Take a minute to repeat the following sentence three or four times. Make sure each time to make the tone you use a bit more authoritative, and switch it from a sentence you are reading to a command your brain is giving to your body…

“I have the power over my body to bring it back to its natural state of balance.”

Now try to conjure up an image – anything that comes to mind – of what your brain-body connection means to you. This is the super-power that exists within you that connects thoughts and beliefs to your physical self. This image will help strengthen the connection and you will begin to realize that the power is inside.

Some people think of a bridge that connects two land masses, and with the bridge the two areas becoming one. Or the image of your hands moving closer to one another and then the fingers eventually becoming intertwined to the point where you can’t tell one hand from the other. Whatever makes sense to you, this simple act of awareness of our innate powers of healing becomes strengthened.

Think about this image as you go about your day, as they day progresses you should begin to feel a small change, a feeling that your intuition for healing and balancing is increasing and you do have the power to bring calm, and balance to your body just by having your brain take a the lead for a bit.

Proactive control over our own bodies starts today.

Congratulations Jennifer and Tom! A fertility journey of a couple becoming pregnant after their first IVF with the help of Circle + Bloom’s IVF mind+body audio program.

My husband and I have been married for 7 years. I am 37 and he is 38 we met at work and fell very hard for each other very quickly… we lived together for 2 years, then got engaged January 2, 2004 and married on November 13, 2004 we had the most perfect wedding and where beginning the “Perfect Life together” or so we thought. We started trying to have a child after our 1st year of Marriage and had no luck we both got tested in 2006 and we found out my husband had fertility issues that made having our own child with his sperm impossible, and it was devastating to say the least. It took the next 3 years to get through the pain and despair that we would never have our own biological child. Then we started to explore our options we finally decided to do IUI with donor sperm, it was a very tough decision but we were determined to have a family. We did 5 IUI’s, 1 natural, 2 with femera, 1 with clomid and 1 with injectables and none of them worked in 2009 or 2010.

We came to a point where we just couldn’t handle the roller coaster of emotions and the devastation any longer. So we stopped everything at the end of 2010. So for November and December 2010, and January 2011 I took time to recover mentally, physically, and decided to make a change. My husband and I set up a consult with Dr. Kiltz of CNY Fertility in Syracuse NY in December to start our First IVF in February of 2011.

I changed my diet completely to all fruits, vegetables and organic meats and started doing Zumba to lose some weight. I also started taking Royal Jelly and at the recommendation of Dr. Kiltz downloaded Circle + Bloom’s IVF mind-body program and started listening to them religiously night after night after night.. It transformed my subconscious and made me very positive and relaxed beyond what I knew I could be… we did the IVF Cycle in February 2011 and had 13 eggs at retrieval, 9 fertilized and 4 made it to maturity, we picked the 3 best embryos and had our transfer March 3rd, 2011.

We got our first ever POSITIVE Home pregnancy test on March 11, 2011. I kept testing all weekend and had two blood tests done. The first beta was 100, second was 242. My first Ultrasound was March 28, 2011 and we prayed that we would see our little miracle for the first time and get to see the heart beating strongly and we did, the heart beat was 140, it was the most amazing thing we had ever seen, I am now 24 weeks and everything is going great! We are having a BOY!

What I would tell others that are just about to purchase your product: Miracles do happen and don’t ever give up on your dreams of having a family!

My husband and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

When it comes to getting pregnant, it seems that everyone in your life wants to have their say and provide you with their opinions (whether those opinions are wanted or not). Unfortunately, negative influences do not help you get pregnant. Disapproving looks from your mother-in-law and rude questions from co-workers can definitely take a toll on your mental well being. That is why it is so important to develop positive support groups while learning how to ignore those who give you negative thoughts and feelings as you try to become pregnant.

One customer told us that they had a hard time with negative influences. They could not have a single dinner with her own mother-in-law without her giving me a disapproving look and posing the question, “Are you sure it isn’t that you’re just infertile? I was pregnant one month after getting married.” Needless to say, every time she left one of these dinners she felt a little bit smaller and more of her self esteem and positive thinking went right down the drain. Then there was that one certain co-worker who, oddly enough, seemed to know her own menstrual cycle almost better than she did and would ask me in an overly-nice tone that was meant to be anything but, “Another negative test this month?” She said she always wondered how it became her business that she was trying to conceive and it was also odd that she paid such close attention to her personal life.

How can you help “move out the bad influences”. Find a support group with other people going through what you are going through. Click here for a list of non-profit organizations that can help you do this. The support groups will be safe harbors in a sea that is filled with negative thoughts, doubts and frustration. They will remind you that getting pregnant is not the same for everyone, and that while you may not be like your “perfect” mother-in-law, you will find the path to parenthood that is meant for you.

