Hi, The Band!

*waves*

It is I, Your Aunt Becky, here with another installment of What's Up Around Band Back Together.

I got my Hello Kitty bowl on the ready, have indicated to the roadies that I'd like some more PURPLE not BLUE M&M's, and am ready to rock and roll!

I'm also going to make this a little more personal.

If you're not aware, June is National Infertility Month, and that's why I've made the decision to thrust Infertility into the spotlight for our Spotlight Series.

Here are some IF-related prompts:

• Is someone close to you struggling with infertility? How do you support them?
• How did your perspective on infertility/fertility treatments change once it began to affect your life?
• How do you feel about high-profile cases in the media that involve infertility or fertility treatments? (Nadya Suleman, Giuliana and Bill Rancic, Mariah Carey etc)
• Do you feel jealous/envious of the new parents in your life? How do you deal with it?
• What does your 'perfect' family look like? How many kids?
• Infertile couples often want more than one child. Are you struggling with secondary infertility? What is that experience like?
• What phrases or questions really push your buttons? (Either for being too invasive, too insensitive or something else)
• Do you have an inspiring/hopeful story of overcoming infertility? What was it like?

Also, tonight, our #withtheband Twitter party, which runs weekly from 7-8CST will be run by our lovely Silverlily, one of the devoted Brains Behind The Band who helps run our Twitter account.

P.S. You should come volunteer with us! Email volunteer@bandbacktogether.com

If you've never joined us before, tonight's a great night to try it out - we're always giving out prizes and it's a great way to connect with other people who have IF/loss in their lives.

Remember to tag your tweets with #withtheband and follow us:

@bandback2gether

@BrainsofBB2G

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As a part of the Resource Page Team, I've tried to make a number of Infertility Related Resource Pages:

Infertility

Loss

Recurrent Miscarriage (RPL)

Miscarriage

How To Cope With Infertility 

Secondary Infertility

Endometriosis

Ectopic Pregnancy

Please, The Band, I'm begging you - let me know what other resources I can create for IF and loss!

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*cue lone guitar solo*

Now, those of you who know me know that I have three kids running around my house, stealing my Purple Skittles. So why would someone like me feel it necessary to make infertility such a big deal?

Because I have roots. Roots that involve both infertility and baby loss.

When I started my second blog, Mommy Wants Vodka, most of the parenting blogs I read sounded like a badly written Palmolive ad - parenthood was rosy, if I was having struggles with something in my life, it was probably because I was a shitty person and should have my kids taken away from me.

So I fell in with the motley band of misfits known as the IF and/or Baby Loss bloggers. It was there that I felt at home, there where I formed my first real connections, and these were the first friends I'd made in the blog-world.

They were there when I admitted to struggling with PPD, then PTSD. They were there when my daughter, who was, by all accounts, developing normally, was born with a bit of her brain hanging out of the back of her head. Surprise!

Encephalocele.

The IF and baby loss bloggers, they were the ones who understood the torture of handing my newborn over to a neurologist, unsure if she would live or die. They filled my inbox with so many emails, emails that sent me love and light, holding my hair from afar. These people understood that there was no such thing as a "sure thing" or a future with certainty. They, too, lived in the fringe of statistics, knowing what it feels to fall on the wrong side of right.

They continue to be some of my dearest friends. I know, without a doubt, that I wouldn't be here, if they had not supported me.

When the idea of a group blog rolled around in my mind, I'd originally set the scope small: it would be a group blog for IF bloggers, baby loss mamas, and parents of children with special needs.

That was, obviously, too small. I hate being exclusive - if I was going to make a group blog, it damn well better be open to all.

I did, and I have. I've seen so many stories; new topics, different types of dark subjects that I've had to frantically scramble to throw together resource pages to keep up with it all.

(Let's just pretend that all I do is sit around watching dancing snails videos)

But through this journey, as my blog grew and as Band Back Together grew and morphed over time, I know that I will never forget where I came from. Ever.

So to you, my dearest of friends who have supported me time and again. To those of you whose tables are forever missing one. Whose backyards long to hear the sounds of children giggling and laughing. Whose office-turned-nursery fills with dust and frustration. Whose pee sticks will remain white. Whose heart will never feel whole, it is to you that I dedicate this month.

You have given me a kindness I cannot repay.

But I'll be dipped in shit and rolled in flour if I don't try.

So please, The Band, can you help me get the Band Back Together for Infertility and Loss?

I rarely ask for promotion (and I never beg for donations, no matter how broke we get) - but this time, I'm going to ask for your help. It's time to give back to those who helped me through my very darkest of days.

It's time to get the Band Back Together.