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12/03/2004
Without whom
I have a lot to say.
I'll post as often as I can, but it's going to take me a few days to get the whole story out. I don't even want to start without thanking everyone, everyone for the support and love that have surrounded us since this all began, but particularly over the last week or so.
I am uncharacteristically tongue-tied when I try to find the words to tell you what it means to me. Although I don't have time just now to answer many e-mail messages or properly thank you personally, please know that I — we — feel deeply grateful for every good wish, every encouraging story, and every one of your congratulations.
I'd thank Tertia and Danae for sharing my news with all of you when I was unable to, and those two, getupgrrl, and my friends M. and T. for keeping me from feeling so alone as I sent out 164-character dispatches from my cell phone while stranded at the hospital, but I get a little choked up when I try, so instead I will simply say, "Assholes," and leave it at that.
Posted by Julie at 10:00 AM in You can pick your friends... | Permalink
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Comments (64)
complete strangers are sending you love and strength, holding you in their arms and their thoughts. love, love love to you
Posted by: jane at Dec 3, 2004 10:04:19 AM
I've read your blog at various times for a long time now - hard not to with all of the drama, humour, madness etc to be found here. So pleased there is a happy ending or new beginning or whichever. I hope the blog won't finish now that you have reached your goal and that we can get updates of your life and times with your precious Charlie around. Congrats.
Posted by: Kim at Dec 3, 2004 10:10:26 AM
I just want to say that I am so incredibly happy for you, Paul and CHarlie, and I know that everything is different now, and by different, I mean amazing. You are amazing. Knock 'em dead.
Also, to whoever created the text message: Thank you for making my love life even more confusing.
loveT
Tamar
Posted by: Tamar at Dec 3, 2004 10:14:51 AM
I am so pleased for you and Paul; please accept my most heartfelt "Congratulations!". So very glad for you that you will finally have a happy journey!
Posted by: CaraH at Dec 3, 2004 10:14:56 AM
Congrats again Momma (it has such a nice ring to it, no?)
Posted by: Stacey at Dec 3, 2004 10:15:35 AM
Charlie! Welcome to the world, little guy!
Julie, Paul, congratulations, I was so worried for you but so grateful that you are all doing so well.
Will continue to wish you all the best!
erica
Posted by: ericalil at Dec 3, 2004 10:16:33 AM
You've been through so much and I'm so, so happy to hear that Charlie has joined us and is doing well. Looking forward to the updates and thinking of you often.
Posted by: Kim at Dec 3, 2004 10:23:22 AM
I love that name -- Charlie!!! Congratulations to all of you -- I am thinking of you all and look forward to "meeting" the boy on the blog soon!!!
Posted by: Dawn at Dec 3, 2004 10:27:09 AM
Delurking to say congrats! If I had the money I'd send you the new baby box from where I work (full of yummy no-more-gestational-diabetes brownies and bread), but you'll have to settle for virtual coffeecake. And I'm kind of disappointed you didn't actually name him Batman, but I guess that is more of a girl's name. :P
Posted by: Brooke at Dec 3, 2004 10:31:50 AM
I'm crying tears of joy for you, your hubby and little Charlie. All my love and congratulations for your miracle.
Posted by: Joanne at Dec 3, 2004 10:32:22 AM
What I want to know is when Charlie will start posting. Hmm?
So happy, so happy for the three of you.
Posted by: Menita at Dec 3, 2004 10:33:01 AM
Julie,
Thank YOU for all of your support as well. Your comments and insight really mean a lot. You don't comment very often, but when you do, I do a little happy dance "Julie reads my blog!"
I am so very, very estactically (I can't spell) happy for you. Congratulations again.
Much love,
Posted by: Emily at Dec 3, 2004 10:52:13 AM
This is the first time that I have ever felt so persoannly invested in the life of a total stranger. I've been reading for about a year, and in that year have laughed, cried, and learned so much from your words.
With all my heart, I wish you all the happiness that you so deserve. You are a gifted writer who has affected hundreds of strangers is such a wonderful way. I expect you will have the same effect on your beautiful son as a mother. Congratulations, and I can't wait for the wonderful new blog entries about motherhood.
Posted by: thisgirl at Dec 3, 2004 10:55:40 AM
You've got a lot of good assholes at your back (hrm...sounds weird).
