Friday, January 14, 2011

To blog or not to blog, that is the Question.

I have been wondering lately if I should continue this blog...

I have drastically seen my visitors and comments decline, and I just don't know if I have anything I feel like sharing because I don't know if anyone cares to read it.  When I first started blogging I didn't think I would have many people read my blog, nor did I care all that much.  My focus was to record my joyful daily moments and not let the pain of infertility envelope me.  I soon found that I belonged to a group that welcomed me in with open arms.  Now, I am not so sure if I still belong to this group.  I am still infertile.  I would still like to have other children join my family and I am pretty sure whether that is through infertility treatments or adoption, that it won't necessarily be a walk in the park.  I think we would all agree that we would much prefer to have a baby over a blog.  And while I thought I would do both, --have a blog and enjoy my baby when he came, now I am not so sure.

I don't really feel all that motivated to blog.  I can write in my journal about all the memorable experiences I am having with my boy.  Or I can write them here and feel that no one cares that I shared it.  And maybe that is partly my fault.  My little one has kept me pretty busy and I don't visit too many blogs anymore.  And I don't comment on the ALI blogs as much anymore because I don't want the person whose blog I commented on to then come over to my blog and end up feeling sad that she doesn't have a baby to hug and hold.

So, if you would like to continue reading my blog and having me add to it please let me know.  Also, I would like to know if there are any things in particular you would like to hear about?

20 comments:

  1. I love reading your blog! I'm not the best commenter... but that doesn't mean I'm not here. Ultimately you have to do what is best for you but I'll be sad to see you stop blogging!

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  2. I still follow you and check in regularly to see how mommyhood is treating you. :) I would love to see you continue, but I understand the dilemma you are feeling.

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  3. You know I still definitely want to hear from you and how life is with your little one! Completely understand if you're not able to be on as much anymore, but it's good to hear from you every now and then on how life is treating you guys. Hope you're able to come to a solution that works best for you ((hugs))

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  4. I still read! I would love to hear more about your decision to presue adoption and the feelings that enveloped such a huge choice. You have found joy, but what makes the joy so sweet is the pain and heartache that bring us there.

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  5. don't stop! it is wonderful to read about another adoptive momma's journey and i love watching your story unfold. but, of course, you need to make the decision that is best for you and your family :)

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  6. My dear friend, I check your blog regularly. I enjoy keeping up on what you're doing. Don't be too hard on yourself. Babies take alot of time and energy and it is difficult to focus on many other things when that little one takes so much to care for. You're doing a great job!! -Eliza

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  7. I love reading, our little ones are around the same age. I completely get where you are coming from, as I have totally stopped blogging but I hope you keep going and just hearing about the day to day, knowing that you still have that IF group even after a babe is in the picture is awesome because it is such an awkward place- you don't fit in with the "waiting" but by no means are you a "normal"!

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  8. I am mostly a lurker but wanted to let you know that I do read your blog. I hope that you will keep writing and updating on what is going on in your life! I hope you have a great weekend!

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  9. I like reading your blog too. I never normally comment on anything! So sorry for that!

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  10. I've loved reading your blog, too. It's been nice to see a happy adoption story where things went smoothly - too many wait years and years to be chosen or have the birth parents change their minds after the birth. Or both! Maybe you could just cut back to one post a month or so? And just check in on others' blogs when you're bored and have lots of time on your hands (ha!). Later on when you're ready for #2 still have your place here to document the journey.

    As far as what to write about, I'm curious about how contact with birth parents is negotiated and how you feel about "sharing" your baby. I know some people just send emails or photos and some get together often and even go on vacations together. If we'd gone the adoption route, I know that would have been really hard for me.

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  11. Lurker here - I love reading your blog. It's refreshing to hear the perspective of someone who's grateful and joyful at so many different stages of life. Please keep blogging. At the very least, you will have this record of posts and pictures to look back on when your son is older. Plus, when you find yourself on the journey to child #2, you will find us all still reading and rooting for you. :)

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  12. Hey There! I'm mostly an "in the shadows" kind of blog stalker. I check up on you often and rarely miss a post. I just never comment because... well... I don't feel like I have anything important to add. But I do love reading your posts and hearing about your growing fam.

