Christian ladies TTC, we can encourage one another.

[BRK06]

Praise God!

I just got back from the doctor a little while ago. He said that my BP was a little high. He contributed that to a combination of my weight and my work related stress, since I am healthy other than that. He put me on a blood pressure medication and wants to see me again in three months to see how I am progressing.

I'm guessing now our TTC plans are pretty much kaput until I get this under control. But that's fine. Like Sarah said a few posts ago, it's good that I'm checking it out now rather than having to manage it while pregnant.

Praise God! Thanks for letting us know how it went... I'm glad he didn't find anything seriously wrong. It's good that you caught it now and can take care of it before baby comes!

 

[QueenKingfish]

Took some time to catch up on all of the news here over the past week and a half. Prayers have been lifted, devotionals devoured and tears shed. Gosh, I've missed you ladies. The community and sisterhood provided here is unmatched!

No BFP at Disneyworld. I tried to wait, but I thought it would be so fun to go to guest services to "ask a question" when we all got to the park and come back out with an "I'm Celebrating" button that said, "We're pregnant!" on it to surprise the In-laws. Oh well. The vacation was magnificent overall. We got a couple things for the nursery at the Muppet shop, got baby's first mouse ears and even got baby's first gift from DH's family, a "Thing 1" onsie from Universal Studios.

AF showed when we got home, right on time for my cycle, even though my chart shows that I O'd 3 days early. I know the Progesterone is working because I'm not spotting for days and days before shows up anymore, so that's encouraging, but I had let my hopes get so high that this was THE month.

We went over John 5:1-15 (the Healing at the Pool) in our LifeGroup last night. I love how the Word is so active. There are so many different ways this spoke to different members of the group. To me, it spoke to me continuing to "pick up my mat and walk", but also to my recent bitterness. I know I need to rejoice for my friends who are pregnant, even the non-believers and the complainers. I know I need to continue to praise God in this storm. But gosh, it's HARD some times. One comfort I had was my favorite mama in the group (she has 5 wonderful children) telling me of the nights she wept on her husband wondering if they would ever get pregnant.

I love that we are never alone. I love that God never changes, is sovereign and that His plan is perfect. Praying for His will in all of our lives and that we all have His joy in our hearts today!

 

[Godsjewel]

Took some time to catch up on all of the news here over the past week and a half. Prayers have been lifted, devotionals devoured and tears shed. Gosh, I've missed you ladies. The community and sisterhood provided here is unmatched!

No BFP at Disneyworld. I tried to wait, but I thought it would be so fun to go to guest services to "ask a question" when we all got to the park and come back out with an "I'm Celebrating" button that said, "We're pregnant!" on it to surprise the In-laws. Oh well. The vacation was magnificent overall. We got a couple things for the nursery at the Muppet shop, got baby's first mouse ears and even got baby's first gift from DH's family, a "Thing 1" onsie from Universal Studios.

AF showed when we got home, right on time for my cycle, even though my chart shows that I O'd 3 days early. I know the Progesterone is working because I'm not spotting for days and days before shows up anymore, so that's encouraging, but I had let my hopes get so high that this was THE month.

We went over John 5:1-15 (the Healing at the Pool) in our LifeGroup last night. I love how the Word is so active. There are so many different ways this spoke to different members of the group. To me, it spoke to me continuing to "pick up my mat and walk", but also to my recent bitterness. I know I need to rejoice for my friends who are pregnant, even the non-believers and the complainers. I know I need to continue to praise God in this storm. But gosh, it's HARD some times. One comfort I had was my favorite mama in the group (she has 5 wonderful children) telling me of the nights she wept on her husband wondering if they would ever get pregnant.

I love that we are never alone. I love that God never changes, is sovereign and that His plan is perfect. Praying for His will in all of our lives and that we all have His joy in our hearts today!

Welcome back

So glad you had a wonderful time and got back safely. Did you get to enjoy all the rides you wanted to go on?

Wow, 5 children!!! Do you know her story? Like how long she was ttc and if there was any medical issue involved?

Amen! He never leaves us or forsakes and when we have those days when we tend to wonder off, He is right there waiting for us to come back into His loving arms.

Thank you for your prayers sis, you are in mine as well

 

[Godsjewel]

Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I have become old, shall I have pleasure,

my lord being old also?"

