. Word.

But Miriam, you say, that tent's not so big! Allow me to put on the rainfly. *fusses with rainfly* Ta-da!

That's right, there's a vestibule. Ari and I have joked on many an occasion that one time when we're camping we'll have margaritas under the vestibule. (What actually happens when we camp is that we just leave our shoes in there. Not as exciting as cocktails with umbrellas.)

But Miriam, you say, that still doesn't look that big. Oh really? Well, our tent can hold four, yes four coffins with decapitated heads inside!

(For the record, I find this floor plan horrifying.) What actually happens is that it's just Ari and me, in a corner, on top of an air mattress in our sleeping bags. I can't fathom camping without the air mattress.

So where exactly has Fort Z been? Let's take a look at its travels:

• Shawme-Crowell State Forest in Sandwich, MA (June 2008): The inaugural raising of Fort Z. This was only the 2nd time I'd been camping in the woods... in my life. Also, this was the emergence year for Brood XIV- the 17-year cycle of cicadas appearing en masse to the New England region, particularly the Cape. There were literally millions of cicadas at the campground. Thankfully, not in the area we were staying, but we had to walk through hundreds of cicadas divebombing our heads at one point to get to the camp store. I shit you not, I almost had a mental break. Also, it rained.
  
• So-Hi Campground in Accord, NY (July 2008): We went with 2 other couples, one of whom was 7-months pregnant at the time with their first child! It was an amazing time... but solidified our need to camp at State Parks only. We had some very lovely Eastern European neighbors (read: ~50 Ukrainians from NYC spread over 2 campsites with nearly a dozen tents pitched- TOTALLY not allowed at the campground) sharing their native folk tunes with us (read: cars parked with stereos blaring non-stop techno until 3am each night). Also, it rained.
  
• Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor (Bah Hahbah), ME (September 2008): This time we went with about a dozen people, all connected in interesting ways to one another. We just so happened to camp the weekend that the remnants of Hurricane Ike made landfall in Bar Harbor. In addition to hiking a 1270 ft. mountain that weekend, we also camped through a hurricane. We were lucky our tent didn't float away in the deluge.
  

I feel it important to note here, that these 3 trips, including the first time I went camping in October 2007, it has rained every single trip.

This weekend we're headed to Wells State Park in central MA. And what is the weather forecast? Well, have a look for yourself:

Well, if Fort Z. made it through a hurricane, than it can sure as hell make it through a couple of thunderstorms. Make sure to swing by Mel's to see what the rest of the class is showing!

Quick Updates: Mom is A-OK

Thank GOD.

Medical stress test and cardio catheters revealed no blockages. Elevated cardiac enzymes may not actually have indicated a heart attack, but rather a result of her crazy high blood pressure (240/180) on Thursday morning. She has to meet with the hospital's endo before she can be released, but it looks like she should be out late afternoon/early evening today. I think our whole family was pretty spooked by everything that's happened the last few days, but my Mom seems to be doing well. Just waiting for the final OK from the dr's so she can be released.

Thanks again for all the thoughts and well wishes.

---

On the IF front: not much new here. I've started my 75mcg dose of Levoxyl... not sure how that's working out for me yet. I've been getting over a cold, and with my Mom in the hopsital, I was super stressed, so I've felt extra tired than normal. I finally feel like I'm 99% over my cold, so that's a relief.

Trying to light the fire under my ass to get in shape, lose weight, and get generally healthy so when and if a baby happens in the next year, I'm not huffing and puffing a la Fatty McGee.

My current hw assignment from Ari? Find a physical activity I can do 3-4 times a week that I enjoy. I started by walking my school's track with a friend last night. The conversation and movement really helped my mood, so I'm hoping to stick with that.

---

On the everything else front: Ari is still looking for a job, has a good lead about 2.5 hours away from where we are now... thankfully, it's mostly telecommute. So, fingers crossed on how that goes.

We're going camping this weekend- first camping of the season! It'll be nice to dust off the old Fort. (We call it a fort b/c it's a HUGE 4-person tent... for just the two of us. It has its own vestibule. It's a lil ridiculous, but we love it.)

