It’s kind of hard to believe I’m sitting here about to write my third birth story. It feels like just yesterday I was writing Emma’s. (You can read hers here and Tegan’s here). But today I’m going to be sharing Avery’s birth story.  I love how different each birth experience was and I feel so grateful for the births I had.  Let’s get into little miss Aves’ story because it’s a fast ride!

Let me briefly back up to Easter Sunday.  I told Craig I wasn’t feeling myself/was feeling off that morning but couldn’t put my finger on it.  As the day went on I started feeling worse and worse, and I was having some contractions that night but they fizzled out.  I ending in having a 100.3 fever/body aches/chills later on that night.  We called the on-call physician and he recommended just taking some Tylenol and trying to sleep, then to see how I felt in the morning.  Luckily all that passed, but then for the next couple days I had a stomach bug that really took me out.  Of course I googled and lots of articles say how an upset stomach *can* be an early sign of labor, but I felt pretty confident this was a bug and not labor.

So then on Tuesday my MIL came over to hang out with Emma and Tegan so I could rest.  I laid in bed most of the afternoon and slept on and off. It was so helpful to have that last bit of rest time!  She went home around 5 and we went about our normal dinner/bathtime/bedtime routine with the girls. I told Craig I was having what felt like strong Braxton Hicks contractions, kind of like what I had on Sunday evening, but wasn’t convinced they were the real thing.  I decided to take a bath and see if they also fizzled out.  Mind you, I was only just 38 weeks pregnant and my other kids didn’t come until 40+4 and 39+6, so I was not anticipating actually being in labor.

While in the bath, I continued having contractions and decided that maybe I should time them just to keep track.  After I got out, they continued to get stronger but were happening at various intervals…some were only 30 seconds long and some were a minute long.  Some were only 2 minutes apart and some were 5 or 7 minutes apart.  I got back in bed to watch Netflix and noticed at some point that I was having to breathe through the contractions and that’s when I realized it was probably the real deal.  They were becoming increasingly uncomfortable. I let Craig’s parents (who live about 30 min away) know and asked them to come over to spend the night since I felt like it would be realistic we ended up going to the hospital at some time that night. I also called the on-call doctor at the hospital and told her about the contractions and the timing, and she said since it was my 3rd baby and the timing of those, that I should probably come on in to get checked out.  So once Craig’s parents arrived, we loaded our bags in the car and headed to the hospital.

The whole way there I was thinking about how embarrassed I would be to be sent back home again if this wasn’t actual labor, lol.  Like it’s my 3rd kid, I should *know* for sure.  Well, once we arrived and got checked into triage, it became quickly apparent that we were not leaving the hospital!  The doctor checked me at I was at 6cm (was only 2cm the day before at my appointment) and said “Okay! Let’s have a baby!”.

They asked me what I wanted to do for pain management and I said please get me an epidural stat They got me to a room and soon after, my contractions went to like a level 9 pain level where I think prior to that they were at like a 5 or 6.  In hindsight, I know it was my body going through transition.  Those contractions were beyonddddd!!! We brought the massage gun for Craig to put on my back, and where it had been helping before, with these it felt like it made it worse. I think it’s just because they hurt so bad nothing was really going to fix it.  Except I guess an epidural! The nurse anesthetist came in and got me all situated for the epidural, placed it in my back etc. and then I laid down flat on the bed to let the medicine go down and start working.  Prior to this, I was standing up but bent all the way over with my forearms on the bed or on all 4s on top of the bed.

The doctor came in to check me and said I was at 9cm and told me that I was progressing really quickly.  I asked if I’d have time for the epidural to kick in before having to push and she said “we will see” (haha).  She sat with me for a while and watched the contractions happen and the nurse anesthetist came back in to see if the medicine had started to take effect.  It really was barely in my legs and lower abdomen, but it took the slightest edge off at least.  I think I only had a few more contractions until the doctor checked and said I was at 10cm and baby’s head was right there, and let me know we could try to push.  I was so nervous to push without the epidural fully working but just went with it.

The good news is, pushing actually does help with the pain from the contractions.  It’s like working with your body instead of against it, I honestly don’t even remember feeling those contractions because I was focused on pushing.  I think we went through 2-3 contractions, and since I could feel most everything I was more in control of how hard to push.  I could feel that if I pushed too hard, I might tear and I REALLY didn’t want that especially without the epidural.  So I was definitely more in control in that aspect.  I gave a few pushes and Avery came out!

I could tell the moment I looked at her that she was smaller than my other babies, and thankful for it since I pushed her out without much, if any, pain medication.  The older two girls were 8lbs 4oz and 8lbs 3oz, and Avery was just 6lbs 8oz.

Recovery has been pretty good so far, I was up walking around and easily feeling better after this L&D than the previous two. Which is good, since I have 3 kids to take care of at home now!

We love Avery so much and feel so complete with her in our family <3

Avery Rebecca Carter – 6lbs 8oz, 19inch long, born 4/3/24 at 1:19am

xo,

Bess

The post Avery’s Birth Story appeared first on Bess Harrington Carter.

Sharing what’s in my hospital bag as a 3rd time mom! You can find previous hospital bag lists here for Emma’s birth and here for Tegan’s birth. I packed wayyyy too much the first time, but hey, if you’re a first time mama, just do whatever is going to make you feel comfortable. There’s a lot of anxiety and unknowns about your first time so if packing all the things gives you a sense of control and makes you feel at ease, do it sister.

My bag this time as a 3rd time mom is more similar to what I packed the second time. In fact, I referenced that list to even try to remember what I needed lol. My goal is just really the necessities & a few comfort items.  I used these packing cubes from Amazon and I love them.

The Hospital Bag Packing List:

For baby:

–Happiest Baby Swaddle
–HALO Swaddle
–a few bodysuits (NB size and size 0-3, my other 2 kids barely fit into NB)
–a couple zip up onesies/pajamas
–sleeping gown
-socks & no-scratch mittens
-baby blanket like these (I like the muslin swaddle blankets and there’s lots of different patterns out there. we have so many from Emma so we will be reusing those again!)
–a couple burp cloths (these are my favorite)

For me:

*I recommend just taking black clothes…there’s a lot of bodily fluid that happens even after birth so this way it doesn’t stain:)

-labor & delivery gown (I wore one with Emma and I liked it better than the one I used with Tegan. It’s from Motherhood Maternity circa 2019 so they don’t make it anymore, however this one looks similar)
–button down pajamas
–robe
–nightgown
–eye mask for sleeping
-scrunchie, hair clip
–socks with grips on the bottom
–depends underwear (I like these better than the ones the hospital provides)
–soft nursing bras
-going home outfit will likely just be whatever I arrived in
–flip flops or waterproof sandals for shower

Tolietries:

