Disclosures
Please Note: The information presented in this post is just an account of my own, personal experience. Everyone is different, and what worked for me and my situation may not work for someone else. I am not a medical professional, and nothing in this post is meant to replace the opinions and advice of your specific medical professional. Some links in this post are affiliate links, which means that, should you click through to that product and make a purchase, 40 Aprons will receive a small compensation, at no additional cost to you. Anything mentioned here is referred solely based on my experience and satisfaction with the company and/or product, and not because of any potential commission.
How I (Didn’t) Get Pregnant Quickly
It’s 2015, and my husband and I decide it’s time to try getting pregnant with our first baby! This should be a breeze, right? I’m young, I’m pretty healthy, I eat well, I run, my cycle is pretty regular. This shouldn’t take any time at all!When I tell you my body laughed at me…I really didn’t have any glaring issues that indicated I couldn’t get pregnant, or that getting pregnant would be especially difficult for me. By all accounts, I was healthy. But despite all that, it wasn’t happening quickly at all.There was actually a lot I didn’t know about my specific body in regards to getting pregnant. For example, ovulation. My cycle was a pretty standard 29-day cycle, so I assumed I was ovulating on day 14. Makes sense, right? Day 14 is when you’re “supposed” to ovulate, or whatever, and since my cycle wasn’t atypical, there was no reason to think I wasn’t ovulating then.Turns out, though, that I was actually ovulating a few days late, so our timing was all off. It took 3 months to figure that out.My basal body temperature was also a little low. Oh, and, thanks to my late ovulation, I also had a super short luteal phase – y’know, that time between ovulation and the first day you shed your uterine lining. Awesome! So then I needed to take steps to lengthen my luteal phase, because a short luteal phase can prevent a fertilized egg from implanting properly.Note: The following approaches were all discussed with and approved by my doctor before I started them. Before starting any new regimen, please discuss your specific situation with a medical professional.
Supplements for Egg Health
Fertility-Friendly Diet
In addition to vitamin supplements, I also overhauled my diet to increase my egg health.I was actually vegan at this point, eating a lower-calorie diet, and naturally eating a basically low fat diet… which, according to my doctor and the research I did, is pretty much one of the least helpful things you can do if you’re wanting to get pregnant. Of course! There are a lot of articles from medical professionals that you can read on the subject, but basically a low fat diet can increase anovulatory infertility. That makes sense, I mean – fat produces hormones, and you kind of need hormones to get pregnant.So I pretty much immediately started increasing my healthy-fat intake. Lots of avocados, lots of coconut oil. And honestly, I felt lousy at first whenever I intentionally consumed more fat in one sitting, which shows just how little fat I was getting in my diet to begin with.I was pretty thin at that time, too, so I had to be really intentional about what I was eating and forcibly put on enough weight to reboot my metabolism. Food fuels your body, and eating enough healthy food regularly can signal your body that now is a safe time to get pregnant. The upside? I ended up not really gaining too much weight during my actual pregnancy… I guess my body decided I had a decent fat store already built up. If we were texting, I’d be sending you a grimacing emoji right now… I reacted to every little twinge, and just like with my oldest son, all of the stress led to depression. Meditation was now part of my routine – but like, super specific, fertility-focused meditation. Which meant “getting pregnant” was always on my mind.So again, at month 7, I gave up on getting pregnant quickly. I decided that if it was going to happen, it was just going to take forever. I mean, that made sense. I was older than the first time, and age can make a difference when it comes to conceiving…That very same month that I decided to stop obsessing over getting pregnant… I got pregnant. Baby girl was on the way! But… it couldn’t hurt, right? And I had to honor the ancient wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine here, too.Basically what I’m saying is, the state of your head has an effect on the state of your body. If you’re constantly obsessing over how to get pregnant quickly, your body may respond by taking its sweet time. Be kind to yourself and do things that make you and your body feel good in the meantime.Reminder: The information presented in this post is just an account of my own, personal experience. Everyone is different, and what worked for me and my situation may not work for someone else. I am not a medical professional, and nothing in this post is meant to replace the opinions and advice of your specific medical professional.
