Octuplets: Ethics vs a Womans Rights.

You know the story, it's been all over the news. The second set of living octuplets born in the United States about 2 weeks ago. This miraculous birth has sparked many debates about the ethics involved with implanting 8 embryos into one woman.

Some contend that regulating the number of embryos will start the United States on a path to regulating the number of children we can have. To me this is not a rational opinion.

Regulating the number of embryos is not the same thing as regulating the amount of children you have. Lets say that a woman is implanted with 3 embryos. Those embryos could, though very rare, become a set of sextuplets or more. Regulating the number of embryos has everything to do with trying to protect the mother and the babies that she is carrying. The risks are great in cases of high order multiples. You have the risks to the mother as well as immeasurable risks to the babies.

In the case of IVF (in-vitro fertilization), you are able to control how many embryos you implant. In the case of IUI, you cannot control the number of babies. IUI (intrauterine insemination), is the where you normally see high order multiples. In the case of the Gosselins and Hayes families. Two families both already with a set of multiples (in the case of the Hayes family they had two sets of twins), they both had IUI. In IUI, the mother takes fertility drugs to encourage her eggs to drop then when the woman is fertile they insert the fathers sperm. In this case, you have no control over how many babies you will have. You have no control over how many eggs will drop. You have a higher likelihood of having high order multiples. But again the risks are still great. The Gosselins are lucky in that their children have really no lasting effects. They are all healthy and well. In the case of the Hayes family one of their sextuplets has cerebral palsy. In many cases of sextuplets and higher order multiples, not all the babies survive.

So is it worth it? Is it worth it to take that risk when you don't have to? I don't know. For me it's not. But this is where the mother's rights come into play. What if the patient is adamant? What do you do? If I were her doctor I would probably have first mandated counseling. I mean, if you have to go into counseling before you get your tubes tied or an IUD inserted, why shouldn't you have to go to counseling before you have 8 embryos implanted into your uterus?

But I don't know. Are the rights of the mother greater than the law? Should a mother be allowed to put her body and her children through such an ordeal? I think that question is too big for me. Its not just black and white.

Am I mad about the situation? Yes. The more I find out about the mother and her situation, yes, I am mad (probably more so at her doctor than at her). I am frustrated at the doctor who allowed this to happen in the first place. Should my view supersede the rights of the mother? No. But should the doctor who helped her get pregnant be investigated or even to some extent held responsible for this? Definitely.

Still More Changes

So I'm still tweaking. I have added the grey background. I have added the cream background. (I changed it right after I posted this.) I think it makes the colors pop a little more. Hopefully my blog isn't so BLAH anymore and its a little more visually appealing.

I can say that right now, I am very happy with the look. I hope you agree. It took forever to find complimentary green colors that worked with the other colors I had chosen btw.

How Do You Like the New Look?

I have been playing around with the blog today. I don't know if I'm 100% happy with the way it looks right now. I would love to hear some feedback from those that read the blog. Let me know what you think about the changes and what I could do to make it more "eye catching".

First Trip to the Dentist

Kylie had her first official visit to the dentist today. A visit that started with a routine exam and ended with cavities being filled and a tooth being pulled.

As I watched her small little body in the dental chair I was nervous. This was her first trip to the dentist, I didn't want her to be scarred for life. I didn't want her to be afraid of the dental chair. Here was this little, tiny girl in this huge chair with a drill in her mouth and she was...singing!

Yep, that's right, my daughter was singing and making motor boat noises to the amusement of the dentist and his assistant.

I personally hate the dentist. I don't like having other people put their hands in my mouth. My dentist was a nice enough guy but not the most gentle personality. The dentist that Kylie saw today was great. Great demeanor. Great sense of humor. Great bedside manor.

This potentially horrific dental visit, turned into a fun time for Kylie. If I hadn't known better, I would have sworn that they gave her some nitrous oxide. But no, she was genuinely chipper through out the entire visit and I swear even with all the instruments in her mouth, she still tried to talk the dentist's ear off. She is so my child.

But now she has a whole new smile. She really doesn't like it. She says that she will never smile again. I don't know how true that is going to be. But she is fascinated by the hole in her mouth.

I Walked Into the Room and What Did I See?

A monkey sitting on a bookcase...

Yep, she climbed out of her crib this morning and was sitting on her bookcase. Kylie came to get me saying, "Mommy, Mommy, Kaitlynn is sitting on the bookcase."

Now this is not the first time it happened. This has happened before but we lowered her crib as far as it would go and figured that it would not be a problem...until this morning.

My children are very special I tell you what.

Operation Christmas Child Revisit

So a couple of months ago I talked about giving and how we put together a shoe box for Operation Christmas Child.

I love Operation Christmas Child! And this year, we actually got to see the child that our box went to.



Kylie got a huge envelope in the mail from a missionary group called "Build the Future USA". They sent her a lovely letter detailing their mission trip to the Yucatan Peninsula. I particularly like this passage:

"The excitement in their eyes and the smiles on their faces are priceless. The boxes and it's contents are carefully examined, each item is cherished and placed back into the box exactly as it was packed. Some of the children save the paper it was originally wrapped in, picking up every scrap that was torn off when they opened the box."

These children who have very little, cherish this small gift that we gave. I can tell you the look on her face just says it all to me. The look on Kylie's face when she saw the little girl who received her box was priceless. It makes it all worth it for me and I can't wait to do it with both of my girls this year.

If you want to find out more about how you can give to Operation Christmas Child and Samaritan's Purse, please go to www.samaritanspurse.org.

January Reflections

I know its been a long time since I updated.

January was one hectic month for me and my family. It was the start of the new year, I was so gung-ho on my resolutions that this would be a good year. Well, it didn't start off that way.

On January 21st, my Grandma's birthday, Jeff was laid off. I was so distraught. I was upset. I couldn't understand why God would let this happen to us. Thank God that night was prayer service at my church. I went for the first time and I got loved on so much by three wonderful ladies, Ms. Beverly, Ms. Kathy and Ms. Gail. They prayed with me after service and since then God has done a true work on my attitude about this situation. I actually feel good and okay about the lay off. Jeff is getting back into the military. I truly believe that this a good decision especially with the current state of the economy. We were so excited to be out and be "stable" but life since we have gotten out has been anything but.

I am excited for the new prospects for this year. I am determined to start my own business and with the stay of execution on homemade children's products I feel that I can finally start the business that has been tugging at me these past couple of months.

Another traumatic event this month was Kylie deciding to knock her teeth out with her wooden play hammer. This was right after Jeff was laid off and I was again upset as to why this would happen now of all times. But, God again did a work and gave me the last spot in the free children's dental clinic. Wow, what an amazing God I serve. So now Kylie can get her teeth fixed and I don't have to pay anything! God is good!

I feel generally good and uplifted despite my current circumstances. And I can actually say that since I went to that prayer meeting, I haven't been feeling as blue as I had been. God is truly doing a work in my life right now and it feels AWESOME.

I guess maybe for me, my awesome year didn't start with the Christian calendar but with the Chinese calendar. My Dad pointed that out on the phone today. In the Chinese calendar, the new year started on January 26th.

So I look forward to what else this year has in store for me. I know that with the current state of things, I cannot plan for anything. I just have to wait and see what God is going to do in our lives. Which is scary but exciting as well.