-shampoo, conditioner
-body lotion
-face wash, face lotion
-razor
–Lansinoh organic nipple balm
-toothbrush & toothpaste
–deodorant
-hair brush
-daily vitamins
–micellar water face wipes

Miscellaneous:

–Sound machine
–XL phone charger (10 ft)
–water bottle (love this 40oz one, got it before I had Tegan and it remains one of my favorite bottles!)
–massage gun (this was a last minute addition to my hospital bag with Tegan and arguably the MVP. I got stuck in triage for HOURS waiting on a room to open up, therefore I labored unmedicated for hours. This massage gun helped get through the contractions SO MUCH. Craig would just put it on my back until they passed)
-Glasses
-Pillow + extra pillow case (I say to take an extra because I labored with mine with Emma and pushed for 2 hours, so the first got sweaty. I didn’t have this issue the second time with Tegan. Pushed twice and she was out lol but will still bring an extra in case.
–Propel packets
-Snacks

Then Craig will pack his own bag as well! He’s taking a pillow and a sleeping bag as well as his clothes.

SHOP THE POST:

Hope this is helpful!!

xo,

Bess

The post Hospital Bag as a 3rd Time Mom appeared first on Bess Harrington Carter.

I got my Oura Ring back in December and have been using it with the Natural Cycles app since then, so I figured it had been enough time using them that I could give a detailed review on my experience!  My decision to get an Oura Ring, and by association, a Natural Cycles subscription, was ultimately rooted in my desire to track my cycles and for it to assist me with the Fertility Awareness Method for birth control/family planning. This post will give my Oura Ring Natural Cycles review as well as answer all the questions you sent in to me via Instagram!

Review Introduction: Some Background

I have had zero desire to ever get back on hormonal birth control after going off of it back in 2018 prior to the birth of my first daughter. I learned a lot about the Fertility Awareness Method in the months leading up to her conception, and I felt confident afterwards that I could practice it for birth control/family planning instead of going on hormonal birth control. When we decided to try for our second child, I used the FAM method again but I actually decided to get the Ava bracelet to help me be more accurate in my ovulation predictions (This was before I ever heard of the Oura Ring).  I have to say, I was beyond disappointed in the Ava bracelet.  I was still taking my own temperatures as well as taking ovulation test strips while I used it, and for months and months it was *never* right about when I was ovulating. I know it takes a few months for it to learn your body, but even giving it time to do it, it was still wrong. It sucks, because it was expensive. I know it works for some people but personally, I wouldn’t recommend it from my experience as I wasn’t happy with it. Maybe I got a dud.

Using LH test strips and taking my BBT each morning with a thermometer helped us conceive our second daughter.  I’d also check cervical fluid which is another part of the FAM method. Those things are all you really *need*, so if these devices & subscriptions are too expensive, don’t worry, it can still be done!  I personally just hated taking my temperature every morning like not being able to get out of bed to pee first or move too much before doing it, it was just a little over the top lol. So knowing that the Oura Ring takes your temperature each morning and automatically syncs the data to your Natural Cycles app was a huge plus for me.  As far as LH test strips, it’s up to you if you want to use them in addition but that information does help the Natural Cycles app calculate your predicted ovulation and overall cycle even more accurately.

Next I’m going to share more info about the Oura Ring as well as the Natural Cycles App separately, since they are independent products and you do not have to use them together.

Oura Ring

I have the Horizon Style Oura Ring in Gold.  When you purchase, you will be a sent a ring sizing kit that you can use to determine the right size for your finger. They recommend you wear it on your index finger, but say that the middle finger or the ring finger will also work. I have chosen to wear it on my middle finger because it’s just more comfortable for me there and I also prefer how it looks on that finger! At first I had to get used to it just because I didn’t usually wear a ring on that finger, but now I am used to it and don’t even think about it and it’s comfortable even during sleep. I wear it for most every activity, but will take it off when lifting weights. The ring can get scratched so I just take it off.  I don’t find the activity tracking portion to be super accurate anyways (which was a question I got a lot) so I would not recommend it for activity tracking if that is your sole purpose in wanting to get one.  I wear an Apple Watch for activity/workout tracking.

Other than that, I wear it all day and at night. For sleep tracking purposes, it is AMAZING. The amount of detail you get is so cool and it absolutely has helped me foster a better sleep schedule.  Given that I had a 4 month old when I started wearing my Oura Ring, that should say something!  Each morning it gives you a readiness score and a sleep score out of 100.  Readiness takes into account your recent sleep scores, activity, & other biometric signals. I’d describe it as basically a score for how good and energetic you will feel that day!  And I’ve found it to be pretty accurate.  10/10 recommend if you want to better your sleep habits.  It gives you lots of insights into when your body operates best, how much sleep you need, the time of the night to go to sleep and the best window of time to wake up in the morning.  When I stick to those, I feel GREAT.

Below you can see some of the other info it gathers from you. I originally had it on “I think I could sleep better, I’m often tired” (again, I had a 4 month old when I started!) and just now I changed it to the second picture, “I sleep well and feel energetic”.  I think the ring has played a big role in helping me achieve that.

It’s got up to 7 days of battery life, depending on how you use it.  If you exercise a lot, it’s going to be less because it works to track those times of activity, for example. For me, I find it’s about every 4 days I need to throw it on the charger, which is no big deal at all. The ring will notify you to remind you to charge it and you can see the remaining battery life in the app.  Mine usually fully charges in about an hour! I haven’t had any issues with the ring or charging. I wear it in the shower and it’s water resistant so swimming etc. is fine.

When I was sick back in February for several weeks, my ring went on Rest Mode. It “automatically turns on when Oura detects that your body might be under stress; your daily goals are adjusted to put your rest and recovery first.” It’s even able to detect you getting sick before you may even feel it.

I do have the Oura Ring membership which is $5.99/month.  I like being able to get all of the data but I do think it’s necessary to have it if your goal is to track body temperature. If you don’t care about that part and are just interested in the sleep tracking, you’d still have access to 3 simple daily scores: Sleep, Readiness, and Activity, as well as the interactive and educational Explore content. So I do have the Oura Ring membership as well as the Natural Cycles subscription – more on that below.

Natural Cycles

Natural Cycles is the first FDA-cleared birth control app and I have been loving my experience and it’s functionality. It’s very intuitive and user-friendly, plus has tons of information without feeling overwhelming. It’s as effective as the birth control pill with typical use at 93% and with perfect use the effectiveness is 98%. The only thing more effective than that on the market for birth control is the IUD at 99%.  But I really love how much I’ve learned about my body since starting the FAM method. Tracking it all in the Natural Cycles app is the best experience with an app I’ve had.

