Fertility Awareness Video

This hit so many parts of my life.
~Shannon

About the Author: Mrs Red

I

Name: Steph
Age: 30
Date of Birth: February
Nationality/Heritage:  Mexican, Japanese, Irish/American
City/State/Country: San Antonio, TX USA
Occupation: Lead Software Analyst
Kid's Names and Ages: Sophie, born January
TTC Since: November 2006
Infertility Diagnosis: 2003 - PCOS
Spouse: Mr T
Married:  2006
Religion: Christian
Tattoos & Piercings: Ears
5 Things I Love: Fishing, biking, sewing, painting, camping
Favorite Books: Hunger Games series, Fahrenheit 451, 1985, Heartsick series
Favorite Movies: Forrest Gump, Couples Retreat, Hunger Games, Yes Man, I Love You Man
Favorite Shows: Grey's Anatomy, Bones, CSI, Good Wife, Walking Dead
Favorite Music: Christian music, Oldies
Favorite Food: Southern comfort food, pasta, sushi
Six Things I Could Now Live Without: My bible, my husband, my miracle baby, a bed, my water bottle, some comfy shoes
I'm Really Good At: I don't know if I'm really good at anything... I guess I'm a decent baker
I Spend a Lot of Time Thinking About: The future
On My Free Time I: Like to craft things and play with my miracle baby
A Secret About Me: I secretly LOVE the high school drama Degrassi...
If Money Were No Object & I Could Do What I Wanted for 1 Week I Would: Not work! LOL and spend it with my family on a beach somewhere
What I Talk About On The Blog: IVF, PCOS, juicing, success story, etc
Blog Position: Founder, Author, Designer, Facebook poster
Contact Info:
Email: stephaniet@fighting4fertility.org.in

About the Author: Jessica

Name: Jessica
Age: 25
Date of Birth: December 28, 1987
Nationality/Heritage:  German, Irish, Native American.
City/State/Country: Leavenworth, USA
Occupation: Human Resources
Kid's Names and Ages: None
TTC Since: September 2009
Infertility Diagnosis: May 2010 - PCOS
Spouse: Daniel, 26
Married: December 29th, 2007
Religion: Methodist
Tattoos & Piercings: 1 tattoo on my shoulder, ears are pierced twice
5 Things I Love: Sunday family dinners, walking around the farm, playing with my dogs, when the baby calves start to be born, and Starbucks
Favorite Books: Anything Jodi Piccoult and western romances
Favorite Movies: White Christmas, Holiday Inn, Casablanca, Harry Potter, and 7 Brides for 7 Brothers
Favorite Shows: Grey's Anatomy, Dance Moms, Pretty Wicked Moms, Good Eats, Sister Wives, Top Shot, Ducky Dynasty, and American Dad
Favorite Music: Anything country and red dirt except Taylor Swift
Favorite Food: Potato chips
Six Things I Could Now Live Without: My family, my dogs, iPhone, coffee, peanut butter, and my heating pad
I'm Really Good At: Firefighting and cake decorating
I Spend a Lot of Time Thinking About: Babies and how to fix and expand the farm
On My Free Time I:Volunteer as a firefighter, read, watch tv, and Pinterest
A Secret About Me: I let my dog cuddle with me when my husband isn't in the bed
If Money Were No Object & I Could Do What I Wanted for 1 Week I Would: Buy stuff for the farm, prepay for fertility treatments
What I Talk About On The Blog: Naturally controlling PCOS, past fertility treatments, the possibility of future fertility treatments
Blog Position: Author, Twitter poster, Facebook poster
Contact Info:
Email: jessicad@fighting4fertility.org.in