If you are on the journey to conception, understand that you can’t completely avoid negative people or cruel comments, but you can choose to ignore them. Understand that the words that come from these people’s mouths have nothing to do with you and everything to do with their own insecurities and issues.

Remember, the world is filled with good and bad. Even well intentioned individuals can say mean and hurtful things without realizing it. Let your mind become a filter, allowing all of the positive thoughts and advice and support into your being and making sure all of the negative comments that would cause pressure and stress roll right off your back. It’ll make this journey much, much easier.

Let us know what methods you use to remove the bad influences in your TTC journey.

When you’re trying to get pregnant it’s very easy to get stuck into a routine where everything is about conceiving and, as a result, your own needs get left behind. Trying to get pregnant can be an emotional rollercoaster and painful.

Here are a few recommendations to take a bit of time for you – you deserve it!

Take Your Hour

At least once every week take an hour that is utterly and completely yours. Whether that hour is spent in a bubble bath with candles or reading a book on the beach, the time is yours and it needs to be spent focusing on you. Take the time to unwind, let all of the pressures roll off of you and just relax.

In fact, that time doesn’t have to be limited to an hour at all. It can be two or three hours or even an entire afternoon. And if you can do it more than once a week, that’s even better. Just make sure you have at least one hour of time each and every week that is completely yours for yourself.

Embrace Your Hobbies

When some women focus on getting pregnant, they let everything else fall to the wayside. Hobbies that they once enjoyed don’t seem as important anymore. Don’t let this happen to you. If you’ve always loved book clubs, keep going. If you enjoy cooking, take a cooking class.

Go to Dinner with Friends

Sometimes our friends can be a wonderful resource for understanding and, if you ask them, they will likely understand that you need to get out once in a while for some good, healthy fun. Plan a group yoga class or a picnic in the park. Time spent with friends can rejuvenate your spirit at the times in which you need it most. Let them know the time out is for fun, not focused on why you are not pregnant.

Meditate

Getting your mind in touch with your body is one of the best things you can do while you are trying to conceive, and one of the most powerful ways to do this is through meditation. If you haven’t begun meditating yet, you may be surprised at just how effective this tool can be for reducing stress and creating a positive mindset.

When a couple is struggling with infertility, it can put quite a strain on your relationships, especially the relationship with your spouse or partner. It is very common. Everything suddenly seems to be about making a baby and your personal needs and emotional relationship seems to fall to the wayside. In fact, many couples who have had beautiful relationships in the past find themselves fighting and drifting apart on an emotional level and the physical relationship becomes structured and routine. If you want to be sure that you and your partner grow closer during this time rather than drifting apart, there are some things you can do to take the pressure off of conceiving and put the focus back where it belongs – on the well-being of you and your partner’s feelings about one another.

Date Night

If you think that “date night” is reserved solely for parents who need to get away from the insanity of growing children and jam-packed schedules, you’re wrong. Date night can make all the difference in your relationship when you are trying to conceive a child.

If you and your partner seem to be falling into a routine that is taking the spark out of your relationship, it’s time to go out and have some fun. Whether it be dinner and a movie or that concert that’s coming to town, spend some special time reserved for the two of you – and make sure that it’s time that has nothing to do with getting pregnant. In fact, on date night, don’t even discuss the challenges you have been facing. The goal is to kick back and relax, working on your relationship with one another.

Make Sure Sex Doesn’t Become a Chore

While thermometers and ovulation kits are great for helping you conceive, they can take quite a bit of the romance out of the bedroom. If you and your partner only get together in the bedroom when the time is right for conception, sex will become a chore rather than the bonding experience it was meant to be. That’s not to say you shouldn’t pay attention to your body and your ovulation schedule, but don’t let it dictate what does and does not happen in your bedroom.

A Happy, Healthy Family

Remember, when you bring a baby into this world, you want it to come into a healthy home with a happy family. If you and your partner have suffered emotional setbacks or have distanced yourself through this journey, that won’t be possible. Remain focused on the closeness you share with each other and be sure to nurture that bond as you try to conceive. Your baby will thank you for it later.

For additional help be sure to check out the promotion www.yourfertilitydeals.com is having on Kristen Magnacca’s Love and Infertility Book and CD. Click here to learn more.

One couple trying to help another couple afford their IVF treatments – Here is their story:

It all started in 2011 when Cameron & Kristin found out they would need to raise money quickly in order to afford the treatments necessary for starting a family.   People around them were incredibly supportive and the response and donations they  received in a short amount of time was incredibly humbling. Support came from all sides to help them bring their little one home.

