Christian ladies TTC, we can encourage one another.

[Godsjewel]

I haven't posted much lately but I am asking for you to pray for my family. We lost my aunt this morning to cancer.

I'm sorry to hear that, I pray the Lord comforts you and your family during this time. A couple of weeks ago my husband lost his aunt to cancer as well.

 

[Godsjewel]

Hi Ladies,

Wishing you all the best in your cycles. I have been reading the posts but haven't had much to add.

We don't see FS till Dec 10th so it has been a time of processing and absorbing for us still. Read lots of articles online and watched a few videos on youtube about male infertility and treatments.

Seems quite complex - feeling slightly overwhelmed by the road before us.

This is my first cycle knowing that a BFP highly unlikely if not impossible. I haven't been in this place before. Week two of 2ww and nothing to wait for. All my usual pmt symptoms have kicked in and now I know that they mean nothing - yet the habit of a year of ttc and reading into every symptom is a hard habit to break.

My Aunty died on Friday so I have a funeral to go to tomorrow. It will be lovely to catch up with all the family but I am hoping no-one asks me questions about when I will have a baby. I am making sure the outfit I choose to wear is flattering and won't give an impression of a baby bump!

It is difficult to believe that we are in this place. It helps to know that we are not alone. Sometimes I feel like a fraud writing on this baby bump thread as I can't get pregnant naturally. It will need a miracle or medical intervention for us and that is something we are still coming to terms with.

Sorry to hear about your Aunt, I pray comfort for you and your family.

Please don't feel like a fraud, God takes things that seem impossible to man and does the impossible. God can completely turn this situation around. We just need to hold on to His promises and trust Him that whatever His will is, that it will be worked out in our lives.

 

[HisGrace]

Shellz and Amanda - I am so sorry for your losses and the difficulties you are experiencing. May God bless you both through this all.

AFM - I was hesitant to post this as I don't want it to come across as if I'm rubbing it in, but I wanted to let you all know to keep your trust in God no matter what your circumstances look like. I started spotting at 5 weeks pregnant which happens to be the same day I started spotting with my pregnancy loss earlier this year. I went to the dr the next day and had my levels checked. The next day the bleeding had pretty much quadrupled and I was passing small clots along with cramping. My results came back and while they were rising, they weren't doubling as they should be. I was seeing two doctors at the time. One said to prepare myself for miscarriage. The other said to wait on the ultrasound. After my last loss, I decided to go with the first doctor and start preparing myself for miscarriage. On yesterday, I had an ultrasound to confirm what we suspected and we saw a baby and a heartbeat. I give all glory to God. We aren't out of the woods yet, but I've decided to embrace this put my complete trust in Him.

So don't give up on God no matter how bad things look. He has a plan for us all, and as long as we don't get in the way, it will come pass.

 

[Godsjewel]

Shellz and Amanda - I am so sorry for your losses and the difficulties you are experiencing. May God bless you both through this all.

AFM - I was hesitant to post this as I don't want it to come across as if I'm rubbing it in, but I wanted to let you all know to keep your trust in God no matter what your circumstances look like. I started spotting at 5 weeks pregnant which happens to be the same day I started spotting with my pregnancy loss earlier this year. I went to the dr the next day and had my levels checked. The next day the bleeding had pretty much quadrupled and I was passing small clots along with cramping. My results came back and while they were rising, they weren't doubling as they should be. I was seeing two doctors at the time. One said to prepare myself for miscarriage. The other said to wait on the ultrasound. After my last loss, I decided to go with the first doctor and start preparing myself for miscarriage. On yesterday, I had an ultrasound to confirm what we suspected and we saw a baby and a heartbeat. I give all glory to God. We aren't out of the woods yet, but I've decided to embrace this put my complete trust in Him.

So don't give up on God no matter how bad things look. He has a plan for us all, and as long as we don't get in the way, it will come pass.

Thank you Jesus!!! Tears are filling my eyes...I have so much joy in my heart hearing the good news. BTW you are in no way rubbing it in...we are here to share in both difficulties and joys of ttc and this is definitely a JOY!