As someone who also always manages to fall on the wrong side of the odds, I'm pleased to see that when it came down to the final hand, you had a full house. Welcome, Charlie.
Posted by: Steph at Dec 3, 2004 10:58:06 AM
You know I was just thinking about you this morning...and I remember commenting about having 'sticky thoughts' for you when you had your first beta.
It's amazing to see that the long road sometimes really DOES lead to happy endings!
Posted by: shaunacat at Dec 3, 2004 11:05:50 AM
No Julie, thank YOU for sharing your story with us. How lucky we are, complete strangers, to be invited into a world such as yours and realize that deep down, what we all share is a magnificent gift: love. It's a special day when a woman learns the power of connecting with those who may have otherwise passed through her life unnoticed.
All my best to you and yours. Thank you for being you.
Posted by: Paula at Dec 3, 2004 11:10:51 AM
What great assholes you have in your friends.
Really, just couldn't be any happier to know that you are doing well and that your Charlie is here. Cannot wait to see a photo....
Additionally, in honor of Charlie's arrival, I have decided that I will continue to abstain from ingesting any ear wax flavored jelly beans for eternity.
We are all looking forward to forthcoming irreverent posts about poop, sleep (and lack thereof), & your heaving alabastar bosom.
Thanks again for sharing the rollercoaster ride with us & congratulations again!
Posted by: Boulder at Dec 3, 2004 11:12:18 AM
Julie,
All my best to you, Paul, and little Charlie. In my heart he will always be Batman :-)
And I must chime in with others who have said that we thank you for what you have said to us so many times in the blogosphere. Yours was the first blog I found while struggling with infertility and being rather closeted about it IRL. It opened up a new mode of expression and coping for me, and for that I am eternally grateful. Being in the trenches with others takes the edge off of the bad stuff.
You go, momma lady!
Posted by: dish at Dec 3, 2004 11:14:05 AM
CONGRATULATIONS!!! Welcome to the world little Charlie. May your heart be filled with the love of your parents who wanted you more than anything else in the world and have loved you starting years before you arrived.
Posted by: Pazel at Dec 3, 2004 11:24:13 AM
Those bitches love you...as we all do.
Posted by: Andreah at Dec 3, 2004 11:34:12 AM
Just put a new item on my Outlook calendar:
November 27
Charlie
Recurrence: yearly
No end date.
Posted by: Menita at Dec 3, 2004 11:44:37 AM
CONGRATULATIONS! Oh, Julie, I'm so happy for you! So so happy! This is just the greatest news ever. Congratulations!
Posted by: violet at Dec 3, 2004 11:48:41 AM
Just had to delurk to tell you that you are one funny lady.
I wandered onto your site a while back an couldn't stop reading. You are a great writer and your amazing humor will serve you well in your journey through motherhood.
I have never held my breath for a stranger like I have in recent days. I can't tell you how glad I am that you are together and well.
Welcome Charlie!!
Posted by: julie2 at Dec 3, 2004 11:51:26 AM
giddy, weeping, happy delurker just saying a big fat WELCOME to Charlie and sending much love to you and yours. WOOT!
I can breathe now.
Posted by: Anna at Dec 3, 2004 11:54:20 AM
I'm so happy, I'm sitting here at my desk clapping like a fool. I hope we get to see pictures... :o)
Thank you for sharing this journey with all of us. I for one have learned so much from you and the other ladies in this blogosphere. Some of it scares the shit out of me, but the rest makes confident that we can accomplish our baby dreams one way or another.
Posted by: Carrie Jo at Dec 3, 2004 12:15:22 PM
Oh, Julie!
I had to go to work right in the middle of waiting for your post yesterday, so Sam called me when you posted and told me all about it. We're both so happy for you!
Posted by: akeeyu at Dec 3, 2004 12:33:36 PM
Oh shit, Julie, the title to this entry freaked me out. From now on, would you mind titling every entry "Everything's fine! And..."? It would be good for my blood pressure.
Also, could you please confirm that Charlie is a boy? I'm afraid I don't trust you not to trick us by presenting little Charlotte by her cute androgynous nickname.
Praying that you and Charlie are soon home and healthy. I can't wait to hear your descriptions of those explosive newborn poops!
Posted by: Summer at Dec 3, 2004 12:41:07 PM
Aw, poop, I was sure it was a girl. That'll teach me to go making predictions now, won't it?.