About the Author: Shannon

Name: Shannon Ivy
Age: 27
Born: August 13th
Nationality/Heritage: Czech/Polish & European Mix
City/State/Country: Arlington, TX USA
Occupation: Certified Nurse Aide
Kid's Names and Ages: None
TTC Since: April 2008
Infertility Diagnosis: August 2008 - PCOS
Spouse: Jeff, 27
Religion: Me-Wiccan, DH-Christian
Tattoos & Piercings: 2 piercings in each ear, L ear has a cartilage piercing; 5 tattoos: celtic butterfly on R ankle, Shooting star with a quote on R back shoulder, 3 four-leaf clovers on L back shoulder (2 tattoos in 1), and a "Hope" tattoo on my wrist with the "o" being a teal heart for PCOS
5 Things I Love: Family, friends, cooking, crafts of all sorts, animals (esp. babies!)
Favorite Books: Almost any romance, mystery, paranormal... To name a few: Discovery of Witches, Harry Potter, Twilight, The Mortal Instruments, Beautiful Creatures, Creating a Life memoir, The Highlander, Mary Higgins Clark books, etc...
Favorite Movies: A TON: Harry Potter, Sweet Home Alabama, Burlesque, Marvel comics, Disney movies, comedy... Anything but scary movies
Favorite Shows: Big Bang Theory, Family Guy, Guiliana and Bill, Love it or List it, DIY & Home improvement shows, 2 Broke Girls, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, and more
Favorite Music: Country, Pop, Current hits, Some Rap (Eminem)
Favorite Food: Ice cream. Spaghetti, stuffed bell peppers, stuffed cabbage, sweet and sour pork, fried rice, and soooo much more.
Six Things I Could Now Live Without: My husband, my phone, my kindle, toothbrush and toothpaste, underwear, jeans
I'm Really Good At: crafts, reading, typing, being empathetic
I Spend a Lot of Time Thinking About: The book I just finished reading, whatever book it is; a slew of other things
On My Free Time I: catch up on DVR shows and do crafty things like sewing and quilting
A Secret About Me: I wonder if I will be able to adjust to having kids, when that day comes
If Money Were No Object & I Could Do What I Wanted for 1 Week I Would: Pay off all debts, buy a house and vehicles my husband actually loves, buy a nice, long vacation to travel the world.
What I Talk About On The Blog: Current procedures I am undergoing, PCOS, and emotions (plus others)
Blog Position: Founder, Author, Designer, Facebook Poster
Contact Info:
Email: shannonw@fighting4fertility.org.in
Myfitnesspal: sivywright
Weight Blog: http://shannonsweightstory.blogspot.com/

Today is the Day

So, today is the day I go see Dr. Luck.

I'm excited... and very nervous.

I am always worried that my condition will be worse or that I will get bad news. With infertility there is so much "bad" already that it is hard to think of any positives.

But, I did my research on my doctor and on the facility. They are closer to my last and I am still hoping that their pricing is reasonable (that wasn't included on the website).

I'm also excited that she might help me to get my period to STOP. I've been having bleeding (anything from spotting to light to medium) since June 26th and am SOO tired of having to always be prepared when I go to the bathroom. And I miss my husband, if you know what I mean ;)

I can already hear some of what the doctor will say: "your weight is too high" "if you lose weight your cycles should start to normalize" etc. I know I have a weight issue.

My high was in 2009 and I weighed in at 245. Earlier that year we had done 2 cycles of clomid. Then in the spring we moved into my FIL's house while we worked on our credit to get our own. In the summer I registered for a fall class at the local community college (only Yoga, as a way to get back into the swing of classes). That summer I also started to take some Japanese diet pills that my SIL had wonderful success with. The first month I lost 10 lbs. The second month I lost another 10 lbs. I was so excited! I continued to lose 10 lbs per month for the next 2 months. So in 4 months I had lost 40 lbs. And I stalled in the progress. We moved into our house in November with some issues. January I went to see my OBGYN and while there she prescribed a diet pill. Within the next couple months I lost another 25 lbs. I had gotten down to 180 and, as much as I wanted to be at 160, I was very happy. Kept it off for a year. Then had some really hard science classes with late night studying and lots of stress. BAM 30 lbs in 2 lbs back on. Once that dam broke it ALL came back. Now I am sitting at around 245/250.  (see more in my weight blog)

It's hard.

So, as excited as I am about the appointment, I am very nervous and any ridicule I will receive while there. I am hopeful that they understand the weight can be VERY hard to lose for PCOS peeps.

I will keep you all updated :o)

Farewell Post

Hey everyone!

This is my farewell post…I’m sad to be “retiring” as an author but I will be back to make some guest posts once the baby comes.

As most of you know, in April we found out that we were expecting and it was a complete shock. My sister had just lost her baby and we were all so stressed out and my husband and I had only DTD ONE time that cycle. I never expected to fall pregnant that month. I really think it happened because of God and the fact that the month before I had the HSG done to check my tubes for any blockages and I think it just cleared out my tubes. I am so grateful for the blessings that have come to us over the past 5 months. We’ve also just moved and are trying to get settled in before December! We find out on July 31^st if it is a boy or a girl and I will be very content either way.

I pray for all of you ladies everyday and I know that it is only a matter of time until you all become THE GREATEST mommies. I know there’s nothing I can say to really help because I’ve totally been there. I wish you call the best of luck and please know that you can always find me on Facebook and message me ANYTIME you’d like/need to talk to someone.

