April’s Journey to Fertility: Week Thirty Six

April is a CNY Fertility Center patient and has been on her journey to fertility for approximately two and a half years. April will share candid stories and a unique perspective on the fertility challenges many women and couples face. CNY Fertility Center has locations in Syracuse, Albany and Rochester, NY.

Week Thirty Six: Thankfully
A few weeks ago, when my husband and I were cleaning out our office closet, I found a number of cards people had written me over the last two and a half years. Part of me became terribly sad because I thought we would have ended this journey with a baby by now. The other part of me realized how fortunate my husband and I are to have such a supportive network of friends.

A couple of weeks ago, I received an exciting text from my esthetician who has become a great friend. She wrote that she had a fabulous gift for me and that I had to be patient. Ooooh – I was excited! I knew it must be some sort of a fertility gift. Today, I picked up my surprise – two fertility dolls from Africa. They are a riot! One is male and the other is a female. Both dolls are wooden and have detailed body parts. I am excited about these dolls because, to date, they have an unbroken record of success.

But the dolls are not the only gifts I have received through this journey. Since there are many friends and family who follow my blog, I thought this might be a fun way for me to recognize their giving nature.

Some of my Fertility Gifts:

• St. Gerard’s charm and Prayer for Motherhood card – Gegie, my best friend’s mother
• Couples’ Guide to Fertility (book) – Heather, my friend at work
• Inconceivable (book) – Concetta, my Yoga for Fertility friend and hairdresser
• Angel baby girl charm, passed down to her when she was going through a risky pregnancy – Mary, my friend at work
• More than one card of encouragement and a faith holy card with fish wire charm necklace– Jeanine, my friend at work
• Smudge stick – Kristen Magnacca
• Faith necklace and card of encouragement – my cheerleaders at CNY

I know that we often go through our days feeling annoyed because hardly anyone understands our frustrating journey. After all, how can those who have never gone through such an emotionally painful experience possibly have any understanding of what this ongoing challenge is like? Perhaps they cannot comprehend how we feel, but that does not mean that our friends and family cannot be there to offer us support and encouragement so we know we are not alone.

My intention for each of you is to recognize and be thankful for the little gifts of encouragement your friends and family have given you along the way.

Thankfully,
April all Year

Below are links to April’s past articles in case you missed any of them:

Week thirty five: Groundhog Day… Again

Week thirty four: Empowerment

Week thirty three: Fearful

Week thirty two: Life’s Haze

Week thirty one: Feel Fabulous

Week thirty: Counting Your Blessings

Week twenty nine: The Holidays

Week twenty eight: Making yourself a priority

Week twenty seven: The truth is…

Week twenty six: Making a Plan

Week twenty five: Attitude of Gratitude

Week twenty four: Giving

Week twenty three: De-cluttering

Week twenty two: The Voice from Within

Week twenty one: Marital Bliss Part II

Week twenty: Marital bliss and infertility

Week nineteen: The changing seasons

Week eighteen: Grand Opening

Week seventeen: Trust your place

Week sixteen: Labels

Week fifteen: Keeping the faith

Week fourteen: Keep at it

Week thirteen: Maya Abdominal Massage

Week twelve: Acupuncture

Week eleven: A little bit at a time

Week ten: Well-timed reminders

Week nine: Summertime

Week eight: Resiliency

Week seven: Tiny miracles

Week six: Bahama Mama

Week five: The right path for us

Week four: Our fertility treatment “break”

Week three: Deliberate choices

Week two: This moment

Week one: My story

One Response to “April’s Journey to Fertility: Week Thirty Six”

1. Erica says:

   February 16, 2010 at 8:57 pm

   Hi April,
   My husband and I were also very lucky to have empathetic people in our lives. I too have a blog that talks about my IF journey and adoption journey. I am founder of the non profit, Parenthood for Me.org. Aimee and Erin said I should contact you.
   Erica