It is not easy, for anyone

Q: What is worse than being infertile? 

A: Having a sister who is super-fertile.

It is true, being infertile is bad enough, but having a super fertile sister makes it even harder.

But there are always two sides to every story. And even though it sucks beyond description to be infertile, it sucks quite bloody badly to be the sister to the infertile person.

I am super-infertile. My sister is super-fertile. Neither of us chose the way we were, and it is neither of our ‘fault’ that we are what we are.

It was hard for me, being infertile. It was devastatingly hard. It was months and years of pain, bitterness, longing, aching, and anger. In the beginning I tried to contain that bitterness and anger, but after a while it just got too huge for me. I couldn’t contain it anymore and eventually it exploded out of me like hot, molten lava, singeing everyone in its path. It was impossible to escape the fall out; at the same time as it was destroying me it was burning all those around me. 

Very few people in my life escaped the pain, but the ones closest to me were the ones who got burnt worst.

And no one was closer to me that my sister Melanie. Melanie is two years younger than I am and has always been my best friend. Since little, we were best friends, fiercely loving and protective of each other. When we were 5 and 7 years old she punched a bigger girl in the nose for daring to be nasty to me. We were inseparable; we even lived together when both her and I were single. I lived with her when she was a single mom to her first born.

And then along came infertility and I started to withdraw from everyone, including her. And while my life had stalled miserably, her life carried on as normal. She met someone and soon after that, just after my second negative IVF, she got pregnant with her second child. 

It was very very hard for me to deal with that pregnancy. Very hard. Here I was, trying my heart out to get pregnant and she gets pregnant with an ‘oops’ baby (although very much loved).

And so I withdrew even more. And this hurt her terribly. I knew it hurt her but I couldn’t do anything about it. Infertility was killing me inside, my heart slowly dying from the heartache.

Along the way I lost two more babies.

And then finally, I got pregnant with the boys. At last, a potential end to the years of pain and isolation. And then Melanie got pregnant again. She was happy that we were pregnant together. I was terrified. I was convinced that if we were pregnant together I would somehow lose the pregnancy and once again I would have to go through yet another birth in the family barren and angry.

I was right. I lost Luke and Ben. She delivered her perfect, full term beautiful third child a few months later.

None of this was her fault; none of this was my fault. I couldn’t and didn’t expect her to put her life on hold because of my infertility. It wasn’t her fault I was infertile. It wasn’t her fault she was so fertile. She had done nothing wrong. I knew all of this logically, but it didn’t make too much difference. I couldn’t bear to be around her. I couldn’t bear to see her pregnant belly, her deep earthy maternal being, it was just too painful for me, I could hardly breathe. And so I withdrew even more. I could hardly speak to her. And it hurt her terribly. We had gone from being so close to being so distant.

And even though I have been blessed with my beautiful babes, that hurt has lingered on, not for me, but for her. I am no longer angry, I am no longer hurting, and I truly have let go of the bitterness I felt. But what I didn’t realize was just how insidious this fucking terrible affliction is. I got a letter from my sister recently explaining how she feels:

 

Anyway here comes the NB bit. (Remember these are my feelings and my reality)

Imagine if I went through the hell and pain and loss you have been through for the past 7 years or so.

How would YOU feel? Sad of course! Upset, guilty, heartbroken, devastated for me.

How could I not share in the infertility hell after being your best friend for my whole life.

Lets say you lost your leg and I just lost a foot. The leg is far worse but wow that foot hurts pretty bad too.

I need to confess to you and ask forgiveness for my anger for the past long while.

I have been angry with you for a long time. Rightly or wrongly, I just have. You were so angry with me and I felt it was so unfair. We each hurt on our own and you were even furious if I mentioned how painful and difficult it has been for me. Please don’t be angry now. Tertia it has been so hard. There should be a support group for people who love and live with those affected by infertility. 

This morning I was reading my bible and praying about it and read Matthew 5 vs 22 to 26. I need to ask God to forgive me for being cross for so long and ask you of course.

This sounds terrible (once again don’t go nuts) but I have wanted you to acknowledge my pain and apologize for hurt unwittingly caused. 

This makes me feel guilty but I have been so cross. Was. Am now at peace. I hope you can truly forgive me in turn and release any anger. And if you have no anger any more, then tell me that. I miss you. I hate the distance, I don’t know how to bridge it.  The past will always be there and what we have gone through can never go away. And I do say WE. Although you felt you did it alone, I sorrowed right along side you. I wish you could see in my heart. Believe me. Believe my sadness.

