21 TTC Affirmations | Phrases to Repeat When Trying For a Baby

Affirmations aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but they’re something I’ve grown to love over the past few years. And so when it came time to get pregnant, and it wasn’t happening these are some of the phrases I would say out loud to myself. Choose the ones that feel right to you, write them down, and repeat them to yourself.

"My body is amazing and wise. It knows exactly what to do.”

“My womb is warm. My heart is open. My body is ready to carry our baby now.”

“My body is capable and strong.”

"I am healthy. I am beautiful. My body is incredible.”

"I am ready to create life. My body is ready to create life.”

"I’m taking care of myself, preparing my body for a healthy pregnancy.”

“I am enough. My body is enough.”

“My womb is a lush jungle of warmth, love and nourishment.”

"I allow myself to be loved, and to create a new life out of that love.”

"My cycle is balanced. My eggs and fluid are healthy.”

"The most perfect egg is preparing to be released by my ovary, and the most perfect sperm is preparing to fertilize it.”

"I have everything it takes to become pregnant.”

"I’m letting go of any emotional blocks keeping me from conceiving.” 

"My body knows how to conceive a healthy baby.” 

“I am not upset when others announce their pregnancy. I don’t know their journey to get there.” 

“I am fertile!”

“Every time my period comes I celebrate my body for functioning correctly.”

“I join a community of women working towards creating life within their own bodies.” 

“My baby will come to me at exactly the right time, in exactly the right way.”

“I speak to myself the same way I would talk to a friend.”

“I am happy. I am healthy. I am ready."

Things That Kept Me Sane While Trying to Conceive

I think there are many of us who head into the journey of trying to conceive pretty naive. And there’s nothing wrong with that, but so many of us end up with a rude awakening to our fertility (but there are plenty who are lucky and conceive right away).

I’m not here to claim I know everything or that I had the same experience that someone who’s been trying to conceive for several years has had. So if you’ve been at this for two years and I offend you by any of my suggestions or anything I say, I apologize. I can only speak from my experience. 

Let me start by sharing two previous blog posts if you missed them:

+ My Journey to Pregnancy

+ My D+C Experience After a Blighted Ovum

So, long story short, it took us 11 months of trying, one blighted ovum miscarriage and D+C to get to our little nugget we have now cooking in my belly. 

But today I want to talk about those months of trying, the doubts and fears and things I tried to stay sane and carry on with normal life. 

Trying to get pregnant is just a lot of waiting. Like, a lot. 

Waiting at the beginning of your cycle for your period to end, for your fertile phase, and then waiting to see if you were successful that cycle. 

And I quickly came to realize I needed something to distract myself from obsessing over it all. 

So, this is just a brain vomit list of all the things that came to mind as I thought back over our journey of trying to get pregnant. But to reiterate, we didn’t have any fertility issues (that we know of) it just took us time. But if you’re struggling with infertility, treatments and all that, feel free to disregard this list. 

But, in no particular order:

+ Reading books — I just love reading books in general, but reading was super helpful. When I was in the mood to think about babies and pregnancy I would pick up a book on that topic. When I needed to distract myself and think about something else I was able to find so many great books to just escape into. 

+ Hanging out with friends and family — This has been something important for me over the past several years, but you can’t coop yourself up during this process. You need to get out and be social. To talk and think about stuff besides getting pregnant. But it’s also OK to have conversations about it too. 

+ Don’t forget about relationship with partner — TTC is always exciting at first. You kind of feel like a rebel, like ooh mom I’m 26 and gonna get knocked up. But it can wear you down real fast. Make sure you’re making time for each other outside of the whole baby making universe. Keep the romance alive, and pay attention to their feelings on the situation. 

+ Self-care — Pamper yourself. This means something different to everyone, but paint your nails, give yourself a facial, soak in the bath tub. Set aside some you time. When you’re trying and not getting pregnant you can start to get upset with your body and feel like it’s letting you down. Be kind to your body and mind. 

+ Journal — I can’t recommend this enough. Grab a random school notebook with no pressure to be poetic or have good writing. Just sit down and get whatever is inside your head out and onto paper. I promise it helps, so much. Even if you’re not you can feel like pregnancy is all you think about and talk about and people are sick of it. Get all of that out of your head and into your notebook. 