The app is subscription based, but you can try a free demo once you download the app to check it out.  It’s either monthly or annual, and I chose the annual plan. This page outlines how you can get a discount on the annual plan + get a discount on an Oura Ring.  Also, heads up that Natural Cycles is also covered by some insurance in the US, check that out here. You may be able to be reimbursed the cost!

Basically, I wear my Oura Ring to bed every night and when I wake up, I open the Natural Cycles app and tap on “Sync Oura Ring”.  That will open the Oura Ring app and populate all of the data from the previous night, and send that data to the Natural Cycles app, the most important of which is temperature!  No more thermometers for me The Natural Cycles app will give you a “red” or a “green” day based on if you’re fertile or not, and if you’re trying to get pregnant or not!  Green days for people trying to conceive will be the opposite of green days for people who are trying *not* to conceive.  You will tell the app this information when you create your account!

The algorithm will predict your ovulation and then confirm it after it has taken place. You can see your temperature charts on the app as well as expected period dates. Of course, these things take a couple of months to learn as you input the info. For me, it took longer because I was breastfeeding 4x a day when I first started. Therefore, I did not have a cycle. I did not get my period back until I weaned one feed. Once my cycle came back, it was able to start tracking it! It took a couple months for it to get the predictions correct but now they are on point. Definitely accurate in tracking my cycles. Here’s a snapshot of my temperature history so you can see an example. Like a BBT thermometer, it registers the 1/100th of the degree.

And then you can see my temperature spike on my graph below, as well as my confirmed ovulation.

Overall, I have really enjoyed using both and if we ever decide to have another baby, I know this will be so helpful to doing so.  If we decide not to have another baby, well it will continue to be helpful in doing that! I get all the awesome sleep and health information in addition and have really enjoyed that aspect.  Prioritizing my health and wellness is something that’s important to me, and our sleep is such a crucial factor for that. If you decide to get the Oura Ring, you can use this link for $40 off.  I think it’s only valid for 5 uses, so if it’s no longer working it’s probably because other people have already used it.  You can learn more about Natural Cycles here. I hope you’ve found this Oura Ring Natural Cycles Review helpful!

xo,

Bess

The post My Oura Ring + Natural Cycles Review appeared first on Bess Harrington Carter.

I had a placenta previa early in pregnancy that luckily resolved by 32 weeks, so I was cleared for vaginal birth which was what I wanted!  I enjoyed Emma’s birth experience so much I wanted to try to replicate certain things, if at all possible. Much of birth is out of your control and I knew that, but it didn’t keep me from wanting it to go a certain way.  Those things were hoping to go into labor naturally without using drugs for induction and a vaginal birth.  Another thing that resolved in pregnancy was that Tegan was breech around 28 weeks, and so by 30 weeks I was seeing the chiropractor each week to help me with pelvic and sacral alignment which is helpful to baby getting into an optimal position.  At the 32 week ultrasound, she had flipped to head down.  Yay!  I kept up my chiropractor appointments until the week before I went into labor.

So let’s get into the day labor started and into her birth day!  It was a Wednesday and had my 39 week appointment that morning around 10:30.  I was actually closer to 40 weeks at this point…Friday was my 40 week mark/due date.  So we were 2 days out from her due date when we went to this appointment.  I was 4cm dilated and 70% effaced when she checked me.  Everything was looking good and I asked my doctor about doing a membrane sweep to see if it would get things going.  She said yes – and warned me that it can be uncomfortable and that it would likely feel like she was “taking my tonsils out through my vagina” (LOL) and honestly, she wasn’t wrong.  It’s really quick though, maybe took 30 seconds tops and she let me know that there was about a 50% chance I’d go into labor in the next 24 hours.  We left the appointment and I was immediately having some increased Braxton Hicks as well as some back pain, but nothing super intense.

The day went on as usual…I picked Emma up from preschool and we took her to soccer that evening.  At soccer I was standing up the whole time and I was just feeling like something was starting to happen.  My Braxton Hicks were starting to feel a little different and I was really uncomfortable.  When we got home I made us dinner while Craig got Emma bathed & ready for bed and I was definitely not feeling great.  I timed my contractions for a while and they were about 45 seconds long and had about 3 minutes between each one, but at this point I could still easily talk through them and walk around doing stuff around the house.  I called the on-call doctor just to see what they thought I should do and they said they thought given it being my second child, how close together the contractions were, and the fact I was already 4cm dilated that I should come in to the hospital for a labor check.  I hated the idea of going and getting sent home, but I also just felt like it was actually happening so, we called Craig’s aunt to come over and stay with Emma (who was already asleep) so we could go to the hospital.  She lives nearby and was going to be our “first call” to come over to be with Emma until my mom could make the drive from Durham.

We got there around 9pm and went into triage.  They monitored baby and my contractions for about an hour and then checked me again…and told me I was still at 4cm so they didn’t think it was active labor yet.  I was kind of floored because I knew these felt different from my normal Braxton Hicks, but I knew they weren’t like full blown yet either.  The doctor told us that labor & delivery was slammed and they didn’t have a room they could admit me, so they gave us a choice: we could wait in the triage room for another couple hours to see if I progressed, or we could go home.  I was so uncomfortable, I couldn’t imagine being in that triage room for several more hours without the guarantee I’d get put in a room anytime soon.  But I was also so uncomfortable it felt kind of wrong to leave, like we’d be going home only to come right back.

One of those scenarios ended up coming true, ha.

We decided to leave and go home. Craig & I both had slept terribly the night before so we figured maybe we could get some more sleep in our bed before the “real thing” started. We are about 15 minutes from the hospital so it seemed to make the most sense.

Well, by the time we got home I was having way more intense contractions.  I tried to lay in bed and I was in a lot of pain so I decided to get into the bath.  I was in there for 30 minutes probably and decided to get back out and get back in bed to try to sleep.  The contractions continued to come and get worse/more intense.  Craig said I sounded different with these than I had earlier.  So I called the hospital back and they said to come back in again.  We had sent Craig’s aunt home, and so we had to call her to come back again.  Bless her, lol.  When she got to our house we headed out.  She even said that I looked different than I had earlier.  Things had definitely taken a turn!  I texted my mom this was the real thing after all and told her to plan to come first thing in the morning.  She left Durham around 6am and was able to be with Emma for the next couple days we were in the hospital, which was a huge help. I was very stressed during the pregnancy about Emma’s care when we went to the hospital, so I’m glad it all worked out okay!  Grateful to the people willing to help us

So back to the hospital we went…I could not sit in the car at all, riding in the car having contractions is the worst.  I got into the back seat and somehow draped myself over the car seat and used my blanket as a pillow.  I was moaning & heavily breathing through contractions at this point.