I think I have to go touch up my makeup now

love you dear and look forward to hearing about all the wonderful joys of pregnancy. Please IM me if you don't feel comfortable sharing them here.

 

[No Doubt]

That is definitely wonderful news Godsgrace! What looked like a miscarriage God used for His glory! Amen!

 

[Godsjewel]

Praying for you

Prayer. It’s a powerful weapon in your struggle with infertility. Do you pray for yourself? Do you and your spouse pray together for children? There are few things more precious than a husband and wife bowing down and approaching God together to ask Him for the blessing of children. You want to have children together. You want to raise children together. Why not pray about your children together? (I recently came across a study that shows that when a couple prays together daily the divorce rate drops from 1 in 2 to 1 in 1,052.) Do you enlist others to pray for you?

If you could ask anyone in the world to pray for you in regard to your infertility, who would you ask? Your pastor? A respected family member? What about Billy Graham? Maybe you would choose a missionary who had faced death in the face and survived, or had witnessed hundreds of people give their lives to the Lord under their ministry. Someone who had fought infertility and now has children of her own? What if you could go back in time? Would you ask the Apostle Paul to cry out to God on your behalf? What about John or Peter? After all, they walked with Christ! They would probably know just what to say to Him to really get His attention, wouldn’t they? Would it be Hannah or Elizabeth you would call on? If you could choose anyone from any time to pray for you in regard to your ability to have children, who would you choose?

Do you realize the Holy Spirit prays for you?

Romans 8:26-27 says In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. The Holy Spirit of God prays for you! There are times we simply do not know the right way to pray for ourselves. Perhaps we pray with our whole heart that God allows us to conceive, yet God’s perfect plan holds an adopted child. What if God wants us to conceive naturally, yet we pray for finances to pursue treatment? We think we know how we should pray, but we are human beings and our way of thinking can be flawed. If we are honest with ourselves we can all tell of times we thought we knew what God’s will for our lives was, only to find out later that we were mistaken. God knows you don’t always know exactly what to pray for, so the Holy Spirit intercedes on your behalf. The Holy Spirit is never mistaken, and He prays according to God’s perfect will for our lives.

Imagine the prayers of the Holy Spirit being offered on your behalf! The Holy Spirit praying about the creation of your family! Does He pray that you conceive? Does He pray that you become open to the idea of adoption? Does He pray that you find contentment as you wait? Whatever He prays, He prays perfectly within the will of God.

Be encouraged today that the Holy Spirit intercedes for you. God knows your need and the Holy Spirit intercedes on your behalf. Keep praying. Keep crying out to God yourself. Keep listening for His voice and His guidance. He can do amazing things through your infertility as the Holy Spirit Himself intercedes for you today.

 

[fletch_W]

Shellz and Amanda - I am so sorry for your losses and the difficulties you are experiencing. May God bless you both through this all.

AFM - I was hesitant to post this as I don't want it to come across as if I'm rubbing it in, but I wanted to let you all know to keep your trust in God no matter what your circumstances look like. I started spotting at 5 weeks pregnant which happens to be the same day I started spotting with my pregnancy loss earlier this year. I went to the dr the next day and had my levels checked. The next day the bleeding had pretty much quadrupled and I was passing small clots along with cramping. My results came back and while they were rising, they weren't doubling as they should be. I was seeing two doctors at the time. One said to prepare myself for miscarriage. The other said to wait on the ultrasound. After my last loss, I decided to go with the first doctor and start preparing myself for miscarriage. On yesterday, I had an ultrasound to confirm what we suspected and we saw a baby and a heartbeat. I give all glory to God. We aren't out of the woods yet, but I've decided to embrace this put my complete trust in Him.

So don't give up on God no matter how bad things look. He has a plan for us all, and as long as we don't get in the way, it will come pass.

Praise the Lord what a wonderful miracle!! God is so good. You arent rubbing anything in, you are sharing amazing news after a loss and answer to prayer!

 

[Alr83]

Well, I haven't posted in a while, but felt compelled to do so today. I have still been stalking this thread and pray for you all- through the good and bad.

Many prayers to those who have lost loved ones recently. And those who are going through struggles. I pray that everyone finds peace in their journey and you are right where you need to be even if it's not where you want to be.

