IComLeavWe: June 2011

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.  The new list will open on 6/30
• 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. I Want to be a Daddy (male infertility experience)
3. The Mud and the Lotus (cat, pain, sci-fi)
4. In Due Time (life, infertility, college student)
5. It Is What It Is (Or Is It?) (domestic adoption, adoptee, life)
6. Our Twisty Turny Journey (endometriosis, donor egg, orm)
7. Bio Girl (parenting, infertility, FET for baby #2)
8. Kate; Uncensored (life, depression)
9. Wonderfully Ordinary (parenting, infertility, life)
10. Dragondreamer’s Lair (parenting, secondary infertility, crafts)
11. Somewhere in the Middle (infertility, adoption, waiting)
12. Bring On The Babies… (miscarriage, IVF, infertility)
13. Someday (pregnancy after ivf)
14. Survive and Thrive (infertility, decisions, EFT)
15. Navigating Cyberloss (grief, loss, cyberloss)
16. Cats with passports (baby after IVF, FET, autoimmune issues)
17. As Good As it Gets? (infertility, parenting, TTC/adoption=confusion)
18. Yolk: A blog about eggs and sperm (pregnant, humour, infertility)
19. Trying for a baby (endometriosis, FET #2, IF)
20. Here We Go Again (babyloss, parenting, random)
21. My Daily Mooosings in the Netherlands (simplifying life, culture, Netherlands)
22. BattleFish (life, infertility, trying to conceive)
23. Because Two People Fell In Love (loss, love, puppy)
24. Baby, Borneo, or Bust… (parenting, TTC #2, travel)
25. The Port of Indecision (RPL, DOR/POF, smartass)
26. MommyForward (motherhood, self-improvement, adoption)
27. Joyous Birdie (de, ivf,loss of one twin, 49 y/o, pregnant)
28. Created Family (unexplained infertility, ttc #1, grad school)
29. Ready for my baby bump (TTC#1, life and everything in between)
30. Journey to Baby G (ivf, hope, anxiety)
31. Meier Madness (PCOS, gardening, life)
32. A Woman My Age (adoption, infertility, parenting after 40)
33. Babylicious Tales (parenting, newbie, monkey)
34. Praying for a Little Miracle (TTC, miscarriage, crafts)
35. A Field of Dreams (parenting, IFsupport, giveaways)
36. My Lady of the Lantern (neonatal loss, grief, TTC again)
37. Bunless In The Oven (azoospermia, donor sperm, infertility)
38. Life As I Know It (twins, newborn, life)
39. Feeling Beachie (daily life, humor, cats)
40. Infertile Revolution (infertility, feminism, ivf)
41. It’s Just Us Chickens (ivf1,ttc, mfi)
42. Mommy Odyssey (miscarriage, suspected ectopics, generally crazy)
43. A Half Baked Life (parenting after loss, food, yoga)
44. The 2 Week Wait (ttc ivf humor)
45. Savor The Moment (pcos, humor, life)
46. Every Day is a Country Song (ttc #1 after 5 miscarriages, possible use of donor sperm, faith)
47. Mommy-In-Waiting (pregnant, twins, IVF#4)
48. Taking the Long Way (formerly G-d Doesn’t Make Mistakes) (secondary infertility, rpl, second trimester)
49. After Years In The Making (motherhood, navy, life)
50. Miss(ed)Conception (parenting after infertility)
51. Creating a Family (infertility, adoption, adoptive parenting)
52. My Bumpy Journey (MFI, pregnancy, life)
53. Not a Fertile Myrtle (male factor, pcos, donor)
54. The Two Week Worship (infertility, encouragement, prayer)
55. Let’s Conversate About Irregardless (80’s, TTC, MFI)
56. Empty Whole (MFI, healing, next?)
57. Dragon & Blossom’s Adventures (infertility, life, love)
58. Rasta Less Traveled (donor egg, surrogacy in India, infertility)
59. Grit and Patience (infertility, positivity, ivf)
60. The misadventures of missohkay (pregnancy loss, adoption)
61. MissConception (ttc #1, IVF, PCOS)
62. The Lightness of Being on the Bike (biking, culture, travel)
63. The Road Less Traveled (pregnancy after loss, embryo donation)
64. A Year On… Our New Beginning {hopefully} (stillbirth, secondary IF, IVF)
65. IFSerenityNow (pregnancy, ivf, loss)
66. Zygotta Getting Pregnant (early pregnancy, infertility, pcos)
67. One Wheeler’s World (parenting after infertility, healing, life)
68. Diary of taking small steps toward baby steps (FET, IVF, hope)
69. 3hearts2hold1love (parenting after primary infertility, secondary infertility, life)
70. infertile myrtle (parenting after infertility)
71. Compromised Fertility (PCOS, first time IVF’er and gardener)
72. This Hampton Life of Mine (iui, pcos, secondary infertility)
73. TTC Baby E (infertility, pcos, ttc #1)
74. Trying To Conceive (IVF, pregnancy after IVF, support)
75. The Childless Mom (ivf, icsi, humor)
76. Babymakin’ 101 (life, IVF, crafts)
