IComLeavWe: February 2012

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 March list will open on 3/1/12.
  
• 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. Dragondreamer’s Lair (parenting, secondary infertility, crafts)
3. Feeling Beachie (life, humor, family)
4. Stork Stalking (smc, miscarriage, science )
5. Hobbit-ish Thoughts & Ramblings (parenting after losses, expecting #2, life)
6. Lessons from an Infertile Social Worker (open transracial adoption)
7. With Just a Little Help (infertility, ivf, ramblings)
8. Birdies Family Journey (family, infertility, life)
9. Knocked up by Another Man (parenting, donoregg, Alaska)
10. The Elusive Second Line (loss of an ovary, PCOS, TTC #1 )
11. MoJo Working (FET, foster/adopt, TTC 10+ years)
12. Justin & Jessica: Our Journey to Parenthood (infertility, stillborn, life)
13. Musings of a Hormonal Egg Basket (parenting after IVF)
14. Searching for our silver lining (unexplained infertility, miscarriage, FET)
15. A Blanket 2 Keep (IUI, life, hope)
16. If You Don’t Stand For Something (MFI, life, waiting)
17. How I Spend My Dash (life, parenting after IF, twins)
18. It Is What It Is (Or Is It?) (donated embryos, ttc #2, adult adoptee)
19. Detour (ttc#1, miscarriages, infertility)
20. Life As I Know It (twins, parenting, life)
21. Notes from the Ninth Circle (IVF, insurance, PGD)
22. Navigating Cyberloss (grief, loss, recovery)
23. Pregnancy 101 (infertility, clomid, health)
24. Hapa Hopes (infertility, intercultural, treatment)
25. Syringe Sisters (infertility, ivf, mfi)
26. Emma in Mommyland (pregnancy after miscarriage, pregnancy, ramblings)
27. Chasing Our Stork: From ART to Adoption (international adoption, pregnancy, graduate school)
28. Dwelling on Dreams (miscarriage, rpl, loss)
29. The Redhead Files (infertility, endometriosis, recurrent miscarriage)
30. The Squashed Bologna: a Slice of Life in the Sandwich Generation (autism parenting, parenting, grieving)
31. Writing For Life (recent loss, grieving, uk)
32. I’m Just Ducky, Thanks (surrogacy, adoption, RPL)
33. The Cornfed Feminist (pcos, irony, oversharing)
34. Greetings From Nowhere, NM (weightloss, hashimoto’s, lupus)
35. MISSION: Fertile Seoul (infertility, international adoption, happiness)
36. For We Are Bound by Symmetry (ivf, miscarriage, ttc #1)
37. Cherish This Day (sagittal craniosynostosis, overcoming IF, domestic goodness)
38. A Bend in the Road (life after stillbirth)
39. Cablearms (miscarriages, life, art)
40. Parenthood for Me (adoption infertility coping)
41. Created Family (unexplained infertility, TCM, social worker)
42. A Miracle in the Works (pregnant after unexplained infertility/loss, life,preparing for baby)
43. Bloggers for Hope (adoption, IVF, loss)
44. Living Our Miracle (embryo adoption, premature ovarian failure, motherhood)
45. The In Between (infertility, miscarriage, moving on)
46. Our Pathway to Parenthood (infertility, mfi, septate uterus)
47. The Childless Mom (ivf-icsi #3, fet #1, humor)
48. Donor Diva: Mother via Egg Donation (parenting, secondary infertility, egg donation)
49. I’m Polycystic Inside (PCOS, ttc#1, ranty (sometimes))
50. Lori Does Maryland (baby-after-loss, current IVF)
51. Claudsy’s Blog (writing, life, questions)
52. Zero Guarantees (9miscarriages-now suro twins)
53. Inconceivable! (donor egg, family, step-parenting)
54. Cease and Decyst (pcos, anovulation, irreverence)
55. Our Adventure Through Infertility (infertility, low carb, health)
56. One Day At a Time (life, IUI, hope)