Hope you're all chillin' and enjoying life...you guys deserve it.
Mmmwah!
Posted by: Christine at Dec 3, 2004 12:43:30 PM
I need to make better friends 'cause most of the assholes I know are just that. Can't wait for the first pictures of Charlie--I'll be refreshing obsessively.
Posted by: Case at Dec 3, 2004 12:54:22 PM
I wanna be an asshole!
Posted by: wavery at Dec 3, 2004 12:56:34 PM
You are my favourite asshole in the whole world, and you are now the mother of all asshole. I feel proud to call you my asshole.
Posted by: Tertia at Dec 3, 2004 1:10:15 PM
"Mommy, why you have tears?"
I have no words to make my 3-year old daughter understand the joy I feel for you as I read yesterday's and today's entry.
Yet another lurker, de-lurking, to send a heart overflowing with love, hope and blessings.
Posted by: Penny at Dec 3, 2004 1:23:58 PM
you're an asshole yourself. just one with pretty pretty toes.
Posted by: terry at Dec 3, 2004 1:25:23 PM
De-lurking to shout a huge CONGRATULATIONS to you and Paul...welcome little Charlie!!
I've been reading, enjoying, and rooting for you for quite some time now...so glad for you that you are okay and that Charlie obviously has his mother's chutzpah.
Posted by: Sarah at Dec 3, 2004 1:27:56 PM
I am just so, so, so happy for you, but I'm so sorry you had all the complications...Charlie, as you know, is a name near and dear to me! Excellent choice!
Posted by: Cecily at Dec 3, 2004 1:46:01 PM
I'm just going to keep following you around from place to place congratulating you and Paul and showering welcoming thoughts on wee Charlie.
Posted by: cori at Dec 3, 2004 2:08:50 PM
Gosh, congratulations and big love to your little FAMILY! Yeah, Charlie (the best name in the world). It always makes me think of Roald Dahl and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" -- that character, Charlie, was so noble and true -- and how else would your lovely child be? Noble, true, HILARIOUS, and wonderful. Congratulations again.
Posted by: Ivana and Michael at Dec 3, 2004 2:46:35 PM
It is so neat to see all the support here. Lying in bed the other night, my husband asked me how Julie was doing... Hah.
Again, we are both very pleased for you and Paul. I hope you have good bras to hold those things in check.
Posted by: LisaN at Dec 3, 2004 2:46:37 PM
Congratulations! And welcome to the world little Charlie!
Much love and hugs to your new family. A family! YAY!!
Posted by: Jen/VintageUterus at Dec 3, 2004 2:46:59 PM
delurking to send you and Paul and Charlie every good wish. Have chewed fingernails to the bone and virtually destroyed keyboard obsessively refreshing Tertia's blog, so utterly overjoyed that you three came through. Please don't stop writing--you mean a lot to a lot of people. OK, now it is Tertia's turn; the world needs more good things to happen to good people.
Posted by: terri c at Dec 3, 2004 2:58:33 PM
*sniff* I'm so wonderfully happy for you. Congrats again.
Posted by: maricar at Dec 3, 2004 3:34:16 PM
I hope that some day Charlie will know just what delight literally arrived in the world on November 27, 2004. I am sitting here with tears in my eyes, gratefulness and hope in my heart, feeling renewed from reading these last two posts on your blog after a particularly shitty day in my journey. Thank you.
Posted by: Sandy at Dec 3, 2004 3:40:57 PM
Huge, massive CONGRATS to you and your family!
Welcome Charlie! :)
Posted by: Sheri at Dec 3, 2004 3:45:59 PM
Another mostly-lurker.
Congratulations, Mom.
It's gotta be amazing to have *you* beyond words, huh?
How about "awesome?" Not as in "Dude, that was an awesome wave." but as in "completely and utterly filled with awe." ?
Welcome to the outside, Charlie! Its cold out here, and a little bright, but you've joined a pretty amazing family, from everything I've read here.
Posted by: Sara at Dec 3, 2004 3:57:37 PM
Don't think I've commented here before, but I've read for a while. My utmost congratulations for you and your new FAMILY! I'm so glad to read a happy ending. Congrats again, and best wishes for your darling new child.
Posted by: beachgal at Dec 3, 2004 4:00:55 PM
Hey, does this mean you can eat pasta now?
