Chasing Rainbows: An Emotional Journey from Fear to Family and Faith

By Amy Astacio and Daniel Astacio

If you’re struggling to achieve a viable pregnancy, don’t stop chasing rainbows.
That is the message from Daniel and Amy Astacio, who wanted to start a family but were having a hard time. By relying on their faith and refusing to give up, they made their dream come true and just had their second child.

In this book, the Christian couple share a detailed account of their mission to achieve a viable pregnancy, including the heartaches along the way. They also celebrate the tremendous gift that God has given them.

They are candid about the ups, the downs, and the lessons that they’ve learned along the way. They wrote the book that they wish they had at the beginning of their own journey!

This book is for the hopeful mother who is desperate to get pregnant, the father that wants his first child, the grandparent who wants to lend support to struggling loved ones, and the friend who wants to gain perspective on what it is like to overcome adversity in order to build the family that you want.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Jul 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9781665718066

Amy Astacio

Daniel and Amy Astacio live in Riverview, Florida, with their daughter, son, and two dogs. They enjoy spending time with family, reading books, and exercising. They both attended the University of South Florida, with Daniel earning a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Amy earning a Bachelor’s degree in Education.

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Copyright © 2022 Amy & Daniel Astacio.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Archway Publishing

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.archwaypublishing.com

844-669-3957

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-6657-1807-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-1805-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-1806-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022901513

Archway Publishing rev. date: 06/27/2022

CONTENTS

Prologue

A Message from Amy

Chapter 1 How We Met & Early Dating 53409.png

Chapter 2 Past Pregnancies

Chapter 3 Prayer

Chapter 4 Natural Remedies Approaches That We Tried

Chapter 5 Your Relationship With Your Significant Other

Chapter 6 First Mother’s Day As A Mother

Chapter 7 First Fathers Day As A Father

Chapter 8 Your Self

Chapter 9 Adoption

Chapter 10 Parenting

Chapter 11 Helping Others

PROLOGUE

Who is this book for?

This book is for anyone and everyone who has ever struggled to get pregnant or achieve a viable pregnancy. Couples should read it together or individually and take the time to discuss each chapter. This book is for the father that hopes for his first child, the mother who awaits her first child, the grandparents who witness and also struggle internally from their own hurt and the devastation of their child and children’s children.

What is this book about?

It is a detailed account of a Christian wife and husband’s journey struggling to have their first child. It is an in depth look into all the obstacles we had to overcome together and the tremendous gift that God blessed us with.

Why?

Daniel’s grandparents had 8 children, modern day couples are having 1-2 children on average and that is sometimes after a woman has already experienced a miscarriage, stillborn, chemical pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy, or other type of loss. Some couples have not been able to conceive at all and see a positive pregnancy test to begin with. This can place a lot of stress on relationships and is also very painful physically, mentally, and emotionally for all parties involved. This is also painful for future dads who are excited about becoming a father and want to be there for their spouse. It is not easy watching your spouse in physical and emotional pain as well as being in emotional pain yourself.

No one person or couple have the exact same story, all of our paths are different, but we hope that in writing this book we can provide information to people on what may have worked for us as well as some additional research in a compact guide to limit searching a multitude of sources. It is okay and encouraged to do your own research, just remember you are not alone in your journey and many other couples are experiencing similar trials. Hopefully one day you will have the gift that you have always wanted.

It is unsure whether pesticides are to blame for contributing to the decline in quality and quantity of men’s sperm, however, it has declined dramatically over the last 50 years. Some people attribute this decline to chemical exposures or sedentary lifestyle. Another thing that may be impacting this that not many people are discussing are preservatives and the packaging used for our foods. Acrylamide is one example of this that can be found in bread. Another factor could be birth control pills that dramatically impact a woman’s hormones as well as reproductive system. Many tin cans used for our foods may be lined with a chemical called Bisphenol (BPA for short). BPA has been linked to health issues including infertility, obesity, and diabetes among other things since it is a synthetic estrogen.

In modern society everyone is always busy and in a rush. Stress levels are at an all-time high and the demands for your attention have never been more extreme or valuable. As one may gather, there are many factors aside from those that are biologically predisposed in which the ability to conceive and carry to term may be affected.

Disclaimer

OF COURSE, ALWAYS LISTEN TO YOUR Doctors, Gynecologists, OBGYN etc. and do not try anything in this book without first speaking to a medical professional. As previously stated this book is a detailed account of OUR OWN intimate and emotional journey. It is to be understood that there are many people around the world with their own unique circumstances. Each of these individually assessed by a professional.

This book is for informational purposes only

A MESSAGE FROM AMY

AUGUST 15TH, 2020

IT’S ALREADY MIDWAY through August in what will go down in history as the ultimate year of negative connotations for most people. For us though I can’t think of when we have been happier. My mom, Nana, sits surrounded by her immediate family (thank you Covid-19) having just opened her birthday gifts. In just two days my greatest gift from God, one of the two precious granddaughters sitting on her lap, will be turning six months old. How special that her half birthday will land on the same day as my mother’s birthday each year. My heart could just burst as I snap a photograph with my smart phone to freeze this moment forever.

Family is precious and we are a close one. Moments like this have always been special, but now carry even more meaning being a parent myself. February 17th, 2020, changed our world when we introduced our precious baby girl. Every daily task, whether mundane or excitable, would now carry a completely new feeling along with it. Love. Not the love of oneself, spouse, sibling, relative, or even a friend. This love is an indescribable love that is impossible to put into words. It came along graciously when becoming a parent. The feeling of being a tiny humans everything as they depend on you for all their basic needs. The feeling that