Back at the hospital and back in a triage room!  Triage had been slammed the first time we came, and this time it was quiet – I think I was the only one that was in there.  It was about 1am at this point.  They monitored me and contractions again and said I’d be staying, they just needed a room to open up.  Unfortunately, another woman came into triage after me but her water had already broken, so when the room opened up they took her back first.  I was in triage for 3 hours laboring through contractions that were about 3-5 minutes apart.  We had brought our HyperIce massage gun with us to the hospital, and I truly do not know how I would have gotten through those contractions without it.  Craig would do it on my back and hips until the contraction passed and it really helped me so much.

I also let the nurse know that I wanted an epidural stat once I got into a room so that they could get that ball rolling for me!

At about 4:30am we got into a room…I was 6cm at this point and the epidural prep was happening.  I think I only had to go through about 4 more contractions before the CRNA had the epidural placed and it was already taking effect…PRAISE.  I wanted to feel no more of that!

We tried to rest and get some sleep then but I couldn’t get comfortable even though I had the epidural.  As time went on I felt like it was too much, I was too numb…if that’s even a thing!  I had to keep asking the nurse to come back in to help me reposition so I could try to sleep some but I never got comfortable until after the 7am shift change…when I got a new nurse. I was borderline having a panic attack about not being able to feel or move my feet/legs at all and not being able to rest.  My nurse really heard me and did so much to make me comfortable…propping up my feet, legs, back and belly in a way I was finally able to rest…and I went to sleep for about 2 hours.  I had also asked if they could turn the epidural down…to which they kind of looked at me like I was crazy lol I guess people don’t usually ask for a lower dose but I wanted to be able to feel something.

I was on the dose for my height (5’9″) and they turned it down to the dose for someone that is 5’2″.  It made a big difference because I was still numb but had more sensation.  After my 2 hour nap, the nurse checked me and said I was basically fully dilated with a small cervical lip on the upper portion.  I expected her to just say let’s do some quick pitocin then start pushing (which was what happened in my birth with Emma) but my nurse actually said she thought it would be better for me to just rest and labor down.

Laboring down is basically just when you let your baby and body do the work…contractions naturally push baby down the birth canal so I just rested in bed for a few more hours while Tegan made her way down!  I was soooo tired and was in and out of sleep during this time, so I was glad to get to rest instead of having to jump right into pushing. 10/10 recommend laboring down especially with an epidural, I could feel the pressure of her head with each contraction but I wasn’t in pain.  If you aren’t feeling ready to push or the urge to push, then talk to your nurse/doc about laboring down until you do!

Around 1pm I told my nurses that I was starting to feel a lot more pressure down there…I could literally feel her head with each contraction being so close it felt like she was coming out.  The doctor was having a really busy morning so since I wasn’t actively pushing, we just continued to labor down until he could get in.  About 15 minutes later he was able to come in and we got everything set up to start pushing!

This is the part of the experience I’m almost unable to write about because it’s so hard for me to find words. It was so just unexpected and surprising and fun and I don’t know…it was awesome.  I did a “practice push” so the doc could see and he said yep you’re ready!  The nurse told me how much of her head they could see and I was shocked.  They had me push with the next contraction and I did about 3 pushes during that contraction…and the doc said I was crowning.  I was like is that a joke?!  I pushed with Emma for 2 hours so I couldn’t believe Tegan was so close already.  I got a break between contractions again but honestly the pushing wasn’t even so intense as with Emma.  I really studied how to best push this pregnancy so I’d be better prepared than I was with Emma – and the cue I found most helpful was to “push like you’re pushing out a tampon” (sorry if that’s TMI)…it just helps you make that mind/body connection of where to push better.  The second set of pushes and her head was out!!  We waited for another set of contractions but it was pretty spaced out so the doc just told me to go ahead and push again, but then told me to wait because the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck.  He tried to get it off but then told me to go ahead and push again to “push through it” so I did and she came out!!  He unwrapped the cord from around her neck and she was crying and he put her on my chest!! It was so amazing. I could not believe she was out with about 15 minutes of pushing.  It was such a cool experience.  I feel so grateful for both of my births and the experiences I have had.

Tegan Ann Carter | Born September 8th, 2022 at 1:31pm | 8lbs 3oz | 21 inches long

xo,

Bess

The post Tegan’s Birth Story appeared first on Bess Harrington Carter.

Well I’m almost 38 weeks pregnant as I write this and realized last week I hadn’t done a blog post for the 2nd trimester recap. Since the 3rd trimester is almost over I figured I might as well do a joint 2nd & 3rd trimester recaps blog post to share how those went.

2nd Trimester

I’ll quickly touch on the 2nd trimester because luckily, there was nothing too crazy to report.  I was happy to get my appetite and my energy back around week 16, and also felt baby move really early too around 14 weeks.  And I’m pretty sure she hasn’t stopped moving since then, lol. She is almost constantly in motion it seems like…just kicks me all the time.  I love it though.  It’s just interesting to compare it to Emma, whose movements were much more gentle and almost “lazy” haha.  This baby karate chops me all day long.

We took several beach trips in the 2nd trimester, had our babymoon to Hilton Head and also enjoyed pool time.  I was able to up the intensity of my workouts again since I was feeling so much better and also begin eating more normally since my aversion to basically all food had gone away.  Praise.

Really not too much else to report from the 2nd tri!

3rd Trimester

I feel like almost as soon as the 3rd trimester hit, the exhaustion came back full force and just took me out.  It was basically like my 1st trimester exhaustion all over again.  Couple that with trying to care for a toddler every day…let’s just say I was on the struggle bus daily lol.  My workouts definitely took a hit too…each week that went by I just got more and more tired so while I tried to keep up doing my Besst Workouts App circuits, I started incorporating much more walking each day with very modified strength exercises at the end.

My hips have been killing me at night even though I sleep with king size pillows on either side of me so I can rest my belly on them and can put my top leg over the pillow.  I don’t sleep on my back (generally not recommended during pregnancy) and obviously not on my stomach…so it’s just going from side to side all night long.  Oh, and peeing…all night long.  On a good night I only wake up 2x to pee, but on a regular night it’s more like 4x.

I had to learn to show myself a whole lot of grace in the 3rd trimester because it was really nothing like what I had experienced with Emma.  I had lots of energy and was walking 5 miles a day and still doing full strength workouts.  I also did not have a toddler then That first pregnancy is CUSHY let me tell ya.  We don’t even know how good we have it to just be able to lay around whenever we want!  Emma still luckily naps between 12-3, and let me tell you, I basically HAVE to take a 30 minute nap (at least) to be able to function properly for the remainder of the day.

