Last week, I had a video conference with my upline gal for Young Living Essential Oils and a young lady interested in oils because she and her hubby are having a hard time getting pregnant.
The conversation was awesome.
I also saw myself in a whole new light.
You see, I became a school librarian (officially) almost exactly a year ago. And even though I love my job, my first year as an official librarian didn't feel that officially librarian-y. That sounds kooky, sure, but it's true.
Thankfully, the gal we were talking to is a reader as well, so she wasn't off-put by my suggestions. She scribbled down titles and texted me later to tell me how helpful the first book she got was.
Wahoo!!
So I realized that Fertility Nitty Gritty should have a booklist, because all the things I am sharing in this series are just compiled and garnered from reading books and talking to some awesome people.
So let me tell you about the books that have impacted me greatly in the midst of this fertility business, starting with titles that address the physical difficulties and needs of trying to have a baby.
Taking Charge of Your Fertility, by Toni Weschler
Let me just preface this book with: I wish I could make ALL women read this book, whether they are trying to make a baby or not. It's that good. It's that practical. And it's that full of information that I bet you probably don't know about your cycle.
Weschler breaks down the basics of the female's cycle, and explains clearly the process of BBT and cycle charting. She breaks down how to check your fertility signs, explains things such as Ovulation Predictor Kits, and outlines various causes of infertility.
But this book is also THE book to read if you are trying to AVOID pregnancy and stay away from hormonal birth control. The basic rules of charting and fertility signs make it pretty easy to narrow down your window of fertile days. If you know that, you can keep from getting pregnancy pretty efficiently! Overall, this is the first book I recommend to women who are struggling to conceive.
It's eye-opening, and the reality is that there are a lot of women who struggle to get pregnancy simply because their timing is bad. If you don't know about the details of your cycle, then you might ovulate much later than day 14, and so if you and hubby keep doing the baby dance from days 11-15 but you don't actually ovulate until day 20, you've missed your window.
Weschler's book is an absolute MUST-READ if you are struggling to get pregnancy or even just beginning to plan for a family. And really, I think you should read it just because you are a woman and have a period. You can find at most online booksellers, but I love Amazon.
It's a natural progesterone that eases its way into your system, unlike the pharmaceutical progesterone that personally made me nuts.
TDW is full of simple and practical advice as to how to regulate your hormones naturally, using Progessence Plus oil, diet cleanses, and other natural remedies.
If you're interested in Taming the Dragon Within, you can find it here. And if Progessence Plus sounds like something you want to try, take this link to my Essential Oils ordering page. You can sign up as a Wholesale or Retail member, and feel free to email me if you have any questions.
*Note: Progessence Plus is a FABULOUS oil for dealing with all kinds of hormone issues, not just fertility. I've had several friends make use of it to regulate their cycle or ease menopause symptoms.*
Weschler breaks down the basics of the female's cycle, and explains clearly the process of BBT and cycle charting. She breaks down how to check your fertility signs, explains things such as Ovulation Predictor Kits, and outlines various causes of infertility.
But this book is also THE book to read if you are trying to AVOID pregnancy and stay away from hormonal birth control. The basic rules of charting and fertility signs make it pretty easy to narrow down your window of fertile days. If you know that, you can keep from getting pregnancy pretty efficiently! Overall, this is the first book I recommend to women who are struggling to conceive.
It's eye-opening, and the reality is that there are a lot of women who struggle to get pregnancy simply because their timing is bad. If you don't know about the details of your cycle, then you might ovulate much later than day 14, and so if you and hubby keep doing the baby dance from days 11-15 but you don't actually ovulate until day 20, you've missed your window.
Weschler's book is an absolute MUST-READ if you are struggling to get pregnancy or even just beginning to plan for a family. And really, I think you should read it just because you are a woman and have a period. You can find at most online booksellers, but I love Amazon.
Taming the Dragon Within, by LeAnne & David Deardueff
This is a funny little book written by a husband and wife team of physicians. My mom got a copy for herself because she's struggling with hormone issues as well, and TDW addresses hormone issues of women at all stages of life.
The Deardueffs are major supporters of Young Living Essential Oils, and they tout YL's Progessence Plus in the book. I happen to be a pretty big fan of Progessence Plus myself, so this book is right up
my alley.
Progessence Plus an a great blend of oils, like Balsalm Copaiba, Sacred Frankincense, Cedarwood, Coconut, Bergamot, Peppermint, Rosewood, and Clove, as well as USP-grade Progesterone from Wild Yam Extract.
Progessence Plus an a great blend of oils, like Balsalm Copaiba, Sacred Frankincense, Cedarwood, Coconut, Bergamot, Peppermint, Rosewood, and Clove, as well as USP-grade Progesterone from Wild Yam Extract.
It's a natural progesterone that eases its way into your system, unlike the pharmaceutical progesterone that personally made me nuts.
TDW is full of simple and practical advice as to how to regulate your hormones naturally, using Progessence Plus oil, diet cleanses, and other natural remedies.
If you're interested in Taming the Dragon Within, you can find it here. And if Progessence Plus sounds like something you want to try, take this link to my Essential Oils ordering page. You can sign up as a Wholesale or Retail member, and feel free to email me if you have any questions.
*Note: Progessence Plus is a FABULOUS oil for dealing with all kinds of hormone issues, not just fertility. I've had several friends make use of it to regulate their cycle or ease menopause symptoms.*
Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom by Christiane Northrup
This tome book has been around for a while, and it's a really interesting read. Northrup is a medical doctor, and her work deals with both the emotional/psychological issues that are tied with the physicality of a woman's body.
After my bestie, Ayme, gave me a copy of it, I realized that both my sister-in-law and mother-in-law both had this book on their shelves, which told me that it was worth the read.
