Ep. 149: Fertility Journey Transformation with the Creighton System, Callie & Josiah's story
Caitlin:
Welcome to the Woven Well Podcast. I'm your host, Caitlin Estes. I'm a certified fertility care practitioner with a master of divinity degree. Each episode will cover a topic that helps educate and empower you and your fertility while honoring the deep connection your fertility has with your faith. Let's get started.
Caitlin:
Welcome back to the Woven Well podcast another year. Another great client story to share with you all. I'm very intentional to have these episodes because it's so easy to get stuck in the theoretical world of all things fertility. It's easy to get lost in those online searches and personal research and forget that this impacts real people. It relates to real human beings made a flesh and bone just like you and me. And so changing our focus to education and prayerful discernment really does make a monumental difference in our experience as believers searching for answers to our most frustrating or desperate fertility questions. All that to say, I have another great couple for you all to meet today. I am introducing you to Woven clients, Callie and Josiah, and they've been married since 2019 and are eagerly anticipating the arrival of their first child in February. Callie serves as a program assistant at Beeson Divinity School, and Josiah serves in the US Navy Reserve as a chaplain. Callie, Josiah, welcome to the show.
Callie:
Thank you. So glad to be here.
Caitlin:
I'm glad to have y'all on. Would you like to start us off by telling us a little bit about yourself and why you first started using the Creighton Method?
Josiah:
I'm a student at Beeson Divinity School in my final semester at this time. And then I'm a priest in the Anglican Church in North America, and I currently serve in the Navy Reserve as a mass communication specialist.
Callie:
And as Caitlin said, I currently work at Beeson Divinity School as a program assistant. I am ordained in the International Pentecostal Holiness Church, and we are expecting our first baby in February. So we decided to switch to Creighton a little less than a year ago as we were just trying to discern just some options for us as we knew we were getting closer to wanting to start trying to have a family. But also we just were interested both as ministers in ways that we could better understand options that are available to our parishioners. But even now as parents, soon-to-be parents, we also wanted to be prepared to be able to explain to our daughter, just the options that are available to her, and to help her understand her body when the time comes. Because I was part of a generation that, like a lot of people, we were just kind of pointed in one direction or one option. So that's what kind of shifted us towards Creighton.
Caitlin:
I love, I love that your faith inspired action. You went looking for how can we live out what we believe about our bodies and reproduction and the meaning of life. And you stumbled upon Creighton in the process. So, thanks for sharing that about yourselves. Tell me what it was like using the Creighton system, obviously before pregnancy. You don't have to use Creighton while you're pregnant, but you know, was it what you expected it to be or what was the process like for you?
Callie:
Yeah, so I think one, just having walked through the process with you and just being able, it felt very unintimidating. Because I think at first, as we, again, were looking and thinking through options and thinking through like charting and things like that, I was like, oh, this feels like it's going to be another part-time job. But once, like the manual was very helpful. Our one-on-one consultations were very helpful. We both tried to be as much a part of those conversations and consultations, and so it was a lot easier than I expected. But also it was great being able to know as we started the shift towards actually trying, I could also explain, learning my cycle well enough to know like, okay, like I can probably plan on being on my period during this time and that's, these are the things to expect because I also have a chronic illness.
Callie:
And so it also helped me think through, okay, are there going to be days where I'm more symptomatic because of the portion of my cycle that I'm on? And to prepare for that. But also once we started trying knowing, okay, these are the days that are better to try, these are the days where we could try, but it may or may not happen. But also we knew, okay, like we're getting to the point where more than likely biologically we're probably pregnant. And so it allowed us to kind of know actually, like even a couple of days before, we were in that window, like, okay, I think it's time to get a pregnancy test. And sure enough, you know, by the grace of God we, you know, we were pregnant. And so, it was just, again, it was just this beautiful feeling of like, oh, I actually can kind of somewhat predict what my body's doing and understanding my body in that way. And it was just affirming and encouraging.
Caitlin:
Yeah. We think so often about our cycles as being these almost otherworldly totally unpredictable things. You know, they're just, they're something that happened to us as women. It's like, no, actually this is a part of how we were created. This is a good thing. This is something that we can be in tune with so that we can know when we're fertile or infertile. We can know when to expect the next period. And I love that you all were able to know, maybe suspect, highly suspect, that you were pregnant before you even found out, but you knew exactly when to take that pregnancy test. Yeah. So you didn't even have to bother with the early negatives or anything like that, that you just knew the first test you were going to get your answer, whether it was positive or negative. So yeah. Oh, that's so good.
