It’s that time again!

If you’ve been following along on my newsletter you know that Oscar & I have decided to begin preparing our bodies for a second pregnancy.

After my first, I honestly wasn’t sure I wanted to do it again. That pregnancy was incredibly physically & emotionally draining. The worst part, though, is that I had felt at a loss of how to improve it the next time. I had prepared for so long & didn’t understand “where I had gone wrong”.

Ya’ see, preparing for Vincenzo felt a lot like a job.I had spent years learning about & practicing preconception health & I thought I owed it to my future child to be as close to perfectly nutritionally prepared as possible.

Oh. my. goodness. the pressure. I had applied so much pressure on myself & Oscar to do everything “RIGHT”{?} & it left me at a loss when I couldn’t keep up with my own expectations.

I’ve learned a few things since then:

1. I ignored a HUGE element of preconception care. Yes, I was nutritionally sound & lived a very low-toxic lifestyle, BUT I completely ignored self-love & mindfulness. I was working a 60-80 hour/week retail management position & felt on the brink of a breakdown for many months before getting pregnant.

2. My pregnancy was a lesson in relinquishing control. Pregnancy is a miracle. I wish I had focused more on gratitude for the gift than anguish over trying to control how it was going. Easier said that done, I know!

3. I didn’t know as much as I thought I did. Have you ever felt that the more you learn about something the less you actually know about it? The more I discover about my body, fertility, detox, the miracle of life, nutrition, consciousness, ect. the more I realize how much more there is to learn in these areas. I am continuously being humbled.

Honest thought on that last point: It’s a bit of a strange place to be. In a field where being an “expert” is highly looked upon, I find myself being drawn away from ever thinking I have all the answers. I don’t think I actually want to be an “expert” {big eyes emoji, monkey with hands over mouth emoji}. Sure, I specialize in learning about fertility cleansing, but I’d rather just promise you that I’ll never stop learning & that I’ll always share what I do learn–even if that means changing my mind–than call myself an expert. Good business plan? Who knows. Good for my heart & soul? Definitely.

Ok sooooo how has all of this new insight helped to change the way I’m preparing this time? I’ll get to that that in a little bit!!

First, a window into our continuous {not just directly before trying} for-the-future-babies lifestyle…

What we do on the regular:

• Eat real food
• Live a low/non toxic lifestyle {clean body care, filtered water, daily detox activities–like oil pulling & clay masks–, charcoal & salt lamps to help minimize toxins in home, etc.}
• Continuously work on positive communication by attending weekly family therapy & practicing kindness at home
• Partake in activities that make us happy, like working out, playing with friends, taking mini vacations, & going on new mini-adventures

For the most part, we have lived through & {sometimes loosely} continued the steps of The Rose Method for many years. We’re not “perfect” by any means, whatever the heck that would mean, we just choose to live in a way that joyfully supports feeling good!

What’s different now that we’re preparing for baby?

While mindfully preparing we are:

• Cutting out anything that clogs our bodies, making them work harder. This includes alcohol, caffeine, & sugar {honestly, I’m not doing as good with sugar as I did last time! Oops}
• Eating out less; putting more of a priority on cooking our own food
• Making sure we don’t skip our nutrient boosts! Regularly taking cod liver oil, desiccated liver, real food prenatals, probiotics, magnesium, ocean greens, & vitamin C. We also went to a nutritionist who checked our bodies for individual nutrient needs, & we are filling in a few holes there as well.
• Making time for daily meditation {NEW! didn’t do this last time}
• Purchasing from local farms rather than grocery stores, which also helps us eat seasonally {NEW!}
• Using visualization to let the universe know we’re getting ready to bring a baby into the world {NEW!}
• Keeping “fertility” & “health” crystals around the home {NEW!}

The biggest difference between this time & last, however, is that we are preparing with JOY rather than out of fear.

Here’s what I mean…Instead of preparing our bodies out of fear that something will go wrong if we don’t, we are preparing joyfully, with excitement that we will soon create & carry a miracle. We also get joy out of knowing that what we are doing now may help to support a strong structure for our sweet baby.

This new viewpoint has eliminated almost all the stress, guilt, & pressure that plagued the preparing-for-Vincenzo era. I’m not sure how it will influence the trying-to-conceive phase or pregnancy itself, but I’m hoping to go in with an attitude of surrender, letting what happens happen, & being grateful for the experience.

I will say that both Oscar & I feel abundantly healthier than we did the first time around. It’s interesting, but not surprising that a little love can make such a big difference.

I can’t wait to fill you in on the rest of the process!

+++

Was your baby number two prep any different from baby number one? I’d love to hear your happiest suggestions!

To preparing for pregnancy,