Braxton Hicks started early in the 2nd tri and continued through the 3rd…in fact I’m getting one right now.  They are definitely a bit more intense than they were first pregnancy.  I’ve been taking lots of baths which has been so nice and something I didn’t really do the first time.  We didn’t have a bath tub in our primary bathroom at our old house so I guess I just never felt like going to the other bathroom but now we have a tub that is so comfy and I basically have been taking a bath everyday for the last few weeks!  Since week 35 I have been using a few drops of evening primrose oil in the bath too…it’s great for moisturizing your skin but can also potentially help with your skin stretching out for birth to reduce the risk of tearing.  There’s also some evidence that it can help your cervix dilate and/or soften.  Of course you should always talk to your provider to get the OK before!

Another “new” thing I’ve been doing is going to the chiropractor every week/every other week since about week 30.  It can really help you get baby in an optimal position for labor and also reduce your aches & pains!  You want to try to find a Webster Technique certified chiropractor for this.

Last week around week 37 I started feeling nauseated and my aversion to food came back – not as full force as in first trimester – but definitely was coming & going.  I had several of you on Instagram tell me that meant labor was imminent but it’s been about a week and she’s still in there, soooo I guess not for me lol. I am continuing to bounce on the ball and do my Spinning Babies daily activities…and other than that just waiting for her arrival!  At this point, I am ready whenever she is

xo,

Bess

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I made nurse baskets in my first pregnancy but I don’t at all remember what I put in them and I didn’t write a blog post, so I am doing that now because I think it’s helpful to reference!  If you want to make it easy on yourself, just go through and copy mine – I’ve linked everything for you!  Hope you find my nurse baskets helpful I made one basket for the Labor & Delivery nurses, and one basket for the postpartum nurses.

A common question is WHEN to bring in the baskets?  It’s up to you, but my plan is to just bring the L&D basket in to the hospital when we arrive and I’ll have Craig drop it at the nurses’ station (or give to our nurse to take out there).  Then once we are moved to our postpartum room, he can run back out to the car to grab the postpartum nurse basket and bring inside.

SHOP THE NURSE BASKETS ITEMS:

I also linked each item HERE.

xo,

Bess

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Both with this pregnancy and with my first pregnancy I really wanted to gather as much knowledge about the entire birth process as possible, and so one of my go-to ways to do that was to listen to podcasts!  I have kept that up this pregnancy and love listening both to the more informative episodes as well as birth story episodes.  It’s a mix of more holistic approaches as well as evidence-based information so I feel like you get a good mix of both. Show hosts consist of OB/GYNs, L&D Nurses, Midwives, Doulas, & Moms. Listing my favorite pregnancy podcasts for you below (in no particular order) in case you want to check any of them out!

My Favorite Pregnancy Podcasts

1. The Birth Hour – “Whether you are pregnant and looking for inspirational birth stories through your pregnancy, trying to conceive, breastfeeding, or postpartum; if you’re a first time mom or a veteran parent of multiple children, you can learn, laugh and maybe even cry a little at these moving childbirth stories from those willing to share one of the most intimate moments of their lives.”
2. Mommy Labor Nurse – “Welcome to the Mommy Labor Nurse Podcast, where we firmly believe in the power of education when it comes to giving birth! Tune in each week as we dive into pregnancy-related topics, expert interviews, and a variety of birth stories!”
3. Evidence Based Birth – “In the Evidence Based Birth® podcast, we cover the research evidence on hot topics about pregnancy and childbirth! Our mission is to help birth workers build the evidence based knowledge, skills, and power they need to protect families’ ability to give birth with empowerment. The work we do has a huge impact on parents who are searching for accurate information to empower their prenatal, birth, and postpartum experiences!
4. All About Pregnancy & Birth – “You’re not alone in your uncertainty about this monumental life stage of pregnancy and birth. If you’re ready to replace the overwhelm of late-night Googling with expert conversations and stories of strength and positivity from women just like you — join us on the top-rated All About Pregnancy & Birth podcast. The All About Pregnancy & Birth podcast is your place for supportive, evidence-based information from Dr. Nicole Calloway Rankins, an OB/GYN physician who’s been in practice for nearly 15 years and has helped over 1000 babies into this world. You’ll also learn from innovative experts and hear stories of strength and resilience from parents and moms-to-be experiencing the same overwhelm and excitement as you.”
5. Birthful – “On Birthful, working doula and former journalist Adriana Lozada talks pregnancy, birth and postpartum with top experts and new parents. Every episode distills the overload of pregnancy information down to the most relevant and useful stuff.”
6. Birth Kweens – “Birth Kweens is a wildly honest and fun dive into all things natural-pregnancy, birth, postpartum and women’s health related. It’s hosted by two Birth Kweens and friends: Karly Nuttall, a licensed midwife of 15 years, and Ali Feroah, a birth and postpartum doula of 7 years. Listen along on Thursdays as we share fun birth stories and dish out top notch info about our favorite subjects to help you realistically prepare for birth, postpartum recovery, breastfeeding, baby care and women’s health in natural ways!”

That’s all!  There are, of course, tons of podcasts out there but these are the ones I’ve personally found both interesting and informative.  I hope this list of my favorite pregnancy podcasts is helpful!

xo,

Bess

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Now that I’m 34 weeks, I am getting my hospital bag stuff ready to go.  I remember that last time I felt like I really overpacked (see what I packed here) and it made me feel a little stressed out when we were in the hospital to have so much stuff that I didn’t need.  So I went back to my blog post I wrote after our hospital stay about what I Actually Used from my Hospital Bag and I’m using that to guide what I pack in my hospital bag as a second time mom.

I even initially started packing my bag and already felt like it was too much.  I really want to be as minimal as possible.

So here’s what I’ve ended up with…

My Hospital Bag as a Second Time Mom

To start, this is the bag I decided to get!! I really love the size, there are pockets inside, a zip top, top handles, as well as a crossbody strap. It will be great for weekend/overnight trips in the future too. I am also using packing cubes to help separate things in categories so things are easy to locate. My packing cube categories are as follows:

1. Baby

2. My Clothes

3. Toiletries

4. Postpartum Supplies

5. Miscellaneous & Snacks

So within each of those, here is the list of what’s included:

Baby

• Name sign
• Happiest Baby swaddle
• gown & bow for first pictures
• baby blanket
• 2 burp cloths (I love this kind)
• 1 pair zip pajamas (to sleep in & wear under swaddle if it’s cold in the room)
• 1 short sleeve onesie/bodysuit
• going home outfit

My Clothes

• labor & delivery gown (a friend influenced me to get this after she highly recommended!)
• nursing sleeping bras (I have these, size up one from normal size)
• nursing friendly pajama dress
• 2 pairs of cozy socks
• cardigan (for if it’s cold in the room)
• black robe
• going home outfit (probably will just be the same outfit I arrive in, TBD)
• scrunchies