I want to say something about male infertility that is a burden for some that I had no idea about. When looking at info about my own infertility I found out that even though sperm is in constant production it takes 72 days for it to mature and be available for ejaculation. so due to the longer maturation time, when making lifestyle changes, it would take 72 days for those changes to be in effect.

I know that this info won't make it easier on everyone and when times already seems to be dragging on- 72 days can seem like forever. I didn't just read this, but reading through posts it popped back in my head, but I wasn't going to post.....I had a nagging feeling (ok God, I got it!) I needed to. I had thoughts that even though it seems like a long time that is was important to share because God really put it on my heart that there will be some struggles because of time. Don't give up, don't lose faith, what doesn't seem like it is working today may be the work tomorrow (or for 72 days). If God is keeping you in the direction you are going......keep going until our mighty Lord tells us to turn.

Really sorry if this info is taken wrong, and I almost want to just delete it.

HisGrace- such wonderful news! Congrats!

Praying for you all!

 

[beckysprayer]

Shellz and Amanda - I am so sorry for your losses and the difficulties you are experiencing. May God bless you both through this all.

AFM - I was hesitant to post this as I don't want it to come across as if I'm rubbing it in, but I wanted to let you all know to keep your trust in God no matter what your circumstances look like. I started spotting at 5 weeks pregnant which happens to be the same day I started spotting with my pregnancy loss earlier this year. I went to the dr the next day and had my levels checked. The next day the bleeding had pretty much quadrupled and I was passing small clots along with cramping. My results came back and while they were rising, they weren't doubling as they should be. I was seeing two doctors at the time. One said to prepare myself for miscarriage. The other said to wait on the ultrasound. After my last loss, I decided to go with the first doctor and start preparing myself for miscarriage. On yesterday, I had an ultrasound to confirm what we suspected and we saw a baby and a heartbeat. I give all glory to God. We aren't out of the woods yet, but I've decided to embrace this put my complete trust in Him.

So don't give up on God no matter how bad things look. He has a plan for us all, and as long as we don't get in the way, it will come pass.

That's wonderful! Praying for you and your little baby. God is so good!

 

[Godsjewel]

Supporting Your Husband Through Male Factor Infertility

What is it like for a man who suffers from infertility? In some ways, I think it must be more difficult for him than for the woman who struggles. A woman can bear her soul to her friends and her sisters. How does a man confide in his buddies that he cannot impregnate his wife? It is so unfair, but when a man is told by his physician that his “boys” have poor morphology or mobility, he almost instantly feels as if he is less of a man.

Perhaps male factor infertility has become the third party in your marriage. What an unwelcome companion! If any person ever tried to enter your home and belittle your husband, you’d never stand for it! You’d kick them out of your house, and dare them to ever even think of returning! A low sperm count reminds him of his inability to help you conceive in every intimate moment the two of you have. You never stood at the altar and gazed lovingly into his eyes and promised to love him “as long as you are amazingly fertile”, but somehow, a man with a fertility issue feels as if he has failed his wife.

Look at a couple of the men of the infertile couples in Scripture. How did God see them? God called Abraham his friend! What an honor! (And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, " And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness," and he was called the friend of God. James 3:23) According to Luke 1, 6, Zacharias was upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly. Did God see them as less worthy men? Not at all! They were men upon whom He chose to build the foundations of the church. Abraham would be the father of nations and through him all people would be blessed. Zacharias would raise the fore-runner of the Messiah, yet at one time, both of these men were one half of an infertile couple. God saw unimaginable worth in these men. He saw past infertility’s influence on their lives, and saw what He could make of them.

If your husband suffers from male factor infertility, why not make today about him? Chances are, if you are blessed with friends or family who understand your struggle to conceive, they offer you support far more than they offer your husband support. Most people don’t understand that infertility can be a man’s problem as well as a woman’s problem. Remind your husband why you love him. When you first met him and fell in love with him, what was it about him that made your heart skip a beat? I’ll bet it wasn’t his sperm count! Did the dimple in his chin make your knees go weak? Tell him. Were you gushing like a school girl over the way he sang off-key on a walk to the park? Take another walk today and reminisce. Help him realize that fathering a child is not the only thing you want him for. Remind him how manly he is to you. As you support and encourage him, you may just find your own burden lifting.

