Friday, September 30, 2011

Renaud Spirit Center Yoga Mats

The Renaud Spirit Center has donated five (5) yoga mats.
The Renaud Spirit Center is a 66,000 square-foot facility in O'Fallon Sporks Park, O'Fallon, Missouri. Recreational opportunities abound for patrons of all ages. Enjoy extensive programming in aquatics, sports, fitness and wellness.
   
Thank you Renaud Spirit Center for your donation!

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Shades of Awareness

Michelle, the owner of Shades of Awareness, has graciously donated five (5) of these beautiful necklaces.
The blue and pink awareness necklace features a 6mm light blue and pink crackle bead and silver plated awareness charm (measures 1/2" from top to bottom). Why blue and pink? Blue and Pink Causes: Amniotic Fluid Embolism, Birth Defects, Infant Loss, Infertility, Male Breast Cancer, Miscarriage, Premature Birth, SIDS, Stillbirth.

Thank you Michelle! Be sure to check out her store on Etsy called Shades of Awareness.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Texas Roadhouse

A great big thank you to Crista Dean from the Texas Roadhouse in St. Charles for donating a Free Entree gift certificate and a Dinner For Two gift certificate for our upcoming conference.  Can I get a YEE HAW?!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Circle + Bloom CD Sets

Fertility Deals has donated one CD set of IVF and IUI Mind-Body Program and one CD set of Natural Cycle for Fertility Program to the MIA Conference.
"Prepare your body and your mind for a successful advanced medicated cycle. This program was designed to be listened to during your medicated cycle and includes 18 unique guided meditations to help produce the healthiest eggs possible, special sessions for the trigger/egg extraction, transfer procedure and getting you through two week-wait."
"Start today to feel in greater control over your fertility success. Our program includes 28 unique guided meditations – one for every day in your cycle- to support you in communicating with your body and tapping into your innate ability to create."

Susan at Fertility Deals was kind enough to let me try one of these out.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Socks, socks, socks!

Another donation has rolled in for the Inaugural MIA Conference to be held on Saturday, November 12 in Des Peres, MO. A friend of MIA has donated one polka dot tote bag and 10 packages of Joe Boxer socks. Going through infertility treatments, our feet are always higher than our heads and we're stuck having to wear those dreaded hospital gowns most of the time. Women in the infertility community like to jazz up their feet with funky, crazy, colorful socks to show a little individuality and to send support to each other. Here are the socks that were donated for the conference:


At the conference, we will be taking up a sock collection to exchange with participants. Next time you're out shopping and see some crazy, funky socks throw them in your cart and bring them to the conference. Write a note to encourage the person who will be wearing your socks during her fertility treatments and we'll hand them out at the end of the conference. Happy Sock Hunting!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Katie Beach Photography

The amazing and talented photographer Katie Beach has donated a $25 gift certificate good towards services or products. Katie does family, newborn, maternity, engagement and wedding photos. Go check out her website and view her wedding portfolio where you'll find my hubby and I. In the meantime, here's a picture of my niece and I before my wedding.
Katie is super easy to work with and VERY creative! I would recommend her in a heartbeat and I just love looking at all the photos she takes. Thanks for your donation and support, Katie!

Friday, September 23, 2011

We Need Your Help!

Megan, Mistie and I are working hard on lining up speakers, sponsors, caterers, donations and all that fun stuff that goes into putting on a conference. We're all busy marking items off our to-do lists and bouncing ideas off each other to make the Inaugural MIA Conference one to remember.

We've gotten lots of positive response when we've contacted authors, businesses, doctors and vendors about donating their books, time, knowledge and skills to the cause. Now we're asking YOU for YOUR help! How?

Well, if you haven't already, click here and go register! This is going to be an event you do not want to miss. Also, if you have an idea of something we should do at the conference or someone we should contact for a donation or sponsorship, leave us a comment or email us at MidwestIF at gmail dot com

Okay, now I've got to get back to work on the conference. It's a lot of hard work but well worth it!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Bugaboo Jewelry

Bugaboo Jewelry has graciously donated 7 (seven) beautiful necklaces to the MIA Conference on November 12. Bugaboo Jewelry specializes in miscarriage and infant loss jewelry. These keepsakes make thoughtful and compassionate gifts for friends or family who have endured a loss through miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death.