I treated myself to a purchase of the full-size Bath and Body Works Japanese Cherry Blossom bath gel. I used it last night, and it smells divine. I think I will use the birthday money I got from my Mom last month to treat myself to some new pants.

I need to reschedule the birthday massage that Ari got me, since I went to NJ this weekend. I'm thinking maybe one night this week after work... we'll see.

UPs and Downs

Today has been a crazy day. Productive morning at work followed by a Friday afternoon slump. Ari and I planned a movie date night for tonight, so I bought tickets to see UP. I booked a fantastic hotel for a conference I'm going to at the end of June; I was nervous using Hotwire but ended up getting a really swanky hotel room for only $79/night and just 2 blocks from the Convention Center.

At about 4:30, my dad calls me to let me know that my mom had a mild heart attack yesterday. I knew she was hospitalized yesterday for crazy high blood pressure, but her b/w today revealed some elevated cardiac enzymes indicating she actually had a heart attack. She's stable and doing otherwise well. She has a cathederization procedure scheduled for Monday that she's terrified for; I am too. She has some other issues like diabetes on top of it all, and this whole thing is just nuts. Ari and I are headed to NJ to keep my dad company this weekend.

It's official: I am writing off 2009 entirely. B/c when it rains, it fucking pours, apparently.

Please keep my mom and family in your thoughts this weekend, especially Monday.

. . .

So, I knew UP was going to feature some IF-related imagery and storytelling in the opening sequence, as first noted by Coming2Terms here and also by Mel over at LFCA under "Movie Warning." I knew it was going to be in the film, and Ari also read that UP has some generally emotional scenes (but didn't know one was IF-related) and it still just wrenches your heart to watch it on screen.

↓↓↓ UP Spoiler Alert: Stop reading now to avoid spoilers. ↓↓↓

The film is really quite poignant and sensitive to the devastating nature of pregnancy loss, but to see it in a PG-rated animated film is jarring just the same. The first 4 minutes of the film are an emotional rollercoaster that paints the picture of IF so clearly, and the theme is reiterated throughout the film: sometimes, life just doesn't work out as planned. The beginning of the film tells the story of Carl and Ellie, how they meet, fall in love, get married, find out they can't have children and/or suffer a devastating pregnancy loss (it's not exactly explained in depth, but it's crystal clear), and move on with their lives, living childfree into their old age. And while you're still left reeling from the OB/GYN office scene, BAM! Ellie's funeral. Yeah, first four minutes of the movie. I was a wreck. (To be fair, so were a large portion of adults in the audience, too.) It's beautiful, touching, and the storytelling is just so well crafted. The rest of the film concentrates on Carl in his old age for one last big adventure. Hilarity and poignancy ensues.

There's some pretty heavy-hitting themes throughout the film: love, death/loss, dealing with old age, living childfree or parentless, destruction of childhood hero figures... it's got the works. If any of you are on any kind of hormonal treatment and plan to see this... seriously bring tissues, b/c if you're not waterworks in the beginning, you will be quite unexpectedly later on in the film.

I particularly liked, in the 4-minute life story montage, when Carl and Ellie are watching the clouds, and Carl points out one that looks like a baby, to which Ellie agrees. Then ALL the clouds look like babies. Why I like it: 1) That it was the husband that seems to want a child first and that 2) When you are clucky and want a baby, it's all you see and can think about. Really, really well done Pixar. I seriously think UP should win Best Picture next year, it's that good.

. . .

Saturday, June 6th, 12:30pm - In NJ. Going to see my mom in a bit. Seems to be in good condition with a good prognosis, according to my dad. It feels good to be home again.

"That's a nice looking ovary you have there."

Thank you?

I had my ultrasound this morning. I haven't had one since after I had a cyst rupture in 2000, and this morning was actually a pleasant experience.

[Funny side-story: When Dr. Gross asked me my scheduling preferences for my u/s, I told him anytime was fine. I asked him if I needed to arrive with a full bladder or do anything to prep, and he just laughed. "Not since the Reagan administration." Apparently, u/s technology has evolved in the last 10 years.]