An excellent husband, who can find?
For his worth is far above jewels, no matter his fertility.
The heart of his wife trusts in him,
And she will have no lack of gain.
(Based on Proverbs 31:10-11)

 

[Heather11]

Shellz and Amanda - I am so sorry for your losses and the difficulties you are experiencing. May God bless you both through this all.

AFM - I was hesitant to post this as I don't want it to come across as if I'm rubbing it in, but I wanted to let you all know to keep your trust in God no matter what your circumstances look like. I started spotting at 5 weeks pregnant which happens to be the same day I started spotting with my pregnancy loss earlier this year. I went to the dr the next day and had my levels checked. The next day the bleeding had pretty much quadrupled and I was passing small clots along with cramping. My results came back and while they were rising, they weren't doubling as they should be. I was seeing two doctors at the time. One said to prepare myself for miscarriage. The other said to wait on the ultrasound. After my last loss, I decided to go with the first doctor and start preparing myself for miscarriage. On yesterday, I had an ultrasound to confirm what we suspected and we saw a baby and a heartbeat. I give all glory to God. We aren't out of the woods yet, but I've decided to embrace this put my complete trust in Him.

So don't give up on God no matter how bad things look. He has a plan for us all, and as long as we don't get in the way, it will come pass.

Yaya!!!! So happy and will keep you all in my prayers!!!

 

[xxx_faithful]

You are a crazy woman of God Sar, every thread you post impacts us all so profoundly. I want to thank you for your daily encouragement and prayer, and so i pray that you will be blessed tenfold for your love towards your sisters. I know personally you have been such a bundle of joy through the darkest of moments for me. I only pray you will have people around you that will be just as good of a friend as you are to everyone else.

Xx

Praying for you

Prayer. It’s a powerful weapon in your struggle with infertility. Do you pray for yourself? Do you and your spouse pray together for children? There are few things more precious than a husband and wife bowing down and approaching God together to ask Him for the blessing of children. You want to have children together. You want to raise children together. Why not pray about your children together? (I recently came across a study that shows that when a couple prays together daily the divorce rate drops from 1 in 2 to 1 in 1,052.) Do you enlist others to pray for you?

If you could ask anyone in the world to pray for you in regard to your infertility, who would you ask? Your pastor? A respected family member? What about Billy Graham? Maybe you would choose a missionary who had faced death in the face and survived, or had witnessed hundreds of people give their lives to the Lord under their ministry. Someone who had fought infertility and now has children of her own? What if you could go back in time? Would you ask the Apostle Paul to cry out to God on your behalf? What about John or Peter? After all, they walked with Christ! They would probably know just what to say to Him to really get His attention, wouldn’t they? Would it be Hannah or Elizabeth you would call on? If you could choose anyone from any time to pray for you in regard to your ability to have children, who would you choose?

Do you realize the Holy Spirit prays for you?

Romans 8:26-27 says In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. The Holy Spirit of God prays for you! There are times we simply do not know the right way to pray for ourselves. Perhaps we pray with our whole heart that God allows us to conceive, yet God’s perfect plan holds an adopted child. What if God wants us to conceive naturally, yet we pray for finances to pursue treatment? We think we know how we should pray, but we are human beings and our way of thinking can be flawed. If we are honest with ourselves we can all tell of times we thought we knew what God’s will for our lives was, only to find out later that we were mistaken. God knows you don’t always know exactly what to pray for, so the Holy Spirit intercedes on your behalf. The Holy Spirit is never mistaken, and He prays according to God’s perfect will for our lives.

Imagine the prayers of the Holy Spirit being offered on your behalf! The Holy Spirit praying about the creation of your family! Does He pray that you conceive? Does He pray that you become open to the idea of adoption? Does He pray that you find contentment as you wait? Whatever He prays, He prays perfectly within the will of God.