And the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I indeed bear a child,

when I am so old?'
Genesis18:12-13


Finally, brethren, pray for us…
2 Thessalonians 3:1-2

What was it like for you the moment you realized that having a baby would not happen easily? Was it many years ago? Was it today? Will it be next month? Whenever it happens, it is terrifying.

An interesting thing happens when a woman realizes that she will have to fight to conceive a baby. Most of her choices are taken away with the diagnosis—or lack of diagnosis. She may not get to decide how many children she’ll have, or if she’ll have them at all. She won’t be able to choose how or when she’ll conceive. However, there are some choices she is able to make, and many must be dealt with at the start of the baby battle. Do I tell people we are having a problem, or do I keep it to myself.

2 Thessalonians was written by Paul, a great man of faith who penned a large portion of the New Testament. We see that he was facing a great hardship in his life and was asking friends for prayer that the word of the Lord would spread rapidly and that he and his ministry partners would be saved from perverse and evil men. What an example for us to follow. No doubt Paul was secure in his faith and his belief that God had His hand on his life, yet he still asked friends to pray for him. If you have praying friends or family, perhaps you’ll choose to ask them to pray for you as you navigate the murky waters of infertility. Difficult decisions must be covered in prayer, and the necessity of those prayers often feels overwhelming. What great support comes from the prayers of loving people who care for you.

However, for some people, self-disclosure is nauseating. You don’t want anyone to know how desperate you are for a baby and how hard this battle really is. The issue of infertility is simply too private for you to share with anyone. You don’t want other people looking at you with pity when a new mother walks in the room with her baby. You cannot tolerate the well-meaning people who say hurtful things like “Oh, you could always just adopt.”, or “Oh honey, you’re young! You can always have another baby.” So you choose to keep your diagnosis and despair to yourself.

Perhaps you can relate better to Sarah.

Genesis 18 tells us of an encounter Abraham and Sarah had with God. Sarah was alone in her tent when she heard a holy visitor tell Abraham she would conceive a child. She was 89! It had to seem ridiculous to her. Scripture tells us that Sarah laughed to herself—not out loud. Maybe she didn’t want anyone to know she had heard this prophetic utterance. Perhaps she just couldn’t tolerate looks of pity if her dreams were dashed again. Whatever her reason, Sarah laughed to herself.

Do you realize that God heard the cry of her heart, even if she couldn’t bear to have anyone hear her words? God spoke to Abraham and said to him “Why did Sarah laugh…?” Even though her thoughts were private and were not spoken aloud, God heard her.

I have good news for you. God knows the silent cry of your heart. Even if you are not comfortable enough to share about your infertility with anyone, God knows each and every tear. He knows every disappointment. He knows the plan He is bringing about on your behalf.

-Beth Forbus

 

[QueenKingfish]

Welcome back

So glad you had a wonderful time and got back safely. Did you get to enjoy all the rides you wanted to go on?

Wow, 5 children!!! Do you know her story? Like how long she was ttc and if there was any medical issue involved?

Amen! He never leaves us or forsakes and when we have those days when we tend to wonder off, He is right there waiting for us to come back into His loving arms.

Thank you for your prayers sis, you are in mine as well

Thank you! We did get to ride most everything we wanted to - Aunt of the Year, here, scared our 7 y/o nephew so bad on "Dinosaur" on the very first day that it was a bit of a chore to get him on a ride the rest of the vacation, but when he did, he loved them. Disney was as magical as ever, and New Fantasyland is beautiful - I can't wait to go back when it's all completed. I even got to take DH, MIL & FIL to see the show I was in when I worked there - that was awesome. If you are a Harry Potter fan and get the chance to go to Orlando, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is fantastic - and the butterbeer is DELISH!

I don't know her full story, but I know they tried for quite some time. They've never talked about any kind of fertility treatments, in fact, Wednesday night was the first I'd ever heard of them having a tough time TTC their oldest. Maybe that's why I've always been so drawn to her and felt like, "I want to be like Nora when I grow up!"

God is good. All the time. Just have to remind ourselves of that on the hard days.

Also, reminding ourselves that emotional crying (as opposed to laughter/allergies/having something in your eye) releases us from 3 different stress hormones. Makes a lot of sense that we feel so much better after a good cry, eh?

 

[VGibs]

I'm worried about SlimBrit...any news girl!?

 

[Godsjewel]

I'm worried about SlimBrit...any news girl!?

No, I sent her a private message...hopefully we hear from her soon.

 

[Godsjewel]

God is so good and I want to share what happened today.