I took an hour-long T-ride this morning to the Longwood Medical Area; driving in would have taken just as long, if not longer, in morning rush hour, and parking would have cost a fortune. I haven't had to do the morning T-commute in a long time, so it was nice to spend the time reading Sarah Gruen's Water for Elephants. (Sidebar: excellent read so far. Can't wait for my friend's upcoming Book Club about it.) If I wax a bit descriptive non-fiction in this post, it's b/c of the book.

I arrive at the office, to be greeted with poster reproductions of Chagall and Kandinsky, and vaguely tribal variations of Madonna women and children. There is a friendly receptionist, a little bit of paperwork, and plenty of hand sanitizer and signs instructing people how to cough into the crooks of their arms. I take a seat on the most comfortable waiting room chair ever, and I quickly realize why they're so comfy as a bulbous pregnant woman wrapped neck to calf in breathable stretch cotton comes waddling in with a pair of neon purple Croc clogs on her feet. She is perfectly proportionate save for her swollen belly, like a comic caricature of pregnancy. She is older, as is her husband. I peg them at just past 40, maybe a hard ridden 37 or 38. There is a younger Asian couple- much younger, early 20's by the looks of it. No belly, just lots of smiles and private exchanges. There's another woman, mid-30's easily, with a petite bump poking out just slightly from her blazer. If she hasn't announced to coworkers, she'll have to soon.

I wait my turn and am called up the stairs after waiting a short while. It's like some mystical medicine man at the top of a mountain, being hailed up the stairs as all the women of the waiting room crane their necks to see who will be next chosen. I felt like Moses at Mt. Sinai.

I am greeted by Kim, the u/s tech. I was prepared for the "scooch over," the unzipping and half-lowering of the pants, the slight tickling as the probe glides over my skin. What I was not prepared for, was her first question to me: "So, what brings you in here today?" The question literally left me flabbergasted for a second, like they'd found me out, like I was sneaking into a sacred coven of pregnant women of which I had no business being there.

I explained it simply. "I was just diagnosed with premature ovarian failure and we're going to try treatments in a few months, so my OB wants to get a good look at everything to make sure there's no uterine abnormalities." As soon as I said OB, I felt like an idiot. Until I've got a baby up in there, he's just my GYN. I explained my history of PCOS, and my ooverectomy. She said she was very sorry to hear of the diagnosis, and her words hung there, awkwardly, in the air as she fired up the machine. Thankfully, the tension was broken as warm jelly was squeezed onto me. "You warm it up for patients?" My abs were clenched in preparation for the sensation of cold, and I was pleasantly surprised by its lukewarm temp.

"Of course!" she chuckled, and began. Kidneys? Check. Got two of 'em. Left ovary gone? Check. Uterus? Check. Right ovary? Check. "I'd like to do a transvaginal ultrasound, if you don't mind. We can get a better picture." Ah yes, the dreaded "dildo cam." Once I had undressed, I totally understood why it got that acronym- it really looks like a dildo. The most awkward part? Kim says, "I'm going to have you insert it; it's just easier and more comfortable for you that way."

Soon after the sonogram tech came in, Sonya? I believe was her name, as a second set of eyes. She had Kim switch on 3D mode, which was surreal. It was like an old-timey photo of my uterus, all sepia toned and grainy. All of it looked the same to me, save for the uterus, which was a clear, black void in the middle. Seeing the emptiness of my uterus left me with a short pang- of seeing friends' sonograms with their millimeter fingers and toes and noses and thinking, "I would love a little bean of my own in there." Someday, I tell myself. Gotta stay hopeful.

Sonya goes, "That's a nice looking ovary you have there." To which I reply a confused, "Thank you?" I ask if they can see any follicles, and they explain that since I haven't had a period since December, there are none to be seen since they would only be visible during a certain time during a cycle, as they gear up for ovulation. Sonya says she'll send the report over to Dr. Gross this afternoon, and that everything appears normal and healthy. No cysts, growths, or anything out of the ordinary.

