Hi babes! So many of you have requested a rundown of my pregnancy journey and I’m happy to share my experience. Please remember everyone is different and these are the things I did and how I felt prior and during pregnancy (first trimester).
When I was 32, and before to moving to Idaho, I did a few things to start prepping my body and mind for pregnancy. I knew I wanted to try starting in 2019 so I needed to get ahead of it. I’d talked to friends that have already had children and listened to a few podcasts from doctors about pregnancy to help guide me. Below see what I did to prepare as well as my journey to become pregnant, how I found out and I how told Luke!
Please leave a comment with any questions you have and scroll all the way down to find out the gender!! 🙂
[1] Birth Control – First things first, I needed to stop birth control. I had an IUD so I got it removed in May of 2018. I wanted to allow my body at least 6 months to get back to “normal” and regulate itself before trying for baby. Let me tell y’all, it was rough. Since I have had 2 IUDs (almost 10 years) it had been quite sometime since my body was doing what it really wanted to. This past summer my hormones were all over the place. With that said, I’m very happy I took the time to allow my body to do its thing.
[2] Egg Count – Since I knew I wanted to try to get pregnant in 2019, I asked my OBGYN during my 2018 yearly appointment to check my egg count. They do this from a blood test and it’s pretty standard. She knew exactly what I was talking about when I asked. At the time of the test I was 32 and wanted to make sure I had a healthy egg count before trying. If it came back low, I was prepared to look into freezing my eggs. I wanted to give myself every opportunity to have children in my 30s’s. You never know how long it will take to get pregnant so essentially I was preparing to give myself time if needed. Luckily for me, my egg count came back above average.
[3] Hormone Test – I listened to a Lady Gang podcast with guest, Dr. Candace Burch last year. She is a hormone doctor and talks a lot about low predestine being one of the main culprits of miscarriage. I’ve known many woman who have had trouble conceiving and/or carry a baby to full term. After learning this information, I decided to get tested so I knew what was happening with my hormones naturally. I ordered the spit test online from Dr. Burch’s website – see here. They send it to your home and you complete it when you have time. It’s very easy! When your results are in, Dr. Burch calls you to explain what’s going on with your hormones and things that can help if needed. It turns out my testosterone is normal, but I am estrogen dominant and lacking in progesterone. Dr. Burch suggested three natural things to do to help balance my progesterone with my estrogen levels. After 3 months of taking herbs and applying a cream, Luke and I were ready to try for baby. Check out more information from Dr. Candace Burch here.
[4] Prenatal – I began to take a prenatal a few months before we were ready to try. This is important to start giving your body the nutrients it needs for baby. I tried Baby & Me 2 at first, and quickly moved over to the 365 Prenatl Multi Gummies option as my stomach could not handle the natural vitamin. Do what works for your body!
[5] Ovulation Sticks – I was recommended the sticks by many women in my life that had success. I have been asked if I used an ovulation app to track when I’m ovulating and, no, I didn’t. It wouldn’t have worked for me as (sorry TMI) my periods were still not consistent after taking the IUD out. I sometimes would go 5 weeks in between. Good new, the sticks worked for me! You are suppose to pee on them every morning and if you are ovulating, a happy face appears and ya get down to business 😉 I actually didn’t follow that the first two months, but rather when I thought I was ovulating, I gave them a try. Lucky me, in February I got a smiley face and well ya know… it worked! Again, do what is right for you and your bod.
[6] Mental/Emotional – Before even thinking about trying to have a child, it was really important that I felt emotionally ready… or as ready as I can be 😉 When I was 31 I began to think about it more and when I was 32 my mental state had shifted. I knew I was ready to be a mom, give my time to a child and become less selfish. Luke and I traveled A LOT internationally in 2018 on purpose. I am well aware having a child is life changing and I wanted to do some things prior to baby, i.e. travel. Whatever it is for you, I suggest doing it!
In early March I was extremely tired during the day and needing to take afternoon naps. Say whaaaaat?! Ya, that’s SO not like me as I’m a little energizer bunny. Alcohol also did not sound good to me… I was like, I must be sick?!! I soon realized I may actually be pregnant. I took a test and boom, I was! And yes, I took another just to make sure! 😉
Luke was home when I found out but I was so nervous to tell him. How was I going to do it?? Just walk right into his office and blurt it out… no, no. I then came up with the idea of putting the test in his new snowboarding helmet box that just arrived. I knew he would be very excited to open it, but surprise, surprise there would be something else in the box! lol This is what I ended up doing. His face was priceless… AKA, shocked! We both laughed and were like, ok, let’s do this! We have been together almost 13 years, so we are ready for this journey.