+ Meditation — Not everyone’s cup of tea. And even I’m not consistent at it. But when I get really anxious about something (and I was getting anxiety about oh my god what if I can’t ever get pregnant or have a baby of my own?) meditation is so beneficial to just bring you back down to earth and calm your mind and thought process. 

+ Create a “registry” — I’ve been working on my baby wish list long before I was pregnant or we were trying to conceive. But there was something soothing about working on my wish list that made me feel good. Like researching the perfect stroller or cloth diaper system made me feel like I was doing something to aid the process. And I would tell myself like when you are pregnant you’re not going to have to worry about all this because it’ll be ready to go.

+ Choose a few things to try out to boost cycle — There is an overwhelming number of recommendations when it comes to what you should be doing TTC. But taking a supplement, cutting something out, etc. can give you that feeling that you’re “doing” something. And it really can’t hurt. I focused on boosting my cervical fluid or healing my luteal phase. 

+ Drink your coffee, have your wine, etc. — When we first starting trying I stopped drinking alcohol, coffee, and was kind of anal honestly about being “perfect”. Well that only lasted a few months before I was like Girl calm the fuck down and drink some wine. So, I kept my coffee to the recommended 2 cups of coffee or less a day. And I would let myself drink up until ovulation and then I would take a “just in case” break until my period came again 

+ Stop charting — controversial coming from me, I know. But sometimes you have to realize what’s helping the process, and what’s making you crazy. We (I mean, I) was so focused on my chart, when I was fertile and when we were supposed to be having sex that it took all the fun out of it. Michael felt like a stud horse and that I only wanted to be physical with him to get a baby out of the deal. Taking a break from charting was one of the best things we did while TTC, but I still knew when I was most fertile because of my cervical fluid. 

+ Creating content ideas list of videos I wanted to make — Ok, this one is specific to content creators. But the whole time we were trying I had all these ideas for blogs, videos, vlogs that I wanted to create and share with you guys. But I couldn’t because I didn’t want to open up about TTC yet. So I just made a killer list of content ideas that has come in super handy now. 

+ Avoid forums — Or at least limit yourself to how much time you’re spending on them. There is literally always going to be someone out there with the same exact symptoms as you who is pregnant or not pregnant. 

+ Try not to test — This isn’t for everyone, but don’t start testing 8 DPO. You’re going to drive yourself mad cycle after cycle squinting and stressing about tests. For some reason I was always more upset to see a negative test than I was to get my period. So I just made it a rule that I had to wait until I was supposed to get my period before I could take a test. Unless there was some sort of event that I would want to know I was pregnant before (aka thanksgiving day race). But testing gave me so much anxiety and was always such a let down that I just had to not do it. 

+ Watch birthing videos — Why not start prepping for labor and birth now? I would have to limit these to when I was in the hopeful mood, and not the crap, my period just came mood. But watching birth vlogs has been something I’ve enjoyed for years. I think it’s great to see a variety of birth stories, styles, options, you name it. Even if you can’t see a live birth before you give birth it’s good to get an idea of what can happen before you’re in that position. 

+ Declutter and deep clean house — Maybe I’m just a weirdo but I find deep cleaning and decluttering really soothing. And I always feel really accomplished after it. It’s just another area that you can feel you have control over, when you kind of just feel like you don’t have any control over your TTC journey. 

+ Exercise — As much for your mental health as for your physical health. There’s all sorts of benefits both ways, but when you’re feeling upset or frustrated there’s nothing better than going on a hike, run or pumping some weights. 

Control what you can, and try your best to let go what you have no control over. There are so many emotions and thoughts wrapped up in the TTC journey. You have to do what’s best for you and your mental well-being because it can be a very stressful and draining experience. 

Now that I’m pregnant I try to routinely step back and remind myself of how I felt trying to get pregnant, my worries and fears, and to just tell myself see, you did it, remember this next time something is difficult. 

Getting Back Into Exercise After First Trimester

At 17 weeks I had a good cry about my changing body and what had been ingrained in me for my entire life (staying a certain weight). Turns out that watching the scale going up at each appointment gave me mixed feelings, and some major emotions bubbled to surface. 

This was something I did not expect at all. 

I’m so excited to be pregnant, to grow a baby, to get a belly. But turns out the weight side of things and my changing body triggered some deep underlying emotions I didn’t expect. 

And while I’m not doing it for the vanity of it, getting back into exercise now that I’m in my second trimester has been a positive change for many reasons. 

