A Baby Changes Everything... even just the desire for a baby

I never read just one book at a time. I usually have about 3-5 going at once (which is why I feel my need for a Kindle is real! If only my bank account understood.. ha ha) I love a good read - not just fluff and feel good stuff, but the meaty substance of good literature. I like stories that make me think, and don't always have fairy tale endings. I like real life stuff - reality, not fantasy. Don't get me wrong, Louisa May Alcott is one of my favorite authors, so I can enjoy a good feel good story... do not ask me how many times I have read the Little Women (or Little House on the Prairie. I know, different authors. My blog, my way of telling the story. Sheesh) series... I quit counting once the count reached the 20's. Don't judge. And before the inevitable question gets asked - no I haven't read the Twilight series. That answer could be its own post. Simple answer - Vampires=fantasy -> Fantasy and Vampires=not interesting to me. Now I am definitely off subject - time to focus!
Here is what my reading list looks like lately. I never dreamed my night stand would have to take on this appearance.

Plan B, Pete Wilson
Graceful Waiting, Jan Frank
The Infertility Companion, Glahn and Cutrer
Hannah's Heart, Jennifer Saake
Taking Charge of Your Fertility, Toni Weschler

Knowledge is power, right? Well, like it or not, infertility renders you really powerless.However, I do strongly believe in my husband and I being knowledgable about our medical options. Being a medical person, I understand all too well the misuse of power the medical community can implement on the naive and trusting general public. For me, there are a lot of ethical and spiritual considerations to make in the fertility arena. Let me state here and now that our convictions are ours, not yours. I hope I never put the weight of my own personal convictions, in this area or others, on the shoulders of another already burdened and weary infertile couple. My best advice - research, read, and educate yourself with both spiritual and secular books, articles, and journals. Unless you have a medical back ground I do advice against much internet researching - there is a whole heck of a lot of bull out there! And message boards... well maybe I just alway hit the schizo ones, but I have never found them to useful for learning anything beneficial about my infertility. But sometimes, it is nice just to know you are not alone - others (even the schizos) understand what you are going through.

I highly recommend all these books! I have not completed them all yet, and have only skimmed one or two of them - they still get my vote.:)
- Plan B is amazing, and has nothing to do with infertility. Wilson helps guide the reader through "what do you do when God doesn't show up the way you thought He would." I think we could all benefit from a little reminder in that area.
- A Graceful Waiting is a small book (almost a devotional) that has more to do with personal growth, then infertility (its just one of the subjects referenced). The basis is "when there is nothing more that you can do, God's deepest work has just begun." As an oldest child (aka fixer-planner), Type A individual, wife, and female - I need lots of good lectures on this subject.
- Hannah's Hope is strictly an infertility book. While it made the story of Hannah come alive to me, I have a different emotional make up then that of the author. At times I had a hard time relating, and even applying elements of the book to my life. I do still recommend it, as the scriptural references (referred to as Heart Treasures) are probably the best I have come across (in relation to infertility). Another aspect of the book I really liked, was at the end of every chapter is a For Further Thought section. Wraps up the chapter, and challenges you to seek whether or not you seeking His throne throughout your journey. I will probably go back and reread these sections and the scriptural references... several times. Each chapter ends with a Burden Bearers section - for people who are walking along side an infertile couple. Since I am very different from the author, some of the recommendations seemed a little extreme to me, but they might be exactly what someone else needs.
- The last two books, are two that EVERY infertile couple should have, Infertility Companion and Taking Charge of Your Fertility. Both are medically based, but have lots of natural alternatives. One is christian based and the other isn't, but I have found both to be a treasure chest of knowledge.

I look forward to getting through the majority of these, so I can get back to reading material on different subjects.
- Next "pleasure read": Same kind of different as me
- Next "spiritual read" Jesus Calling
... and since that is only two... probably one or two more!:) Feel free to recommend away!

If any of you lack wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. James 1:5
Do you not know your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? YOu are not your own; you were bought at a price; therefore honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19