Caitlin:
And thank you for saying that it was not intimidating, once you got into it because what you shared about it feeling like it's going to be another part-time job before you got into it. I think that is going to resonate with so many listeners who are intimidated about the idea of using Creighton. But that's why you work with a practitioner. That's why you work with someone who's been there, done that. You know, I've been doing this almost eight years, you know, and so at this point, I've seen people go through all sorts of different scenarios and I can help walk you through that. And so I'm really glad that you felt like it was not intimidating. Because that's, that's the goal. So that's good. Well, kind of building on that, Callie, would you say that using Creighton kind of changed your experience with your reproductive system or how you viewed your menstrual health or even your fertility?
Callie:
Yeah, definitely. I think, like I shared a little bit earlier when I was young, prior to us getting married, just realized that I was having, you know, problems with my cycle, with it being heavier, being more painful, went to my OB at the time. And like a lot of young women my age was told, you know, your options are taking the birth control pill. And that was kind of the only option that was presented to me. So, I wasn't really given the opportunity or the resources to understand, okay, there's something wrong, what's wrong, right. More so than just kind of here's the medication and take it. And so that was even one of my concerns coming off of birth control and then switching towards natural family planning, not only for the sake of us trying to start a family, but again with a chronic illness, not knowing how weaning off of medication would impact other symptoms.
Callie:
But being able to understand my cycle, being able to say like, okay, if you're feeling this, if your cycle's this heavy or if you're feeling this fatigued or this crampy or whatever it may be, there's something more there and there's a reason for that. And I think just knowing that was very edifying. And even in our consultation, Caitlin, after we found out that we were pregnant, you being able to talk through like, here are maybe some things to ask your doctor about. Even before our first appointment, we asked for labs and like sure enough, like my progesterone levels were low and they were able to get us the right kind of medication and catch that even before our first like eight-week appointment. And so I think just knowing that and having, again, being encouraged and empowered to be able to talk to my provider and say, Hey, I don't necessarily know if this is what I should be feeling.
Callie:
Are there other options other than just taking a, you know, a pill? Are there other options than just like throwing Tylenol or like heating pads at it? While all of those things are not necessarily bad, but is there something more hormonally that I need to be doing? Are there different things that I should be eliminating from my diet? Are there certain products I shouldn't be using? Just knowing that all of those things impact my cycle, impact, my reproductive health impact, just hormones and the way that I'm feeling. Even to the point where like my depression and anxiety could also be tied to hormonal levels and knowing like, okay, like this is something that's good to know that it's not just like a psychological thing. There very well could be a physiological thing too that needs to be treated. I think was just encouraging to know like, okay, this isn't just me. But also again, just having that ability to, if I'm sitting across from a young woman, who's walking through those same things, being able to say like, Hey, this isn't, you know, there's more options available to you than just a pill or just ibuprofen or whatever. Like, you should talk to your doctor about this and these are some of the things that you can say.
Caitlin:
Yeah. Now I know for you all faith was a big part of why you went looking into those other options. Has God shown up for you during the process of using Creighton? If so, how?
Josiah:
Absolutely. So, I think the way that God showed up for us was a deeper appreciation for the mystery and gift of life, you know, in, in the Creighton method. As we were using it, it helped me to see very on the ground, tangibly the beauty of God's gift of marriage between one man and one woman to have the gift of life, Lord willing, and really how God made our bodies and how, even as we're learning now in more classes of how Callie's body is working, not only to make our daughter and to nourish our daughter now, but even future, you know, in the future. It was just really, it's really beautiful to see how these values that we have from scripture and taught in the church, how you see it, how special it is, and how all of those things that you didn't think about before of, oh, you know, at least for me, you know, oh, maternity leave needs to be longer. These things need to be given and provided and cared for, for a mother to bond with their child. It needs to be given for a father to bond with the child. These different things that I think we either don't think about or maybe are taken for granted that are really precious in order to have a godly family in our current time.
Callie:
The only thing that I would add to that too is just thinking about like the scriptures that talk about our, you know, our child's being formed in my womb even now. And the fact that even as my body is, you know, creating her body, that even within her body, all of these things that I'm experiencing are already being formed and shaped in her too, and that God is so sovereign over that. And just, I think we both have just walked away with a deeper just majesty about our creator and how intricately involved he is. Hebrews talks about the fact that he creates us and sustains us. And so I think that's something that's just beautiful to see that God's so intimately involved. It's not something where he just created us and walked away. But that all through our lives, he's, he's knit together every part of our body from the beginning, and it all has purpose and meaning. And just to see the majesty and the wonder of him in that too.
