What would you tell your priest about IF?

Hi! We need your advice. On Thursday we are set to present Napro, IF, and realted subjects to a large group of priests, more than 60 plus. this is major. Our bishop has asked us to present to them and while we have some ideas, I wanted to ask you if you had this opportunity what would you tell them. The bishop is very keen in them understanding their role in all of this and the exact Church position, but also understanding not only the rules, but also the pain that goes along this cross. any ideas are welcome!

An opportunity to give thanks

Last night I was reading an old post of the importance  of the internet by Leila from the Little Catholic Bubble called :  catholic-bloggers-this-ones-for-you

She posted 2 amazing quotes that I will post again here. I had not read them before, but they really made me think since I see my work also as a mission and  I also have received a lot from the internet.    As I have blogged here I work for an internet company in marketing and every day I am learning more and more about its power.  =)

Blessed John Paul II

The Internet causes billions of images to appear on millions of computer monitors around the planet. From this galaxy of sight and sound will the face of Christ emerge and the voice of Christ be heard? For it is only when his face is seen and his voice heard that the world will know the glad tidings of our redemption. This is the purpose of evangelization. And this is what will make the Internet a genuinely human space, for if there is no room for Christ, there is no room for man. --  Message for the 36th World Communications Day (2002)

Pope Benedict XVI

Without fear we must set sail on the digital sea facing into the deep with the same passion that has governed the ship of the Church for two thousand years. Rather than for, albeit necessary, technical resources, we want to qualify ourselves by living in the digital world with a believer’s heart, helping to give a soul to the Internet’s incessant flow of communication. (2010)

As I blogged here I learned personally about the power of internet  when  I found out about Napro through online groups and blogs.   They truly saved my life and continue to be a source of wisdom and guidance during out If battle.

I was thinking about this when we  went to mass to a church that I used to attend, one  that I love very much, but its quite out of the way for us now.  I used to go there to daily mass before I became a mom since it was very close to my former office.    

Well today out of the blue we decided to go there.  My DH told me  there was going to be a a beautiful mass  due to the coming  feast day of the patron saint of this church. It would be nice to go there and maybe spend sometime outside eating in the garden where they were going to put food stands.

Well after Mass we were waiting to say hi to the priest when I lost my DH. After a couple of minutes  I see him talking to an elderly man and go to him, then this man turns to me and  I see its the DH of the founder of our adoption agency.  I am speechless.   Again in a city of millions.

I introduce him to our son and tell him he is fruit of their amazing work saving lives and tell him he is called Jose.m.aria.     He says:   My wife needs to know this  and see the baby again!

So he calls her just as she was about to enter the church and she is ecstatic to see our son and we begin to talk while the other mass starts.    Well the conversation turns to our jobs and we tell her we both have changed jobs since our adoption.

When I mention about what I do  she tells me she has been thinking a lot lately about int.ernet.  I smile thinking about Leila´s post and about the homily I had just heard since  the Mass was dedicated to sanctification through work.

  She knows they must start doing a much better job since women are not coming in the numbers they used to the agency since abortion became legal and I tell her I really think the pro-life movement is losing the battle there, badly.

  I tell her there is tons to do, but it seems we are not communicating as we should and using old strategies.

 The other side its much better equipped  and savvy and they are luring countless women into aborting because they are not seeing the amazing options that they have.  We simply do not use the internet to all its potential and  both JPII and BXVI are calling us to do it.

We start discussing her ideas on this for the next minutes  and then she tells me if I could teach her the basics of the online world?    About blogs, advertising, etc.

 Then she gives me her cell phone and asks me if I could teach her at her home a couple of afternoons  and tell her my thoughts on this and where they can do better to help more women and babies.

  I almost cry right there.    Wow.  

How can I say no?  She is the person that founded the agency  that helped our son´s  BM and she actually was the one that had the final decision that he come to us.

The biggest gift we have ever received.

She is also one of the most esteemed persons in the whole country in the subject of adoption. She singlehandedly changed many laws.

And to think that maybe I can help other women through her? Save other babies?

  I not only see my job as a way to bring stability to my family, but we need more Catholics understanding this new world and if I can help in this this is a major,  major blessing.

 I know deep within myself that there is a deeper reason why God placed me where I am right now. Its hard having to work full time, but there is a reason for everything.

 I just pray that I truly can explain the importance to her of  being more  proactive in internet  and also having a much better strategy and can share all that I can learned in my journey and work.  


I will probably need to pray to my guardian angel so I speak the right words !!

So in the next days I will be able to give thanks  to the agency that gave me the most amazing gift.  My son.

Prayers and advice needed: UPDATED

Update: 


Thanks for all the prayers.   They really lifted us up  in a very difficult day.  