From her Etsy store profile: "Often when families experience a pregnancy loss or an early neo-netal death there are very few, if any, mementos to hold on to. Even if they were able to hold their baby or not, have pictures or not, it is still never enough. It is important to many families to have recognition of their baby or babies and this jewelry is a tangible way to acknowledge, honor and remember a precious baby gone too soon."

Here is just one sample of her beautiful work:
We will be raffling off all 7 (seven) of these necklaces at the conference so if you haven't already, go register! Thank you so much Bugaboo for your donations and support.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

"Navigating the Land of IF" by Melissa Ford

Some of you might be familiar with the Stirrup Queen, Melissa Ford and read her blog regularly. Melissa has donated a copy of her book Navigating the Land of IF to the Inaugural MIA Conference which will be held on November 12 in Des Peres, MO.


"Author of the extremely successful blog Stirrup Queens and Sperm Palace Jesters, Melissa Ford presents readers with a guide for navigating the complex world of infertility. The Land of If got its name not only because “IF” is the abbreviation for “infertility” in the online world, but also because there are so many “ifs” inherent in being here. No stranger to the Land of If herself, Ford shares her hard-earned knowledge and insights, helping couples struggling with infertility understand the lingo, learn the details doctors tend to leave out, and keep their emotional sanity despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Navigating the Land of If gives the nitty-gritty on injections, rejections, biting your tongue during happy parent-to-be conversations, and trying not to cry over baby shower invitations. With chapters that include how-to’s for same-sex couples, and present adoption or remaining child-free as plausible alternatives, Ford tells you exactly what you need to know, from one infertile to another."

Thank you Melissa!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Indigo Massage & Wellness

Indigo Massage & Wellness has donated 1 (one) sixty-minute therapeutic massage valued at $70. One lucky person at the Inaugural MIA Conference on November 12 will be the lucky winner of this massage.



Thank you Indigo Massage & Wellness for your support!

Monday, September 19, 2011

"What He Can Expect When She's Not Expecting"

Thank you to Marc Sedaka for his donation to the MIA Conference on November 12. Marc has donated one copy of his book What He Can Expect When She's Not Expecting


"As you read this, over six million married couples are suffering from infertility. That means six million wives, and yes, six million husbands too. For more than seven years, I was one of those six million husbands. I watched helplessly as my wife endured a painful array of tests, countless fertility treatments, and more than her fair share of heartbreaking disappointments. And what was my role meant to be during all this? I only wish I knew! There wasn’t a book, a talk show segment, or even an article that pointed me in the right direction. So, like most husbands in that position, I was forced to fend for myself – not quite sure when to chime in, when to keep quiet, when to take action, when to lay low…

Sound familiar? If so, then “What He Can Expect When She’s Not Expecting” is the book you’ve been waiting for. It will tell you everything you need to know about infertility and, amazingly, won’t bore you in the process! Written by a man, for a man, this is the only book that takes those six million guys into account… and lets them know exactly what their role should be."

This is a great read for all the mean riding the infertility journey. Thanks Marc!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Book Donations by Philip Yancey

Thank you to Philip Yancey for his donations of What Good is God? and Grace Notes for the 2011 Inaugural Midwest Infertility Awareness Conference.
"The idea for the book came to me in late November 2008 as the plane I was traveling in took off from the Mumbai, India, airport. I had been scheduled to speak on a book tour downtown the very night terrorists attacked the Taj Mahal Hotel and ten different sites, killing 165 people. The city went under lockdown and we had to cancel the scheduled event. Instead I spoke at an impromptu service at a small church in the suburbs in an atmosphere clouded with fear and grief. It was eerily reminiscent of what we Americans had experienced on September 11, 2001, when my own church spontaneously filled with people looking for comfort—only this time I was the speaker on the spot.

