Katie Sweetland and her husband Matt had been trying to have a baby for awhile. It just wasn’t working. What she didn’t know was that she had undiagnosed endometriosis.
“I went to the doctor for unrelated hip pain, and as they were investigating that issue, I explained that we were also having difficulty getting pregnant,” Katie explained. “So we did some testing with that doctor, and then with a gynecologist.”
When their testing all came back clear, Katie and her husband were transferred to an infertility specialist, where they tried an IUI. It didn’t work.
“When the first IUI didn’t work, the doctor thought I might have endo based on my symptoms and the results of an ultrasound. I went in for surgery and they confirmed I had stage one and two endometriosis. They scraped it away, and right after the surgery we tried a second IUI.”
Sadly, the second IUI didn’t work either.
“I Didn’t Feel Like Myself”
The Sweetlands live in Ontario, Canada. In Canada, the first round of IVF is covered by insurance at no cost. (Subsequent rounds of IVF cost $10,000 each.) They decided to move forward with IVF. During the first round, Katie was put on Lupron for three months and it put her into reversible menopause. After all that, the IVF procedure didn’t work.
“The first IVF failed and I think a big part of this was due to my frame of mind. I was beaten down. I was at my unhealthiest; the heaviest I’ve been. I wasn’t exercising. I didn’t feel like myself. I needed to get control.”
Katie discovered that cutting out soy is good for endo, so she did the Paleo diet because it suggests cutting out soy. She started feeling better, and lost some weight.
“Physically I was feeling better, but I wasn’t in the right frame of mind. I had so many negative thoughts. We were four years into this journey. There had been so much negativity, and constant disappointment. I felt guilt that my endo was the problem. I really needed to regain some sense of control.”
From Meditation Skeptic to Believer
At that same time, Katie was reading the book “The Secret”. “It’s all about thinking positively and visualizing what you want,” she explained. That book led her to consider other ways that she could take control of her state of mind.
“I had never tried meditation before,” Katie said. “I have a scientific background and went to university for health and science. Meditation always seemed flighty and not real to me.”
But she decided to do some research on meditation to see if it could help. The first meditations she found were on YouTube. She tried a few, but they didn’t help her. She wanted more of a structured program designed for what she was going through.
As she continued to look for ways to help her find a better frame of mind, Katie Googled “meditation for fertility,” and Circle+Bloom came up.
Her second round of IVF was scheduled, and she decided to try the free sample Circle+Bloom program to help her prepare. She liked it so much that she purchased the IVF program to use in the month before her second IVF.
“For someone who’s not very holistic, it was great to have the guided meditations. I like that the structure is the same for each recording: whole body relaxation, then the specifics for where you are in the program. It was consistent and I knew what to expect. I looked forward to doing it everyday. It was exercise for my brain. It helped me feel more in control, mentally, and got me thinking positively. Circle+Bloom was just what I needed to keep me calm and focused, and it helped change my frame of mind to truly believe that this was going to work for me.”
Katie listened to the IVF program during the month before their second scheduled IVF, and during the treatments. It helped her visualize the procedures working perfectly.
And they did. Katie became pregnant, and gave birth to their son George on April 13th, 2019.
Continued Support During Pregnancy
Katie loved listening to the IVF guided meditation program, but didn’t have a reason to listen to it anymore. “I didn’t want it to stop,” she said. “It was a comfort thing; I got comfortable and relied on listening to it.”
So, she bought the Circle+Bloom program for pregnancy. “You’re so nervous in those first three months that something will go wrong and you’ll lose the pregnancy,” she explained. “It helped keep me calm and relaxed, and helped me with positive thoughts that everything is ok.”
One of the Circle+Bloom email newsletters also introduced Katie to Rosanne Austin. She listened to one of Austin’s podcasts and loved the positive messages.
“I am so grateful for Circle+Bloom as I now hold my perfect, happy three-month old baby boy,” Katie said. “You truly kept me thinking positive and believing in my happiness and goal. I miss your calming voice and structure of the meditations. I haven’t been able to find anything quite like it geared towards the challenges a new mom faces. I wish you had a program for new moms!”
Learn more about Circle + Bloom’s guided meditations for infertility, with specific programs tailored to help with IVF/IUI, PCOS, Frozen Embryo Transfer, and Natural Cycle for Fertility.
With love & gratitude,
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