Posted by: Debe at Dec 3, 2004 4:29:22 PM
Bursting with happiness for you and C and P. Or maybe it's just gas. Either way, lots of love to you.
Posted by: M. at Dec 3, 2004 4:30:27 PM
May your obsession next year be the same as another great writer...Annie Lamont in "Operating Instructions"...Charlie's neck control!
Happy for your family and as a personal note...thanks for taking such good care of my friend (I knew her first) T. Happy endings to both of your stories rivals the happiness I feel everyday since coming home from Russia.
Sandra
Posted by: Sagrace at Dec 3, 2004 4:32:29 PM
Welcome to the world, Charlie!!! You are, without a doubt, one of the very luckiest little boys on the planet for you have been born to two of the most amazing people on the planet. Here's hoping that all the rest of your days are filled with all the love and good wishes of the first.
CONGRATS JULIE & PAUL!!!!
Posted by: Jen at Dec 3, 2004 4:42:29 PM
Congratulations and welcome to the world Charlie! Wishing you and your family all the best.
Posted by: Alanna at Dec 3, 2004 4:50:06 PM
Welcome Charlie! What a beautiful name. What a beautiful day. Congratulations to the whole family. You are one amazing woman to have come through these last few years the way you have. I've never had a hero. I feel insanely cheesy saying this, but you are my hero (my husband forced me to finally admit this to you).
Thank you for this blog -- it's turned out to be free (and the most effective) therapy for me.
Posted by: Isabel at Dec 3, 2004 5:05:38 PM
Yep, complete strangers, sending love, good vibes, more love, and support. We love you!
Posted by: Chasmyn at Dec 3, 2004 5:08:35 PM
HURRAH Julie... your little guy is here. Welcome Charlie!!!
Posted by: Alana at Dec 3, 2004 5:15:28 PM
O how you scared us! It just proves how much the internet loves you. We were all very concerned, excited, chatty, yeasty, whatever.
One big big internet full support bra.
Can't wait to hear the full story, you must have been scared out of your pants, hee hee. No pun intended.
Posted by: Lauren at Dec 3, 2004 5:17:27 PM
Just so you know, this is not the first time I've been called an asshole today.
But still, I'm very touched.
Posted by: Danae at Dec 3, 2004 6:39:08 PM
I didn't get to be involved in this because I am the true asshole, but I love you very much anyway.
Posted by: Karen at Dec 3, 2004 7:27:14 PM
I am so happy for you and Paul. It sounds like Charlie is a bullheaded little guy.
Posted by: Rebecca at Dec 3, 2004 7:44:13 PM
Ahahahahahahahah! Excellent.
Congratulations again to you all, you've been through so much and you're going to get to go through so much more together.
Obviously. ; )
Posted by: Kelly at Dec 3, 2004 8:06:49 PM
Congrats on the baby. I've been away and just read the news on another website. Please write and tell us how you're doing when you're doing better. I'll be praying for all of you. I love the name Charlie. What a sweet name.
Posted by: jenni at Dec 3, 2004 8:43:53 PM
Hi Julie.
Nope, you don't know me, but I wanted to wish you a huge congrats. I've been addicted to your progress the last several months and I'm so excited for you!
My mom is a neonatal nurse and I hear great stories about preemies all the time. I also babysit twins, Sam and Noah, who were born at 26 weeks and are now 21 months old and doing wonderfully - completely on target and full of life!
You guys are going to do great, too!
Congrats, again, mommy!
Posted by: Abby at Dec 3, 2004 10:59:52 PM
with love as always.
but.
get used to watching movies at home now. not in the theater. :)
Posted by: RainbowW at Dec 4, 2004 2:04:21 AM
Congrats on your beautiful baby. Take lots of good care of yourself, as much as you have time for! I had an early baby myself. It's scary, it's draining...but it comes out great in the end, I promise.
Posted by: Laura at Dec 4, 2004 3:33:16 AM
I've been trying and trying to think of something clever to say, but, well. So instead: whore of an ibex!
(You, not me.)
Posted by: getupgrrl at Dec 4, 2004 10:17:35 AM
"Oh hi!!! What an adorable little boy! What's your name, sweetie?"
"Asshole."
"Well, I'll say!" *departs in outrage*
THIS is what awaits you. And I shall cackle while reading about it.
Posted by: Lioness at Dec 4, 2004 8:50:11 PM