“Man, we’ve had some interesting adventures,” I said to my wife as the plane banked across the Indian Ocean and we felt safe at last. I started making a list of them on my airline ticket stub. Visiting Virginia Tech the week after a campus massacre. Addressing a convention of alcoholics in Chicago. Interviewing members of China’s “underground church,” with guards posted outside to warn us of the secret police. Interviewing a roomful of prostitutes about their life stories. Attending a rousing worship service in South Africa’s most violent prison.

As each of these events unfolded, at some point I had to stand up and try to find words of encouragement and hope. It struck me, as I reviewed them, that each case presented a “story behind the story” that had never been told. By the end of that long plane ride home, this book had taken shape: ten locations, each with a chapter on the untold story and then another on what I said to the people involved.

What does religious faith offer peasants undergoing persecution, or students recovering from a campus massacre, or women who have spent years of virtual slavery in the sex trade? What good is God in situations like these? For most of my career I have delved into the hard questions of faith, writing books with titles like Where Is God When It Hurts?, Disappointment with God, Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? and Church: Why Bother? Most of my books—like this one—have a question as a title because, frankly, my own faith starts with questions.

In this book I tackle perhaps the most basic faith question of all: What good is God? It’s a universal question which I put to the test in ten places on four different continents. Although the book addresses issues of faith, it does so in real-world settings, not abstractly. In my travels I have found a deep longing in almost everyone: the desire for change, the hope that somehow God can wrest permanent good out of this flawed planet and us its flawed inhabitants. Dare we entertain such a hope? This book is my attempt to answer the question. First, as a journalist, I search for a faith that matters. Then the tables get turned and I’m the one who has to speak to an audience hungry for answers. And now you, the readers, join that audience.
"

"Grace Notes collects 366 daily readings from my books and articles, and travel reports. Each entry takes only a few minutes to read. Together, the readings communicate my understanding of God, the world, and faith. I hope they especially speak to the disillusioned, doubters, sufferers, and out-of-the-mold believers.

Sections include: • How to rediscover God through the wonders of nature, music, and romantic love • Why grace means you can’t do anything to make God love you more or less • What happens when you cut through preconceptions to encounter the “real” Jesus • How to renew your understanding and practice of prayer • Where you can see God in unexpected people and places • How to cope when life crashes in around you"

Saturday, September 17, 2011

The Pilates & Yoga Center of St. Louis

The Pilates & Yoga Center of St. Louis has graciously donated $20 gift certificates to ALL attendees of the MIA Conference to use towards a pilates lesson. How awesome is that?!?! Thank you so much for your generosity and support!

Friday, September 16, 2011

"Pregnant with Hope" by Susan Radulovacki

Thank you to Susan Radulovacki for donating one copy of her book Pregnant with Hope.

"Six million U.S. couples are currently struggling with infertility. Living in a culture that celebrates effortless success only makes that burden harder to bear. Why is everyone else able to conceive? What does it mean to be singled-out for suffering? And, where is God in all this? Many people never find the answers, but it doesn't have to be that way. Author Susan Radulovacki guides couples through ten scripture-based messages of insight and hope. Topics include feeling desperate, facing defeat, asking why, finding peace, and much more. In addition, ten couples share detailed accounts of their challenging--and ultimately successful--infertility journeys. Each of their stories demonstrates God's desire to transform the experience from a heartbreaking quest into life-changing good news. If you are searching for comfort and hope in the midst of infertility, read Pregnant with Hope."

Thank you Susan!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

"Dear God, Why Can't I Have a Baby?"

We've received another giveaway for the Inaugural Midwest Infertility Awareness Conference on November 12. Author Janet Thompson has donated 1 copy of her book Dear God, Why Can't I Have a Baby?

 

Dear God, Why Can't I Have a Baby? provides women and ''couples-in-waiting'' with tools, direction, guidance, hope, and encouragement not to lose faith in God, or in each other, as they strive to share their love with a child.

Rachel's cry of barrenness in Genesis 31:1, ''Give me children, or I'll die!'' is a wail that still echoes around the world, as one in six couples experience infertility. Infertility statistics are staggering: nearly 6.1 million women and 2.1 million married couples in the United States will experience difficulty having a child.
Onlookers, and sadly even churches, often treat these ''empty arms'' couples with indifference, platitudes, criticism, or minimize the pain of miscarriages and stillborn babies. Couples struggling with infertility say they often feel alone and ostracized in their own churches and families. As a result, many infertile couples grow desperate, and some like Rachel, even feel suicidal when denied the one dream they have had since childhood-having a baby.