Caitlin:
It's amazing how that deeper appreciation, as you all said, leads us into a greater respect for our bodies and the bodies of others. Like Josiah, you're talking about what Callie and other women deserve and how we should be caring for them in these seasons. And like your role in advocacy for her and for all human beings, you know, and your advocacy for your daughter, even now. I mean, it, it really has an effect, big picture on how we see the world, how we engage with other human beings, how we offer them respect, and how we can really see the image of God in them, which we need. We need that reminder, like you were talking about our current culture. We need as many opportunities as possible to realize that every single human being is made in the same image of God. That's beautiful. So a lot of people will say that they wish they had known about this or they just want their friends to know. So what's something that you wish you had known before you started using Creighton?
Josiah:
I wish I knew just how much your faith is important to the Creighton method. So as we went through the material, as we talked through everything, one thing that's emphasized is that intimacy is, it involves sexual intimacy, but there's more than just sexual intimacy in a marriage. And these are things that we know, but I think when you're using the Creighton method, and there are times where you may be not be engaging in sexual intimacy, or you're having to learn about--I'm having to learn about Callie's body and how her body works as a woman. In that I learned just how selfish I was and I wasn't loving her with the love of Christ. And how, again, with the things we learn in our culture, I was kind of buying into these ideas of how sex is about me. Sexual intimacy is about me. The our relationship is about me. But actually it gave me an appreciation that Callie is my bride, she's my wife, an equal partner in marriage, my helpmate, and I'm called to lay down my life for her as Christ has laid down as life for the church. And so I think that was something I wish I knew is, hey, this is going to be hard, but it's actually going to be good for you too, as a man.
Caitlin:
And you know, we are so deep in those cultural waters, you know, you said you sort of bought into it. Well, it's like Callie was saying earlier, when she went and told her OBGYN that she had painful periods, the only option she was given was the pill. I feel like in our culture, these cultural waters that we're in, the only option that we're given is sex is about us and it's about what we can receive and our pleasure, or however you want to phrase it. It is so individualized and about personal gain and the, the Christ-like biblical view of sexual intimacy is completely the opposite. So you describing, you know, she's your bride, he's your bride groom, you know, and it points us back to God. It's such a, it's a more beautiful picture of it, but we're not given that picture in many other places. So this is one practical way that our eyes can be open to that alternative that's there. Thank you for sharing that, Josiah.
Josiah:
Absolutely.
Callie:
Yeah. And I would just say again, like just how practical Creighton actually is. That, you know, God's designed our bodies with these biological markers to help us know. Again, in our culture, it's very much, you know, what makes it easier, what can numb the pain, you know, what can we just do to kind of make it go by faster and easier? And again, I'm someone who deals with a chronic illness, so medicine's such a part of my life and there's a lot of different medicines that I have to take that are necessary. So that's not knocking all medicine. But just knowing with that also that my other doctors have provided other natural interventions, because of the fact they knew that we were trying to get pregnant soon and they didn't want to have to put me on a lot of medication and then have to wean me off, while I was trying to create this little life in my womb.
Callie:
God's created our bodies so beautifully and with these markers and that sometimes there's this beauty even in the suffering. There's this beauty in this pain sometimes with the period, with even like all of the unfun stuff that comes with pregnancy that just reminds us like, this world is not our home. That this body is not our home. That this wasn't necessarily the way that everything was created and intended to be, and that we need God. And that one day, these outward tents will waste away, but we'll have a new resurrected body through Christ. And so it's just, for me, it's always like, when I was having regular periods before getting pregnant, it was also just this sweet reminder of like, you know, this, this is not the end. And there's something more beautiful to look forward to.
Caitlin:
Absolutely. Callie, Josiah, thank you so much for being on the show and being willing to share honestly and vulnerably a little bit of your story.
Callie:
Thank you for having us.
Caitlin:
Listeners, I hope episodes like this are encouraging. They certainly are to me. I always learn something new. There are other women and couples out there just like you, who are genuinely searching and finding real change and real peace in the process. There is so much hope for your fertility journey, whatever shape it takes. If you've loved this episode, please, please take a moment, just a moment, and leave a five star review so that others will have a chance to listen to the show as well. And if you're ready to start your own journey of learning and transformation, I invite you to attend our next introductory session online, just like Callie and Josiah did. You can register at wovenfertility.com/joinus or click the link in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening as we continue to explore together what it means to be woven well.