I have so much more energy when I’m exercising regularly. 

Turns out it’s really good for not only you but that baby you’re growing too. 

It makes me feel better about my changing body knowing that I’m keeping it strong and fit, ready for birth and life after that. 

Right before I found out I was pregnant I was doing my 30 Day Morning Challenge, which consisted of me exercising first thing every single morning. And it was a great little routine I had going. 

But then the anxiety of a recent miscarriage led me to stop exercising all together. I was so worried that pushing myself too hard, lifting too much weight, or squatting was somehow going to hurt my chances of keeping this pregnancy. 

And at the time for my emotional well-being the best thing to do was take a break from it. 

Well, then I started feeling really crummy in the morning, as most pregnant women do. And this led to the morning not being the time to do my exercise anymore. 

And then beyond nausea was my worst pregnancy symptom, exhaustion. I was so unbelievably unenergetic throughout the rest of the day. That made doing anything was hard. Looking back I know exercise would have helped my energy level, but I was just trying to stay afloat back then. 

But now that I’m here, and my energy and motivation has returned, I’m so happy to be getting back to exercise. 

I checked with my midwife to make sure I didn’t have any restrictions on what I could do. The only thing she said she didn’t want me doing was a really intense ab workout. Michael laughed at that and said don’t worry. 

The main thing I wanted to make sure I could do was run when it got warmer out. I really want to do a 12k in May when I will be around 30 weeks pregnant. I always said that one of the first things I wanted to do when I found out I was pregnant was sign up for a race. I need something to work towards and a race provides that for me. 

But for now, since it’s still pretty cold out, and I know I won’t go out and run until it’s above freezing I’m limited to what I can do inside. 

I started off by just going down to the gym in our building and walking on the treadmill for 10-15 minutes. 

Now, I’ve worked up to 15-20 minutes at an incline as well as some weighted or body weight exercises after that. No abs, don’t worry. Just a lot of squats and leg exercises as well as some arm stuff too. 

I can’t wait to get outside when it gets warmer and I’m so thrilled that it will be August when baby comes so I can go out on walks with them. 

What did exercise look like for you while you were pregnant, and how did that change with each trimester? 

When Your Pants Don't Fit + You're Too Small For Maternity Clothes Still

I know it takes several months to look “pregnant” but man I’m ready to have a bump. 

I don’t know about others but I was immediately bloated, not uncomfortable bloated, just looked that way. My stomach would fluctuate in size throughout the day, even now halfway in. 

And my pants quickly became uncomfortable. Some are fine in the morning, but by the end of the day I want to take a pair of scissors to them. 

So, today I wanted to talk about that weird limbo between your current pants not being comfortable anymore but not being “big” enough to fit into maternity pants. 

The first trick is going for your stretchy pants. These are going to become your best friend. At the beginning leggings were great because they were flexible enough. Now I’m down to one pair that still fits comfortably for most of the day. 

The next trick is the hairband on the jeans one. You take a hairband/rubberband and loop it through the button hole of your pants attaching it to the button to give you several inches of belly room. 

I didn’t love that trick for long for some reason. 

But an alternative to that that I did enjoy was a belly band. You wear it over the top of your jeans, covering the button and zipper area and it’s tight enough to hold your pants up and together without being too tight to where its digging into your stomach. 

This allowed me to wear my jeans again, but I did find that it looked lumpy so you just can’t wear tight fitting tops with the belly band and rubber band tricks. 

And finally I made my first transition into maternity wear, starting with maternity leggings. The kind that have the stretchy waistband (like you see with a lot of maternity jeans) didn’t fit my bump yet, and looked really baggy. 

What I found were these normal looking high waisted leggings that had a fitted, but super flexible waistband that were tight enough to stay up but stretch enough for my bump. These are still loose some days, but it’s totally manageable. 

And finally try out a few different brands of maternity wear, because while you might not fit into the Target brands maternity leggings and jeans you may fit into another. 

I went shopping with my sister at the end of February, and found a second pair of maternity leggings for literally 1/6 of the price of my first that I bought at a big store. And I found a pair of maternity jeans that not only fit my bump with room to grow but were $8, both a steal of a deal compared to full price. And this made me feel better about getting a few maternity pieces without worrying that I was breaking the bank getting things that I wouldn’t wear all the time. 

Now, if you’re pregnant in the summer months this opens up a whole different world of possibilities. 