This book seeks to ease readers' pain and accompany them on their infertility journey by offering: companionship, a place to cry, a way to journal and keep records, and most importantly, the strengthening of their faith in God."

Thank you Janet for your donation and support!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Food For the Soul Donation

A huge thank you to Holly from Food For the Soul for her homemade donation of a Saint Rita of Cascia chaplet:
Holly chose St. Rita of Cascia because she's not only the Patron Saint of infertile couples, but also of hopeless causes.The chaplet is made with nine 8mm pink Czech crystals, lead-free Tibetan silver caps and rose bead, 11/0 silver lined seed beads, two 4mm bicone Swarovski crystals, a 10mm lampworked glass rosebud Pater bead and an Italian patron saint medal.

Be sure to check out Holly's Etsy store for all of her wonderful items.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Speakers Are Set for MIA Conference!

The Ladies of MIA are very excited as we are making lots of progress on the Inaugural MIA Conference to be held on November 12 in Des Peres, MO. The conference is free but be sure to register to save yourself a seat.

Below is the tentative timeline for the conference with speakers and topics to be covered. If you have any questions, please email us at MidwestIF at gmail dot com


1:30 p.m. Check-in

2 p.m. Welcome: MIA Founders & MC

2:15 p.m. Elan Simckes, M.D., - Fertility Partnership
Infertility 101 & latest advances in infertility care
Q&A session

3 p.m. Session A
Track 1: If you’re beginning your fertility journey
Becky Kubala, RN – PARINTS Infertility Management LLC
• How to know when it’s time to visit a fertility doctor

Track 2: If you’ve already started/gone through fertility treatments
Dr. Elan Simckes - Fertility Partnership
Margo Lucido, PLPC
• Making it through the physical and emotional demands of multiple procedures/treatments
• Finding the physical and emotional strength to try again after a failed procedure/treatment
• Why formal and informal support groups are vital

3:45 p.m. Break

4 p.m. Session B
Track 1: If you’re beginning your fertility journey
Dr. Diane Sanford, psychologist, author & “Real Mom” expert – Women’s
Healthcare Partnership
• How to talk to friends and family about infertility
• Making it through the holidays while battling infertility

Track 2: If you’ve already started/gone through fertility treatments
Dr. Sarah Keller, RE – Infertility and Reproductive Medicine Center, Washington University in St. Louis
Danielle Pennel, Adoption Support Group Leader – Infertility & Adoption Support, Inc.
• Alternative family building options beyond traditional IVF, including the use of egg/sperm/embryo donors, gestational carriers, or adoption

4:45 p.m. Break

5 p.m. Q&A and Success Story Panel
Patients who’ve gone through IVF, IUI, donor egg/sperm/embryo,
surrogacy, adoption and child-free

5:50 p.m. Closing Remarks with MIA Founders

6 p.m. Close

6:30 p.m. Optional dinner at TBA restaurant for attendees, sponsors and speakers

Monday, September 12, 2011

Well Body Clinic Donates to 2011 Conference

A big thank you to the Well Body Acupuncture & Chiropractic Clinic for donating 2 (Two) Gift Certificates for one complimentary Acupuncture or Chiropractic Consultation, Examination and Treatment. We appreciate your support!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Remembering 9/11

Whether you were in New York City or Midwest Missouri on September 11, 2001, I bet you remember exactly what you were doing and where you were when you found out about the events that occurred that day. While many of us remember the evil that happened, here's one story about how a miracle came out of that day. Click here to read it.

So tell us, what were you doing 10 years ago today?

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Crosby Chiropractic

Thank you to Crosby Chiropractic for your donation for the MIA Conference on November 12. Crosby Chiropractic has four doctors on staff and is located in St. Peters, MO. Dr. Crosby has donated an acupuncture treatment valued at $65 and one copy of The Infertility Cure by Randine Lewis.