One of the things people did was set up an auction to help raise money for them, but through a miraculous sequence of events, they were able to afford their treatment before the auction even happened. The outpouring of support, though, could not be wasted. So, they set out to find a couple that could benefit from the generosity already shown.  The auction will go on, but instead of helping Cameron and Kristin it will help the couple they selected to help, Jill and and Allen Witt.

THIS WEEKEND on www.goteamwitt.blogspot.com there is an online silent auction in their honor.

Here’s how you can help:

1. If you are a business owner (or know someone) and would like to donate an item to be auctioned off, please click here for more information.
2. Bid on their online auctions starting June 24th!  Make sure to check all the great items up for bid (including two Circle + Bloom programs).
3. You can also go directly to goteamwitt.blogspot.com and click the donate button to make a monetary donation.
4. Spread the word on your blog, facebook, or twitter! This will be a huge help.

If you have any questions, email goteamwitt [at] gmail.com

Let’s make a miracle happen!

Denise is one of our guest bloggers who is reliving her TTC story in the hope of helping others. She is sharing her most intimate thoughts, emotions and physical and medical journey on having her baby. To date she has explained how she came to the decision to start to try to have a baby even though she was single, and 40. She has shared what it was like to visit her first fertility specialist and the physical pain of her myomectomy. Now she opens up about the pain of her BFN.

Denise’s Words

After being released from the hospital, I endured a painful recovery. As I popped pain pills, suffered from stomach pains that are unimaginable and walked with a gentle limp, I kept telling myself that it will all be worth it. The tests that I’d taken six weeks after my surgery revealed that my tubes were clear and my uterus was healthy. There was no scarring to prevent implantation. Six more weeks and I could try for the first time.

The day in December 2010 when AF arrived was an exciting day for me. I was actually happy to see AF. It’s funny, but for us women who are trying to conceive, AF is a blessing at some times and a curse at others. This time her visit was a blessing. I called my doctor’s office, excitement permeating my voice. My excitement was contagious because the nurse was excited right along with me. We scheduled my day 2 ultrasound. I knew this would be my time!! I knew that I would get pregnant on the first time. The statistics that said it didn’t happen didn’t apply to me.

I went in for my day 2 ultrasound and the nurse found 12 antral follicles. There were only 6 in June. I was given Clomid, to be taken days 3 to 7. Day 9, I gave myself a shot of Gonal F. Giving myself a shot was foreign to me and scary. But, I sucked it up because this would help me achieve my dream of conceiving little Jaydon. But, I felt like the biggest fool when I spilled half the shot. I was heartbroken. I knew that I’d ruined my chances of getting pregnant that cycle. The next day, the nurse assured me that I didn’t ruin my chances of having a child. Rather on December 30, 2010, my day 12 ultrasound showed that I’d responded quite well to the Clomid and Gonal F. I had two mature follicles and a possible. I gave myself the HCG trigger shot that night. I went in on December 31 and January 1 for easy, back to back IUIs.

Uggggh, the dreaded TWW began. But, I handled it very well for the first seven days. I wasn’t too nervous. I tried not to think about it too much. Then over dinner with a friend on day 7dpiui, I felt my first bout of nausea. Could it possibly be? The nervousness hit me full force at this point. I just knew I was pregnant. I’d done it. I was pregnant. In my excitement at the thought of being pregnant, I became a basket case. I was on the internet every day, all day. I questioned everything that was going on with my body. Could I take a really hot shower or will that harm Jaydon? Could I eat Balsamic Vinigrette dressing/? How much tuna fish could I really eat? Would it be ok if I warmed up by roast beef sub in the microwave? Then about 10piui my breasts became sore and heavy. OMG!! I was pregnant. Wasn’t this a classic symptom of pregnancy? “Thank God,” I thought, “I’m pregnant.”

Imagine my disappointment and heartache when I received my BFN and AF 14dpiui. I cried and was depressed the entire day. I didn’t go into work. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I didn’t want to answer the phone. I couldn’t help it. How could my body fool me like that? BFN, AF be damned!! My dreams had been dashed.

What do I do now? There was nothing I could do but continue with the process. More to follow on how I got back on the horse. I would not give up on my dream of conceiving little Jaydon.

Every once and a while a stranger begins to have this incredible impact on your life. That stranger brings you inspiration, faith, hope and causes you to pause in life and think about something bigger than you to do list. This is exactly the impact that Denis is having on me…..a stranger to me just a short time ago…..but with each of her posts creating a special bond, a special place in my heart, and a big impact on my life! I hope her personal story series is having the same wonderful impact on you!

Denise looks back to the day of her Myomectomy…

MYOMECTOMY! It has been 8 1/2 months since that momentous day in September. The day I could have died. Yet, the day my hope of having a baby was renewed. It was the day of my Myomectomy. Even now, a part of me cringes at the mere mention of that word. But another part of me says, “Thank you God. Thank you for giving me hope.”