I cannot wait until it’s warm enough to wear my overall shorts and my flowy summer dresses. Not to mention stretchy skirts, dresses, you name it. 

I’m very grateful that the second half of my pregnancy is in the warmer months, when my normal wardrobe will work perfectly!

What did you do for this in between stage to stay comfortable? 

My D+C Experience After a Blighted Ovum

As I went through this experience myself I was so grateful for all the women out there that shared their experiences, and I knew one day I would sit down and share my own to continue the chain of support. 

When I was told that I had a blighted ovum, and therefore was “miscarrying” I was given three options. 

1. Wait for my body to miscarry naturally.

2. Take the pill Misoprostol to induce a miscarriage. 

3. Get a D+C to clear out the contents of my uterus. 

I knew right away that I didn’t want to wait for it to happen on its own. 

I wanted to get back to square one as soon as possible. 

So, initially I was leaning towards taking the pill. Quick, easy and hopefully inexpensive. 

I told my midwife I wanted to think about it and I’d get back to her. 

But then we talked to a friend of a friend who had actually had two blighted ovums back to back, taken the pill the first time and had a D+C the second time. 

Everyone’s experience is different, but she strongly recommended the D+C because she had such an awful experience with the pill. 

I then did my own research, creating a pro and con list for both, but ultimately settling on the D+C. 

While I was devastated about the blighted ovum I wanted to get my cycle back and healthy as fast as possible so we could start trying again. 

I had to confirm I was “miscarrying” with two blood tests done 48 hours apart to make sure my HCG levels were going down. Those were fine. I’m getting pretty good with needles at this point. And because it was a blighted ovum I didn’t have that hope of oh maybe my levels are going up and baby is ok. 

From there I had to get another ultrasound so the doctor who would be performing my D+C could get better pictures of my uterus and ovaries. I wasn’t super stoked about this, but I scheduled in for one none-the-less. 

Then I had the nice surprise of finding out it was a transvaginal ultrasound when we got to the room. Yay. 

This was honestly probably the worst part of the whole experience (besides the obvious fact that I wasn’t going to be having a baby in 7 months). 

No small talk or anything, just my legs shaking from holding them awkwardly open for 20 minutes as she swirled and probed around in my vagina taking pictures of all my internal organs, or at least that’s what it felt like. 

After that I was finally able to schedule in for my D+C. From the time of my midwife appointment to when I got to get my D+C was around two weeks. I would have loved to just go in the next day, but oh well. 

So, it’s no eating after a certain point before your procedure. For me it was midnight because my appointment was around 8 a.m. 

Paperwork and waiting. 

Then I moved to another, more medical waiting room, where I got to undress, put all my belongings into a bag and change into my new outfit— one hospital robe around the front and the other around the back like a cardigan. 

A nurse came in to put in my IV, which wasn’t super pleasant because it just sat there and pulled at my skin for the rest of the time, but there are worse things that could happen. 

More waiting, then the doctor came in to talk me through things. 

Then my anesthesiologist came in to chat. 

And then they came to wheel me back. Michael kissed me on the forehead and went to wait for me in a different room. 

I was surprised to find it was a full on surgery room I was wheeled into. They put on my compression socks, got me situated on the bed and the anesthesiologist said he was going to start the medicine that was going to knock me out. 

As he waited for it to kick in he asked me what I did. And the last thing I remember is laughing and saying “Actually, I teach women about their menstrual cycles.”

And then the next thing I remember is coming to in a different recovery room. Groggy as hell and apparently telling the nurse checking my vitals all about the Thai soccer team that was stuck in the cave in Thailand. This part makes me laugh still, who knows what I was saying about it, or whether it made any sense at all. 

Then they wheeled me to my final recovery room where Michael came in to sit with me for a bit before switching out with my mom since I had to sit there until I was fully with it, and then some. 

I got some snacks and juice. And a Rhogham shot in my butt because I’m Rh negative. 

It was really nice having my mom there. She just sat there and knit and we chatted back and forth. 

And then she drove me home. 

All in all the actual D+C was a pleasant experience. I’m so happy I was knocked out as they poked around inside my uterus clearing out my empty gestational sac. And the doctor said that the scans of my uterus and ovaries looked beautiful so there was one positive that came out of the transvaginal experience. 

