Comparing Family Size
Hold your head high and don't do the comparisons. We broke free of the slavery thousands of years ago. There is no need to willingly put yourself back there.
Holiday Grief
Holidays: when you hoped that this would be the year that you had a baby to hold, it's even more devastating when that dream doesn't become a reality.
Yom Hashoah
So many things just hit differently through the lens of infertility, but we've heard from some of you that this day is particularly upsetting.
Holiday Angst
Holiday tables filled with rude and insensitive family members you don't regularly see can feel like walking into a landmine. The memories can be impossible to forget.
Bad News After Bad News
“I really thought I was going to be pregnant by this year, and now I just don't know what to feel. I'm angry, sad, and numb most of the time. I hardly go out. And I don't even know if I can go to shul on RH.”
Hopeful During Holidays
Someone in one of our support groups recently asked, “A part of me is just hopeless when I think about the holidays. How do I stay hopeful during this time?”
Shana Tova Message
“It’s a New Year. I sit here and reflect where I was last year at this time. The hope that the one healthy embryo from our retrieval would implant and turn into the baby we dreamed of.”
Rosh Hashana Prayer
There is a concept in Judaism that if you pray for someone else to have _______, then that blessing will be bestowed upon you too. So, I'm asking all of you to pray.
Forgive Yourself
We want G-d to forgive us for all our sins, but He can only do so if we are also gentle with ourselves. Look inside and be kind to the you that is hurting.
It’s Yom Kippur Again
On behalf of everyone at IWSTHAB, may this be the year where no one suffers, and Hashem answers all of your prayers. Gmar chasima tova. Xoxo, Aimee
Simchat Torah
I have a pit in my stomach. A feeling of nausea mixed with sadness that gets stronger each day. Simchas Torah is coming. A day usually filled with unbridled joy and exuberance makes me want to curl up in my bed.
Simchat Torah & Infertility
“Simchas Torah So many emotions surround this day. A day we celebrate torah. Fathers dance with their kids. Round and round the bimah. Holding torah scrolls.”
Day 8: Worthy of Rest
You ARE worthy of a nap, a break, and some time off. You deserve it. Pat yourself on the back for getting through whatever life has thrown at you. Because this stuff is hard. Really, really hard.
Day 5: Worthy of Hugs
The fertility community also knows that sometimes a hug is the answer when there isn’t anything good to say. But it can have so many other benefits... *Hugs can make you happier.*
Day 4: Worthy of Love
Even if your body and/or mind are betraying you, you shouldn’t loathe your own self, your own body. They say you can only control yourself - we argue that you can’t even fully control that.
Day 3: Worthy of Praise
Your advice, while seemingly harmless, only serves as a way to tell me I did something wrong. It tells me that you believe I could have caused this situation with something I did (or didn’t do).
Day 2: Worthy of Trust
Trust goes both ways in the fertility community. When you're struggling, you want to know that the person you chose to listen to your problems can hold and support you without judgment.
Day 1: Worthy of Inclusion
DAY 1 I am worthy of not being excluded. Includes suggestions for how to make your Chanukah space inclusive this year. Small gestures go a long way into making people feel more included.
8 Days of Worthiness
We offer you IWSTHAB’s 8 Days Of Worthiness. No matter where you are on this journey, you are worthy of it all. You are worthy of expecting others to treat you with kindness.
Empowered Passover
9 things you can say to family or friends to make you feel empowered during Passover (and always!). “I won’t be able to make it. Something came up.”