IComLeavWe: October

Welcome back to IComLeavWe. It stands for International Comment Leaving Week, but if you say it aloud, doesn’t it sounds like “I come; [but] leave [as a] we”? And that’s sort of the point. Blogging is a conversation and comments should be honoured and encouraged. I like to say that comments are the new hug–a way of saying hello, giving comfort, leaving congratulations.

Here is the vital information, pure and simple (a more detailed set of rules follows below the list):

• The list opens the 1st of every month. It remains open until the 21st. You can add yourself at any point. The list is open to everyone in the blogosphere–blog writers and/or blog readers.
• Add yourself to the list by filling out this form: The list is now closed for October.  The November list will open on 10/31.
• Click here to cut-and-paste this bit of code to add to your sidebar (if you have the old code from another month, remove it and replace it with this one). You need to add the icon or a link to the current list on your blog (see below) and will not be added until it’s up.
• Commenting kicks off every month on the 21st. Please mark it somewhere (calendar, post-it note taped to your computer…), though I will be sending out an email reminder on the 20th. Commenting week runs from the 21st to the 28th. Every day, leave 5 comments and return 1 comment for a total of 6 comments. You are highly encouraged to choose the blogs you comment on from the participants list below, but this is not required.
• I will send a second email on the 28th to remind you to remove the icon from your blog.
• Read below if you want to find out about Iron Commenters.
• The commenting ends on the 28th. We catch our breath and the whole thing starts again the next month on the 1st. Drop in and out according to what is happening in your life between the 21st and the 28th.