Plus once I went back into the surgery room it went pretty quick. Michael even said he didn’t even wait that long before his buzzer went off. That’s right, I forgot, they gave him one of those little buzzers like you get a restaurant to know when your table or food is ready. 

Would I chose it again in the same situation again, yes. Do I wish that it wasn’t such a wait to get it and that it wasn’t so expensive, also yes. 

Everyone’s experience is different, and it’s an emotional one for sure. I hope that by sharing mine I can help ease the fear of someone headed into get their own. 

Boosting Cervical Fluid Quality + Improving My Luteal Phase

Today I want to talk about what I did to boost the quality of my cervical fluid and improve my luteal phase. They were two separate “projects”, but both very important in having a healthy cycle. 

[Disclaimer: Everything I’m sharing with you today is from my own personal experience. I’m not recommending any of this as actual medical advice so please make sure you do your own research.]

Ovulation is obviously a very important part to your cycle, and if you’re trying to get pregnant then very important. But a lot of people forget about the role of good cervical fluid and an adequate luteal phase. 

So, let’s start by talking about cervical fluid. What is its role in your fertility? 

Your cervical fluid is made up of water, sugars, electrolytes and proteins that nourish and protect sperm. These are all important ingredients when it comes to getting his sperm to your egg. 

Your fluid provides an alkaline environment for his sperm. Our vaginas are naturally slightly acidic and “hostile" to sperm. Like his semen, your fertile fluid is alkaline which helps sperm make their way through the vagina. 

There are different types of cervical fluid ranging from dry and sticky to creamy and egg-white. And certain types are more fertile than others. 

Least fertile to most fertile descriptors:

— dry or no fluid present

— tacky, sticky, or gummy

— creamy or lotiony 

— egg-white

— watery/egg-white

It takes at least a cycle to notice the difference between which types your body produces. But if you do chart it and notice that it never really gets past feeling like rubber cement then you might have some difficulties when it comes to conceiving. 

Think of it this way. Your cervical fluid can either act like a spider web, catching or trapping your partner’s sperm, or like a fun ol’ slip and slide up to your egg. 

So, what are some things you can do to make sure you’re getting that good, baby making egg-white quality cervical fluid? 

The first thing you need to do is drink more water. Boring, yeah, but your cervical fluid is 90% water so if you’re not hydrated enough it’s obvious your fluid is going to suffer. 

Another thing I did was take a primrose oil supplement from Cycle Day 1 until I ovulated, where I would then switch to a flax oil supplement until my next cycle started. And this is because primrose can potentially cause your uterus to contract. 

One weird thing that I tried out, but didn’t think would have an impact was drinking grapefruit juice, as well as other citrus juices leading up to ovulation. I got a big bag of grapefruit and started juicing them around Cycle Day 10 (I normally ovulated between CD 13-15). 

And eating more veggies is said to be helpful in creating that alkaline environment necessary for not zapping his guys. 

Eating raw garlic was another one I saw, but I never gave that a try. But the cycle I started drinking more water, grapefruit juice and taking 1500 mg of evening primrose oil leading up to ovulation there was a big difference in the amount and quality of my egg-white fluid. 

Ok, what about some things that could be negatively impacting the quality of your cervical fluid? 

+ Accutane (an acne medication) 

+ Pain drugs (advil, idol, ibuprofen, aleve, etc.)

+ Antidepressants (zoloft, prozac)

+ Clomid (fertility drug)

+ Antihistamines (Sudafed, Claritin)

+ Motion Sickness (Benadryl, Dramamine)

+ Laxatives 

+ Progesterones

+ Antibiotics 

+ Hormonal Birth Control

And I think this list is just worth mentioning because often we don’t think of how medications affects us. 

Next, let’s move into the luteal phase, and what I did to improve mine.

My cycle is pretty regular and on schedule, but one thing I have found that throws it out of whack is flinging my body through many different time zones. 

It’s usually after a big international trip that I start spotting more and more before my period, sometimes 9 days or more. 

A “normal” luteal phase is anywhere between 11 and 17 days, with the average somewhere between 12 and 14 days long. 

So, if you’ve noticed that your luteal phase is shorter than 10 days that’s not the best when it comes to giving a fertilized egg long enough to implant in your uterus and send signals back to your ovaries to have the corpus luteum keep producing progesterone to keep the lining of your uterus in place. Because obviously if your uterus starts shedding that’s not great for your fertilized egg. 