I know you still have pain in your heart and miss Ben forever. I do too. I DO really.

If I lost a baby, how would you feel? That’s how I feel. 

You have used what you have been through to help others and share info and I am doing the same. I can genuinely grieve with someone who has miscarried or had a stillbirth. I know to say the right things or not say anything at all.

I made many mistakes with you along the way but don’t ever question the extent of my feelings and shared pain.

Anyway, this is supposed to be a short letter.

So, I am very sorry for being so crazy cross for so long.

I love you.

 
So much emotion, on both sides. I hate infertility, HATE IT. It is a fucking terrible disease, a cancer that spreads so far and wide.

I replied to her:

 
Melanie, I know you went through a hard time too! I really, honestly thought I had admitted to you, and to the general public in fact, how hard it must have been to be my sister. It must have been really hard for you, I know. It was hard for you, for mom and dad, for my friends, for my co-workers, and of course, it was especially hard for us.

It is hard being angry all the time, angry, bitter, sad, mad. It eats you up. No one chooses to be like that. And because I am a bright girl I knew the anger wasn’t fairly directed at anyone, so I tried my best not to focus it directly on anyone. But it was impossible for me to contain all that emotion all the time. So yes, it did spill over, and for that I am really sorry. 

I just want to say one thing. That even you, you who has lived this life alongside me, you who has more experience about this world than most other ‘normal’ people have, even you can’t even begin to imagine the hell I went through. It.Was.Hell. Infertility was hell, beyond your worst nightmare. I am amazed I made it through sane. It was very very hard. But it is over. And I really have moved on.

I’ll say it again. I am really sorry for any and all hurt I caused you, it must have been hard to be my sister through that time.

And again, above all, I love you. You are my sister, my family, my blood. I am always bonded to you. Even if you are a happy-clapping, bible-quoting, meal-making fartbag.

I love you

xxxxxxxxx

 
I sometimes think that people who haven’t lived through the infertility hell can’t and don’t really fully appreciate what a living hell it is. It seems so easy – ‘just get over it’, ‘just don’t think about it’, just whatever. But it is so very hard.

Anyway, I wanted to share this with you, for two reasons. One to show that although infertility is very very hard for those of us living through it, it is also hard for those who love us. And secondly, I want to publicly acknowledge my sister’s pain and apologize for the pain I caused her. And also to apologize to everyone else in my life, I know I must have been very hard to be around. Thank you for sticking with me.

I am sorry Melanie, I really am.

I love you.

Thank God it is all over.

 

(This blog post is posted with permission from my sister.  I am sure that none of you will do this, but just in case someone feels tempted in anyway, I will be deleting any comments that are in any way nasty about my sister. Not that I think you will, but Melanie was nervous that people would say or think nasty things)

 

Comments

[shinaidy]

I love that you and your sister did this. I love that she wrote that letter for you and for her. I never thought of how hard it was for those around me until I got out the other side.

In fertility is a curse. God knows I know that pain.

[4katnap]

Thanks you for sharing. And thank your sister for sharing and for understanding that such a deep pain can make you do and say things that hurt the people you love. Please especially thank her for reaching out and wanting you to know how much she still loves you and wants to be your sister.

P&PT's that you both get back on track and can have a stronger bond than before.

[talushki]

Thank you for sharing! I always appreciate how much you open your heart to us. And thanks to Melanie too!

[korin]

I'm glad you shared this. Makes me wonder if I should repair some bridges too.... I'm so glad you and your sis have reached out to eachother. Love to you both.

[GZ]

Just a few days ago my husband said something that sounded very true to me. "It doesn't matter how many hours you spend in a drivers education classroom, or how many books you read on the subject, there is just no way you can learn to drive a car until you get behind the wheel and drive. The same is true for infertility. You can sit in the classroom, you can watch the infertiles, but until you've actually sat behind the wheel, there is no way that you can really know about it."

That said, It sounds like you have a wonderful, wonderful sister. One who understands about saying the right thing or nothing at all, one who cares enough about your sadness to hurt right along with you. How lucky both of you are!

[Coral]

Melanie's letter reduced me to tears.

