I always wanted children… kind of. I never really thought about it too much but I always knew I would want to become a mom sooner or later. When I turned 28, I decided that if I wanted to be a mom, I would have to make some changes in my diet. How would I teach my children how to eat healthy if I weren’t doing it myself, right? So that’s the first thing I did.
- I changed my diet
Changing my diet also meant learning how to cook healthier meals. It didn’t take too long before I had dozens of tasty but healthy meals in my book and it made a world of a difference. My skin cleared out, I felt slimmer and more comfortable in my body. I wasn’t as constipated as I used to. I just felt fine ! The biggest bonus for me was knowing that I would be able to keep feeding my body the right nutrients once I get pregnant and once I start breastfeeding and then once I actually cook for my child. It was the best motivation ever! I was not overweight but I really felt like I lacked energy and bloated all the time. Changing my diet changed my life and made me more confident as a future mother. Of course, changing my diet helped but working out was also life changing.
- Workout regularly
I had tried to work out regularly (and change my diet) so many times throughout the years that I stopped counting. However, as soon as my mind was set on getting my body ready for kids, it became a completely different story. I wanted to be fit because I knew I wanted a natural birth and I also wanted to teach my children how to have a healthy active lifestyle. I needed to become what I wanted to teach them. The main thing that I had to do was try different things and find the best type of workouts for me. That was the mistake I made all these years before…Not listening to my body and doing what I saw youtubers do.
After some trial and error, I realized that the best workout for me was walking. I also enjoy running but it started affecting my knees. Walking was so easy and therapeutic that I didn’t stop. I even went for a one-hour walk the morning of my wedding because I needed it.
Working out helped my muscles get stronger, including my heart and legs, which will be very central during birth. It helped my mind become stronger as well, you can’t let the pain stop you when you’re running. And it helped me stabilize my weight and keep it at a healthy level.
- I started following the fertility awareness method
When I got married, I knew I didn’t want to be on the pill anymore. I was lucky that I never really got any blatant side effects and could live with it pretty well. I was also organized enough to never forget it and it had been working fine for me all these years. However, knowing that the periods I was getting were artificial and that it was literally stopping my body from functioning naturally, I just never felt fully comfortable using it and knew I needed a way out. That’s when I found some youtubers who mentioned the book that would change my life: Taking charge of your fertility by Toni Weschler.
If you do not know this book, I highly recommend that you read it. It may teach you something that you never thought you needed to know. I immediately implemented the method: take my basal body temperature as soon as I wake up, check my cervical mucus during my menstrual cycle and the position of my cervix in the different phases of my cycle.
What a difference it made! I finally understood my body, my changing moods, and everything in between. After a few months on the method, I knew how long my cycle was (my cycle is very consistent) and when I tend to ovulate. I know how my body feels once I have ovulated and how I feel when my period is about to start. I knew when to have unprotected sex and when not to have unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy and of course, how to get pregnant as fast as possible.
- Take prenatal vitamins
Once we knew when we would start trying, I started taking prenatal vitamins, which was three months before we officially started trying (and conceived). I’ll never know if it made a difference because I really can’t measure it but this is still something I did.
I started taking the gummy ones that don’t contain iron but do contain folic acid. Since the brain starts developing pretty early in pregnancy, I would advise to take it, just in case but I am not a medical professional.
- Drink red raspberry leaf tea
Finally, one month before starting the journey, I started drinking red raspberry leaf tea. It can be used at different points of the journey but drinking it before conceiving can help thicken the uterine lining which helps support implantation.
It is also believed to help restore hormone balance and thus aid with conception.
There you have it! These are the things I did to conceive the first time we tried.
Please also note I do not smoke, I do not take any drugs and limit my alcohol consumption to once a week max.