Kansas City Infertility Awareness Conference

This past weekend I attended the 6th Annual Family Building Conference put on by Kansas City Infertility Awareness.  I must admit I was pleasantly surprised.  

While I've been very open with dealing with the loss of my baby and my ensuing infertility struggles on this blog, I haven't really sought out any therapy or support groups.  Adam and I saw a grief counselor that specialized in infant loss and miscarriages right after we lost our baby.  Neither one of us really connected with the counselor.  Or perhaps it was too soon after losing our baby and we were not in the right frame of mind to talk about what had happened.  So, after two visits, we decided not to go back.  And the thought of attending a support group didn't really appeal to either of us.  We were both a bit guarded and talking in front of a group of people about this horrible thing that happened to us didn't sound pleasant.  

I eventually opened up to family members and friends.  I can't begin to describe how much this has helped me heal.  I truly appreciate all the wonderful people in my life who have talked with me, cried with me and hoped with me.  

About a month ago, one of my co-workers told me about the conference.  Her niece is one of the board members.  Having talked about my infertility struggles with my co-worker, she shared about the conference.  At first, I thought it wasn't for me.  But I decided to give it a try.  I figured if it wasn't for me, I could always just leave.  

I talked Adam into going with me.  I know it was definitely going outside of his box.  But he sucked it up and was kind enough to come along with me.  

I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I am so very glad that I attended!  If nothing else, I feel a little less alone now.  I heard from many different women who have walked in my footsteps and felt all that I'm feeling now.  I also gained some new insight into IVF and adoption after attending breakout sessions on those topics.  

I left feeling more informed about family building options.  I was grateful to all the women who shared their stories.  And I gained some more hope for my future.  I'm even planning on attending the next monthly support meeting.  I'm very excited to see what I will gain from the support group.  

Source

Thank you to Kansas City Infertility Awareness for putting together such an inspiring, informative conference!