Having had a 'split' with my sister, I know excatly what you are both going through. You will have a period of feeling like you are 'pussy footing' around each other for a while, but you will get that closeness back. Promise. love to you both!

[RainbowW]

if any americans think or say nasty things let me know and i'll open up a texas-sized can of whoop ass.

and tertia can tell you that everything ... and i do mean everything ... is bigger in texas. including our cans.

btw, people who have been through infertility get it, and some family members of people who've been through it get it. what some who have not reached the end of their infertility journey, and many others looking in from outside infertility's insane hell, do not understand is that sometimes, healing does not arrive when the babies do.

[Natt]

Me and my sisters all seem to have different types of infertility. Mine is PCOS - I just simply cant fall pregnant on my own. Luckily, Clomid worked for me and I am now 37 weeks.

My older sister suffers from miscarraiges. She can get pregnant, she just cant keep it.

My younger sister is a whole new ball game. She has two wombs and two cervixes - one ovary feeding to each uterus. No one knows whether she will even fall pregnant - or if she does whether she will go full term.

So which is worse? The girl who cant get pregnant without help and goes through 2 years of infertility - or the girl who falls even whilst on the pill but cant get passed the blighted ovums? Or the one who still doesnt know?

I agree, infertility sucks. Me and my elder sister have never been close sadly. But we both fell pregnant within weeks of each other. Our bridges were being built - we phoned each other weekly and had a great time planning things. Then my scan went fine - but hers didnt. She asked my mum to tell me not to contact her at all. I agreed to this - and didnt hear anything for 5 months.

She wouldnt speak to my mum about our baby at all. For 5 months she didnt even want to know that we knew the sex.

In the last fortnight though, things are beginning to heal. She sent an anniversary card to me, hubby and bump. She has phoned my mum to tell her she will be coming down to visit us all in the summer.

But you know who I think suffers the most in our family? My mum. She has had to deal with all three of us - and so much guilt. None of our infertilities are her fault - but she cant help but feel so bad at watching her girls struggle. Shortly after our treatment worked, she cried in her kitchen - I remember her telling me how sad she'd been to have had three children with such problems. She has never had infertility problems, and struggles the most to understand it all.

Wow, sorry I really didnt mean to ramble so much.

Just saying, yes I agree infertility sucks. And it can affects sisters in so many ways. I really hope that you and your sister can now rebuild things and become as close as you were again - but with that new respect of knowing everything is in the open. xx

[Renee]

I can understand where you're coming from. When my husband and I were trying to have a child, a whole bunch of women we knew got pregnant - including my 39 yr. old sister-in-law with her first child. When I finally got pregnant during the end of her pregnancy, I felt elated. It then seemed especially cruel yet somehow fated that I was diagnosed with a blighted ovum. To make matters worse, my doctor did a sloppy job with the D&C and I had to have it repeated in the hospital, as luck would have it on the very day that my nephew was born.

The next day, my husband said how exited he was to be an uncle and asked me why I didn't seem happy to be an aunt. Big mistake! I broke down sobbing and starting yelling at him. I am ashamed to admit it, but I would have been happy if the baby had been stillborn or had some serious problem (he was perfectly healthy). I resented the baby and his parents, and it was a real challenge for me to attend his christening. I prayed about it though, and while reading "The Purpose-driven life", the passage of the day was about the minor and major tests that come our way in life and test our commitment as Christians. I thought, OK this is one such test and I have to rise to the challenge. I made it through the ceremony and reception alright, although it was hard.

I still felt resentment towards that family, though, even after finally having a baby of my own. I get pictures and updates about my nephew and automatically get a pang of envy. I have to stop myself and say, wait a minute! You've got your own beautiful little boy who is developing well, there's no reason for you to be resentful. It's getting better though, and I'm happy that my son will have a cousin.

[Working From Home Today]

Say or think nasty things? No way! Well, I guess it does happen in the blogosphere. But the only thing I was thinking was how beautiful a relationship you two have. Thank God you both have the guts to work it out. That you lived through all of that and came out the other side, still able to lovingly call each other 'fartbags', is wonderful.

[Jodie]

Ah, I see your sister is as scared of the Tertia mafia as the rest of us lol! But seriously, if someone dissed my sister I wouldn't just delete the comment, I'd want to delete them ;)

You two have an amazing relationship to come through all this the way you have. Loving, dignified, mature gorgeous human beings.

