On this, our 24th show of Journeys To Motherhood, I am happy to bring to you the first of two shows with a special guest of whom I had the pleasure meeting at a recent adoption seminar. Her name is Monica, and she not only has a multi-faceted story to tell about HER journey to motherhood, but she is one of the many women I’ve recently met who’s journey has transformed her life in the realm of her livelihood as well. What these little babies do to us and our world is beyond amazing! They have a limitless power that we only realize, once we are ‘mommy’ to them.

Monica is also in the process of becoming a new representative for A Labor of Love Adoptions. She will be able to answer any questions you may have or point you into whatever specific direction you need to go when beginning YOUR research on adoption. She can be reached at 412-266-8839, or feel free to leave a message at that number if not reaching her directly.

So give yourself a well-deserved break, and take a listen to Monica and part 1 of HER journey to motherhood.

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On this, our 23rd show of Journeys To Motherhood, I have a lovely guest who shares two fabulous stories with us!  What I’ve been discovering lately, are women who have taken their journeys to motherhood yet a step further, by allowing their experiences to transform not only their lives, but their livelihoods as well!

My guest is Jennifer, twice an adoptive mom (internationally). Jennifer tells us about her experience with Guatemala adoptions, AND she tells us about the unique and flourishing business she has created that allows her to have control of her time and creative outlets, while assisting other adoptive families with what her business provides. ScrapandTell is a site you HAVE to visit, as I know you will want to share with YOUR children the stories of their lives in this creative and beautiful way. But we are not ONLY talking about scrapbooking, we are also talking about something entitled Life Books. Life Books are informative, healthy and, what I would consider to be a necessary tool in the lives of adoptive parents that go out of the country (or not) and get their babies at a few (or more) months old…when a child has had a brief life BEFORE coming into their adoptive homes. Please check out our chat, as Jennifer shares a wealth of information with us, especially regarding international adoption.

Also, a friend of our show by the name of John had e-mailed me an mp3 in response to his listening of show #22.  The mp3 showcased an amazing gentleman who is an expert in the area of relationships.  Aryeh Pamensky is extremely funny and quite brilliant.  I believe his work and advice would help many of you who are going through marital bumps due to your infertility issues. Marital Mouse Traps is something NOT to be ignored by ANYONE!  It’s as if he has figured out the complexity of men and women and their relationships, yet the concept is SO simple!   Go to ClassicSinai.com for free downloads, and especially to The Happy Wife to hear Marital Mouse Traps.

As I hope you are having a lovely September thus far, I also hope that you enjoy this installation of Journeys To Motherhood.  So kick back, grab a cup of your favorite tea and listen to the amazing stories of Jennifer.

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Hello dear friends! This is our 22nd show on Journeys To Motherhood! Welcome!

You know that this show is one to encourage, uplift and hopefully inspire. But there is a subject that we haven’t touched deeply upon prior to this show, and it is weighing heavy on my heart. This is not brought up to bring any of your down, nor to dwell on another dark side of infertility, but it IS something that effects many women. And a recent encounter prompted me to talk about this today.

This recent encounter was with an old friend that I hadn’t seen for a while.  I was very excited to bump into her, but  I quickly realized, much to my dismay, that she had a very forlorn look on her face.  I didn’t even have to ask.  The look conveyed to me that SHE was now having fertility concerns, and the stress was right there on her face.  I hugged her, and she began to cry.

Her name is Sheila, and she is not only going through problems conceiving, but now her husband has jumped off the ‘baby’ ship.  He doesn’t want to be tested; he doesn’t want HER tested; he doesn’t want to consider any assistance nor any other options.  And he’s telling her “I will never adopt, so don’t even go there.”  He’s also telling her that he’s “just fine” without a baby.

Hmmm….interesting.  Sounds quite familiar.  Too familiar.  As a matter of fact, she would be one of more than a dozen women I know of personally that would have to face this double battle, IF she decides to move forward with her infertility issues, no matter what.
This is such a difficult place to be in.  When our husbands (or significant others) are not onboard, then a good bit of the energy we should be mustering up for our physical and emotional quest to our baby, has to be put into a new quest…one of making our husbands understand what this means to us.

And another big jolt that some of us face:  we may not even have realized how much it meant to us to become a mommy…until being told we may not be able to conceive, nor carry a baby to term.  Wanting what you are unable to have can become a horrid reality in our lives…and yes…sometimes an obsession.

There is layer upon layer upon layer of hurt and anguish when these various burdens come down upon you at the same time.
Sheila is seeking counseling, but her husband doesn’t know if he wants to do that.

Out of the aforementioned 14 women that I know of personally, myself making 15, we ALL had to go through the ‘husband’ battle as well.  The amazing news: we now ALL have our babies, and guess what!?….ALL of our husbands are fantastic fathers!  ALL 15 of us are witnessing the joy in our husbands as daddies.  We would have NEVER gotten to live this dream if we wouldn’t have fought the good fight in both of our battles.  It’s just too bad that we had to go through SO much…from both angles.

