Congrats to Giuliana & Bill Rancic on their new son.

We have followed Giuliana & Bill on their path to parenthood.  First their infertility tests, their miscarriage and then Giuliana’s breast cancer and surgery.  OurHopePlace.com is happy to announce the birth of their son Edward Duke Rancic.  They ended up going with a gestational surrogate.  We are excited for them and hope they are getting sleep.  Sometimes your life does not happen as you would like but usually it gives you what you need. Congrats and our best!

Read all the details: http://www.examiner.com/article/giuliana-rancic-baby-boy-is-born-delivery-went-smooth?CID=obinsite

 

 

Bethenny Frankel – Her Story and Feelings About Her Miscarriage

We were sorry to hear that Bethenny Frankel suffered a miscarriage but we do appreciate that she was able to candidly express herself and her sadness over her miscarriage.  Anytime someone who has suffered a miscarriage talks about their experience, it helps so many other women who have also experienced a miscarriage. We hope to demystify miscarriage and help women not feel so alone in their journey – http://www.OurHopePlace.com

For the full story about Bethenny Frankel  – see link or read this month’s Glamour magazine:

http://www.bethenny.com/post/glamour-im-ready-to-talk-about-my-miscarriage

 

Bethenny Frankel – Talks Candidly & Emotionally About Her Misacarriage

Bethenny Frankel – star of her own show – Bethenny Ever After – talks candidly & emotionally about suffering a miscarriage on her reality show.

Thank you Bethenny for reaching out to others who have suffered and letting us see how your miscarriage affected your life.  When more women open up about their experience & express themselves honestly about their miscarriage – it not only helps the person talking to work through the many emotions that come with the experience but also it helps those listening (whether or not they have experienced a miscarriage themselves) to understand what the woman is going though and how hey can help.  For great ideas on how to help someone who has suffered a miscarriage – please visit www.OurHopePlace.com

Just posted on Bethenny’s website – hope we can help her and her fans who have also suffered a miscarriage:

Hi Bethenny, Just catching up and wanted to say that I am so sorry to hear about your miscarriage. I also suffered a miscarriage (back in 1999.)  Then went on to have 2 great kids. From my miscarriage experience I realized that a lot of well meaning family & friends do not know what to say or do to help and my husband (partners of women who have miscarried)also suffer and deal with the grief differently.  So my friend and I created www.OurHopePlace.com to demystify miscarriage and help women cope, hope and heal after miscarriage.  We share our story of a special bracelet of hope, our friendship and how we helped each other thru our miscarriage healing journies.  I hope we can help you & all your fans who have also suffered a miscarriage.  Please keep us laughing – and crying – love your show!!!!

 

 

 

 

Drinking Soda (even diet) & Infertility???

I admit I enjoy a soda (Pepsi fan) every now and then – good with pizza & hamburgers!!

But here are some compelling reasons to reach for something else – great article – “3 Surprising Reasons To Give Up Soda” – http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/3-shocking-soda-facts

Check out Shocking Fact #3 for full story – You have heard of high-fructose corn syrup which is derived from genetically engineered corn which has only been around since the 1990s.  Too soon to know the long-term health effects but recent findings link genetically engineered crops to accelerating aging, digestive tract issues and maybe infertility!!!

 

Did Beyonce suffer a miscarriage before having baby Blue Ivy Carter??

First Congratulations to Beyonce & Jay-Z on the birth of their first daughter Blue Ivy Carter.

“Blue Ivy Carter went home from the hospital with her famous mom and dad early on Tuesday, Lenox Hill Hospital officials confirmed to the Daily News and E! News.” – from Wonderwall.msn.com – full story:

http://wonderwall.msn.com/music/beyonce-jay-z-leave-hospital-with-blue-ivy-carter-1661153.story?ocid=answw11

According to Jay-Z’s new song “Glory” he references a miscarriage previous to the birth of Blue Ivy Carter – http://www.OurHopePlace.com wants to thank Jay-Z for talking about miscarriage in a popular song – the more we discuss miscarriage and how commonn it is – the less women (and their families) will feel alone after suffering through their own miscarriage.

 

Happy New Year 2012!!!!

New Year, New You – that is what I tell myself every January 1st.  I hope this new year brings you what you need in your life and a little of what you want ( “need” & “want” are not always the same thing- that is what I tell my kids.)  For all of you trying to have a family or wanting to add to your family – I hope 2012 brings you new little people in your life – no matter how they get there.

 

Michelle Duggar Sufferes A Miscarriage

We were sad to hear that Michelle Duggar has suffered a miscarriage with her 20th child.  We hope as a family they can find their healing journey.

Quoted from Access Hollywood:

“According to People, during a routine check-up where Jim Bob and Michelle were supposed to find out the sex of their 20th child, their doctor was unable to find the baby’s heartbeat. Michelle was told that she had miscarried in her second trimester.”

“The Duggar matriarch said they will still name the baby after they find out of it was a boy or a girl and they plan to hold a funeral service.”

Grieving after a miscarriage from http://www.OurHopePlace.com:

Some woman and their partners may choose to put their miscarriage behind them sooner and look to the future with hope, while others will take more time to get to that same place to begin healing.  

There is no right or wrong answer, amount of time to heal or way to go about it.  Allow your spouse the
time she needs.  Don’t pressure your friend in any preconceived way based on your time line or how
you would grieve.  

Grieving is a very personal process and should be respected.  Letting your partner know that you are
there for her will go a long way.

Men & Women grieve differently. 