Thanks for sharing that.

[Bridgette]

Its good that you two were able to talk about this. We are not big talkers in my family, so the infertility thing hasn't ever been mentioned by anyone but me. I'm glad you and your sister were able to get this out in the open.

You really are both amazing people.

[colicmommy-1]

To Natt:

Regarding your sister with uterus didelphys. Please email me. There's no reason why she can't have kids. I'm part of a large group of women online with uterine abnormalities. I personally know at least 5 women with UD who have had healthy, full term kids in the last 4 years. You need the right doc. You need the right monitoring. You need maybe a cerclage or bedrest, but with PROACTIVE care, it's very do-able. (Unless she has some other issue unrelated to her uterine shape).

Please email me or have her do so!! It's so isolating to have a weird uterus that all the doctors want to look at and poke at, and you feel like you are a freak, and even explaining it to anyone feels like something you couldn't bear to do!!

[Louise]

Beautiful letter from Melanie! I cried as well.

[Lisa]

That was lovely. I had the same type of situation with my sister who is also one of my best friends. She had an oops pregnancy after I struggled with infertility for four years...in fact I found out about her oops just two weeks after I had a miscarriage (after several IVFs and at 14 weeks) so we had a strained relationship for a long time. Then I finally had the child I longed for for so long and now we're dealing with it again but on a different level. My child has special needs and hers is "normal". So I'm dealing with all those same tendencies that I did when I was facing infertility. It sucks so bad that the pain overflows and affects the relationships with those we love most.

[Kim]

OMG you are so lucky to have such a lovely sister. Not everyone has someone so caring as a sibling. It just shows that all this does have an effect on others too - especially those close to us.

[jenny]

Wow, you sure know how to make a girl cry. Thank you so much to both you and Melanie for sharing. I hadn't given much thought to the lasting affects of my anger and sadness on my friends and family. I guess I just assumed that when I felt better, they would too. Your sister must really value your relationship to have been so honest. Your lucky to have each other.

[christina]

The distance infertility creates between fertile and the nonfertile is just another part of the horror of infertility.

And it sucks.

Hopefully, you guys are on your way to a better place in your sibling relationship.

It gives me hope that the fertiles I have distanced myself from will forgive me one day.

[Jessica]

I love your sister. What a sweet, heartfelt letter. You guys made me cry. It must be so, so hard for everyone touched by infertility, whether personally or through loved ones. Thank you both for sharing this.

[Becki]

How could anyone dare to write anything nasty about your sister? I think those letters show how much you love each other, that you're brave enough to write about your hurts in order to heal your relationship. I'd love to have either or both of you for sisters.

[Kathleen Marie]

This is just precious. There is nothing more precious than love and forgiveness and in the end it will draw you closer. I have a sister who is infertile and me and our two other sisters are very fertile. She is now a foster parent to older kids.

What has been hard for her is two neices who have been unmarried who have children. Both thought they might give up their babies for adoption. Of course my sister wanted the babies. With my daughter the state my sister lived in said her husband was too old (rediculous he is just over 50). My sister took the blame out on me. She had to lash at someone. My daughter kept her baby and we are eternally grateful.

Know we are praying! God Bless!

[J]

One thing that comes to me from this piece is that we DO NOT know how much pain someone else feels. EVER! You cannot say that your sister has never known pain as "bad" as your pain.

You say " Infertility was hell, beyond your worst nightmare."

You cannot begin to imagine her pain or to measure it. I love that you two have made up but I feel sad that you decide for her that she has never felt as much as you or that she cannot imagine your kind of pain. Maybe she hasn't or can't, but how would you really know?????

This is not meant as a downer on you but just as something I personally struggle with - when others presume to know or understand exactely how I feel. Impossible and it diminishes the sense of compassion and shared support that is possible between two people. I'd rather hear that someone sees I'm in great pain - just for what it is - than that they tell me their pain felt worse than mine.

[JennyK]

It's never a good thing to play the "whose pain is worse" game. I'm moved that you and Melanie have been able to communicate about this -- it just shows how deep a bond you two really have. Be thankful for that, it's very rare.

