100 Ways to be Stress-Free Through Infertility!

So, this is my 100th post and I’m so excited! Today, I’m listing 100 Ways To Be Stress-Free Through Infertility, devided into 10 categories! Enjoy reading it and using it as a guide! Grab my button on the sidebar so that you can access this list at any time!

100 Ways to Be Stress Free Through Infertility!

Blog!
Do acupuncture
Meditate
Go to a support group
Go to fertility counseling or coach
Go to a life coach
Vent to/get support from family and friends
Go seek answers or support on message boards
Find support through groups on Facebook or Twitter
Keep a journal
*Take a walk outside
*Walk on a treadmill
*Take a spin class
*Bike outside
*Ride an elliptical machine
*Take a Pilates class
*Do Pilate’s at home
*Do yoga at home
*Do yoga at the beach
*Take a (fertility) yoga class
Window shop
Shoe shop
Clothes shop
Shop for Home Decor items
Shop for books, music, or movies
Go to the mall or outlet center
Shop on-line
Shop with family (mom, sister, SIL, hubby, etc.)
Shop with friends
**Window Shop for baby items (Only if this doesn’t cause more stress)
Drink plenty of water
Drink hot herbal tea
Eat organically
Eat healthy meals
Take a nap
Get at least 8 hours of sleep
Say a positive affirmation every day
Take a hot shower
***Take a bath
Put your feet up
Read this blog
Read other IF blogs
Read updates on Twitter
Read updates on Facebook-(infertility related or from IF groups)
Read inspirational poetry
Read your favorite authors
Read infertility memoirs
Read information from infertility books (Knowledge is power!)
Read a good love story
Read a book that has been turned into a movie
Go to the movies
Watch a feel-good movie at home
Watch a comedy
See a movie in IM.AX
Watch your favorite TV shows
Watch videos on Yo.u T.ube
Go to a Comedy Club
Go to an Amusement Park
Watch the sunrise
Watch the sunset
Play a board game
Play a game on-line
Play a video game
Play a game on your phone or P.D.A
Host a game night with friends
Go out for a game night
Go to a fair to play games & win prizes
Watch your favorite sports on TV
Go to a local pub to watch the game
Go see your favorite team play LIVE!
Listen to a visualization CD
Listen to soothing, relaxing nature sounds
Listen to a playlist of slow, relaxing songs
Listen to your favorite artist/band
Listen to a playlist of your favorite uplifting songs
Go to a concert
Go to a local place for live music
Go to a music festival
Create/play your own music
Have a party with a music genre as the theme
Go on a date with your significant other
Go out to dinner with your significant other (or with friends)
Go to a Bed & Breakfast with your significant other
Go on a picnic with your significant other (or with friends)
Take a getaway for the weekend/week with your significant other
Take a drive with your significant other (or with friends)
Take a cruise with your significant other (or with friends)
Go dancing with your significant other (or with friends)
Go to a friend’s house with your significant other
Be intimate with your significant other
Get a manicure
Get a pedicure
Get a facial
Get a massage
Get reflexology
Get your hair done
Get your make-up done
Go to a spa for a weekend or a vacation
Have a girl’s pampering day
Go relax at the beach for some sun therapy

*All of these exercises are low-impact. Consult a doctor if you wish to participate and listen to your doctor’s advice about whether you should exercise or not during a (medicated) cycle.

**This is not meant to upset anyone! I realize this may of course be hard for you! I happen to really enjoy the planning, and picking out and actually buying a few things before becoming pregnant. You may not. If it bothers you, please disregard!

*** Listen to your doctor’s advice about this. Some doctors advise against baths after a certain time in your cycle (like after an embryo transfer or IUI). And the same goes for hot tubs. Please use your best judgement!

And thank you to all of you who have been with me on my journey for all 100 posts! I appreciate you all so much!

Update: This post originally had a giveaway that is now over!

Network for support!

This week the topic is~ Support: Social Networking Websites

So, unfortunately when I was going through infertility, I wasn’t aware of these fabulous websites out there where women (just like me at the time) could connect with each other, vent pretty much instantaneously and get support on a totally different level than with message boards.

Social Networking sites like Twitter and Facebook have millions of people with the very intent of networking with each other. There are hundreds of sites out there, but these two by far are the most popular and are getting more popular by the day!

They are different from message boards because for one, you can directly contact your friends privately or publicly by sending them messages or writing them a note on their “walls.” You can find each other by groups or lists and meet up online or elsewhere. You can also share pictures or videos on both.

One of the most distinct features is that you can reveal as much (or as little) information as you would like about yourself. Here’s where the 2 main sites differ:

On Facebook: Most people sign up with their real names, first and last and usually enter their high school and college info to be able to “connect” with others. There are a host of apps that allow you to do all kinds of virtual things like kidnap others, send chocolates or gnomes, start pillow fights and even poke one another. And, of course there are also the games where (among other things) you can nurture a pet, maim others with your mafia family and cultivate a farm. I’m not sure what the hype is, but they are quite addicting, or so I’ve heard. At the very least, it can keep your mind off of other infertility related thoughts! ;-)

An other great feature of Facebook are the pages and groups you can create that people can join or become fans of. A group is created under your profile so, it will link back to that. A page however is something that has quite a bit more annonimity and you can link this to your blog for example and get more exposure and connected readers.

To search for an infertility group simply type it into the search window. I just did and found a list of 876 results! Of course, if you don’t want your sister’s boyfriend’s high school buddies to know you joined the “Infertility Awareness” group, either lurk only, make sure your group settings aren’t visible, or mark them ”Friends Only.” You can change a whole bunch of settings to be more private about your profile, including whether or not certain people can search for you.

I am still learning the ins and outs of Twitter but here, you can pretty much be who you want to be, no holds bard. You can create more than 1 profile (with whatever creative username you want provided it’s not already taken) and share only the info you want to share. What I love is that you can link to a website or blog. This is a prominent feature in your stats and one of the primary reasons most people use Twitter as it seems to be the main subject for their tweets (with shortened urls of course). While Facebook doesn’t give you a limit in your “What’s on Your Mind” window, Twitter limits your musings to 140 characters which is sometimes hard to maintain.

One way to network with others in the infertility department is to start following people from their Twitter links on their blogs. (Many of the ladies here have some set up!) From there, look at their Follower lists and take a look at who’s following them. Read their bios, check out their blogs/websites and see if it’s someone you want to follow to network with. Also, check out Twellow. You can search for people with certain keywords like “TTC” or “infertility” in their bio rather then simply searching through tweets.

I am a fan of both networking sites and I like that they both offer different things that can help you to be stress free! Check them out!

Have you joined Facebook or Twitter? Has it helped you through your infertility? Please comment!

Twitter