Now, as a Believer, I found some parts of the book to not really my thing, since it deals quite a bit with the spirituality of healing naturally, Chakras, and all that.
Even still, I found the passages on Endometriosis to be really thought-provoking: Northrup calls Endo a "disease of conflict." She covers everything from sexuality and body image to infertility and adjusting to your body after giving birth.
While you may not need to read the whole book, I would highly suggest nabbing a copy to thumb through and reference.
After my bestie, Ayme, gave me a copy of it, I realized that both my sister-in-law and mother-in-law both had this book on their shelves, which told me that it was worth the read.
Now, as a Believer, I found some parts of the book to not really my thing, since it deals quite a bit with the spirituality of healing naturally, Chakras, and all that.
Even still, I found the passages on Endometriosis to be really thought-provoking: Northrup calls Endo a "disease of conflict." She covers everything from sexuality and body image to infertility and adjusting to your body after giving birth.
While you may not need to read the whole book, I would highly suggest nabbing a copy to thumb through and reference.
Going Green Before You Conceive, by Wendie Aston
Aston is a friend of a friend, and this book is a great resource for practical advice on how to give yourself the best shot at making a baby.
The book covers everything: foods, exercise, supplements, and environmental factors too. Aston struggled to conceive herself, and wrote the book after having suffered through a long time trying to have a baby. Her book is filled with lots of information she gleaned on her fertility journey, outlining the steps and actions that helped she and her husband finally conceive a baby.
If you want practicalities, this book is the one.
It's also pretty hippy-dippy (and I don't mean that as a bad thing), and not everyone will be comfortable with all the extreme changes that Aston advocates. So, I say: take what works for you, and leave the rest. Check out the ebook or the hard copy here.
*************
Okay, so now I want to tell you a little about some books that have been helpful in the Spiritual/Emotional journey of trying to have a baby.
I've found this struggle to be the most difficult thing I've ever gone through. And while I would like to say it's gotten easier, I don't think it has. I've gotten better, but it hasn't gotten easier.
Three books have really spoken to my soul this summer in the midst of all this: the Bible, The Happiness Project, and Daring Greatly.
I'm not going to write a review on the Bible, because that would be kind of silly, but I will say this: Read it. There's beauty, wisdom, comfort, freedom, and salvation in the pages of this book. Thank God for His Word.
The other two books are ones that my bestie, Ayme, sent to me to read, and they have turned out to be stunningly worth the time.
The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin
Gretchen Rubin is yet another lawyer turned writer (there's a lot of them: John Grisham, Emily Giffin, Lauren Willig, and way more), and what a gift to the world it is that she's no longer clerking for the Supreme Court. Even though I am sure she was a phenomenal law clerk.
The book is the culmination of Rubin's yearlong Happiness Project, in which Rubin focused on different parts of her life in an attempt to be happier. She spent a month focusing on her marriage, another on parenting, another on money, spirituality, hobbies, work, mindfulness, health, and a few others. Rubin did TONS of research and so her book is a wonderful smorgasbord of wisdom from her own experience and lots of other people's too.
You might be wondering why I've included this book in my fertility struggles book list.
Excellent question.
Fertility struggles have a way of consuming your life and thoughts in a way that will make you kind of crazy if you let it. Or really crazy, if you let and the doctors happen to be making you take hormones.
So this book was a great reminder of a few things: first, that my life continues on regardless of whether or not I get pregnant, so I need to still focus on improving and growing; and second, focusing on my life as it is--childless--will help me as I go forward in the process.
Focusing on what I do have, rather than what I don't have, is always a great way to move forward.
The Happiness Project inspired me this summer. In fact, Ayme challenged me to try a Happiness Project of my own after reading the book, and that will be a new series here at The Ranch Librarian this fall. While there's nothing in The Happiness Project directly related to fertility, I think the larger idea of the book is related to all struggles in our life: that we, as humans, require atmospheres of growth to be happy.
Fertility struggles will rob you of all growth and progress as it consumes your life and causes you to stagnate in the place labeled I Can't Get Pregnant.
Whether or not you are struggling with fertility, you should check out The Happiness Project. It's funny, clever, and worth the time. In fact, not only reading the book is worth your time, but putting together your own Happiness Project will be worth the time as well. Check back for more regarding my Happiness Project here later in the fall.
Daring Greatly, by Brene Brown
Brene Brown is one of my favorite celeb peoples. She ranks right up with there with several other people I admire, like JK Rowling, John Green, Jennifer Garner, or Simon Sinuk. Brown is brilliant. She's a researcher in social work, and she studies shame and vulnerability.
She calls herself a researcher and story-teller, because maybe "stories are just data with a soul."
Her work on vulnerability is showcased in Daring Greatly, where Brown discusses the power of vulnerability. That sounds like a weird concept, right? But her evidence is intensely compelling--she posits that it's through vulnerability that we are able to really connect with people and affectively lead, connect, and change lives.
Again, I realize that this book doesn't really have anything to do with fertility struggles, but it does too--the temptation in dealing with infertility is shame. We feel ashamed of the fact that we can do nothing, that we can't conceive, that our bodies refuse to do their work. We don't want anyone to know, we don't want to connect because it's painful, we don't want to be vulnerable.
But Brown suggests that vulnerability gives us power, because it's the way that combat shame.
Such a lovely concept, isn't it?
I don't want to undercut the incredible brilliance of her points or writing by not doing them justice here, so I'll just say this: READ THIS BOOK.
Fertility struggles or no, it might just change your life.
My list is, by no means, comprehensive, but hopefully it includes some titles that are helpful. I would love to hear what books you've found to be influential in the midst of your fertility struggles.
Cheers!
R-Lib
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