Songs that Bring me Hope

I have always been a music person. I would rather listen to music than watch TV, and anytime something is going on in my life (happy, sad, maddening), I try and find music to explain how I'm feeling. As time has gone on in my "trying for a baby" world, there are a few songs that I always end up singing along with while driving in my car to appointments, to baby showers, and even to work, just to bring me back to life, hopeful, beautiful, effortless, life.

Here's some my my favorites:

Sara Bareilles "Uncharted"

Justin Beiber "Never Say Never" (yes I'm aware this is the second time "The Beib's" has been on my blog.

Jordin Sparks "One Step at a Time"

And Lastly, for now, Randy Houser's "In Gods Time."

Great Book.

I've been reading Melissa Ford's book, "Navigating the Land of IF" and I must say, its brought me back down to earth from planet hysterical, which I was orbiting earlier this week.

Her book touches on all the important issues of IF'ers (IF is the medical abbreviation for infertility). She talks about dealing with emotions surrounding let down, fertility meds, fertility treatments, adoption, third party reproduction (surrogacy, donor eggs and/or sperm), and choosing to live child free.

The whole book is structured like you are on a tour of an island....the island of "IF" and the trials and tribulations that await you while you attempt to get back to the "mainland."

Melissa has been through many of these things, and her knowledge, compassion, and sense of humor make for an amazing read that will settle your nerves and remind you that you are NOT alone.

Pulling Down The Moon

Pulling down the moon is the name of a group of holistic practitioners that work to help a couple conceive a child. Their name stems from the known belief that the moon is symbolic of the female menstrual cycle. We also know that the moon is also in affiliation with the zodiac sign Cancer, which has the meaning of "home" and "mother."

This amazing group of people have come together to offer yoga, acupuncture, counseling, and lots of educational classes to help couples across the spectrum (from just starting the TTC journey, to those doing IVF) understand and cope with their specific situation. Unfortunately, they are located far away from me! Their offices are in Chicago, IL and Washington DC.

The three female founders of Pulling Down the Moon created a book titled "Fully Fertile." This three month plan gives the reader weekly activities to complete. The book gives a lot of interesting information about acupuncture, sex for conception, but most of all, it gives several series of yoga postures to enhance fertility, and probably even more important RELAXATION. The women also share each of their stories, giving commrodary and hope to the reader.

This book taught me a lot about Eastern medicine. The women discuss using yoga and/or acupuncture alone, or in addition to ART (assistive reproductive technology) in the Western medicine realm.

My favorite chapter is called "Strengthening the Letting-Go Muscle." Man, mines out of shape! But I'm working on it!

Pulling Down the Moon's website: http://www.pullingdownthemoon.com