[Steph McG]

I think it's great that you and Melanie are talking about infertility. I had many similar problems with my family related to infertility, and I have not yet been able to work them out. I am finally pregnant with twins after 3 years of infertility and several failed IVFs, but I have had lots of problems, and the doctors are not sure if my babies are going to make it. My sister, who was pretty supportive during infertility when my parents and brother were not, has not been supportive at all during my pregnancy. She's pregnant with her first child, which is due in 3 weeks, and she has been completely insensitive to my pregnancy-related problems (she even told me that maybe it would be better if one of my babies died). So I have a lot of things to work out with my family, but I think it's going to take time. I'm glad to know that you are able to work things out with your sister because it gives me hope that I may be able to work out my differences with my family members some day.

[Summer]

Though your IF times were hard on both of you and caused pain on both sides, how wonderful it must be to have such a relationship with your sister. You are both so lucky to have each other. Thanks to the both of you for sharing your struggles.

[Heather]

Thank you and your sister for sharing this. It kind of opened my eyes a bit. I know how it feels for me, but I'm not sure how it feels for those who know me and hear me talk about this infertility crap every single day. My sister is also the super fertile one while I'm the super infertile one.

[j]

This really made me cry, and it really hit home. Your sister's letter was so beautiful. It is impossible to understand the pain of IF if you haven't live it, just as I can never imagine the pain of losing Ben, because I've never had a loss like that. When I had my first miscarriage, I told a good friend of mine at work what was happening, and she burst into tears -- not for me, but because she so desperately wanted to get pregnant, but was still single, and not able to meet anyone, despite herculean efforts. She said "at least you can try and get pregnant, maybe I'll never even meet anyone, and I'll never even get to try." First I felt guilty and insensitive, and then I felt angry. How was it that I was comforting her while I was bleeding and cramping and losing my baby? I'm sure you can imagine what happened. I keep trying and failing, and end up doing shots for my first IVF at her wedding reception, full of hope now that we've brought out the big guns. I end up having a miscarriage, and am told that I may need donor eggs. I find out about it just as she is finding out she got pregnant on her honeymoon. I knew because I snooped in her office, and saw in her calendar "ultrasound appt." and "due date." I had to see her every single day. I had to watch her belly grow, hear people congratulate her. She avoided telling me she was pregnant until long after I knew she was pregnant, which I found hurtful and humiliating. She said insensitive things, without meaning to, she just didn't know what to say. I seethed with anger and hurt. Raged with it. I would run down the hall to avoid her, hide behing a file cabinet. Friends who had not experienced infertility thought I was a terrible person for not being able to be happy for her or friends with her through this. I felt anger at them, too. When I heard she was disappointed because she'd had a girl and not a boy, I HATED her. She tried to be understanding, wrote me heartfelt notes, bags of candy, but I couldn't bear it, didn't even respond. I had to see a therapist to deal with my feelings. A therapist who only treated infertility patients, who totally validated how I was feeling. I knew she hadn't stolen my baby, and hadn't done anything wrong. But it hurt so badly. We drifted apart, barely ever spoke, she moved to a different office of our firm, I never saw her any more. Well, I went on to have my baby, and when we saw each other, we tried to act like everything was normal now. But it still wasn't. When she called to tell me about her second pregnancy, I congratulated her, and wanted to cry, even though I already had a son. She was symbolic of everything I hated about infertility, I focused my anger and hurt on her. Now, my family is done, my infertility behind me. I have my son, and my twins. I am too old probably to have kids anyway. And I have moved to the same office she works in, and we are friends again. We never talk about the years we didn't speak. Now we are just two moms with kids of similar ages. But I wonder how she feels about that time. I feel badly about it now. If only I could have known how it would turn out, I wouldn't have had to have such rage. Now, I can imagine that it probably was really hard being single, and fearful of not ever getting to find out if she was fertile or not, to not have options. That being single was for her a kind of infertility, that I couldn't understand, because I wasn't there. I doubt we'll ever talk about what happened. But it will always be there. It is good that you got it out in the open, and I bet over the years, you and she will get past it more and more. I think the pain of my infertility is leaving me as I get older, because I'm probably too old to have a baby now anyway, so I don't feel quite as defective as I did before.

One last thing, and I'm sorry this is so long. Just as your sister can never truly understand the depth of your pain, remember that you can't understand hers, either. Hurting for someone else, and feeling totally helpless and isolated is probably awful in a way that you can't understand if you haven't been there. It is much harder for me to see someone I love in pain and not to be able to help than for me to be in pain myself, sometimes. Like the ache I felt for my husband when we had a miscarriage. I hurt more for him than I hurt for me. It is not a contest, who hurt more.

