One morning, towards the end of my eighth pregnancy, I was standing in the bathroom, brushing my hair and teeth, getting ready for the day.  All of a sudden, my six year old and 4 year old ran into the bathroom in a frenzy, "Patrick has a bloody nose!" exclaimed Cecilia.  I stood there confused . . . Patrick had never had a bloody-nose before . . . why would he have one now?  Before I had a chance to assess the situation, the mystery was solved.  My 11 year-old, John, ran into the room very upset and announced, "Mom, Patrick and I were play-fighting and I accidentally punched him in the nose."

This may seem like a rather odd story to share, but at that moment it gave me much to reflect upon . . .  I often tell my sons that to realize the potential of their manhood, they must learn to control and master their strength.  Young boys often do not understand how strong they really are, and even though this punch was not released in anger, it still had a negative consequence. 

For women though, it is the opposite.  In order for us to realize the potential of our womanhood, we must learn to yield to our strength.  When the incident of Patrick's bloody-nose occurred, I realized that I soon would have to do the opposite of what I was telling John.  In order to birth my baby, I would need to yield to the great power inside of my body..

My cycle story has been one that has constantly followed this theme.  Throughout my 18 years of practicing Natural Family Planning, my eight pregnancies, and 6 unmedicated, natural births, I have had to learn how to understand the language of my body, cooperate with it, and yield to its power.  It has been an amazing journey and one that has taught me so much, not only about myself, but also about the amazing design of femininity.

Throughout my journey though, it hasn't always been a piece of cake.  Along with birthing 6 beautiful babies, I also experienced the sorrow of losing 2 children to miscarriage.  Throughout my journey, I experienced difficult morning sickness and had to learn to manage a medical condition that worsened during pregnancy.

Through my own experiences and the experiences of my clients, I have learned that fertility is a great mystery that consists of the most jubilant joys and the deepest of sorrows and that every couple experiences some kind of struggle, each different.  And because of those struggles, each client's cycle story is not merely a story, but is rather a memoir . . . one that yields wisdom, maturity, and great growth.

What has helped me tremendously throughout my childbearing years has been support, something that oftentimes seems scarce in our multi-tasking, busy-minded world.  But along the way, I had a wonderful husband, a compassionate NFP mentor, skilled doulas, and generous and caring family and friends.  It is my hope that in combining fertility awareness with holistic nutrition, I will be able to offer a unique and very helpful form of support to my clients.  The fertility journey can be confusing and difficult at any age.  Whether you have difficult cycles, painful periods, PMS, are having difficulty conceiving, or are beginning to experience the symptoms of perimenopause, please know that you do not have to go it alone!   I would be honored to support and assist you as you continue to write your cycle story!