Los Porchs

The lights, the presents.. the joy.. there's so much to be enjoyed and celebrated this time of year.  We are so thankful for the three-nager who makes every day a challenge and the pup who brings us the weirdest occurrences of the zoomies. But still. My heart hurts. For the four babies who simply weren't.  Couldn't be.  2017 wasn't our year. For the desire to add more children to our hot mess express. While there are absolutely times midst argument with Charlotte (Lord help me in the future) I simply cannot fathom adding another tiny fighter to our group, I also am grieving the loss of what could have been.  I didn't know I wanted 5 children until I had 5 embryos.  My motto before IVF was that I would see how bad childbirth was before I agreed to future children; Charlotte was amazing and perfect and I knew I wanted more well before her first birthday. Depression set in and I didn't find the courage to ask for help until much later and when we did atte

Day 2 This is one of those situations where Archer feels like he's been ours his entire life but here we are, barely 24 hours into the ride.  Much like Charlie, his body leads one to believe he is much older (and therefore wiser) than he actually is at this time.  He walks really nicely on the leash and has seemingly figured out where to poop.  Loves to swipe toys, clothes, shoes, remotes, literally anything not permanently attached to furniture.  We spent a lot of our day saying things like, "Oh Archer, you don't need to wear shoes."  and "Archer!  Leave it! We don't eat beds!" He is still very much a puppy and I feel like he is going to be so much fun as a playmate for Charlie, once Charlie stops crying every time he tries to play with her.  To be fair, he has a lot of energy (those zoomies were very real tonight) and has an impressive vertical leap.  I can't wait until he has a better understanding of his yard and we can throw the ball around

If you follow us on Instagram or are our friends on Facebook, you know that Porch & I (and Charlotte) added a new furry member to our family.  His name is Archer Mallory Sterling Porch and he is not only a perfect fit for our family, he is also a welcome distraction. It is with a somber heart that I share our 4th (and final) frozen embryo transfer was not successful.  If Porch and I are to have another baby, we will need to go through the entire IVF process again or find good fortune with a surprise baby the natural way.  If you remember, our initial odds given to us were < 1% per cycle (this is compared to around 30% for a typical couple).  We're taking a few moments to pause and feel thankful that we were able to attempt 4 frozen transfers and I feel a sense of peace knowing that those embryos aren't just sitting around. We'll keep you updated as we move forward but for now, we are enjoying Charlotte's enthusiasm (understatement) for the holiday season as w