I can’t believe it has been SO LONG since I’ve actually posted on my site. In case you have followed along for a while, you’ll see a rebrand has taken place. With this rebrand I want to talk more about what I do in my life to find balance. That means the tone of many of my new posts will be more personal in nature. Which is even more important these days because I am pregnant!
If you’re following along on social media, you may already know this (I’ve been talking about it for just over a month now). But in case you’re not following, here’s the scoop!
My husband and I found out this summer that we were pregnant with our first babe. Although I’m almost halfway through the pregnancy, I wanted to take some time to document my journey. I always loved reading about other pregnancies and birth stories, so I intend to share all of that on my website in case it helps inspire or pique your interest!
The day I found out I was pregnant. My “before” photo!
So let’s get started!
We found out that we were pregnant in July of 2019, with a due date in March 2020. Mike and I were fortunate that we got pregnant pretty quickly after we started trying. There are a lot of interesting things I learned both about myself during our “trying” period, and one of them was how important it was to make space in my life for baby.
Trying to conceive
We got a puppy in the spring, and even though we started trying around the same time, my stress levels and our lack of sleep didn’t do anything to convince my body I was ready for a child. We didn’t get pregnant on our first try, and although that’s normal, I do feel that not ‘being mentally ready’ had a huge impact. The following month was a bit better, but I found myself far too involved in work, my business and my family (Mike & the pup). My life was filled with “busy” things that kept my body distracted. So another month passed and we weren’t pregnant. Only when I consciously decided to step back from some of the craziness, did we conceive. Timing was right, I was meditating and journaling regularly, I felt like I was “in my flow” and I let go of the constant mental chatter in my mind. I rediscovered trusting the universe and manifesting what I wanted. I knew we would be blessed with a child when the time was right. That month, it was.
I also want to point out that getting pregnant within three months is relatively quick and not everyone is as fortunate. Even when they do “everything” right. Nutrition, exercise, mental health, emotional health, spiritual health – it all comes together and even one small thing out of whack can push conception off another month. If you have been struggling to get pregnant, I highly suggest working with a skilled practitioner.
Finding out I was pregnant
I took a pregnancy test a couple of days before my planned period. I had booked a bridesmaids dress alteration appointment for a couple days later, and I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea since I may or may not be pregnant. Although I didn’t really want to take the test yet (I was trying to be all zen about it), I was too lazy to call and reschedule my fitting appointment so I just bit the bullet.
Let me tell you… waiting for the results was SO nerve wracking. I’d just woken up with the pup and it was 5:30am. I just knew I’d had a great month, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up and be disappointed. When I saw the YES appear, I actually had to re-read the manual to remind myself what that meant. We were expecting – holy crap!?!
How I told Mike
It really wasn’t romantic. I woke him up and basically shoved the pregnant test in his face. Poor guy. He was so confused and I clarified that I’d peed on a stick… he clued in finally and asked “are you pregnant?” It was such a happy moment but I was quickly reminded that Oakley was downstairs alone, barking his face off, and I had to get back to watching him.
The next few weeks were a total blur. I knew I wanted a midwife so I contacted them right away to book them. A friend from nutrition school is also a doula, and I contacted her to book her services as well. I can go into the importance of a doula in another post, but I just KNEW it was something we had to have. We are fortunate enough to have the means, and Mike gets squeamish at the sight of blood. I didn’t think that he’d be the best support during the intensity of labour so I decided to call in an expert 😉
In a future post I’ll share how the first trimester went, but I just wanted to leave you with this. If you’re struggling with conceiving, don’t be afraid to ask for help. There are so many amazing practitioners and experts who can help to address a variety of concerns and infertility is so important. Nutritionists and naturopaths, or evening fertility specialists, may be necessary to help your body balance your hormones. If you would like to chat about how I can support you, send me a message and let’s talk.
Read more about the first trimester here!
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