[Judy]

Wow.

[mijk]

Crying. just plain crying for al the infertility pain that has been around me and the friends Ilost in my pregnancy because they just couldn't bear it..

[Alison B.]

We tried for four years to have a baby. We turned to adoption from China and have a beautiful little girl that is the light of our lives. Meanwhile my sister gets pregnant on the first try (that's common in our family) and delivers a lovely little boy who is now 7. Last year, she began trying for a second baby. On the 3rd month she tried, she complained at how long it was taking, a bit tongue in cheek. I told her to call me after a year of trying. Two months later she was having a miscarriage. Then another, and a another. 3 miscarriages and I had said that awful little snipey thing. I apologized, but she hadn't even remembered that I said it, but I did. As an infertile, I should know better! It turned out after buying a 400 year old house, her whole family was registered blood lead levels off the charts, which they've since remedied. She is now 14 weeks pregnant and it all looks good. I'm so grateful it's all gone well this time and I can't believe how superstitiously I felt that I had jinxed her when I love her so much.

[Tara]

Thank you for posting this. I'm so glad Melanie was able to be honest with you and you're so right--infertility is also hard for those who love us. We infertiles can be a bitter bunch.

[Kay/Hanazono]

Oh this made me cry. I have a cousin my age who had a baby last month and I haven't been able to bring myself to even send her a card. I'm sure she is hurt and confused -- we both suffered through infertility together, both got pregnant around the same time, and then both suffered losses within a couple of weeks of each other.

And then our paths diverged -- she fell pregnant on a natural cycle last fall after we had just had three failed cycles in a row. She knows what it feels like to be me, but for some reason I think that because she got a happy ending, she will never truly understand what it is like to be me. Plus, I feel like it's not like she doesn't have enough people to be happy for her -- she and her baby are all the family can talk about now. So why would it matter if I've "abandoned" her?

But, reading your sister's letter, I know that it probably *does* matter to her. A lot. Sigh.

Thank you to both you and your sister for sharing your stories and for giving me something to think about.

[JennG]

Wow, wow, wow! I'm near tears after reading both letters and I'm both in awe and thankful that you would share such an intimate peek into your lives as sisters. I've taken two things from this post. One, there is no bond like the bond of sisters. Look at what you two were able to overcome, that is huge. Thank you for being an example of true, deep love. And second, thank you acknowledging that even though us "fertiles" may not understand what you're going through, it doesn't mean that we don't hurt alongside you and wish for things to be different. Again, thank you! What a great post!

[Adge]

It is a honest and difficult confession. Your sister should know that it only speaks well of her to be able to admit your own faults and feelings. I am happy for both of you that you are able to work through it.

[mel]

Oh, tears, rapid blinking-can't let my co-workers see me cry!

Aren't sisters lovely? Glad you two are bridging the hurt.

[Pam]

EXCELLENT entry, Tertia! I just loved it, and so did my infertile sister :). Infertility affects SO many people, not just the one experiencing it. You captured that very well. I hope that your relationship with your sister only gets stronger and stronger from now on.

[Stephanie]

No one who reads you would ever judge you or your sister. We are here for support and understanding. Nothing else.
Love to you both.

[Mel]

I think it's amazing (and very healthy) that you two can speak this openly about it. I know too many family members who just...slink past the topic. They never address the rift between us.

[Stephanie]

As a former 2IF myself, with a loving sister, your post reduced me to a blubbering mass of tears...it didn't help that I had a cry fest on the verge of exploding anyways.....but I never thought of my sis's feelings about it all.....because thru MINE, she was my biggest cheerleader, and the 2nd person I told every time I would get pg, and the first person I'd call when I would lose the baby. So I doubt she felt that I did that to her, I however, AM going to ask her just so I know, and to apologize asal IF I did hurt her......when in the midst of IF, we are so self consumed that we don't think of other's feelings.....and now, here on the OTHER side of IF, it's a whole different view...thank you for the food for thought!
HUGS!
S

[Monica]

Having lost so many dear friends because of my own infertility bitterness, I adore your sister for understanding and for loving you through that time. I know I hurt so many around me with my anger, but I wish for one second they had been able to step back and see the big picture from my perspective. Even after apologizing to a few of them, the relationships are lost forever. It breaks my heart further.

