My Pregnancy Journey ~ Preconception
My pregnancy journey started before I even got pregnant! One year before trying to conceive I started to prepare my mind, body and soul for the process. This mostly looked like getting educated on nutrition for fertility, building positive lifestyle habits, getting spiritually aligned (letting go of expectations!), and building a support team! Let’s get into it:
Nutrition
I took Be Well By Kelly’s Fab 4 Pregnancy Course - this course helped me to understand what foods were important for not just fertility but eventually what types of foods I would need to consider incorporating into my diet for pregnancy. It ultimately helped me to prioritize protein and learn how to balance my blood sugar.
After seeking information around fertility nutrition, I realized that it was important I get a full blood panel to see if there were any areas that needed supplementation. Turns out, there were! I needed to supplement for B12 and Vitamin D. Once I got pregnant I also started an Omega3/DHA supplement as I was struggling with food aversions in my first trimester. I also started taking a prenatal vitamin supplement so that my body had ample folic acid.
I read Real Food for Fertility and found the book to be very informative. I learned about different ways to support my menstrual cycle and things to be on the look out for while trying to conceive.
Lifestyle Habits
As you know, I have a yoga practice and this was something I stayed committed to throughout my pregnancy journey. It helped me to calm my nervous system and it was great to stretch regularly! I leaned on my yoga practice and simple stretching when there was not much I could do towards the end of my third trimester!
You can take my 5 Days of Yoga Course (20-30 min flows) for free on youtube here! If and when you do become pregnant, you may need to look into prenatal yoga flows, but if you are trying to conceive, these flows will be very supportive.
I began to incorporate more strength- and resistance-based movements (separate from my yoga practice) and got curious about pregnancy workout programs. I ended up finding Evlo Fitness and, honestly, I wished I had started these strength workouts before getting pregnant so that my body could get a bit more used to them. Still, the workouts kept me feeling strong throughout pregnancy.
I felt good about my relationship with alcohol going into pregnancy as I have been sober-curious for years, but I know this can be a big adjustment for others.
I considered how my physical space/home would support a pregnancy. What did I need to clear or purge? Did we need to move?
I wondered a lot about how my life might change upon getting pregnant and ultimately having a baby. More specifically, I took a practical look at the financial impact of getting pregnant and potentially taking a career pause of getting pregnant. I have enjoyed following Mother Untitled on Instagram as a way to deal with potential identity and career shifts as well as reading the book The Power Pause.
Spiritual Alignment
Generally, this might be my favorite domain, but especially when it comes to preparing for pregnancy. The pregnancy journey and the responsibility to bring a human soul into this world feel so sacred to me and it wasn’t something I took lightly.
The book, Spirit Babies, was a bible to me and I read it at least twice. Getting pregnant naturally, or even at all, is not a guarantee, and I wanted to make sure I was in a solid place mentally before embarking on this journey. In reading this book, I was able to take a spiritual perspective. I believed that if I was meant to get pregnant I would, and if not, then perhaps it wasn’t the right time. The book helped me remain patient (it was still hard!) as I also took on the perspective that babies have spirits and souls, and they are part of the decision-making process as to when they choose to come through.
I spent a lot of time meditating and praying to see if I could connect with any spirit babies and surrender the process. Easier said than done, but it was the most important part of the process for me.
Support
While I took it upon myself to do a lot of research and create intentional habits to support my fertility, I also sought out professionals to help me during this time. I am a big believer in self-care not always costing a lot of money, however, I did invest money in the following levels of support.
Therapy: Before trying to conceive, I was already in therapy twice a month and I continued this practice. It helped me talk through potential fears related to pregnancy.
Massage: I am a big believer in ‘the body keeps the score’ and getting massages about once a month not only helps me destress, but it also helps me to work through blocks through my body.
Acupuncture/Supplement Support: I got acupuncture to support fertility and stress and I received guidance from a holistic doctor about how to properly supplement based on my blood panel.
Distant Reiki Healing: I got weekly distant reiki healing to help cleanse my aura and help ground me.
To be Magnetic Membership: I took a few of the workshops from To Be Magnetic to help with shadow work so that I could be in the best place possible before potentially bringing a baby into the world.