I tried a few different supplements that didn’t have any impact on my spotting before discovering Vitex. 

I’ve made a few videos about this before so you can watch those here, here, here, here and here. 

I ordered this Vitex (two bottles), which is two pills per dose. After my period ended I would start taking those two pills each day throughout the rest of my cycle, taking a break again when my period came. And I would do that for 2-3 cycles, but often my spotting would clear up in that first cycle of taking it. 

Actually, the cycle before I got pregnant I had 6 days of spotting leading up to my period, and of course I thought, crap that’s not good. So I started taking Vitex the following cycle. 

Well, then I found out I was pregnant. I’m not sure what exactly you’re supposed to do in this situation but I just cut down to one pill a day and then just stopped taking it within a week or two. 

And that’s what I did to get my cycle in tip top shape when it came to killer cervical fluid and a strong luteal phase. 

For anyone trying to get pregnant I always recommend looking into a few things that boost your cervical fluid because they are nonintrusive and good quality fluid is so important. 

Estrogen Deficiency

So, I’ve talked a lot before about progesterone deficiencies because that’s something I have experience with personally. And so while I don’t have personal experience with estrogen deficiencies I wanted to try to balance it out with just doing some research and sharing what I’ve found. 

But take all of this with a grain of salt, I'm no expert and I’m not pretending to be. 

This is simply to get your wheels turning if you’re experiencing any of this. You don’t have to struggle, solutions are out there for you. 

Alright let’s start with the importance of estrogen. At puberty it helps with the growth of our breasts, pubic and armpit hair as well as helps start our wonderful menstrual cycles. 

As you get older it keeps your cholesterol where it’s supposed to be, protects your bones (for both men and women), and it impacts your brain, heart and skin. All things I would have no idea had anything to do with estrogen if I hadn’t been told that. 

When we think of estrogen we think of the reproductive system and menstrual cycle. Our ovaries are what produce the largest amount of estrogen in our body. It is also made in our adrenal glands as well as fat tissues. 

A lot of things can influence how much estrogen our bodies make. We can have too much estrogen because of things like birth control pills or estrogen replacement therapy. 

Next let’s go into the symptoms of an estrogen deficiency (and it’s worth noting it’s normal to experience some of these at different points in your cycle when your estrogen levels are naturally lower):

+ hot flashes

+ irregular periods (common to have light or nonexistent periods)

+ depression and mood swings

+ breast tenderness

+ increased UTI’s

+ fatigue

+ trouble concentrating

+ weight gain

+ hair loss

+ insomnia

+ dry skin

+ vaginal dryness

+ night sweats

+ loss of libido

Estrogen is an important part of how our bodies function. “It builds bone, strengthens muscle, slows aging, raises libido, enhances insulin sensitivity and boosts serotonin.” 

It can be common for women going through menopause or peri-menopause to be low in estrogen. 

But if you’re young and therefore shouldn’t be experiencing menopause you might not be ovulating, which is the key event in menstrual health. 

If you’re experiencing irregular cycles, anovulatory cycles, or other hormonal imbalances I hate to say it but hormonal birth control is not the answer. It is not going to “balance out your hormones” it’s going to shut off ovulation and therefore stop estradiol (one of your natural estrogens). 

If you’re reading this and think “this is me!” don’t stress out. I love the book Period Repair Manual for hormonal imbalances as well as Lara Briden and Alisa Vitti’s websites. While I’m not in a position to recommend treatment there are lovely women out there like Lara and Alisa who can. 

Have any of you dealt with too little estrogen? What did you find helped you, or are you still searching for an answer? 

My Most Popular Videos of 2018 | FemmeHead

The end of the year is a great time to get reflective. 

I was curious what my most popular videos on YouTube were this year, and I thought, what the heck, I’ll share the list with everyone. 

So, here are the top 15 videos for FemmeHead this year. If you haven’t watched one you might enjoy it. 

1. Minimalism | Yearly Big Declutter 

2. Favorite Period Products | 2018 

3. Two Weeks in a Carry-On 

4. Difference Between Cervical Fluids 

5. Why I Switched to a Plant-Based Diet 

6. Getting Started | Choosing a Cup 

7. 12 Things that Make My Period Easier 

8. Outfits I’m Wearing From My Capsule 

9. Spring Capsule Wardrobe 

10. How I Get My Life Together | Reset Day 

11. Things That Can Mess With Temp + Fluid 

12. What I’m Packing For Sri Lanka 

13. My 26 Piece Fall Capsule Wardrobe  

14. Making the Most Out Of Your Phases 

15. How I Use My Bullet Journal 

What was your favorite video I did this year? Did it make the top 15?