1. Stirrup Queens (twins, books, writing)
2. Banking On It (diui #4, infertility, new blog/old blogger)
3. Hopes and Dreams for Us (taking a break, weightloss, life)
4. I’m a Smart One (surrogacy, infertility, parenting after infertility)
5. Raining Raining (mfi, ttc, marriage)
6. Babymaking 101 (loss, partial mole, waiting to try again)
7. The Journey To 40 And Beyond (adoption, frustrations, randomness)
8. Everyone else but me (ectopic pregnancy, ICSI, support)
9. Dragondreamer’s Lair (parenting, secondary infertility, crafts)
10. Wistfulgirl’s World (infertility, pcos, random)
11. Meepit On Parade (infertility, pregnancy, life)
12. The Life and Times of KitVonD (infertility, ttc, life)
13. In Due Time (life, infertility, pcos)
14. A + B, Waiting for C (unexplained IF, clomid, just beginning)
15. No, I’m Not Pregnant, Just Fat (pcos, azoospermia, stress)
16. Our Someday Family (MFI, emotions, life)
17. The Baby Makin Chronicles (pregnancy after miscarriage, laid off, preparation)
18. Return to Innocence (PPD, PTSD from IF, hope)
19. All Aboard the Pity Boat (infertility, running, life)
20. Can I Get Some Sugar with These Lemons? (endometriosis, infertility, IVF)
21. Life Happens While You’re Making Other Plans (faith, family, IVF)
22. Elana’s Musings (twins, parenting, randomness)
23. The Mis- Adventures of a Modern Day Farmer’s Wife (infertility on a farm)
24. PerchancetoDream (infertility adoption international)
25. Sell Crazy Someplace Else (donor sperm, weight loss, depression)
26. Where the Green Grass Grows (infertility, family, foster care adoption)
27. We got hitched. We bought the 4 bedroom house. Now what??? (miscarriage, infertility, randomness)
28. Keep Going, Keep Going (pregnant after IVF, unicornuate uterus, random thoughts)
29. Are We There Yet (fibroids, MFI, IVF)
30. Trying to Get Knocked up by Another Man (ivf, life, military)
31. Getting There (adoption, life, PCOS)
32. Our journey, but not our plan… (d&C, ivf, LAP)
33. The Yerkes Life ~ Learning to Embrace G-d’s Plans (infertility, ivf, faith)
34. Not The Path I Chose (ivf, pregnancy loss)
35. Wishing4One (ivf, random thoughts, life in egypt)
36. Once an Infertile (endo, PCOS, parenting after IF)
37. A Greater Yes (infertility, embryo adoption)
38. The Crazy See-Saw I Call My Life (endometriosis, infertility, single-ish)
39. No Lingerie Here… (pcos/weightloss, ttc after mc, daily life)
40. Will Not Work for Baby (on a break, PCOS, MF)
41. karlinda (open adoption, adoption process, veganism)
42. Hobbit-ish Thoughts & Ramblings (travel, ttc, food)
43. IF Crossroads (IVF, waiting, coping)
44. Dreaming of Quiet Places (emotional abuse recovery, uncertain family-building future, ponderings)
45. Hubby, Baby and Me…Would Make 3 (infertility, PCOS, life)
46. Adding To The Pack (iui, mfi, pcos)
47. Not a Fertile Myrtle (pcos, life, male factor)
48. Busted Tube: Adventures in Infertility (pregnancy after loss, hope, anxiety)
49. Quel Che Sara (longterm infertility, loss)
50. Faith, Hope & Poop? (family, adoption, life)
51. Confessions Of A College Angel (random, college life, work)
52. Communique (life, infertility, ivf)
53. Mindful Meandering (RPL, FET, infertility)
54. Infertility and Me! (IVF, UK, October)
55. Everything happens for a reason (infertility, miscarriage, ectopic)
56. Romancing the Stone (ivf, newlywed, love)
57. Eggcetera (IUI, IF, life)
58. Infertili- T & A (IVF, MFI, sass)
59. Dancin’ in the Rain (infertility, faith, iui)
60. Loveliest Days (infertility, hope, distractions)
61. Into The Light Again (divorce/separation, hobbies, life)
62. Jenny’s Baby Makin’ Blog (adventures in ivf)
63. Ambivalent Womb (male factor, ivf)
64. Happy-go-Lucky (donor eggs, GLBT issues, life)
65. I-V-F YOU! (ivf, waiting, cysts)
66. Learning through the IF Journey (pcos, faith, infertility)
67. Conception Deception (MFI, IVF)
68. Musings of a Wannabe Mommy (IVF recovery, endometriosis, ramblings)
69. The Bear Bunch (parenting, reviews, random)
70. So Much for Simple and Easy (ttc, ivf, family)
71. Rolling Around In My Head (disability, life, humour)
72. Creating a Family (adoption, infertility, adoptive parenting)
73. The Long Journey (fet, secondary infertility, parenting)
74. In G-d’s Hands (infertility, PCOS, faith)
75. IF You Only Knew (tubal IF, family, endo)
76. Journey Through Infertility and TTC (pcos, infertility, baby)
77. The Desire Of My Heart (miscarriage, depression, pelvic pain)
78. PCOS SOS (infertility, pcos, life)
79. Melissa’s Thoughts and Realizations (MFI, hypothyroid, IUI)
80. Venting Vagina (IUI, infertility, TTC)
81. (In)Fertile Myrtle (ivf, early pregnancy, anxiety)
82. A Woman My Age (open adoption, infertility, life)
83. Hoping For Another Little One (IVF, adoption, family)
84. Half of a Duo, Raising a Duo (parenting twins, being barren, traditional surrogacy)
85. The Mind of ~Ifer (photography, marriage, thoughts)
86. Inconceivable?! (NOA, D-IUI, moving forward)
87. Grace Comes with This Beating (secondary infertility, endometriosis, adoption)
88. Junebug’s Musings (infertility, thriftiness, depression)
89. Infertility and Me (male factor infertility)
90. Wheresmy2lines (donor eggs, pcos, life)
91. The Conceivable Future (RPL, infertility, IVF)
92. Three is a Magic Number (varicocele, general IF)
93. Unquestionable Love (PCOS, glumetza, break cycle)
94. Misconceptions About Conception (primary infertility, feelings)
95. Marla’z Austin Journey (unexplained infertility, ttc, life)
96. One Little Pink Line Short of Sheer Bliss (iui, mfi, ttc)
97. CD1 (mfi, IVF, randomness)
98. Yes, We’re Parents! (infertility, ttc#2, parenting after infertility)
99. I Never Thought It Made Sense Anyway (miscarriage, IVF, waiting)
100. Your Great Life (infertility, miscarriage, stress)
101. Heather Mohr’s Blog (infant loss, grief)
102. IF In Big Sky Country (infertility, IUI, life)
103. Confessions of an (Infertile) Shopaholic (infertility, PCOS, life)
104. My Three Jewish Boys (parenting, judaism, multiculturalism)
105. TheNewLifeOfNancy (life after infertility, schnarkiness, general)
106. TheOtherLifeOfNancy (parenting after infertility, schnarkiness)
107. Life and Love in the Petri Dish (recurrent miscarriage, humor, TTC)
108. Miles Smiles (motherhood, baby, randomness)
109. Hope is Ours (azoospermia, PCOS, infertility)
110. The Joyful Housewife (food, marriage, hoarding)
111. Bozótblog (life, kids, running)
112. Bozót (parenting, running, cooking)
113. A Virtual Hobby Store and Coffee Shop (news, food, music)
114. Endo-a-go-go (DE IVF, endometriosis)
115. Life with Endometriosis and PCOS (pcos, endo, waiting)
116. My Elusive Baby (infertility, miscarriage, mood)
117. The Read Thread (pcos, ovulation, logistics)
118. The Secret Life of Sass and Lex (endo, ivf, humour)
119. Hoping for a Baby (infertility, IUI/IVF, random thoughts)
120. The Closet Infertile (ttc, secondary infertililty, iui)
121. Parenthoodforme (adoption infertility coping)
122. Waiting on Baby Paramore IUI, infertility/PCOS, miscarriage)
123. My IVF Journey (pregnancy loss, infertility, IVF)
124. The Maniacal Mommy (motherhood, spitup, working)
125. CD1 Again (infertility, ovulation, sadness)
126. Wandering Wonderment (life, big-thoughts, family)
127. You Call Me a Bitch Like It’s a Bad Thing (infertility, loss, life)
128. Write, Baby, Repeat (adoption, infertility, writing)
129. Party of Five (pregnancy, 3rd trimester, infertility)
130. Our Surrogacy Adventure (surrogacy, egg donor recipient, cycling)
131. Skrambled (donor eggs, infertility, life)
132. Life, Family and the Pursuit of Sanity (miscarriage, infertility, life)
133. Baby To Be (pcos, ivf, twins)
134. Trying for a Baby (endometriosis, TTC, break)
135. Mama Bear (open, closed, domestic adoption)
136. Mommy in Waiting (ttc, infertility, male factor infertility)
137. Salvageable (IF, marriage, work)
138. Cats with passports (IVF, infertility, living overseas)
139. From IF to When (infertility, IUI, life)
140. That’s My Answer (fun, questions, life)
141. Outside My Head (books, movies, life)
142. Fumbling Toward Fashion (perfume, makeup, fashion)
143. All My Pecadilloes (IVF, MFI, Klinefelters)
144. Teddy Lifeslurper, ttc (humour, IVF, ttc)
145. On (In)fertile Ground (IVF, embryo quality)
146. Airy Persiflage (personal, dogs, theatre)
147. Baby Shmaybe? (infertility, extended family, life)
148. Barefoot and (Finally) Pregnant (pregnancy, infertility, food)
149. Last American Girl Standing (hoping, praying, begging)
150. Bump Fairy (gestational surrogacy, pregnancy, cycling)
151. Donor Eggs Journey (donor eggs, IVF, Thailand)
152. Heeeeere Storkey, Storkey! (twins, life, FET)
153. Eye Heart Internet (ivf, endo, pof)
154. Body Diaries by Lucy (pregnancy, PCOS, life)
155. Tales of My Follies (waiting, day to day, pcos)
156. Peanut noodle (infertility, miscarriage, ivf)
157. A Baby for Al? (infertility, emotions, treatments)
158. Trying Again (infertility, uncertainty, relationships)
159. Offshore Wife’s Life (FET, miscarriage, PCOS)
160. Where the Wright Day Takes You (infertility, ttc, life)
161. Cherish This Baby (ttc, babies, pcos)
162. Steps To Baby (infertility, decisions, life)
163. The Sun’ll Come Out, Tomorrow (I Hope) (miscarriage, ttc, marriage)
164. The list is now closed for October.  A new one will open for November on 10/31.