Thank you Crosby Chiropractic! We appreciate your donation and support.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Donations by Marlo Schalasky

Marlo Schlasky has donated one copy of her non-fiction book Empty Womb, Aching Heart and one copy of her fiction book If Tomorrow Never Comes for the Inaugural MIA Conference on November 12 in St. Louis, MO.
When the professional advice isn't enough, and you've had your fill of well-meaning comments from those who haven't experienced infertility, Marlo Schalesky wants you to know you are not alone. The true stories she tells of couples who share your hopes, fears, frustrations, and the comfort only God can bring will encourage your heart.

Infertility strikes at the core of what it means to be a woman or man, tests marriages, and shakes faith. The honest, open, and emotionally resonant first-person stories in Empty Womb, Aching Heart will touch your life—as you "cry in the diaper aisle," wonder if you "are less of a woman," ask "How far should we go?" or whisper to God, "It's not fair."

Childhood sweethearts Kinna and Jimmy Henley had simple dreams–marriage, children, a house by the sea…everything they needed for happily ever after. What they didn’t plan on was years of infertility, stealing those dreams, crushing their hopes.

Now, all that’s left is the memory of young love, and the desperate need for a child to erase the pain. Until…

Kinna rescues an elderly woman from the sea, and the threads of the past, present, and future weave together to reveal the wonder of one final hope. One final chance to follow not their dreams, but God’s plan.

Can they embrace the redemptive power of love before it’s too late? Or will their love be washed away like the castles they once built upon the sand? The past whispers to the present.  And the future shivers.  What if tomorrow never comes?


Thank you Marlo!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Giveaway: One Infertility Consult

Lotus Blossom Consulting has generously donated one free infertility consultation. Be sure to check out their website to see what all they have to offer. Thank you Lotus Blossom!

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Thank you Fertility Advisors!

Fertility Advisors has been so generous with donations for the Inaugural MIA Conference. They've already donated two (2) advising sessions and then the other day, I came home to a huge package on the front steps. It included seven (7) copies of Laughin'fertility and 2 copies of Miracle Moms, Better Sex, Less Pain.

"Infertility - it's the latest "trend," and for most couples there isn't a darn thing funny about it. Well, don't be so sure. In Laughin'fertility, a guide to laughter by "baby-making challenged" author Lisa Safran, discover a funny, new perspective on the procedures, experiments, and studies so many people go through to make a baby. Laughin'fertility is a must for couples dealing with any aspect of infertility. And best of all, it will help sharpen laughter skills and prepare for what will hopefully be the next highly amusing challenge: parenthood."
"Miracle Moms, Better Sex, Less Pain tells the 20-year story of a female physical therapist's triumph over debilitating pain and disability, and the discovery of a natural treatment for conditions previously thought treatable only by surgery or drugs. Filled with hope, scientifically-researched data, over 100 original images and 80 individual patient narratives, Miracle Moms focuses on a "hands-on" therapy that has been very successful treating female infertility and other complex conditions, in published studies. Adhesions form in all people as they heal from infection, surgery or injury. Modern medicine offers little relief, because surgery creates more adhesions. When physical therapist Belinda Wurn experienced terrible adhesion pain a year after cancer surgery, her doctors said that corrective surgery would only create more adhesions. Unable to cope with the pain and unwilling to undergo surgery, she and her husband (co-author Larry Wurn) worked with respected physicians and scientists to develop a non-surgical treatment that has cured many complex medical conditions, including cases of female infertility. With co-author, research gynecologist Richard King, MD, Miracle Moms traces the team's 20-year journey as the group developed and researched a natural physical therapy with proven scientific results in common but serious conditions that have challenged medical science. These include female infertility, small bowel obstruction (which is life-threatening), sexual dysfunction (which affects nearly half of all US women) endometriosis, intercourse, menstrual and post-surgical pain. With cover endorsements from respected physicians including New York Times best-selling author Christiane Northrup, MD (who wrote the Foreword) and doctors from Harvard, Columbia, and Northwestern medical schools, this book promises to usher in a women's health revolution for the 21st century. The therapy that the team developed describes a natural treatment for thousands of patients who do not want surgery or drugs. With over 700 pages, Miracle Moms is an elegant combination of breathtaking storyline, pioneering scientific discovery and natural healing. Dozens of original illustrations provide a visual journey into the body and help explain how adhesions cause problems for so many patients and doctors, and why the unique manual therapy was successful for so many women who were diagnosed "beyond help" by their physicians - until this therapy fulfilled their dreams. The authors have published studies in some of the most respected peer-reviewed medical journals in the world. Studies in Medscape General Medicine (2004) and Fertility and Sterility (2006) showed that the therapy improved fertility and decreased or eliminated endometriosis and intercourse pain in most participants. A major study in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine (2008) showed that the therapy opened totally blocked fallopian tubes in women who had been diagnosed infertile - a feat previously thought impossible. Most had natural pregnancies after their tube(s) opened."