Hugs and Love to all of you strong, beautiful women!

Molly

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We are interested in male, female, all different types of diagnoses, full-time author's and guest author's.

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Dr. Luck = Lucky???

Hi guys!

I know the blog has been kinda lacking on posts lately. Sometimes it is hard to try a new topic to write about, especially when you aren't going through treatments.

But...

I hope to start actively trying soon! I have an appointment early August with Dr. Luck (Mansfield, Texas). I picked her for her credentials and also hoping that she will be my lucky charm :o)

Other than that, not much to report.  We will be making some changes with blog design and hopefully adding some more authors!!! Keep an eye out for an application form!

In June a family member announced her pregnancy. Unfortunately she miscarried shortly after. Today I just found out that the mother of my Goddaughter is pregnant again!

Hope are you guys doing???

~Shannon

Special Guest Saturday: Candi

Sometimes love just isn't enough....

They say it is better to have loved and lost to never have loved at all.  I’m guessing whoever "they" is that thought they were so clever to say this never dealt with infertility or the loss that occurs when you lose a child.  I suppose that person has never gone from a place of extreme happiness to an all-time low.  And I suppose that person has never had to tell your husband who you have been ttc with for 12 years that you just experienced a chemical pregnancy aka miscarriage.  Some say it may be better to have loved and lost, but I disagree.  

We lost so much in that 5 minute phone call that we’ll never get back.  I never got to know what it feels like to feel our child(ren) grow inside me.  We never got to hear a heartbeat or wonder if we should buy pink or blue.  We never got to hold our child for the first time and count all their fingers and toes, wipe their tears, kiss their sweet head.  We never got to see a first step, hear a first word, bandage a boo-boo, mend a broken heart from their first love, celebrate a birthday or Christmas, shop for the prom, buy a first car, teach right from wrong, be proud at graduation, walk her down the aisle at her wedding or calm his nervous when he says he’s ready to propose.  We never got to see them rejoice when they purchase their first house or tell us they are pregnant and we will be grandparents.  We lost so much before we even had a chance to show our love.

We had only just found out we were pregnant 2 days prior but I already loved that baby with my whole heart and would have done anything to protect them.  We wanted that pregnancy more than anything in the world.  Our dreams were finally coming true and our prayers were answered.  I fell so deep in love with my baby(ies) the moment I heard “you’re pregnant” from my re’s office that my heart shattered in a million pieces when I was told it was over.  “This is some cruel joke” I remember saying.  2 months later and my heart still hurts from the loss.  After 12 years of ttc I had come to terms that I was part of the statistic of Infertility; part of the 7.3 million suffering daily.  I thought we had overcome infertility when we received our positive news.  I don’t know how to come to terms nor do I want to with the statistic of being part of the 20% of pregnancies that end in a miscarriage. Or become part of a group that has lost a baby to a chemical pregnancy which is so common almost 60% of first pregnancies that end like this.  We may never know the reason why our baby didn't survive.  I guess sometimes love just isn't enough to hold on to your miracle, no matter how much you try.   

All I have ever wanted was to be a mom; to have someone love me and depend on me; to give my husband a family.  It is an awful feeling when you find out that you can’t make your dreams a reality or when your reality is broken.  We have traveled the infertility road so long that I never thought there was anything that could hurt more.  Boy was I wrong!  We are now part of the group that has fought, won, loved and lost our miracle.  This pain hurts every day even when I try to push it away.  Just because I smile doesn’t mean I don’t ache.  Just because I laugh doesn’t mean I’m not crying inside.  Just because I love doesn’t mean my heart isn’t still broken.  We should be 3 months along right now.  Embracing all the changes, dealing with morning sickness, sneaking purchases of baby items when we still don’t know the sex(es).  I should be aggravating my husband with my cravings and needs.  However instead of everything we looked forward to, we are learning to survive and move on. 

We are currently on a break after this loss and another failed IUI.  We need some time for us and to prepare for another try.  We’ll try again one more time down the road because we don’t feel our time is done. I share all this with you not for you to feel sad or sorry for us, Lord knows I do that enough as it is, but to just keep the good thoughts, prayers and baby dust flowing our direction.  If you’re a mom or dad, hold your little one a bit tighter and be thankful for what you have.  Never take it for granted.  Love your miracles unconditionally because I know a group of at least 1,400 people out here suffering with infertility that would give it all to have that miracle. 

~*~*~I'm praying daily for every empty arm and broken heart.  ~*~*~

To follow Candi on her journey, please subscribe to her blog at

http://mylifedealingwithinfertility.blogspot.com/?m=1