57. TheStorkDiaries (infertility, humor, 30-something)
58. The Barreness (infertility, art, life)
59. The Handprints on my Heart (open adoption, newborn, preschool)
60. Baby On Mind (TTC#1, IVF, adoption?)
61. Hope Delayed (infertility, ivf #2, life)
62. Something Out of Nothing (infertility, mfi, writing)
63. Savor the Moment (pcos, diet, life)
64. for all the things we hope for (unexplained infertility, nursing school, Clomid)
65. Broken Birds & Bees (infertility, humor, miscarriage)
66. Of Seeds and Thorns (life, humor, home)
67. Living In A Fertile World (infertility, faith, love)
68. (In)Fertility Unexplained (unexplained infertility, ivf)
69. Between the Paper Sheets (infertility, miscarriage, marriage)
70. Bring on the Babies… (pregnancy, IVF, recurrent miscarriage)
71. My Scarlet Baby (adoption, match, waiting)
72. Metholic (bfp, infertility, fostering)
73. Not Just An Army Wife (iui, loss, military )
74. Ambition: Motherhood (pregnant, mfi, donor sperm)
75. Lil Family Blog (parenting, gay rights, vegetarianism)
76. *Our Wish* (infertility, faith, family)
77. Eighteenyears (ivf, infertility, psoriasis)
78. Journey to Somewhere (unexplained IF, IVF, FET)
79. Barrenness in a Fertile Land (pcos, ttc, life)
80. How We Met You (beginning adoption, infertility)
81. All in One Basket (infertility, donor eggs)
82. Rainbowmaking101 (IVF, very early pregnancy)
83. Just Waiting For My Turn (infertility, fibroid, life)
84. Journey to the Finish Line (IVF, running, humor)
85. Waiting for Little Feet (IVF, PCOS, music)
86. Living Life Out of Order (infertility, endometriosis, lupron depot)
87. Getting There (adoption, parenting, life)
88. Our Growing Gardunn (infertility, recurring miscarriages, parenting)
89. My Daily Mooosings in the Netherlands (simplifying life, culture, Netherlands)
90. Mommy Summers (mom after pcos)
91. A Greater Yes (embryo adoption, parenting, infertility)
92. Life and Love in the Petri Dish (9th embryo transfer, recurrent miscarriage, moving forward)
93. Who is this Fertile Myrtle (Ivf#1, infertitly, journey)
94. My Hormonacoaster (secondary infertility, IVF#2, ICSI)
95. Creating a Family (infertility, adoption, parenting)
96. Believing in June (ttc #2, iui #2, marriage)
97. Because of Match (ivf, twins, organized-chaos)
98. My Life in a Nut Shell (miscarriage, POF, life)
99. Hoping for a Due Date in Good Time (pregnancy, endometriosis, IVF)
100. Wishing and Hoping and Thinking and Praying (triplet pregnancy after IUI)
101. A Second Line (parenting, stillbirth, infertility)
102. GoTeamBaby (IVF, myomectomy, hope)
103. MILF: a single Momma’s Indiscretions in Life after Forty (single motherhood, dating after 40)
104. Hoping for a Due Date in Good Time (twin, pregnancy, post-IVF)
105. Weathering Storms (transracial adoption, parenting, moving)
106. Carneyexploits (money, infertility, life)
107. Les Terres Fertiles (unexplained infertility, IVF, depression)
108. The Handprints on my Heart (open adoption, newborn, preschool)
109. MissConception (twin loss, TTC#1, IVF)
110. Life’s Everyday Adventures! (everyday life, randomness.)
111. Intertilitee2 (secondary IF, clomid, shiraz)
112. Our Life Journey (embryo adoption, pregnancy loss, faith)
113. Traditionally Nontraditional (pregnancy, life, infertility)
114. Home Grown Love (infertility, IUI, home)
115. The list is now closed.  The March list will open on 3/1/12.

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 violet, the next month it will be green, 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.