Unless you’ve been there, it may be very difficult to know what I’m talking about…to even imagine what it’s like when you are shooting up drugs that are sending your hormones into a whirlwind, trying to make your body do what it has decided it doesn’t want to…while ALSO trying to convince your husband how wonderful he will be as a daddy, when HE’S decided he doesn’t want to go through all the bother.

It really angers me when I now see these families, and how everything is so happy and joyous…witnessing how these men are loving fatherhood…yet I know what they put their women through, as I was one of their shoulders and ears to cry on, on more than one occasion, and in some instances, for more years than I care to count.  Do these men ever think about the hell they put their wives through, when they were already going through the womanly hell of their lives?  Have any of them ever sat down and said, “You know, honey, I realize how right you were in striving and fighting for our little family.  Fatherhood has brought a joy to me I would have never known, if you didn’t push me.  I know I gave you a hard time.  I’m so sorry.” ?

For all of these friends, and myself, this would mean the world to us.  Just a few simple words to let us know they realize the level of hurt inflicted into what was already a wounded soul.

Words are powerful.  What a few simple words can do is quite amazing.

I hope you are not one of these woman having to fight the double battle. But if you are, know you are not alone.  Stand strong, and know you have the right to be a mommy if that is what you truly desire.  And…if your significant other denies you…then maybe he isn’t the man for you.

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Welcome to Show 21 of Journeys To Motherhood! SO much to share with you on this show!

…a wonderful event that I attended, of which I speak about (an adoption picnic that was just a thrill, seeing all of the parents in such states of happiness and joy with their little ones)

…some fascinating news about an herb I’ve just been informed of that has many amazing claims behind it (for our reproductive lives AND our sexual lives as well!)

…an article from one of the most prestigious women’s magazines regarding the environmental connection with infertility (as we had talked about on the last show)

…a bottled water that is actually GOOD for us and packaged in an actually SAFE, BIODEGRADABLE bottle that’s on the market (you’d be surprised how important that is, and how it could effect the reproductive lives of us and our children!)

…and a newly incorporated poetic prayer list that I felt compelled to begin, as many of you are writing in asking for me to keep you in my prayers.

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I have been receiving sporatic e-mails for quite some time now from the co-author of many books, two of which I just heard over the computer as ebooks. Her name is Shola Oslo, and her products and information come from London. Though I had been wanting to check into her books, I had put them on the backburner for a while. However, after hearing from two women recently about their successes in conceiving after long struggles, and how they credit the information in Shola’s books and their applying it to their lives as the reasons…it made me too curious to sit on it any longer. So I delved into two of Shola’s books, Natural Fertility Cures and Clear Fallopians.

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Welcome to the 19th show of Journeys To Motherhood! It’s my pleasure to share with you two stories from two people regarding their experiences with adoption. One, from a recent adoptive mom, and the other, from on older gentleman and his experience as an adoptive boy. There is happiness in story number one, and great joy.

In story number 2, however, there are many lessons to be learned and much to ponder regarding what happens to an adoptee when they are deceived about their parenting arrangement. Honesty is always the best policy, though in the past that wasn’t necessarily believed to be the case.

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As you probably know, I had been searching for a guest that would share her story with us of her experience with egg donorship. Well, my husband I were recently at a 1st birthday party for a little boy named Aidan. Aidan’s parents, Mike and Krista, are dear friends of ours, and we were so happy to attend this special celebration. I just happened to sit next to a woman at the party named Beth. She had a daughter named Elena, whom Hailey Rose really took a liking to. So, in passing I mentioned to Beth that Hailey Rose is adopted. And Beth then shared with me HER amazing story about HER journey to her baby girl! What a serendipitous meeting it was! I could have sat next to anyone, but I was guided to sit with another soul who had a fertility struggle that led to the blessing of a lifetime.

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Welcome friends, to the 17th show of Journeys To Motherhood! After receiving a great response from Part 1 of our interview with Niravi Payne, I’m thrilled to bring to you Part 2 in today’s show. Gosh! I was wishing I could just crawl through the phone and hug Niravi after our chat! She is one of my favorite angels!

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I am thrilled to have with me an internationally recognized pioneer in the reproductive health arena. Her name is Niravi Payne. She is a psychotherapist and biofeedback specialist, who is also a best-selling author. Her book, entitled The Whole Person Fertility Program: A Revolutionary Mind/Body Process to Help You Conceive, was one of the most important tools I had stumbled across when in the midst of my journey to motherhood.

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Welcome to Show 15 of The Reproductive Challenged Woman… which is NOW Journeys To Motherhood! As you can see, we’ve taken on a new look and a new name! There was a great deal of thought behind this, and we hope you all agree with our decision for the change.

Our guest is Patricia Dischler. It is lovely to have her here, as she is not only an interesting and beautiful person to speak with, but she is a birthmom and an author! The book, which we speak about today, is entitled “Because I Loved You“. It is the story of her life and her decision to give up her first born baby.

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