A stork delivering a baby.

If you are in the beginning stages of IVF, you have probably realized one thing, this is going to be expensive. Yes, an IVF baby can be expensive but, if successful, they are worth every penny. I myself have four babies from IVF, so I speak from experience.

According to Forbes, the current cost of an IVF cycle is $12,000 and that is before medication costs of $3000 to $5000. If you are lucky, your regular insurance will pick up the cost of medications, as ours did, but that still means that you are looking at 5 figures per try.

Most people will not have this kind of money laying around and if you do, you might easily burn it with one or two failed cycles. The average treatment has about a 40 percent success rate which means that you are likely to have to do it 2 to 3 times in order to find success.

A failed cycle is not only costly, but also very depressing. Infertility depression can sink in fairly easily and it can be hard to shake. 1 0r 2 failed cycles is no reason to stop though. Learn from the experience and push on.

Pushing on requires money though and this is why so many people will ultimately turn to Fertility Treatment Loans.

Financing Your IVF

A loan is how many people proceed with IVF because the costs can simply be too much to handle out of pocket.

Financing With Excellent Credit

If you have good credit, you have a world of options available to you. Take the website LightStream.com, for example. They can loan you money with interest rates as low as 5.95 percent and for terms of up to 7 years. That is not terribly bad for a loan that is unsecured. They do not require you to put your home up for collateral and can still loan you anywhere from $5,000 to $100,000.

Financing With Good To Fair Credit

If you do not have excellent credit, there is still financing for the rest of us. One example is the website LoanByNumbers.com. They can help you get a loan offer for up to $50,000. You can apply online and get an answer the same day. Just use caution if you have bad credit because the terms are likely to be much less agreeable. If you get an offer, make sure that you can really afford it.

Moving Forward With IVF

Once you have your money, you need to be careful about how you proceed. You likely only have so many shots at this thing, so you need to make every opportunity count. Here are some tips for before you begin IVF treatment.

Clean Up Your Diet

You need to clean up your diet and you need to do this well before you begin treatment. It will take your body some time to detox away from certain foods so you need to do this well in advance. Sugary foods, caffeine and alcohol should be avoided at all cost. Try to start eating a nice balanced diet including as many fertility enhancing foods as you can. Luckily, most of these foods are enjoyable and easy to add to your diet.

Eliminate Stress From Your Life

You should go on a stress reduction diet before proceedig with IVF and you should maintain it during and after transfer.

Stress is the enemy. It puts your body in an inflamed state ans that is a very bad thing when you are trying to get an embryo to implant. Make a sanctuary in your home and learn to meditate.

You likely do not want the pressure of telling everyone in your life that you are about to go through a cycle because you do not need the pressure. If, however, you have someone in your life that is particularly aggravating, it might be best to be easy around you for some time.

Take Time Off

This is all about stress reduction and rest. You want to have time off both before and after your procedure. This is particularly true after transplantation. You need at least three days of bed rest after the procedure.

Remember, you likely only have one or two shots at IVF. Make the best of it by being prepared and giving you and your body the best chance possible.

A sunset against a cross providing support and hope like infertility books often do.

One of the hardest things to deal with in life for women, and men too, is infertility. The emotional highs followed by soul crushing lows can be extremely difficult to deal with. It is times like these that we must keep the faith as much as possible and look for moments of grace.

Thankfully there are scores of inspirational stories and books that let us do just that. If you enjoy reading and need an emotional boost, they can be just the thing to help you make it through. Below are some of the best books dealing with infertility and fertility treatment.

The Barren Cry

A book to help strengthen your resolve in the face of infertility obstacles. For those who are finding it hard to keep your faith during your journey, this book may be able to help you find the way. The Barren Cry will help you commit to a 21 day prayer challenge that can help to restore your faith in god and encourage you to continue your journey. It is available on paper and on Kindle.

When God Says Wait

Struggling for reason, perhaps the answer is not “no”, but “not now”. When God Says Wait will walk you through the journeys of others who had to wait. It will help you make the most of the journey so that you come out the other side as a better person and ideally a better mom. Learn to deal with the pain with faith and even humor. This book is available on paper and Kindle.