Toiletries

• shampoo & conditioner (I did take a shower & wash my hair last time so I think I will this time, but definitely not bothering with a hair dryer)
• toothbrush, toothpaste, & floss
• hair brush
• razor
• face wash
• deodorant
• face lotion (the mini size is perfect for travel) & body lotion
• dry shampoo

Postpartum Supplies

• nursing pads (just bringing a few)
• depends underwear (I personally found these more comfortable than the ones the hospital provides)
• inexpensive flip-flops to wear in the shower
• nipple cream
• lip gloss (I wear this stuff basically all day every day so I need it)
• glasses
• sleeping mask

Miscellaneous & Snacks

• large water bottle/tumbler
• Propel packets
• phone charger
• pillow + 2 pillowcases (first one will likely get sweaty during labor, having a fresh one for after was clutch for me last time!)
• portable sound machine (for our benefit AND baby’s to sleep better! hospitals can be noisy and sound machines are great for baby sleep too)
• Instax camera (definitely not necessary but I think it will be great to get some polaroid-like keepsake photos)
• snacks – bars, gum, trail mix packs

Also, remember to have your car seat installed

And that’s pretty much it!  Craig will be packing his own bag as well.  Me only having one bag will also make it a lot easier on him at the hospital…poor guy was a pack mule last time, lol.  I hope this list of what I’m packing in my hospital bag as a second time mom is helpful for you!

SHOP THE POST:

xo,

Bess

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Now that I am just shy of 20 weeks pregnant, I wanted to take a moment to write up my first trimester recap.  On one hand, I’m sure it’s something I will want to be able to look back on and read, but also, I have been getting different questions about what the first trimester was like for me this time around.  So in this post I’ll be chatting about what my symptoms were like and how I was able to get through the notoriously difficult first trimester!

Back to the Beginning

We found out we were pregnant on December 31st, 2021.  We had been trying, so this was about 5 or so days before my missed period.  I took one of the First Response Early Result tests (I got my positive with Emma 6 days before using those tests) and it was positive!  We were so happy.  I had a feeling it was going to be positive…I can’t really explain it but I just had this feeling all throughout Christmas week (during the two week wait) that it was going to be.  I kept getting weird deja vu of feelings I had with Emma.  I also had little signs popping up.  First, I shared a picture of a Christmas cookie I made that was supposed to be a snowman, but apparently it came out looking a little different.  I wish I had taken a picture of the cookie before I ate it lol. I got a handful of messages saying it looked like a pregnant Mary praying.

Then, I also took one of those word finder games to find your “words of the year” for the upcoming year and the first 3 I saw were labor, triumph, and happy.  It may seem silly but it felt like it was just backing up what I was feeling.

So just little signs like that.  And then we got our positive test a week later.

Early Symptoms

Mainly at first my early symptoms were extreme fatigue and then loss of appetite/food aversions/nausea happened a few weeks later.  I also had some backaches and cramps around week 8-9 that was so painful.  I think it was my hips already shifting to get wider because it was very similar to the pain I had in my hips after I gave birth to Emma of my hips going back down.  But I basically could not eat anything because NOTHING sounded appetizing.  The only thing I could eat was some plain oatmeal in the morning but the rest of the day was a struggle.  Sometimes a handful of tortilla chips was all I could manage.  I lost weight in the first trimester just because I couldn’t eat a thing, but luckily I never actually threw up from the nausea.  Gagged several times though, lol.

Also the fatigue was so extreme and it’s even harder when you have a toddler to chase around and care for!  I did a lot of laying on the couch in the playroom while she played or watched TV.  I was just trying to survive!  Some days were worse than others though and we got through it.

Working Out

One question I get a lot is about working out and what I did in the first trimester.  With Emma, I really didn’t miss a beat with my workouts.  I had fatigue with her but it wasn’t as intense as this time around.  I could barely do anything I just had zero energy.  I’d try to just get on the treadmill and watch something on Netflix, but I was often struggling to even WALK at speed 3.0.  Some days I was able to throw in 15-20 minutes of light strength training – I tried to keep up with my Besst Workouts schedule as much as possible – but I certainly took lots more rest days than usual which was fine with me.  Mentally I was not, and I’m still not, in a place (following the miscarriage) that I felt comfortable pushing my body whatsoever.  Since some of the Besst Workouts Weekly Workouts are a little more intense than I’d want to do in the first trimester, I swapped in workouts from my Pregnancy Fitness Guide since they are all designed to be pregnancy safe and overall more gentle on your body.

But the bottom line and what I wanted to stress to all the other women who would message me asking me how I worked out in the first trimester, the answer is that sometimes I didn’t!  And that is MORE than okay! One big motivator for me to at least try when I felt okay was that I knew from my pregnancy with Emma that usually working out in the morning helped me feel less sick the rest of the day.  So even if it was just 15-20 minutes, I tried my best to move my body.  But there absolutely were weeks maybe I only made it out there 2-3 times (instead of my usual 6 days a week) and I was just fine with that.  Your body is doing SO MUCH those early weeks of pregnancy.  It’s fine to take it easy and rest.  The energy will come back in the second trimester and you can move a little more then.  Just focus on taking the best care of yourself that you can and don’t stress about not working out if you’re not able to.

I truthfully didn’t start feeling that energy more until week 16, a few weeks into the second trimester, but everyone is different.  The good news is that I finally did turn that corner and start feeling good again (even though as I type this at almost 20 weeks I am having a major resurgence of that exhaustion!).  I know the symptoms will come and go and fluctuate, and I’m just happy to be along for the ride.

Mindset

I just briefly mentioned this but my mindset this pregnancy has been much different just thanks to the experience with the loss last year. I am definitely more anxious and worried this time than I was with Emma (what blissful ignorance that pregnancy was!) but I have been doing my best to not let it take over my pregnancy and ruin my experience. One thing I had with her was a Baby Doppler fetal heart rate monitor and so I started using that as early as I possibly could (it recommends no earlier than 12 weeks but I think I used it just shy of 12 and I was able to find the heartbeat).  And I have used it every single day since then because it helped my anxiety so much, that is until this morning.  I am feeling so many more kicks and flutters now that when I woke up this morning to a dance party in my uterus for 15 minutes I didn’t feel the need to listen to her heart beat, and I am so grateful for that.  Some doctors will not recommend using a fetal doppler because if you can’t find the heart beat it might cause you undue stress when everything is fine.  I’d just ask your doctor if you are curious about getting one for at-home use.

I loved my experience with Emma’s pregnancy and I want to be able to say the same thing this time.  It certainly gets a little easier as time goes on, and the first trimester specifically is such a challenge when you worry about every little thing.  I still do my morning prayer time and Bible study, which helps me maintain my faith that God has this under control, and that I can let go of the worry.  It’s not in my hands, it’s in His…and there is no better place for it to be.