Q: What if I miss a day?
A: Catch up the next day by doubling your comments–12 comments instead of 6.

Q: What is an Iron Commenter?
A: Not for the faint-of-heart. People who wish to be an Iron Commenter and be entered on the Iron Commenter honour roll need to leave a comment on every blog on the participants list (exceptions are blogs that require you to have a special log-in, such as some LiveJournal accounts or other similar situations). You can spread out this commenting any way you wish over the whole week, but the final comment needs to be left by midnight on the 28th (EST). Reaching Iron Commenter status is done on an honour system. Please email me if you earn Iron Commenter status so I can add you to the wall of honour.

Q: Why do I have to add that bit of code to my sidebar?
A: The code is the latest icon (the icon changes colour every month so you know that you’re on the right list). This month, the icon is cranberry, the next month it will be red, etc. The reason is two-fold: (1) it enables more people to find out about IComLeavWe and (2) it gives you easy access to the current list once the commenting week actually begins and better ensures that you’ll use it. Too many times, people sign up and forget to actually do IComLeavWe and this icon gives you a daily reminder (with the dates on it) every time you open your own blog. The icon is linked back to the current list. On the 28th, remove the icon from your blog. A new one will be created for the next month.

Q: It’s the 23rd and I just saw this for the first time on my friend’s blog! I want to join the list–why can’t I?
A: Because IComLeavWe happens every month, once the list is closed, it’s closed. If you’re finding out about this on the 23rd, you can’t join the current month. But leave yourself a note to check back in a week on the 1st and you can sign up for the next month.

Q: You said the list closes on the 21st. Well, it’s still the 21st where I am. Why aren’t you moving my information onto the list?
A: All dates and times are U.S. Eastern Standard Time (UTC/GMT -5 hours).

Q: What if no one comments on my blog and I have no comments to return?
A: Well, that really doesn’t happen for the most part, but in that case, simply choose another blog and add an additional comment. The goal is to hit 6 comments daily as a minimum. Going over that is fantastic and encouraged.

Q: Mel, my question wasn’t covered at all. What do I do?
A: Email me; I’m quite friendly. It helps to place “IComLeavWe” in the subject line. You could also check this post which contains the history of IComLeavWe and see if you can glean anything there.

Looking for the comment section? It has been closed on this post. Use the form in the directions to add yourself to the list.