Thank you for sharing these beautiful letters.

[Shari]

I am sobbing. I thought I was the only one who had withdrawn from family members while they turned up pregnant again and again while I struggled. In the five years I have been trying, my brother, cousin, and aunt have had babies and even moved on to the second completely unexpected baby. The only one I have managed to stay in contact with is my brother, because to lose him would have hurt worse than what I'm feeling now.

My aunt and cousin will deliver next month and I am already trying to figure out how to get out of Christmas. I can't do it. There are scores of soft little dumplings everywhere in my family now and I can't. No one understands. I am the only one in the entire extended family who has ever just not been able to. And no one gets that it is killing me. Thank you for letting me see that I am not the only one, though it has felt that way for so long.

[kris]

Wow Tertia. That was really beautiful.

[shannwa]

This is my first time commenting. I discovered the site from a link of favorites on dooce.com

I think it was a incredibly brave thing for you and your sister to address your personal issues with each other due to your infertility and Melanie's "super-fertility". Both letters were touching and heartfelt and they brought tears to my eyes.

I'm so glad that you came out the other side, and have your beautiful Kate and Adam. My heart breaks for you for all the loss you've experienced.

I'm dealing with my own issues with fertility. It seems that we are experiencing seconday infertility and it's hard to deal with when almost every one of our friends is newly pregnant or about to deliver. Thank you for sharing your life with us.

[Jenny]

This rings soo true to me.
Everything.

These same feelings/emotions/situations happened with many and most of my friends and family and because we are adopting haven't really gone away yet. I hope to get to a point where I can mend some of these relationships but sometimes people don't believe you are starting to feel better.

Weird cause this post was me, all consumed pain, isolated myself and unable to deal with anyone's life.

I am glad you have healed and are able to mend and move forward with your relationships. it is a wonderful thing to move forward again.

[em]

This letter made me cry. I'm the sister who got pregnant easily. My sister dealt with the infertility. It is so tough for everyone - but I know it was always much, much harder for her (she eventually got her baby...) Thank you for sharing. I'm glad you are still so close.

[Dalyn]

Tertia -
I am impressed with both you and your sister. I am not what infertiles would consider infertile, but neither is it easy for me to have babies. I have no problem getting pregnant, and up to about 28-30 weeks I can be pregnant, and then its weeks of bedrest and amost daily doctor's visits to stay pregnant. That being said, however, I have two healthy children, and although I can never have another without running a very huge risk of me or the baby dying, I KNOW that TWO is so much more than so many are able to have.
This doesn't, however, give me the correct insight into infertility to say that "I know how it feels" because it's not the same thing. I have a friend who has suffered horribly from infertility. We had started trying originally about the same time, and my son was born before their first pregnancy, and then she and her husband lost the baby at 14 weeks and it came close to destroying them, as it had taken so much for them to conceive. She sent me an email telling me that she would not be coming to see my baby, that she didn't want to hear about him, and that she didn't even want to talk to me. While I cannot truly understand, I tried to do for her what she needed, and gave her all the space she asked for. I saw her for the first time after my son was born when my son was almost a year old. While I was prepared for her hurt and pain, I was not prepared for how cruelly mean she was to my son, for the things she said to him and about him, things I won't repeat. We didn't speak again for quite a long time.
Then she did get pregnant, and that pregnancy went well. I was invited to her baby shower, and I went, feeling so very happy for her. I was pregnant with my daughter at the time. I blew off her belittling remarks about my pregnancy, and congratulated her on hers. When her daughter was born, I was thrilled for her.
However, it is now almost two years later. I am tired of hearing how much smarter/better/more amazing her daughter is than mine (or any other) children. I am tired of hearing how she is a genius, how she is the best looking, etc. I am tired of the belittling remarks that my children STILL receive. This 'friend' and I no longer speak but once every six months or so, and I no longer read her emails. I miss our friendship.
I am so glad that you and your sister have been able to mend your fences. I wish you the best of luck continuing to do so. You are both strong and amazing women.

[Dalyn]

I realized that I put my old (much-spammed) and unused email addy. In case anyone wants to send hate mail to an 'ununderstanding fertile myrtle" I wanted to put my actual email.

[sumhowe]

Thanks. I have to go meet my new nephew tomorrow (Us. Two years of trying and nothing). I am very confused and angry and you made me feel like I was not abnormal.