Self-Care Without Blowing the Bank

I love reading through lists of self-care inspiration because I always stumble upon a few that I think, you know what, that sounds absolutely divine. So today I tried to curate a list of 50 things that I enjoy doing to indulge myself without having to spend a bunch of money.

I tried to group them together by similar things, but it’s really just a random list. Enjoy

1. take a bath (add some bubbles, salt, a bath bomb. light a candle, drink a big glass of water during, turn down the lights)

2. paint your nails (or just give yourself a mani/pedi at home, trim, file add some oil to your cuticles)

3. put on a face mask (whether that’s a sheet mask, one from the store or homemade)

4. put on a little make up and do your hair

5. lather up with some lotion after a body scrub (I always feel extra indulged after doing this)

6. put on some soft warm socks and comfy lounge clothes (tis the season)

7. meditate (either sit in silence for 5-10 minutes or put on a guided meditation)

8. stretch it out (plop down on your bed or living room rug and just spend 5 minutes stretching)

9. light a candle, incense (put on something smelly)

10. buy yourself some flowers (or pick some wild flowers, put them in a container and put em on display)

11. plan out your outfits for the week (cut down your decisions and spice things up)

12. wake up 30 minutes early (extra time to do things you want but don’t have time for)

13. go to bed early (guilt free, crawl into bed, turn off the lights and snooze)

14. take a nap (even if it’s just 15 minutes, it’s like hitting a reset button)

15. enjoy a mug of something warm (coffee, tea, hot chocolate, it’s all yummy and soothing)

16. drink a bunch of water (dewy skin, better digestion, less headaches, what’s not to love)

17. make a big pot of warm soup (not only delicious but you can eat it for several meals)

18. read a book from the library (make time first thing in the day or right before bed to read)

19. journal (morning pages, journaling prompts, there’s so many options)

20. write down what you want to let go of (what’s been weighing you down and not serving you?)

21. write a gratitude list (just all the things that you’re happy have happened or are in your life)

22. write down some affirmations (get on pinterest for some inspiration)

23. write down your bucket list (what do you want to do in your one life?)

24. get artsy ( doodle, paint, scrapbook, whatever your craft of choice is)

25. make a vision board from old magazines (I don’t do this often but I always love it)

26. make a to-do list, organize it between most important, that week, and some day

27. organize your photos (get them off your phone and into somewhere safe)

28. clean out your email (takes some time, but there’s no better feeling than having a clear inbox)

29. clean your house (whether it’s a 15 minute tidy or several hour deep clean)

30. wash your bedding (clean sheets feel oh so good)

31. declutter your closet (what don’t you wear and can donate?)

32. rearrange your furniture/decor (simple, but changes the atmosphere)

33. fold all your under-roo’s the Kon Mari way (and then move on to the rest of your clothes)

34. go for a walk in nature (it soothes the soul, especially when you live in the city)

35. watch the sunset (or the sunrise, just sit and watch it)

36. spend time with someone you love (grab a cup of coffee, visit them, whatever)

37. have a movie night with friends (their house or yours)

38. make a playlist of your feel good songs (and then listen to it)

39. indulge in a podcast (listen while you’re getting ready, cleaning up)

40. take a technology break for a day (or even just a few hours)

41. add a new habit to your day (what’s something you’ve wanted to add?)

42. start and end your day without harsh lighting (put on lamps, twinkle lights and candles)

43. play some boardgames with friends (have everyone bring their favorite)

44. do a puzzle (solo or with someone else)

45. watch a TedTalk (endless library of inspiration)

46. have a solo dance party in your living room or bedroom (put on some tunes and boogy)

47. go around your neighborhood, local park and pick up trash

48. get out of the city and look at the stars (I always forget how bright and beautiful they are)

49. find a body of water (walk around it, sit by it, look at it, get in it)

50. work outside if possible (grab your laptop, have a walking meeting)

There are endless options of self-care out there. Make sure you’re making time for yourself. It’s important and doesn’t have to cost anything. What are your favorite ways to take care of yourself?

30 Day Morning Challenge Info + Invite

This is an invitation to you, from me. 