A mother and father can have vastly different reactions to a miscarriage.  In many cases, the mother doesn’t understand why her husband is not experiencing significant grief and the father doesn’t understand why his wife is so devastated.  This can have profound implications for the marriage.

For more information on different grieving styles –

http://www.ourhopeplace.com/PaulaLevyExpert.html

For full Access Hollywood story –

http://tv.yahoo.com/news/michelle-duggar-miscarries-feel-heart-broke-telling-children-221738891.html

 

Father’s Day, Miscarriage & Grieving For Men

Father’s Day (June 19th) is coming up this weekend.  Celebrating often includes BBQs, baseball and families getting together.  But what happens if you are the man  & your wife/partner has suffered a miscarriage.  You may not be in the spirit to celebrate.  And that is OK.

Going with your gut instinct and doing (or not doing) what feels right for you on that day is what you should do.  Only by being true to yourself about your feelings toward celebrating Father’s Day will you be able to heal.  On our blog on June 7th we gave some suggestions on how to help get through the day – https://ourhopeplace.wordpress.com/

We would also like to include a link to Our Hope Place (www.OurHopePlace.com) where we have an expert talk about “Men, Women, Miscarriage & Grieving Styles” – we hope this helps – (see link below for complete information and chart)

Men, Women, Miscarriage And Grieving Styles
By: Paula Levy

Miscarriage is an emotional and confusing time for most couples.  There are few societal rituals for grieving for a miscarriage and the depth of this pain is not well recognized in our culture.   In addition, couples have little or no physical existence of their child (pictures, toys, memories) and therefore it becomes difficult for them to validate their loss in the usual ways.  Add to this mix the
fact that women and men usually grieve differently which can cause miscommunication, hurt and disappointment between them.  As a result, a mother and father can have vastly different reactions to a miscarriage.  In many cases, the mother doesn’t understand why her husband is not experiencing significant grief and the father doesn’t understand why his wife is so
devastated.  This can have profound implications for the marriage.

http://www.ourhopeplace.com/PaulaLevyExpert.html

Please let us know if you have a special way of celebrating Father’s Day after your miscarriage.

 

Thanks Oprah – you made me a better woman & mom

I have watched Oprah for many years – some shows I agreed with, others I did not finish watching and still some gave me my own “ah ha” moment.  After 25 years I wanted to say to Oprah – “Thank you for making me a better woman & mom.”

The top 4 things I remember about all those shows as told in my own words – meaning what I took away from the show:

1) Don’t hold a grudge – Oprah told a story about how she had a disagreement with a friend and Oprah was holding a grudge.  She talked about all the energy and time she spent thinking about the disagreement and this person until one day she saw that person “skipdeedee doing” down the street.  Oprah realized at that moment that her friend was not wasting time thinking of Oprah but had moved on.  It was only Oprah who had given that friend all the power by letting the disagreement take up her thoughts and brain power that could have been used for something more useful.

2) Oprah always quotes Glinda the Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz – “You have always had the power” with the actual quote being from Answers.com –‘You’ve always had the power to go back to Kansas’ is the quote from Glinda the Good Witch about Dorothy Gale knowing all along what to do.

I think of this quote often as a mom, wife, daughter, friend & co-worker –  when I get “stuck” in life – whether I am trying to make a decision, get through a bad day or challenge myself with something new.  I realize the “power” is always inside of me -I just have to have the courage to grab it and go.

3) Mom stories – Oprah in her 25 years has had a lot of moms on the show – moms who inspired me, moms who went public with their embarrassing moments as a mom or moms who made me cry (tears of joy or sadness).    I thank Oprah and all those moms who made my life a little sweeter and sometimes easier because of the stories they told – but mostly thanks for letting me feel not alone in my quest to be the best mom (& woman) I can be.

4) “Take your pain and turn it into power”  an Oprah quote- one of the reasons that Our Hope Place (www.OurHopePlace.com) exists.   I believe that when something devastating happens to you (like a miscarriage) it helps to take that pain and channel it into something that will help others.  Once you see how you can help others, your pain lessens a little at a time and you feel empowered.

Have you learned anything from Oprah??? – let us know.

 

The Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life

I just finished reading a unique book – “The Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life” by Glen Beck & Keith Oblow.  I did not know what to expect when I opened the book but the following sentences from the book hit home with me.

They explained to me in words (all quotes below from their book) what we at Our Hope Place (www.OurHopePlace.com) try to do everyday with the story of our miscarriages – share how we feel, share how we think about what happened to us and hopefully help others who find themselves in the same situation-to not feel so alone.

Why we share our story at Our Hope Place:

“We understand that no person’s life is precisely like any other’s, but we also understand that one life story can reflect the challenges each and every one of us faces in attempting to love ourselves and others and pursue happiness.”

“No two human experiences repeat themselves exactly, but there are underlying patterns that occur again and again – patterns we can learn a tremendous amount from.”

“Why can one life, honestly told, influence many lives?  Why can human beings learn from the experiences, thoughts, and feelings of others?  What energy is being tapped when one person is willing to completely open his or her heart and soul to others?”

Helping others to not feel alone after their miscarriage:

“So many of us believe we are alone in our shortcomings and fears and challenges and questions and hopes and dreams that we must keep ourselves undercover, lest we be seen for the imperfect people we are.  But nothing could be further from the truth.  There is far more that connects us than separates us.  We are all struggling.  We are all on difficult, sometimes tortuous, journeys that are really meant – designed, in fact, by God – to lead us to the best in ourselves.”

If you have experienced a miscarriage or know someone who has – please take a minute to tell them about http://www.OurHopePlace.com so that “one human being’s intensely personal tests and triumphs can be harnessed to the good of countless others. “