PLUS the the package contained 5 copies of Deb Grissett's CD with Invisible Loss. You guys are awesome! Thank you so much for all your support!

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

"When Empty Arms Become a Heavy Burden" (2nd edition) by Sandra L. Glahn and William R. Cutrer –

We have received one copy of When Empty Arms Become a Heavy Burden (2nd edition) by Sandra L. Glahn and William R. Cutrer.  


When Empty Arms Become a Heavy Burden brings solid facts, detailed information, and a message of encouragement to infertile couples and those who work with them, along with answers to the questions they ask most often. Should we consider high-tech treatments? What about donor insemination? Donor eggs? How do we respond to nosy friends and relatives? How can we keep our sex life healthy? Whatever God has in store, this book will help you and/or those you love to face the future with faith and confidence. Our newer infertility book looks more at the ethics of high-tech treatment. This one is packed with engaging stories.

About the Authors

William R. Cutrer, M.D., is a recognized expert in reproductive technology and medical ethics. A licensed obstetrician/gynecologist who specialized in the treatment of infertility for more than fifteen years, he also holds a graduate degree from Dallas Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister. Currently he is the Gheens Professor of Christian Ministry at The Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He and his wife, Jane, have been married for thirty-seven years and have three children and six grandchildren.

Sandra Glahn, Th.M., is an adjunct professor at Dallas Seminary, where she edits the award-winning magazine Kindred Spirit. She is the author of the Coffee Cup Bible Studies series for women and the coauthor of seven books about marriage and reproductive issues. Sandra also serves on the board of the Evangelical Press Association and the women's executive committee for Bible.org. She and her husband, Gary, make their home in Dallas, Texas. 


Thank you for your generous donation!

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Old Mill Chiropractic

Old Mill Chiropractic has donated 2 (two) one-hour massages to raffle at the Inaugural MIA Conference on November 12 in St. Louis, MO. Have you registered yet? If not, registration is free but be sure to register to save your spot. Thanks Dr. Coogan for your donation!

Friday, September 2, 2011

Hotels for the Conference

If you are traveling from out of town for the conference, here is a list of hotels close to the Lodge Des Peres where the conference is being held.

St. Louis Marriott West
660 Maryville Centre Dr.
Town and Country, MO 63141
314-878-2747

Hilton St. Louis Frontenac
1335 S. Lindbergh Blvd.
Frontenac, MO 63131
314-993-1100

Courtyard Creve Couer
828 N New Ballas Road
Creve Coeur, Missouri 63146
314-993-0515

Drury Inn Creve Couer
11980 Olive Boulevard, Creve Coeur, MO 63141-6730
(314) 989-1100 ‎
Homewood Suites Chesterfield
840 North Chesterfield Pkwy West
Chesterfield, Missouri 63017
636-530-0305
*Note for GPS users: use 141 Hilltown Village, Chesterfield, MO 63017. We are directly behind Schnuck's Grocery.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Registration for 2011 MIA Conference

If you haven't noticed at the top of the blog, registration is now open for the 2011 Inaugural Midwest Infertility Awareness (MIA) Conference. It is free to attend the conference but we request that you register so that we can plan accordingly.

Invite your friends, your family, or bring the hubby along! This conference is designed to share awareness and knowledge about infertility as well as introduce you to other women in your community going through similar journeys. Be sure to check back regularly to see updates on speakers, sponsors and giveaways.

What are you waiting for? Check your calendars, pencil us in and GO REGISTER!