They hand me a wipe and wish me luck. For the first time in this whole process, this is the first normal diagnostic I've had. It felt good to know that there shouldn't be any problems keeping something inside there, it's just getting something to put in there that's that trick. And that, despite the moment of longing I felt at seeing my empty uterus, I kept a smile to myself as I rode the T home, excited and hopeful at the chance to see a little hand, a little face in there.

Someday, I smiled to myself, the T rattling around me. We are going to make this happen.

Choose Your Own Adventure

If you want to try to have your own genetic child, turn to page 6.
If you want to recruit a donor for donor eggs, turn to page 12.
If you want to adopt a child, turn to page 30.
---

I've been mulling over how to write this entry since Friday's doctor's appointment, and this title seemed to be the most fitting. I won't try to spin this post with emotion one way or the other, but rather lay everything out as it's been laid out to us.

I've been diagnosed officially with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. My Premature Ovarian Failure is likely not reversible. There is anecdotal evidence (read: less than 1%) to suggest I may conceive naturally using hormonal birth control (HBC) to suppress gonadotropin receptor antibodies long enough to jumpstart my ovary into producing its own eggs. (My FIL compared it to giving a car a jump whereas I compared it to licking a 9-volt battery). Dr. Gross is doubtful, based on my numbers, that I have any follicles left to create eggs at this point, but HBC is low-cost and least-invasive enough to warrant giving it a try. Clomid wouldn't work- it would be like putting Rogaine on a scalp that has no hair follicles left. You can't grow hair where there aren't follicles; the same can be said of eggs.

Next steps:

1. Thyroid dosage adjustment. Going from 88mcg to 77mcg. My current dosage/brand are quite potent and have thrown me into the hyperthyroid range blood test result-wise, but symptomatically, I'm still presenting severe hypothyroidic. This is because the Levoxyl, which is synthetic T4, is not being converted into enough free-T3 in my body. So on paper, I look like I'm hyperthyroid, when in fact, it's the reverse. This is apparently fairly common with Hashi's.
2. Pelvic/uterine ultrasound. Scheduled for Thursday; just want to make sure that my remaining ovary looks normal, and there are no uterine abnormalities.
3. Semen analysis. We need to make sure everything is a go on Arieh's end.
4. Wait 6 weeks and retest thyroid levels. There is a chance I may need to top off my meds with some T3 in addition to the Levoxyl (T4). Then begin...
5. Birth control treatment. Oddly enough, I would use birth control as a way to jumpstart my ovary into releasing it's own eggs. 6 months on starting July/August, stop, and wait to see what happens. In essence, we would begin TTC early 2010, a full year and a half earlier than we had planned on, but it's essentially our last shot to have children genetically related to me.

If step 5 fails (it's pretty likely given that again, we're looking at less than 1% odds to begin with,) then as Dr. Gross said: "Really, your only options for family building are the use of donor eggs or adoption." When Arieh asked as I blinked through tears: "Really, there's really no chance?" and Dr. Gross point blank told us "No," it hit us both like a bag of bricks to the face. I mean, we knew it- we knew that these options were highly likely, but to hear it in person and confirmed by my doctor was pretty jarring.

So, right now, we're just trying to remain positive and hopeful for that longshot chance in January/February 2010. I have a lot of work to do to get myself in shape. It feels strangely calming to be in a place where I finally know my options solidly and have a rough gameplan in place. Yet, the prospects for the future are still daunting.

This just really... sucks. It really does. We're both sad, relieved, tired, and overwhelmed. So there it all is, laid out like a Choose Your Own Adventure novel. If only picking a page was so simple.

Edited to add: Thanks to whoever mentioned this over at the LFCA! The support has meant so much and has really brightened my day! :)

Pregnant job seeker - The Job Doc Blog - Boston.com

Pregnant job seeker - The Job Doc Blog - Boston.com

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The comments alone are worth the read. What a ridiculous article- astoundingly poor professional advice.