Miraculously My Own

The story of Micheal and Samantha who facing the option of being childless or going through IVF, chose another option, adoption. Read how they opened a new miraculous door only to have it almost closed in front of them. Sometimes the journey to ultimate good is littered with painful moments. Miraculously My Own is available on paper and Kindle.

I Still Want To Be A Mom

An autobiography that will encourage you not to give up on your dreams. Perhaps the long journey that you are facing is actually god’s way of grooming you into the best mom that you can be. The book is broken up into three main sections, planning, preparing and pursuing. Reading this book can help you formulate your own personal plan to overcome infertility and handle the journey of fertility treatments. It is now available on paper and Kindle.

The Best Collection Of Infertility Books

If you need some inspiration, these are some of the best of the infertility books available. We hope that they help and if you try them, please let us know how they inspired you. In addition, we would love to hear about any books or even just simple stories on infertility and fertility treatment that have helped you along the way.

There is one thing that is certain about pregnancy, you are going to gain weight. Some are fortunate enough to gain a little while others, maybe through a little indulgence, gain a lot. No worries, it just comes with the territory and that baby in your arms is well worth it.

Still, there will come a point after child birth where your thoughts turn to getting back into pre baby shape. Unless you are one of those genetic freaks that can seemingly bounce back in weeks, you need a plan. Here are a few proven ways that you can get drop some pounds after child birth without even counting calories.

A woman losing weight after pregnancy.

Breastfeeding

You probably know how important breastfeeding is for your baby. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies are exclusively breast fed for the first 6 months of life. Your breast milk is the perfect blend of nutrients and it also contains your antibodies. That means that your baby will be able to better fend off bacteria and viruses. Beyond that, breastfeeding has been linked to everything from reduced chances of diabetes to higher IQ scores.

It is easy to see how breast feeding is good for baby, but how can it help you lose weight? Breastfeeding can burn as much as 500 calories a day. That is 1 pound a week or 4 pounds a month. With proper diet, over the course of 6 months of breastfeeding, you could lose 24 pounds. Not bad for doing something that is so very good for your child.

Intermittent Fasting

The idea behind intermittent fasting is to only eat for a small period of the day, usually a 4-6 hour window. The rest of the time you fast. For example, you might fast until 5PM and then eat whatever you want between 5PM and 9PM. Then at 9PM, you stop eating for the day.

It might sound funny to some but it works. During the daytime, your body will learn to burn its own fuel reserves (fat) for energy. Then at night you can stock back up.

This is so much better than straight dieting because it eliminates the weak spot in diets, nighttime. Most of us can be good during the day and then the cravings hit us at night. Since you can eat at night with IF, you eliminate the weak spot in your diet, plus, you go to bed full which should help you sleep better.

For bet results with IF, try to eat a healthy mix of food at night. This means veggies and healthy fats. Don’t think that IF gives you the right to eat a whole sleeve of Chips Ahoy.

Keto

The Keto diet is based on the theory, and a very good one, that the food pyramid is wrong. We really do not need all of those servings of grain and we probably should be eating a lot more fat. This will sound odd to most people since that food pyramid was taught to us in school and beat into our heads for years.

The fact is though that since the food pyramid was introduced both obesity and diabetes cases have increased greatly. Look at it this way. You have fat, protein and carbohydrates and you only need 2 of these things to live. Cut out fat, you die. Cut out protein, you die. Cut out carbs and you are just fine, although your body will need some time to adjust.

Most people find that, on Keto, they feel fuller longer and actually lose weight without cutting calories. Learn more about a beginners Keto diet here.

Daily Activity

Last but not least, you have adding more activity into your day. One reason that women often gain weight after pregnancy is lack of activity. Yes, taking care of a baby is difficult, but you might not realize how much less you are actually moving around. The stress of raising a child understandably makes you just want to veg out on the couch between diapers. In addition, many mothers are also transitioning from a full time job to stay at home status and this likely means a whole lot less moving around.

Simply adding in a few miles of walking or bike riding every day can work wonders. Purchase a jogging stroller (cheap on Craigslist) or a bike with a trailer and hit the pavement.

Weather not hospitable enough for outdoor exercise? Take up yoga, Pilates or just start streaming some free online workouts. You will likely find that adding just 20 or 30 minutes of light exercise into your daily routine allows you to lose weight without counting calories. You’ll reduce your stress level as well.

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