“What’s the big deal?”, you might ask, “What could be so horrible, yet so hopeful, about one simple word?” Well, I will tell you. An abdominal myomectomy is a painful and intense surgery used to remove non-cancerous growths called fibroids from a woman’s uterus. See, in order to conceive my little Jaydon, I needed this surgery because there were fibroids blocking both of my fallopian tubes. Many women in my position, who no longer desire children, would opt for a hysterectomy, a surgery which removes a woman’s uterus and any chance she has of having a baby. However, the purpose of a myomectomy is to preserve the woman’s uterus and her chances of conceiving a child. Thank God for modern science providing the ability to preserve my uterus. But, for me, this surgery was more intense than for most.

The hospital staff put me under general anesthesia and everything went black. The surgeon, whom I will refer to by code name as Dr. Mike, thought there were only about 7 or 8 of these pesky fibroids to remove. But, once he got in there, he discovered there were 27 fibroids. I should point out that the number and size of the fibroids determine how pervasive the surgery will be. The sizes of my fibroids ranged from tiny to huge. My poor uterus! No wonder it was the size of a 16-week pregnancy. To find and remove these 27 fibroids, Dr. Mike made an incision in my bikini line, almost hip to hip (similar to the incision used for a C-section). He invaded my body with his tools and removed the fibroids, cutting them out the old fashioned-way, with a scalpel. Dr. Mike did his best to restructure my uterus to maximize my chances of getting pregnant.

Let’s not forget the emergency blood transfusion. Fibroids, by nature, tend to bleed. I lost way more blood than expected. I woke up to find that I had low blood pressure and the whole time I was in the hospital they had to keep a watch on it. In fact the day I was released, they had originally decided to hold me because my blood pressure was too low. Then there was the danger of nicking other organs, like my bladder. He didn’t nick my bladder, but God knows it felt like it. I was not comfortable urinating for at least 3 1/2 weeks after the surgery. Each time I went to the bathroom, I thought my insides were dropping out.

Once the surgery is done and they stitch you up, you are forced to get out of bed within 12 to 24 hours. I cannot express the pain. Your internal organs have been massacred! You’re doped up on drugs for the pain, and you have to walk around. It’s not fun at all!!!! I was out of work for a total of six weeks and still was not 100% ready to go back. But, I needed to get back to work as soon as I could. I would say it was another 3 or 4 weeks before I felt totally back to my old self again.

Six weeks after the surgery Dr. Mike performed a follow-up SIS to check my uterus and then a follow-up HSG to check my fallopian tubes and outer uterus. Praise God! Good News!!! The surgery worked. There was NO scar tissue and both my fallopian tubes were OPEN!! No blockage. The surgery was a raving success! I could try to conceive six weeks from the date of these tests!! I left there on cloud 9. My hope of conceiving was renewed. So, I guess a part of me doesn’t cringe at the word. MYOMECTOMY, as it will allow me to conceive my little Jaydon, I admit that I’m now happy to say, “Myomectomy.” I will shout it from the highest rooftop!!! And Yes, I will do it again in a heartbeat. My little Jaydon is worth it!!!!

Denise
“With God All Things Are Possible”

We all know the basics of how to get pregnant. The birds and the bees are something that is taught to us in our grade school years. The reality of getting pregnant, however, can be much more complicated than health class leads us to believe.

When it is explained to us in grade school it seems as though nothing could be simpler. A man and a woman fall in love, have intercourse and make a baby. Then we grow up and we actually decide to have a baby of our own. It is then that 1 out of 8 couples realize the reality of getting pregnant is often the furthest thing from what we had expected it to be.

I believe these unrealistic expectations that are set early in life just add to the pain when a couple struggles with fertility. Couples are not prepared for the issues they are facing because it is never talked about until there is an issue. And society does not have a clue what one goes through when struggling with infertility because they were never taught about the complications. This got me thinking and asking, should there be any education on how complicated the journey can be during the birds and the bees discussion, and if so who should be responsible for helping young people understand the full picture of trying to conceive? When and where is it appropriate to share the education about the real truth on how to get pregnant?

I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions!

A Personal Fertility Journey

Denise continues to share her fertility journey with us.  She opens up about her struggle with how to handle the fact she wants a baby, but there is no man in her life, and the judging that can come with that desire.

In Her Words….

I know many people reading this will not be supportive of my decision. But, I implore you to hold off on judging. I have found that most people who are negative regarding donor insemination don’t know much about it and have children of their own. My decision was the right one for me. My decision has brought me much relief. No more headaches or worry regarding this issue. Now, if I can just get pregnant!! It’s not going to be easy at my age and with my health issues. But, Jaydon will be conceived!