[1] Physical – Lets just start by saying it was ROUGH!! I basically felt like I was hungover for about 3 months – nauseated, exhausted and barely had energy to do anything. Not to mention, I was on the road working for 6 of the 12 weeks. Luke just kept saying, you’re I trooper! Ya, I know! lol I will say, I’m thankful I wasn’t actually throwing up. Just a dry heave here and there. It was really important that I took it easy during the first trimester and listened to my body. I was as active as I could be on days where I felt a bit better and took naps all the time. Ya’ll, remember you’re building a human!! 🙂
[2] Food – Well my healthy paleo eating went right out the window! lol Basically all I wanted was carbs and fresh fruit. I guess it could have been worse. I wasn’t craving fast food and sweet treats. I did have aversions to things I LOVE – popcorn, chocolate and Mexican food. I pretty much lived on cereal, avocado toast, fruit, crackers and soup. I had saltines around me at all times to help with the feeling of nausea. Overall I ate whatever tasted good in order to get through the day and gave myself a break about what I was eating.
[3] Exercise – As I mentioned above, during the first trimester, I did what I could. With the lack of energy and feeling sick the majority of the time working out was difficult for me. If anything, I would walk. When I was feeling up to it, I road my Peleton bike or did Barre 3. I found the mix of cardio and strengthening felt good to me. It was fairly easy to keep my heart rate in check and modify certain moves. Now that I’m 16 weeks, I feel great and just went on my first two hour hike!
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COMMENTS
What ovulation sticks did you use?!
Hi Maggie – I used these: https://www.amazon.com/Clearblue-Digital-Ovulation-Test-Tests/dp/B002VLYAOI/ref=sxin_4_osp20-d057cbca_cov?ascsubtag=d057cbca-36b4-4177-8ef6-76377b55ae8e&creativeASIN=B002VLYAOI&cv_ct_id=amzn1.osp.d057cbca-36b4-4177-8ef6-76377b55ae8e&cv_ct_pg=search&cv_ct_wn=osp-search&keywords=ovulation+strips&linkCode=oas&pd_rd_i=B002VLYAOI&pd_rd_r=a3d7543d-010f-408b-8e54-83c256af63f3&pd_rd_w=P6YcY&pd_rd_wg=9UQfs&pf_rd_p=ecf33437-71b9-4523-8c89-d04c930d3865&pf_rd_r=KF6TDV69SJF1QG413GHE&qid=1566569767&s=gateway&tag=bestcont06-20
I could tell there was a special glow about you. You two will have the most beautiful baby! Congratulations! Enjoy this precious gift & journey of parenthood…it’s a blessing & a curse (lol), huge responsibility & commitment. Most things you read about will go out the window when reality hits…you just have to do what works for you & feels right! You guys will be great! ❤️
Thank for the kind words, Emily!! I feel you on doing what works for us and feels right. I’m all about that!! xoxo
LOVE THIS!!! sooooooo happy for you guys and can’t wait to get all the tips and tricks!!
So glad you enjoyed it!! Happy to share with y’all!
xoxo
Congrats! I just got 16 weeks today with our first (boy!) as well! I am excited to follow your blog throughout the journey!
Thank you! Congrats to you too, Meagan!! We are right on track with each other. Maybe Turkey Day babies?? xoxo
Congratulations! You will find a love you didn’t know existed. My boy is 17 now, they are the best! Excited that you’re sharing your journey!
Thank you! I can’t wait for baby boy!! xo
What natural herbs were you taking prior to getting pregnant and also what cream did you use as well?
Congratulations! I have two boys and I absolutely love being a boy mom 💙💙💙
Thank you!! We are very excited for baby boy!
Do excited for you! I have 3 boys (all around your age now) but let me tell you. They are a
BUSY JOY! You for sure will be able to keep up. You will be such a fun family. Remember, boys love their mamas best, always and forever 😉💙
All the best
Thank you, Marilyn!! We are so excited for baby boy!! I bet you have your hands full – 3!!
xoxo
Congrats on the boy! I have 3💕. Seerucker and saddles had some great sleeping tips for baby…
Thank you, Heather! Very excited for baby boy! I’ll look at her tips! xoxo
Congrats mama!🤰 I think we are due around the same time (Nov 22nd). I am having a girl! And we are having the most opposite symptoms. I have major morning sickness and all I do is crave sweets. 💕
We are!! I’m that week too!
Congrats to you too! I hope you are feeling better now 😉
LOVED the surprise ending to that blog! Congratulations! Boys are the sweetest! You’ll be a great boy mom! 💙
Can’t wait for baby boy! Thank you 🙂
xoxo
Congrats 🎈🎉🎊
Thank you!!
Love Love Love!!! So exciting for you and Luke. You’re going to be amazing parents and as a mom myself, I can’t wait to watch you embark on your motherhood journey! I have no doubts it will be entertaining!!! Much love to you both.
Thank you, Emily!! We are excited! It’s def going to be an adventure 🙂
xo
Boys are the sweetest! Congrats mama!!
Can’t wait!! Thank you, Michelle! xo