She did the pregnancy test today at the hospital and it came out negative, still  the doctor here thinks she is not out of the woods yet due to her rising levels of progesterone  and has asked her to test again in a week since it might have been too early. The only other possibility is a lab mistake or the change in labs since it was Sunday and her usual one was closed.   Yet the doctor does not want to risk it.  


She put her on very high doses of vaginal progesterone to  help her in the case she were truly pregnant and from what I understand told her to  take it easy   for the next week until she has to test again.  


 I am very happy the doctor reacted so well and quickly really caring for the patient and possible baby, she is the only Napro doctor nearby and a real blessing.    Even if it seems too much , she is really being extra careful in case there was a life involved and this is the way it should be, but very few doctors even care. 


i will keep you all posted as we learn more.   It will be a difficult week I am sure for them.  




A very, very close family member was doing this month her complete month  Napro BW  series for IF.

 It took me 3 years to convince them to do it and they finally decided to start charting 3 months ago and this cycle they started with the testing.

   They had a devastating miscarriage more than a year ago and no pregnancies since.  Their suffering reminds me so much of mine and I see in their eyes how tired and anxious they are for answers.

Her charts tell us that the problem most probably is progesterone since she has in every single cycle premenstrual bleeding.  She also has problems with calcium and vitamin d which make her a candidate to osteoporosis.

Well the BW was going fine until last night, some low hormones that  we expected and her progesterone went up on P+7 as its normal on this day  to 14, but then it went slightly down on P+9 to 11 and we expected to see a big dip on P+11... but it did not happen.   Actually it went up to 18.    

When progesterone goes up in the luteal phase normally it means pregnancy.

A few days ago she reported to me some unsusual bleeding that I had seen only in pregnancy, but I did not want to ger her hopes up . They had used a couple of fertile days this cycle until the doctor told them not to continue  due to the possibility of a miscarriage. . 

Well   last night we went into emergency mode.

 They called me in panic knowing that the progesterone could mean pregnancy, yet as always  she had started her normal premenstrual bleeding on P+11.   Very,  very slight,  but there.

The panic was there.    She knew what this all could mean.

A possible baby and also the very high risk of miscarriage.

I called the doctor right away that ordered a blood pregnancy test today. In a few hours we will know.  She did not sleep.

If there is a baby its in grave danger of being miscarried.  A long awaited baby by them and my family.

This added to the fact that we do not have PIO progesterone in Mexico,  we only have artificial progesterone available and only very few natural options with very low levels, mostly to manage menopause.  And of course most of  Napro medicines are not available here, only the big commercial ones.

And the Napro doctor who is amazing , is brand new to Napro, and has never used any miscarriage protocols. She spent last night reading about her options.

  We will need a miracle in case there is a baby.

Any practical advice that we could give this amazing woman?  I know baby aspirin is one, as well as rest and a ton of water, but anything else?

Can you please please pray?



St. Gianna please help!
Virgin of Guadalupe please help!
Sacred Heart of Jesus please help!

My fertility diary

A few weeks  ago I found my fertility diary.

The very same diary I was keeping of all the  treatments and the health choices I was making  on 2010 on my path to motherhood.

 It brought back so many memories and I have been meaning to write on it again for weeks, yet something has been stopping me.   I did not know what exactly.  

The diary keept staring at me from my nightstand each day for weeks on end.  

Yet the time has come to restart it.  I know I am ready and this is a huge step for me.   It means I am daring to believe again and put my heart out there.

In February of 2010  Dr H had given us a 60 to 70% chance of being parents  after my lap with him and I had been to a fertility retreat with  Ran.dine Lewis  (author of  "the infertility Cure") in March of that year.  She had diagnosed me with the Chinese equivalent of the very same things as Dr. H, plus a couple more  and had taught me many things to treat them naturally.  She stressed that the most important was getting the body into balance and that this was done through diet and supplements,  relaxation and exercise.  A pregnancy would come with balance.

For the next months we tried to get pregnant to no avail following mainly Western medicine and doing some of her advice on an off and then I read Inconcei.vable, an amazing book on the power of taking control of your own health path and all clicked.

 I needed to make my own cure mixing Napro and alternative medice and lifestyle changes.  I dove right into Randi.ne´s advice, re-read all my healthy lifestyle books and created my own program.  I was so motivated that there was no stopping me. 

Around that time I had found a fertility diary in an Amer.ican Bookstore here in Mexico city which was mainly to keep track of IVF treatments.  

I decided to use it instead to record:
Meditation or relaxation, exercise, changes in medicines and weight, how well I was following a healthy diet,  addition to supplements and changes to mood.

I kept track of everything that  I was doing to become a mother.  Reflecting at the end of each day made me feel stronger and helped me to focus on joy.

I added things every week that made me feel better.  One day was giving myself a foot massage, another just breathing deeply, the other reading an amazing book.

I began to enjoy life again after several years of IF.

I got pregnant about 3 months later, after really listening to my body.  I am sure Napro had found the organic causes and I had found the rest through reading and really listening to my body.