I hope this first trimester recap post has been helpful and enlightening about my personal first trimester experience…if you have any questions please feel free to leave them in the comments below!

xo,

Bess

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Following our pregnancy announcement last week (thank you for all the congratulations, by the way!) I had several questions come through in my messages about if I did anything differently following the miscarriage while we were trying to conceive, so in this post I’m going to share everything we did to help us conceive. Let me preface this by saying that I’m in no way a medical professional and nothing I say here is intended to be medical advice.  I am simply sharing what information I found and that I talked over with my doctor before implementing for myself.  I encourage you to talk to your doctor about what is right for you.

I also want to say that I am the type of person who needs to feel like they are doing *something* to fix a problem.  I have to be proactive. While I know miscarriage is extremely common, I felt like I needed to figure out what I could do, if anything, to lower the chances of that happening again.  I had heard of the book “It Starts With The Egg” on the “Get Pregnant Naturally” podcast prior to the pregnancy we lost, and so I immediately ordered that book the day I got home from my D&C…desperate to do anything I could to even slightly improve my chances of a healthy pregnancy.

The book came in a couple days and I read it in one day, eager to make any necessary changes as soon as possible.  I discussed the changes with my doctor before I started…her response to me was that she could not guarantee that they would help, but that they certainly would not hurt.  And if I felt like I wanted to do something, then the things we talked about were safe for me to do and try rather than have regrets about “what if”.

Changes We Made to Help Us Conceive

The book really shows how small changes can have powerful positive effects not just on your fertility but on your overall health.  The book is going to be your best resource for detailed information and the science behind it all, but I will outline the things that I did in a more general sense.

Dietary Changes

Food

One of the big things the book recommends is lowering your sugar intake, especially from processed foods.  So that was one thing I did.  I also increased the amount of healthy fats I was eating.  Fat helps support your hormone functions so much and it’s really important.  The quality of foods we were eating also changed.  I switched almost everything I possibly could to be organic – organic fruits & vegetables, grass-fed organic meats, wild-caught fish, pasture-raised organic eggs, etc.  Oh and I would eat 2 runny eggs every single morning.  Eggs are so good for your eggs…but again, make sure you’re eating quality eggs.  I really love Vital Farms brand which I’ve been able to find at Target, Ingles, or Publix.

I made it a point to always have healthy snacks on me if I was leaving the house, because I am prone to “hanger” episodes aka letting my blood sugar tank.  This is not good.  It’s very important to keep your blood sugar regulated.  I also tried to slightly increase my protein intake over my carbohydrate intake simply by making sure I was prioritizing protein and trying to have some at every meal.  I was also selective about the carbs I did eat – again reduced my sugar and processed foods intake dramatically – and instead chose things like complex carbohydrates: oats, quinoa, brown rice.  The book further provides evidence that excess sugar consumption compromises fertility.

I definitely tried to most closely follow a Mediterranean-style diet which prioritizes health fats from fish, olive oil, avocado, and lots of leafy green vegetables.  I also did not shy away from butter…specifically the Vital Farms grass-fed organic butter.  Remember the quality is important.

As for alcohol – I all but cut it out while we were trying to conceive.  I would maybe have 1 glass of wine maybe once every week or two if I felt like it, but I largely replaced alcohol consumption with kombucha – the probiotics in kombucha are so great for your gut health (yet another thing tied to fertility).  Do I miss wine & margaritas?  Yeah.  But they aren’t going anywhere.  I can have them again later.  I found it wasn’t even hard to give it up when I so badly just wanted a healthy pregnancy – it was a nonissue for me.

Another notable drink change was that of coffee – I went from drinking usually 2 cups a day to just one. While some studies have found no impact on fertility, some research does suggest it might make it more difficult to get pregnant or extend your time to pregnancy.  So I just did one approximately 8oz cup a day – and I’ve continued that while pregnant as my doctor has told me that is safe.

Supplements

I want to note here that I got my bloodwork done as well just to check on everything and make sure nothing looked out of the ordinary…everything came back looking within normal ranges but I felt like based on my levels and what the book said, that I could further supplement to support my body where I could.  The science in the book behind how different vitamin deficiencies can impact your fertility is incredibly insightful.  I encourage you to read the book to find out what would be best for you personally because what I took might not be in your personal best interest without knowing your bloodwork and talking to your doctor.  I supplemented with:

• Vitamin D
• Prenatal – Something important to note about this brand is that they use methlyfolate, which is the bioavailable form of folate. Some brands use a synthetic form of folate called folic acid, which not all women have the ability to metabolize. The book goes into more detail but it is absolutely imperative that you are metabolizing your folate, especially if you do get pregnant since it dramatically cuts the risk of spina bifida and other neural tube defects.
• Coenzyme Q10– Craig also started taking this daily in addition to his daily multivitamin and the same DHA as me (listed below)
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin E
• DHA
• Nutritional Yeast – I would sprinkle this on my eggs every morning for extra B vitamins.  I also like sprinkling it over popcorn!
• Magnesium- I took, and still take, magnesium every day and I love it so much.  I use this powdered kind and mix 2 teaspoons into hot water at night.  Sadly, my pregnant bladder isn’t handling the extra fluid so close to bedtime (hello waking up 12 times a night to pee) so I switched to the gummies version for now.

Lifestyle Changes

The rest of this post includes more detailed changes but I did want to say that I did my very best to eliminate excess stressors in my life.  I turned down work opportunities so I could have more time to rest, I took more days off from working out rather than pushing myself if I wasn’t feeling it.  I walked (slowly) more.  I tried to let things go that previously might have bothered me…like made active choices not to let them stress me out.

I also tried to prioritize getting more sleep.  I’d be in bed as early as possible with my magnesium & a book to read before bed.  Many mornings I would elect to sleep in a bit more rather than working out first thing in the morning.  I also stopped working out fasted in the morning, as I read it further stresses your body out.  Also- if you’re doing intermittent fasting, you might want to look into stopping at least while you’re TTC.  I don’t do it, but while doing my research I learned that most of the research on IF that praises its health benefits was, in fact, done on men, and that IF can have detrimental impacts to women’s hormone function.  So just something to keep in mind.

Removing Toxic Products

Two major toxin groups outlined in the book that are good to avoid whenever possible are BPA and Phthalates. Both of these impact fertility.