77. Life as I Know it (motherhood, emotions, road ahead)
78. Mission: Fertile Soul (FET, humor, profound joy)
79. Witty Infertility (infertility, acupuncture, PCOS)
80. For We Are Bound by Symmetry (TTC#1, autoimmune issues, IVF #1)
81. Zero Guarantees (suro pregnant, twins)
82. A Freckled Life (infertility marriage life)
83. Colours Of Cattiz (ivf#1, male factor, uk)
84. I’m Very Far Away (IUI, IVF, asia)
85. IUI to Roux-en-Y (weight loss, surgery, my journey)
86. 3 hearts 2 hold 1 love (parenting after infertility, life, secondary infertility)
87. Walking an Unknown Path (infertility, therapy, life)
88. Knocked up by Another Man (DE-IVF, parenting, Alaska)
89. I Believe In Miracles (RPL, motherhood after adoption)
90. Marriage 2.0 (infertility, domestic adoption, life)
91. The Stork Drop Zone (humor, infertility, life)
92. Unglamorous (toddler, marriage, family)
93. The Ladies in Waiting Book Club (books, infertility, support)
94. Wistfulgirl’s World (infertility, weight loss, life)
95. The Rocky Road To Motherhood (pregnancy after IVF)
96. Musings of a Hormonal Egg Basket (parenting after IVF)
97. Holly’s Narrative Dream (secondary infertility coping)
98. Cradles and Graves (2nd-tri losses, infertility, rainbow?)
99. Just us and the cat (the dreaded 2ww)
100. To Those Who Wait (pregnancy after IF, triplets from IUI, bedrest)
101. The confessions of a wannabe mom (infertility, pcos, life)
102. Infertility Expat (pregnancy after ivf)
103. Beyond the Brick Wall (marriage, infertility, life)
104. A Writer In A Wheelchair (disability, writing, life)
105. Just Stop Trying and It Will Happen (infertility, life, snarkiness)
106. Lissie’s Luck (prep for IVF)
107. Then Comes the Baby in the Baby Carriage (TCM, TTC#1, unexplained infertility)
108. It’s Definitely Possible (pregnancy, SMC, IUI)
109. Cinderella Wore Glass Slippers (our first FET)
110. A peek into our journey (ttc #1, ivf, pcos)
111. Chasing Our Stork: Our Journey with Infertility (international adoption, unexplained infertility, faith)
112. This International Life (travel, expat life, Europe)
113. Flogging the Muse (art, painting, creativity)
114. The Bushey Life (baby after infertility)
115. GoTeamBaby (ivf, infertility, hope)
116. Rainbow Making 101 (loss, natural cycle, 2ww)
117. Thefertilitydaily (free ivf contest, infertility, humor)
118. Not Exactly What I Had Planned (ivf #3, severe mfi, life)
119. Just Us…For Now (pregnancy after miscarriage)
120. The Barreness (infertility, art, sadness)
121. Beyond the Wallpaper (ranting, balanced translocation, miscarriage)
122. Hearts Joined, Hands Fast (ivf#1, mfi, hope)
123. Diaries by Lucy (parenting, pcos, infertility)
124. My Infertile Confessions (pregnant with twins after IVF)
125. Exotic Hadron (personal, random, canadian)
126. Bean Dreams (PCOS, IUI, hope)
127. A Fine Mess (adoption, infertility, loss)
128. Embracing the Rain (natural cycle ivf, dor, rpl)
129. Life in the White House (donor sperm, crafting, pregnancy)
130. Becoming Me (baby, feelings, weight)
131. Baby On Mind (IVF, TTC#1, unexplained)
132. Traditionally Nontraditional (infertility life struggles)
133. One day at a time (army, infertility, fighting)
134. So Very Me (photography motherhood art)
135. Cammie.Me (parenting work food)
136. My Empty Womb (unexplained infertility frustration)
137. A Little Hope in My Pocket (pregnancy loss, infertility, life)
138. To Infertility and Beyond (ivf, endometriosis)
139. They say all you need is love (infertility.life.love)
140. TTC A Modern Medicine Miracle (ectopic loss, donor sperm, ttc)
141. Everyday Gyaan (motivation, inspiration, personal development)
142. Sprout (smbc, ttc #1, 30+)
143. Digital-Damita.net (frugal, green, ttc)
144. Getting There (adoption, parenting, life)
145. Adventures In Infertility-Land (infertility veteran, IVF, baby loss)
146. The list is now closed.  The new list will open on 6/30.

Q: What if I miss a day?

A: Catch up the next day by doubling your comments–12 comments instead of 6.

Q: What if I have two blogs? Can I sign up twice, listing both blogs?

A: Yes, but you also need to double your comments. If you have two blogs listed, you should be leaving 12 comments per day.

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 red, the next month it will be blue, 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). The list closes around 11 p.m. EST on the 21st.

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.