At my work they do annual reviews, this is where they go over what you've done the past year, what you need to improve on and go over goals that are being set for the new year.

I was at my desk and got a call from my Supervisor asking if I wanted to meet him to go over my review. As I was heading over to meet him, I already had it in my head that the raise that was going to go along with this review, wasn't going to be very good. That is only because it hasn't been very good in the past, even though my review was great.

I'm sitting there looking over everything he wrote about my work ethic and job performance and was pleasantly surprised at the score I received. I got such great recognition from him and it made me feel really good. So then it came time to tell me how much my raise was going to be....God blessed me with an amount that didn't even come to mind. I had it already in my head that I was only going to get half of that.

Thank you Jesus for once again blowing my socks off! You are amazing and I praise you and give you all the glory for the things you are doing in my life.

I can't wait to share more exciting news soon

 

[No Doubt]

Ladies, another reading from the daily journal book I'm reading.

Be willing to wait!

Proverbs 18:21 There is life and death in the power of the tongue.

Gloria Copeland was writing how people need to be willing to wait. She said in your waiting, and any time really, your words have to match up with the word of God, and that basically you should be speaking life into whatever your situation is. She said what happens is most people start out talking in line with the word of God and are very positive and believe everything they say will happen, will happen. But when we don't see results right away, we get discouraged and start to doubt and begin to speak words of discouragement and doubt. This right here, kills everything you said would come to fruition.

She told a story about when they were starting out that she would sit in the congregation and listen to Kenneth preach about financial prosperity while she sat there with holes in her shoes. They were having a hard time financially, but they continued to speak prosperity into their lives, and obviously eventually it happened.

I just want to encourage all of us to stay encouraged. May we speak nothing but blessing into each other's lives, and like the song says...ENCOURAGE YOURSELF! Waiting can be hard, and it's easy to doubt and get discouraged when it seems like something isn't happening when you think it should, or as fast, or how it should, but know that God is working RIGHT NOW and continue to speak life into your situation!

 

[Jett55]

Every time I start to get discouraged about TTC I open my bible & God's shown me in many places where a barren woman conceives a child. I know I'm young & shouldn't worry but I can't help but think negative & worry sometimes but my pastor told me most of the things we worry about never happen. The last time I got very depressed about a bfn then read several bfp posts on fb. God showed me a verse about being still & waiting on him. There's a song by hillsong that says when the oceans rise and thunders roar I will soar with you above the storm father you are king over the flood I will be still know you are God.

 

[BRK06]

Profwife, how are you holding up?? I really like that Plumb song too... I find myself saying that quite a bit! It's such a comfort to have God on our side to bear our heavy burdens. I know I sure can't handle them alone!

SlimBrit, I've been keeping you in prayer... Please let us know you're ok! We're all here for you

QueenKingfish, welcome back from your trip!! It sounds like you had a great time! I'm sorry that "aunt" we don't like came to visit... She's been hanging out at my house this week too. Thanks for sharing about your revelation at group the other night. Isn't it funny how when we start getting a little too far into our personal pity parties God finds a way to bring us back??

Jett55, thank you for your words of encouragement! Psalm 46:10 is a verse I really like: "Be still, and know that I am God..."

Sarah, how are holding up with all those meds???

 

[Jett55]

thank you i couldn't remember where it was found

 

[ProfWife]

BRK.... I'm hanging in. Today was a good day. Chatted with some friends, got a little project done, slept a lot. I'm just trying to make it through the week. I start a college course (teaching) the first week of March, my in laws come the second week (which should also be my fertile week...how lovely...). Praying my HSG goes well on Friday.

How are you?

 

[BRK06]

BRK.... I'm hanging in. Today was a good day. Chatted with some friends, got a little project done, slept a lot. I'm just trying to make it through the week. I start a college course (teaching) the first week of March, my in laws come the second week (which should also be my fertile week...how lovely...). Praying my HSG goes well on Friday.

How are you?

Poor thing! Should be an interesting fertile week... You might have to make a game out of getting in "baby dancing" time I'm glad to hear you are having a better day I'll keep you in prayer for your HSG. I'm a total wimp when it comes to doing painful procedures, and I made it through mine pretty well. I recommend taking some ibuprofen or something before you go to help with cramping though. It was kind of cool looking at the X-rays as they were taking them... I had a pretty heart shape on mine! Hahaha!

Things are going good for me, thanks for asking! I'm waiting to see what God has in store for us over the next few months while we wait for our next treatment plan

 

[Godsjewel]

Sarah, how are holding up with all those meds???