    *However* I'm not going to tell you to keep your blog. You need to do what you feel. Maybe you need a sabbatical from blogging for a while. I took a 6 month break a while back and returned to blogging when I started missing it. I felt refreshed and happy to blog again - not like the chore it had been.

    Ultimately, give that little man a big kiss and go with your gut. It's usually right.

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  13. I still check in on you every now and then (when I have time), though I don't always comment. It's up to you when it comes to blogging. I write my IF blog mostly just to have some emotional release and also to track down any progress/enlightenment along the way so in the years to come it's easier to look back on how far I've gone he he...I don't have even a few regular commentators for that blog and that's fine.

    What do I wanna read? Whatever you feel like sharing. It's YOUR blog after all and you have the freedom to write about anything. :-D

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  14. I think this is a tough transition you are facing and I feel for you, my dear friend. I still read your blog and appreciate what you have to share. I just plain like you and feel interested in what's going on for you and your family. But I am not surprised to read this entry. It must be so difficult to straddle both worlds: the infertility world and the world of new motherhood. How to reconcile the two, I'm not sure. What I can say is that you are important to me and if you want to keep writing, I will keep reading. And if not, can I please have an email address so I can keep in touch!

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  15. I definitely enjoy your blog. I don't comment as much, but I always read. Please talk about some of the experiences you are having now that you have adopted. (I realize that there is only so much that can be blogged about) But, I'd be interested in some of the concerns and challenges you face as an adopting parent and how you have overcome these challenges. My husband and I are on the waiting list, but I think about my future and what kinds of things we'll face.

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  16. You can't give up now!!! Can't this be a hybrid blog following your continued journey through the pains of infertility while celebrating the joy your little one brings you???

    I read your blog all the time, but I'm not the best commenter. I'll try to get better at that. :)

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  17. I'm reading but not commenting. Something I need to work on.

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  18. Yes, please keep going! I love to read too, even if I don't comment that much. I just like to read happy adoption stories. Light at the end of my tunnel and all that... :)

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  19. When I was a little girl, probably in middle school, someone gave me a diary. I made notes in it sporadically from that point until college. I wish I had written in it every day, because the little snippets I wrote, looking back on it now, well, sometimes they don't make sense or I don't know what I was talking about, but other notes are really special and bring back good memories.

    When I first heard about blogging, I was torn. I have seen the value of journaling for myself, but I wasn't sure about everyone in the world seeing it. I started blogging just for me, though I've tried to be somewhat discreet about what I post.

    Now a side note - I've been actively entering sweepstakes for years and I've won some cool stuff. Over the past few years, I've seen more and more giveaways through blogs. I see bloggers receiving fantastic gifts and experience opportunities. And yes, I want in.

    So now, I'm trying to post more often, to post things that may be appealing both to individual readers and to corporate marketers. I get comments on my giveaway posts (which I fund myself), but not many others. It does get frustrating to write for an audience when no one is reading. Especially since there's not as much personal journaling anymore, it's more like reporting, but what's the point of reporting if you don't have readers?

    Wha- oh yes, I was going to make a point. Maybe your focus has changed and so has your readership. What are your goals for your blog? Do you want to attract a new readership? Or maybe you want to turn this blog into a personal memoir that you and your family can look back on for special moments that may have been forgotten, to remember happy times, sad times, and even these very frustrating times.

    One final note: I joined this month's ICLW in hopes of bringing more people to my blog and maybe gaining some regular readers. I follow a lot of blogs because of the sweepstakes, and I make long, what I believe to be insightful or at least relevant posts, but I get nothing from it. These people don't follow me back. They don't comment on my posts. It all kind of makes me feel like I don't matter. In this world of, what is it now, like 6 billion people, I think we all want to make a little bit of a difference and to be noticed. So I would make this plea and suggestion, that when you read a post that someone obviously put some time and thought into, please follow them on GFC. Visit their blog and make a comment. It'll go a long way to helping them feel good about the time they took to respond to your post, and it may bring them back for more comments.

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  20. By the way, I'm ICLW #104 Rhyme Schemes and Daydreams - auriette.blogspot.com

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