BPA

BPA “has been proven to compromise egg quality” and there’s evidence that it also “interferes with the hormones that coordinate the reproductive system.”  Furthermore, “High levels of BPA seem to increase the risk of miscarriage”…It’s important to note that “recent studies indicate the real concern with BPA arises when women have above-average levels.”  So for me, I tried my best to avoid BPA whenever possible but also tried not to stress out about it too much, because stress isn’t good for fertility either!  I aimed to simply lower my exposure wherever it made sense and I was able to do so.  For me, that looked like:

• throwing out plastic tupperware (even if they are listed as BPA free, many have another closely related chemical known as BPS that could be just as harmful) and replacing with glass.  I got this glass set from Amazon.
• never microwaving plastic bowls or plates, even if they are “microwave-safe” (I did this already, and stopped using any plastic bowls/plates all together)
• I drink out of a glass or stainless steel water bottle
• Not touching paper receipts at the store…they are coated with BPA & I’ve read the BPA can be in your bloodstream within minutes after touching one. I would simply tell the cashier I didn’t need my receipt.  If you do touch it, just be sure to wash your hands as soon as you get home.
• Buying canned food only if it was a BPA free can (although again, you can’t be too sure about what chemical has replaced BPA. Just one of those things I try to do my best.)
• I replaced our cookware with the non-toxic Caraway pans and OMG I love them.  They are a dream and SO easy to clean.

Phthalates

Phthalates are another type of toxin that acts as an endocrine disruptor and may impair not just egg quality but also sperm quality.  Similar to the situation with BPA, women with higher levels in may be more likely to miscarry, but studies indicate that it’s very high levels of exposure that we need to be worried about because it would be impossible to completely avoid all phthalates.  Phthalates get into our bodies through food (fast-food and highly processed foods) and through products we use that we either put on our skin or inhale through the air.  Phthlates can be found in just about anything that is fragranced (which is why I mentioned on Instagram that I threw out all my Target scented candles and replaced them with Homesick candles – they are BPA & phthalate free) and I also replaced things like my hairspray, dry shampoo, perfume, & nail polish as those things have the highest concentrations of phthalates.  Here are the products I got to use instead that are non-toxic and free of BPA & Phthalates:

• Hair Spray
• Dry Shampoo – I use both this kind (which is a powder form) and this kind (which is a spray)
• Perfume (I wear scent Lovely Dreams)
• Nail Polish – I use either Olive & June brand or Dazzle Dry

When in doubt, do fragrance-free, but you can also search the EWG Skin Deep Database for product safety.  Ideally you want to use products that score a 1 or a 2.  Not every product out there is in the database yet, but you can search for individual ingredient safety and check that way.

Also – don’t use fabric softener or dryer sheets. They are terrible. Unless of course you can find some that are non-toxic, but for me I don’t use them anyways so I didn’t seek out a safe alternative…but I know the traditional ones are full of pretty yucky stuff.

Next up I swapped body lotion.  I originally was wearing Beautycounter’s Adaptive Moisture Body Lotion, but I found this Attitude Body Lotion that is EWG certified non-toxic & is less expensive and I like it better.

As for my skincare, I was already using all Beautycounter products anyways, which are all non-toxic, so I continued using those.  I know these products are an investment, but a little bit goes a long way so they last a while and it’s important to me for peace of mind knowing I’m using safe products.  If you’re interested in these products, something to consider is joining the Band of Beauty Member. You get free shipping on any order over $100, 10% product credit on your orders (to use for future purchases), and more.

Listing what I use below:

• Face Moisturizer
• Cleanser
• Overnight Peel
• Vitamin C Serum
• Night Cream
• Eye Cream
• Deodorant (I use the Clean Rose scent)

Since we are on the topic of safer personal products, I also use some Beautycounter makeup (this is a favorite lipstick of mine in shade “Terra” – I have worn since 2016! And this cream blush in shade Lychee Bright Rose) as well as their sunscreen.  I also the items listed below from other places:

• Mascara
• Concealer (I wear shade 25N)
• Bronzer (shade Grace Bay)
• Tinted Moisturizer with SPF (pregnancy-safe also)
• Eyeshadow
• Shampoo
• Conditioner

Cleaning Products

I also started cleaning our floors, vacuuming, & dusting once a week.  Lead & other heavy metals can be easily tracked into your house from the bottom of people’s shoes, so it’s a great rule to leave shoes at the door!  But I also would clean the floor with this each week.  Similarly, per the book: “Flame retardants are released into household dust from furniture, rugs, & electronics…the best way to minimize exposure is to regularly vacuum and dust with a damp cloth.”  As for cleaning products we use a lot of Mrs. Meyers and other cleaning products that are plant based, fragrance free, or phthalate free.  I primarily use this laundry detergent.

Staying Strong/Growing in Our Faith

I also want to say that while I do think these changes made me overall healthier and supported my hormones to better have a healthy pregnancy…absolutely all the glory goes to God for this miracle.  We prayed together every night for this baby, and clung to God in the moments of getting three months of negative pregnancy tests in a row.  I know that is not a long time comparatively, but every single month you get a negative when you want a positive is gutting.  I truly don’t know how I would have gotten through the loss and the months of trying to conceive (as well as even the pregnancy now with being more fearful this time) without God as my strength and shield.  I encourage you to find that in Him first…it’s great to do what you can but ultimately it takes the pressure off of you when you can fully believe and trust that God is going to allow it to happen in His perfect timing.

To Conclude

One thing that I kept in mind was the book says its going to take about 3 months for these changes to take effect on your eggs.  I kind of kept that in my mind each of the months that went by with a negative pregnancy test, and then on the 4th month of trying we finally got our positive.  That’s just my anecdotal experience but wanted to share.

Please, if you’ve found this insightful or helpful, go order the book and read it in more detail.  There is SO much more helpful information in it than I’ve even scratched the surface on here.  And like my doctor told me…it’s not going to hurt your chances!  And for me, any thing I could do, even little changes, I felt like would add up to make a difference.  Don’t feel overwhelmed like you have to do all of this stuff immediately either…just do what you can when you can.  It will all add up.

Other sources of information I felt were helpful were a couple of podcasts: Fertility Friday and Get Pregnant Naturally. I listened to practically all of those.

As far as how I tracked my cycle & all that, we used the Fertility Awareness Method as our primary guide and then I would sort of corroborate what I was seeing with this ovulation predictor kit & also these strips…yes I did both every morning I also took my Basal Body Temperature each morning and used the Ovia app (which is where I’d track everything.)  Another book I HIGHLY RECOMMEND is Taking Charge of Your Fertility.  It’s like the fertility bible.  I also feel like I need to tell you I also purchased the Ava watch…and do not recommend it.  While I was doing all of the above things to track my ovulation and cycle, I can say that the Ava watch was *never* accurate for me.  Even after months of giving it time to adjust to my body to accurately “predict” ovulation.  Just wanted to tell you because it’s an expensive device and I don’t think you need to spend that money when you can more accurately predict it yourself.  Def buy the Taking Charge of your Fertility book because it will guide you every step of the way!

I hope this post has been helpful, and I hope I remembered to include everything. It’s a lot of info!! Sending you lots of love!

SHOP THE POST:

xo,

Bess

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