Be encouraged today that the Holy Spirit intercedes for you. God knows your need and the Holy Spirit intercedes on your behalf. Keep praying. Keep crying out to God yourself. Keep listening for His voice and His guidance. He can do amazing things through your infertility as the Holy Spirit Himself intercedes for you today.

 

[xxx_faithful]

Hi all, i haven't posted here in awhile. So i thought i'd drop in and say HI!!!!

Just to give you a rundown to those that may not be aware of my TTC history. The journey has been horrible to say the least to get to where i am. 2yrs TTC, multiple m/c, Dr after Dr, months where i wouldn't ovulate with even the strongest of medications, i was due to do IVF this February. To find out that February will actually be our due date for our expecting baby. The week i would of had our first baby this year was infact the week that we conceived the baby i'm pregnant with now. Something that a wise friend told me recently was sometimes the timing for you to be a mum has nothing to do with you, but the actual timing of your baby into this life.

I'll be honest, it's not all sunshine after you find out your pregnant either, there are times when i am petrified of losing yet another baby but i have to lean into God, and even be tucked away underneath his wing to comfort me in those times. Below i've pasted a short poem on trust. A spiritual emotion we need constant reminding to put into practice.


Trusting in you is sometimes one of the hardest things.
Trusting that you have everything worked out when i cannot see it from where I'm standing.
Trusting you with my life that often seems so hard to let go of and give to you.
Trusting someone so big as if saying you could potentially miss the pain I'm feeling.
After all the trusting. The word TRUST still is spoken over and over again in the bible. It's like he knew we would need reminding. He knew we would forget. He knew it would be hard.
He wants us to trust anyway. Trust when it hurts. Trust when the pain cuts so deep. Trust when the hope is gone. Keep trusting till you come to a place that trusting is all you know. There you will find a peace that is like no other. Discover it. And embrace the gift that trusting in God brings.

 

[Godsjewel]

Hi all, i haven't posted here in awhile. So i thought i'd drop in and say HI!!!!

Just to give you a rundown to those that may not be aware of my TTC history. The journey has been horrible to say the least to get to where i am. 2yrs TTC, multiple m/c, Dr after Dr, months where i wouldn't ovulate with even the strongest of medications, i was due to do IVF this February. To find out that February will actually be our due date for our expecting baby. The week i would of had our first baby this year was infact the week that we conceived the baby i'm pregnant with now. Something that a wise friend told me recently was sometimes the timing for you to be a mum has nothing to do with you, but the actual timing of your baby into this life.

I'll be honest, it's not all sunshine after you find out your pregnant either, there are times when i am petrified of losing yet another baby but i have to lean into God, and even be tucked away underneath his wing to comfort me in those times. Below i've pasted a short poem on trust. A spiritual emotion we need constant reminding to put into practice.


Trusting in you is sometimes one of the hardest things.
Trusting that you have everything worked out when i cannot see it from where I'm standing.
Trusting you with my life that often seems so hard to let go of and give to you.
Trusting someone so big as if saying you could potentially miss the pain I'm feeling.
After all the trusting. The word TRUST still is spoken over and over again in the bible. It's like he knew we would need reminding. He knew we would forget. He knew it would be hard.
He wants us to trust anyway. Trust when it hurts. Trust when the pain cuts so deep. Trust when the hope is gone. Keep trusting till you come to a place that trusting is all you know. There you will find a peace that is like no other. Discover it. And embrace the gift that trusting in God brings.

Thank you for stopping by sweets and sharing your story with others. I know this time has been difficult for you, but your journey is not in vain, you are going to touch so many women who have had to travel a similar path as yourself with your testimony.

 

[Godsjewel]

WWJB
(Where Would Jesus Be?)

What if Jesus walked the planet today as He did in Biblical times? What would He look like? What would He say to people? Would He go to college football games? Maybe He would take buddies on camping trips, volunteer at homeless shelters or share His amazing insight at coffee shops.

I think we’d find Him hanging around fertility clinic waiting rooms.