Today I am still on the very same medicines and in over a year and a half  of trying again  we have not been pregnant once.      I know there is  something additional  to fix with Napro (I have developed intermittent  Tail end Brown bleeding since my miscarriage), but there is something  else missing.   I know it.

the very low vitamin D levels are just a proof of this.  

Additionally I am not doing most of the things that helped me be so healthy then: .

• Exercise: no
• Relaxation: no
• Focusing on healthy foods: no
• Eliminating  caffeine: no
• Ideal weight: no
• Focusing on joy: no
• The right mix of supplements: no

 and most important I had lost all confidence in my body´s ability to be pregnant and healthy.

As I have written here I became pregnant and then after 9 weeks I had a very traumatic miscarriage with tons of complications, I was in the hospital three times in just a few months and then had to go through the deep grief of all of this while focusing on adoption and all its paperwork.

After my miscarriage I lost all confidence I had gained in the past months of very healthy living  and then came  our adoption and the focus was an amazing baby boy.

This year my focus has been managing a family and a job and my health has become the last priority, yet I know I have to change this.  

My heart yearns for another baby and I know that I need to be as healthy as I can for the son I already have or for future adoptions.  I am an older mother and need to be there for him.

Also in  the last weeks something has shifted.

The thing that I think changed my  view of my body has been that for the last weeks I have been on an anti-inflammatory diet and  supplements and yesterday for the first time in over 1.5 years I felt that my body worked.

I looked at myself in the mirror and for the very first time in years I saw a body that could achieve things.  The diet and supplements that the nutritionist had given me had changed my digestion dramatically, I had lost weight and most importantly inflammation.  The change was dramatic.

 I had a waist again, no belly and I felt amazing.  I felt so light.  

I have not done  her diet at a 100%, but around 80% yet the results are there.  I have only lost 3 or 4 pounds after a few weeks of dieting, yet  I feel completely different.

Its hard to describe.  

Strong again.

So diary and new healthy lifestyle here I come  (and I am sending all my files to Gianna and PPVI again for a second look as not to leave this stone urturned)  and hopefully another pregnancy.

I am daring to believe again.  =)

For Greater Glory; updated

Today launches an amazing movie:  For Greater Glory

I wrote about it when it launched here in México here:  Go and see this


This is what Catholic.org wrote today: A highest recommendation

Do not miss this remarkable salute to the little known heroes of the Cristeros rebellion, an opportunity not only to educate your family about past religious persecution and the heroes who fought for religious liberty in Mexico, but a spellbinding experience to inspire your own reaction to similar threats in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.

And Foxnews:

For Greater Glory” takes its cues from a bygone era of Technicolor Golden Age epics and delivers a sprawling political drama steeped in old-fashioned Hollywood romanticism. During the 1920s, Mexico was thrust into civil war when President Plutarco Calles (Rubén Blades) outlawed Catholicism, banned religious activity, confiscated all church property and exiled clergy. Priests and nuns that protested were arrested or publicly executed and hung on display from roadside posts. Rebel factions formed by schoolboys to farmers to artisans rose up and thus started the Cristero War. Andy Garcia gives an excellent performance as the legendary General Gorostieta, a militaristic mastermind hired to lead the directionless rebels against Calles. In pure movie fashion, one man becomes a symbol, uniting a country in its struggle for civil liberty and religious freedom. But Gorostieta’s story is an interesting one: He’s an atheist who joins the cause out of boredom – and a little prodding from his wife (Eva Longoria) -- but he quickly finds worth and value when he’s introduced to a young boy, José Luis Sanchez.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/06/01/review-for-greater-glory-sweeping-sentimental-adventure/#ixzz1wacYjnmC

Note:   José Luis Sánchez  has been  beatified by Pope Benedict Beatification of Mexican martyr

A film produced by a very famous Mexican  business man that had a conversion and promised to God to make great Catholic movies, movies with content and a heart.  We need to support these persons so we can continue to communicate The Truth!
In Mexico it was a smash and broke many records.

Its a movie that  talks about priests and lay persons giving up their lives for Christ at a time of vicious persecution. Where hundreds of persons, even thousands were murdered for their faith including many priests, children and nuns. Modern day saints and martys, a lot of them cannonized by JPII and BVI

I think a lot of Catholics in the USA should see it as your faith is being so attacked.

If this were not enough reason to see it you can get a glimpse of Eduardo Verastegui.  A Mexican actor that had a conversion also and that has dedicated this life to the Culture of Life and  is building  el manto de Guadalupe (the mantle of Guadalupe)  one of the largest crisis pregnancy centers in the USA  right in front of one of the biggest abortion mills in the country.

He is also  the producer and actor of Bella.   so if the story and supporting good movies are not reason enough, you can go and see a hunk!!!!!

If you can go and see it!!!