I remember feeling totally empty and broken when we learned we had lost our second consecutive pregnancy. I had spent 2 years re-balancing my body, my hormones, and my cycles, and STILL, I wasn’t able to stay pregnant. Defeat.
After allowing myself some physical and mental space, I decided I was ready to explore some new ways of healing and re-balance. After just 4 months of adopting some new things consistently, and letting others go, we gave it another shot. And, wouldn’t you know, we not only became pregnant, we’re still pregnant, and eager to meet this little one in March 2019.
Things I Let Go Of:
Inflammatory Foods
Inflammatory foods are different for every {one} body. Through some thoughtful planning, educating myself and really tuning in to my body’s cues, GLUTEN became my #1 enemy. It wreaked havoc on my digestion, my cycles, my skin, and my mind. So, I ditched it 100%!
Inflammation is essentially like a little flame, that sometimes turns into raging fire. It is the body playing a mean game of defense. Ya know how if you fall and scrape your knee, it puffs up, swells, and sometimes oozes? Imagine THAT happening on the INSIDE of your body. Identifying inflammatory triggers for your unique body is essential!
Saying Yes
This was soooo hard for me! I have always been the queen of, “YES, I’ll be there, YES, I can help, YES, I can volunteer, YES, I will cook, YES, I will host, YES I’ll plan the event,” etc.
What I learned is that politely declining not only allowed time to focus on what was most important in this season of my life, but decreased my stress tenfold, and opened up more time to just BE. This was such an imperative step, as the body cannot heal (or make babies) in a stressed state.
Focusing on the Outcome
For the longest time, the goal was a healthy pregnancy. What I learned through this process is the outcome (the baby) was something completely out of my control. What WAS in my control was the day-to-day. So instead of asking myself, “when will we have a healthy pregnancy?” I ask myself, “What can do TODAY to positively impact my body, and my future baby? I still ask myself each day.
Things I Adopted:
Warmer Foods
Ditch the ice in your water? Yup! Traditional Chinese Medicine believes in a concept called “cold uterus,” which essentially means that your blood flow to the uterus is stagnant, therefore not an optimal warm, cozy or welcoming place for a baby. By ditching the ice in my water, eating more warm/cooked foods vs cold/raw, and even keeping my feet warm, I increased blood flow and created warming energy to catalyze the process, and create a warmer, cozier, more welcoming space for a baby to thrive.
Acupuncture
Ever heard the saying “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it?” There is a reason acupuncture is still a well known and widely used practice after nearly 4500 years! It increases blood flow, circulation and energy, allowing the body to most literally heal from the inside, out. I attended sessions with an acupuncturist board certified with the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine (ABORM) weekly, for 3 consecutive months leading up to our healthy pregnancy, and weekly throughout the first trimester.
Gratitude
Ahhhh the power of gratitude. It’s really easy to get stuck in a victim mentality when life is hard. “Everyone else is getting pregnant, or having healthy babies, and woe is me. “ You know, the idea of life happening to you, not for you. But here’s the thing -- no one on the planet was in control of those thoughts and beliefs, but ME. By shifting those shitty, negative thoughts to empowering thoughts, I was able to keep my mindset positive, which positively impacted my stress, my mood, and my relationship with the VIPs in my life. That, my friends, is a win.
Sooooo, did it work, or was it a bunch of hocus pocus?
These changes positively impacted my life and my relationships in ways well beyond our journey to baby. They truly changed my life.
Just before we were ready to try again, my midwife said, “Sarah, it is an absolute miracle that there are as many healthy pregnancies and babies as there are. SO MANY things need to happen right, and seemlessly, and still an average three of four end in healthy pregnancies, and healthy babies." 🤰🏻👶🏼
So, perhaps the healthy pregnancy followed by these changes I made were coincidence.
Miracle nonetheless? Certainly.
Resources
Implement nutrition, mindset and lifestyle changes that will positively impact your life, and your fertility HERE.
Find a board certified ABORM acupuncturist in your area HERE.
Learn more about Traditional Chinese Medicine and what you can begin to implement today to positively impact your fertility HERE.
