preparing for baby Strawder

If you would’ve told me that it would take almost two years for us to receive our miracle, I wouldn’t have believed you. But He works in the waiting!

The past 9 months have absolutely flown by, but the 2 years spent in waiting– def did not fly by! Between swapping doctors, medications, monthly bloodwork, 2 procedures, & a loss- we are SO grateful to finally be here- on the other side of waiting.

Preparing my body for pregnancy became a big deal to me before we started trying. I knew that I needed to be my best self to grow a healthy baby. I had already started ditching and switching toxic products in our home, so I knew it was time to go fully all in!! Not only did it start with cleaning out our candles, cleaning products, beauty/self-care products, etc. but I needed to nourish my body daily.

Here are some of the symptoms I had, products I tried, & my thoughts on them all!

prenatal

• ningxia red drink– best way to snag it
  • what the heck is ningxia & why you need it
• beef liver supplements
  • I grabbed these from Ancestral Supplements. I started out with 2 a day & worked my way up to 4 a day (2 am & 2 pm).
• letrazole/femara– prescription I took monthly with bloodwork on day 21 each cycle to measure progesterone levels
• endometriosis diagnosis– I was told at the ripe old age of 14 that I probably had endometriosis. when I swapped to a new doctor, he wanted to get a true look asap. I had surgery in dec of 21 that confirmed & removed endo from 3 sides of my uterus! my tubes were also cleared and had a large cyst drained on one of my ovaries that wouldn’t go down on its own. we got pregnant immediately after this surgery, but lost that pregnancy.
• ava tracking bracelet— it was annoying at the time, but it had all of my data right there just by wearing it at night & syncing it in the mornings. measures your temp, breathing rate, sleep, etc. sign up for honey & you can find coupon codes there!
• timing— Ronnie swears the key is earlier in the “window” or right before it officially starts (days 10-20 according to our infertility care)

first trimester

• was super sick & tired
• buy vomit bags from amazon!! came in handy plenty of times in the car but also in schools. here are the ones I got
• acid reflux- alka lime sticks
• nap whenever you can! everything else can wait
• enjoy the time that just you and your husband know the news. once it’s out, it’s out! try to enjoy each and every moment (even the sick ones)
• preggy pops- disgusting and I hated them
• pear ginger candies– spicy but would help sometimes
• peppermint for headaches because they were terrible & to ease nausea
• frida mom nausea band– supposed to hit a trigger and maybe it helped maybe it didn’t?? cheap enough to try
• start belly butter & use it every night!!- I tried roe wellness, evereden, & roe casa. roe casa is definitely the thickest and my current fav.
• chiropractic care!!!! find somebody who specializes in prenatal/pregnancy care. the well chiropractic in enterprise, al specializes in the webster method & I swear I couldn’t survive without my weekly adjustments.
• super intense night sweats! slept in a bralette & shorts to stay as cool as possible
• Charlie horses!! OMG I thought my calves were going to fall off! this lasted my entire pregnancy. the best thing I found that helped was Earthley’s Goodnight Lotion— magnesium lotion! I lathered it on thick every night. that gave me the most relief.

second trimester

• nausea & vomiting finally stopped 🙌🏻 (except a random barf on our anniversary trip)
• invest in good maternity jeans! I love my judy blue & kankan maternity jeans. I plan on wearing them postpartum, too, so the price was justified!
• get ready for people to just randomly touch your belly. yes, it’s weird. yes, they’ll do it anyways 🙃
• belly band- fitsplint maternity band from amazon is what I got in a size medium. It velcros to itself all the way around so it’s super adjustable.
• belly pillow- love belly bub. took weeks to come in but it’s so worth it!! 
• started pelvic floor therapy because I would pee on myself every time I threw up or sneezed (this is not ever normal!!!!! common, but not normal) 
• still- chiropractic care!!! @thewell specializes in the webster method for prenatal & I couldn’t survive without my weekly adjustments 

third trimester

• wear that belly band you bought!! it will help with that lower back pain 😉
• “diagnosed” with pregnancy carpal tunnel & plantar fasciitis. all due to swelling, with not much to help. started drinking earthley electrolyte powder with ningxia & taking super b! all are supposed to help reduce swelling. also bought ice pack socks (for my ankles/leg swelling… just buy them & trust me!) & two wrist bands from walgreens.
• wearing leggings & my on clouds daily. comfort > style 
• full term app– this is the app I used to time contractions & it is SO easy to use!
• around week 35, started:
  • eating dates
  • drinking red raspberry leaf tea
  • drinking gentle birth drops by mountain meadow herbs

labor & delivery and postpartum must haves coming soon!