What? That may just be the most bizarre statement you’ve ever read, but hang in there just a moment and I’ll explain. When Jesus donned the robe of humanity, He was no stranger to hurting people. Imagine the jaws of Israel’s religious elite dropping when Jesus rubbed spit-made-mud in the eyes of a formerly blind man, or when He touched an untouchable woman’s hand, raising her to feet and to the same standing as a man. He was quite the radical of His day. Don’t you love that? Visualize Him walking through Bethesda, inexplicably drawn to the sick and hurting, the very ones that society ostracized. Touching a body wracked by pain and bringing healing. Cooling a fevered brow. Calming fear in a troubled heart. Bringing peace where none existed before. (Now can you see why He may have chosen a fertility clinic waiting room?)

You see, our Savior is drawn to hurting people. He is described in Isaiah as a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. You can rest assured that if you are hurting, Jesus Christ is near you. If He had chosen the 21st Century to make His earthly appearance, I believe He may have sauntered through fertility clinic waiting rooms! Where else could you find people with higher anxiety rates, more tears or greater uncertainty in regard to their future? What would draw Him more?

Perhaps you have a doctor’s appointment today and you are afraid. You don’t know what he will tell you. You don’t know what the blood results will be. You can’t imagine what your reaction to the news will be. The future is a scary place when you look at it through fertility-tinted lenses. As you wait in the waiting room for your name to be called, listen as Jesus stands beside you whispering to your heart, “My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” Jesus really does show up in fertility clinic waiting rooms!

Maybe there’s no doctor’s appointment today, but baby hunger has still wounded your heart, and you need the presence of the Savior in other places. Perhaps you need him at the office, the grocery store or at the dinner table. If you’re hurting, He’s there. You see another pregnant woman or experience some seemingly insignificant event that sends you spiraling into another tailspin of tears because you haven’t conceived. No one else seems to understand why a commercial for diapers is enough to ruin your day, or why a coworker saying she has to get off work early for her sonogram appointment is more than you can take. You feel as if you are the only one in the world who struggles so. Hear Jesus, the friend who really is closer to you than a brother, as He reminds you, I am with you always. With you at work. With you at home. With you when you find out someone else is pregnant. With you when you find out you’re not. I am with you always. Jesus shows up wherever there are hurting people. He won’t leave you alone in your tears. He won’t leave you alone in your frustration. He just won’t leave you.

So where would Jesus show up if He took on human form today? Right where you are. In the middle of hurting humanity. Inexplicably drawn to the ones most ostracized by society. Right where He is right now.

And probably showing up at an infertility clinic or two!

-Beth Forbus

 

[Mummy_2_One]

Ladies, I just wanted to share these words from one of the songs off the boppy littlle CDs my daughter and I listen to in the car:

God never says 'oops'
Never slips up
Never makes any mistakes, no
God never says 'oops'
Cause He's got a perfect plan
Can He do it?
Yes He can!

It helps me to remember that God doesn't accidentally forget to give us children. He hasn't made mistakes in the babies we've lost, or in the bodies that we believe have failed us in not having ever conceived children before. He's got a perfect plan in all of it, and even though it's not easy knowing He's allowing us to wait (or hurt) for a reason, I'd much prefer to know that He knows all about it and it's all in His wonderful hands than to just think all could be just up to 'chance' or worse, be just completely impossible (can you imagine not knowing Jesus through such an incredibly difficult time?).

We are so blessed to know and love and trust in this amazing God of ours! The journey to motherhood can be really difficult, but we know the one who knows every bump along the road before we hit it, and that's a wonderful comfort to me.

You are all in my prayers xx

 

[Heather11]

I had such amazing hopes for this month, but now I am not so sure....my post O temps are all over the place!!!

 

[HisGrace]

Heather, keep the faith. Just because it looks bad doesn't mean that's the reality.

 

[Heather11]

Heather, keep the faith. Just because it looks bad doesn't mean that's the reality.

True true...I guess I am just so used to being disappointed!! I know I need to stay positive!

 

[Mummy_2_One]

I know we love to celebrate what God's doing our lives on this thread, so I hope no one minds me posting to say that my husband and I found out this morning about the baby we can expect to meet in June 2013... After TTC for well over a year, and with 2 losses in that time, we are over the moon.

My prayers are with you all, and I hope you don't mind me sticking around x