Hi Kim!

Thankfully I have had no side effects of the med I am currently taking The injections are very easy and I tend to look forward to them every day.

How are you doing?

 

[Godsjewel]

Blessed be the Lord who daily bears our burden,
Psalm 68:19

Infertility is not a problem that is faced on a monthly basis. It is not even something we just have to address on the days we have doctor’s appointments or another pregnancy test. Baby hunger is a daily battle. It seems we can never get away from it. Television commercials show babbling babies and we are reminded of the silence of our homes. Our mailboxes are stuffed with invitations to baby showers while our calendars are filled with doctor’s appointments and scheduled intercourse. Even if we could hide from the rest of the world, our bodies are constant reminders of our quest to conceive. Every twinge is a hopeful sign of pregnancy or a devastating proof of failure. Some days are harder than others, and some days are better than the one before, but as women facing infertility ours is a daily struggle.

I’m so thankful that God understands the struggles we face. God knows the way we take, and eventually, we will come through the other side of this trial shining as gold. (Job 23:10) He is not a detached Creator who breathes life into us and leaves us to fend for ourselves. Scripture assures us that He is exactly the opposite. If you are feeling alone in your journey today, or wondering if you can shoulder the burden of infertility alone, Psalm 68:19 is just what you need. Blessed be the Lord who daily bears our burden. Not one day goes by that God is not aware of your struggle with infertility. There has never been one 24 hour period that God has not paid attention to your heart’s cry for a baby. He knows how heavy the weight of an empty cradle can be, so He has chosen to get underneath that burden and carry it for you. He will never leave you alone to fall beneath this load by yourself.

God bears our burdens daily. Blessed is our God! He lovingly supports us, no matter what trials we face. He knows every detail of the journey you are on--the financial strain that fertility treatment can put on you, the awkwardness in friendships with fertile friends, the way your faith seems to plummet when you face another month without conception--and He has your back.

He daily bears our burden. Not just on Sundays when we go to church and are enraptured in worship. He daily bears our burden. Not just on the good days when it’s easy to imagine God carrying our sorrows. He daily bears our burden. Not just on the bad days when we know we couldn’t carry the burden of another miscarriage and it has to be His hand holding you under the weight of grief. He daily bears our burden.

Thank You Lord, for daily bearing our burdens!

-Beth Forbus

 

[ProfWife]

I'm reading Draw the Circle, which is a companion book to The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson. Lots of great ideas and promises in it...also a slap of reality (which I need more and more often). I'm at about the halfway point in the book; it's a 49 day prayer journey. I know some of us haven't been trying very long, and many have experienced heartbreak. I'd like to circle you and your situation in prayer as well. If possible, somehow let me know what you'd specifically like circled so I can include you in the next 23 days of this devotional (and beyond since I know not all of us will potentially get that BFP or sticky bean this month.

I'm so glad to have found this thread...feels like I always have a home.

 

[VGibs]

Today is my first ultrasound. I am nervous, but I am more nervous because I keep having fears about having 3 kids. My first 2 are 8 years apart. These two will be 2.5 years apart. I'm starting to be nervous about having 2 kids so close in age. I know I will handle it, but things between my husband and my oldest are not going especially well right now. I wish and pray that everything will calm down.

 

[Godsjewel]

I'm reading Draw the Circle, which is a companion book to The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson. Lots of great ideas and promises in it...also a slap of reality (which I need more and more often). I'm at about the halfway point in the book; it's a 49 day prayer journey. I know some of us haven't been trying very long, and many have experienced heartbreak. I'd like to circle you and your situation in prayer as well. If possible, somehow let me know what you'd specifically like circled so I can include you in the next 23 days of this devotional (and beyond since I know not all of us will potentially get that BFP or sticky bean this month.

I'm so glad to have found this thread...feels like I always have a home.

Thanks sis! I sent you a message

 

[Godsjewel]

Today is my first ultrasound. I am nervous, but I am more nervous because I keep having fears about having 3 kids. My first 2 are 8 years apart. These two will be 2.5 years apart. I'm starting to be nervous about having 2 kids so close in age. I know I will handle it, but things between my husband and my oldest are not going especially well right now. I wish and pray that everything will calm down.

Yay! That is super exciting.

Remember, God isn't going to give you more than you can handle. Trust and believe that God is going to do a good work in your family.

Praying for peace in your family and that you all will grow closer.