It’s for those of us trying to add in or trade out a few habits to recreate our morning routines. I don’t know about you but I’ve found that my morning, what I do first thing in the day is what sets the structure for the rest of my day. 

It started because I’m constantly trying to tweak my routine to what works best and sets me up best for the day. Like everyone else I have my ideal routine, but making time for that or sticking to it is the challenge isn’t it? 

And so I got to thinking, what makes you accountable? Having someone else, right? Why not invite anyone who wants to join in to, you know, join in. So, I started putting out a few feelers her and there, and the response has been overwhelming. 

Right now as I write the rough draft for this blog (Tuesday, 7:50 am) I have over 650 amazing people joining in. What? That is insane, but in the best way possible. 

I’m going to talk through what I have planned, and you are invited to join in for as much as you want, or as little as you want. You can just take the free worksheets and use them, or you can join in on every live video, share your triumphs and struggles in the Facebook group, keep up on my vlog and Instagram. Your choice. 

Ok, so let’s get into how this is all going to go down.

First, I’d love if you would go here, and sign up for the 30 Day Morning Challenge with your email, and also get the free worksheets. I’m going to be sending out reminder emails and who knows what other goodies, so it would be great to be able to contact everyone in one place. (Not everyone has Facebook or Instagram, but I think everyone has an email.) 

Next, join the Facebook group (if you have Facebook of course. Props to those of you who never got it or have deleted it). This is where we can all share our goals, the habits we want to add, our worksheets, and our struggles. Plus it can be a place where we can all help each other stay accountable, offer advice and just being a loving supporting community. 

[Just a side note quick: not that I’m worried about this but I’m not down for any negativity, trolls or rudeness. If I see any of that you will be removed. “Ain’t nobody got time for that!”]

And finally you can get click to get a notification for the live stream on YouTube. It’s going to be on my second channel, where I’m also going to be doing updates on my vlog. 

The dates for the live streams are:

11.9 — the first live stream before the challenge begins so we can all set ourselves up for success!

11.12 — the challenge begins! (I’m going to be updating everyone on my vlog as well as my Instagram stories, and we’ll all be joining in on the Facebook group.)

11.19 — the first check-in which I have scheduled as a live video on YouTube. We’ll go through a worksheet I’ve created to access how we’re feeling, how we’re doing, where we can improve and how we can make those improvements.

11.26 — the second check-in, which is also a live video.

12.3 — third check- in!

12.10 — final check in + wrap up. I haven’t made the worksheets for this yet, but I know there will be a few 😉 

I hope you join in if it is something you’re interested in or curious about. Plus it’s completely free. You’re very welcome. Let me know what you’re looking to get out of this experience with me so I can craft it into something that benefits you.

Fall Exercise Ideas

I thought it would be fun to sit down and brainstorm different activities and exercises to do now that it’s fall. 

I’m the sort of person that is great at consistency if there is something I am training for, but it is much easier to talk myself out of something if I’m not. 

Make a point to do things that were "too hot" to do in the summer. Don’t use the excuse that “oh man it’s too cold out now”. Going for runs  as an example. I was terrible at waking up early to go running before it got hot, but now it’s crisp but I just need to grab a pair of gloves and a hat and I’ll be fine. Plus I’m a much better cool weather runner. 

There are also plenty of great indoor activities to do for those days that it might be a bit too crisp outside for you. So, in no particular order, her his my list of brainstorm list of fall exercises: 

+ Go to your apartment gym or try out some at-home exercises. There’s no excuses if you don’t even have to go outside into the cold. And this is a quick thing to do if I need a break from work for 30-45 minutes. I’ll just go down to my apartment gym and do a focused workout.  I just look up a workout on Pinterest depending on what area I want to work that day.

+ Go running. Either on the road, bike path or trail running has been my favorite recently. You actually warm up pretty quick so you don’t even need to wear that many extra layers. And because it’s not overly humid with the sun beating down, you might actually be able to enjoy it more. 

+ Go to a hot yoga class. I need to get a punch card for the one here in Des Moines because there really is nothing like warming your bones and even working up a sweat when it’s frigid outside. And yoga is great because you can take it easy or push yourself just by tweaking how far you push the moves. And you can always just lay in child’s pose and soak up the heat. 

+ Go on a walk outside to enjoy the changing leaves. You can walk around your town, hit up a park or even find some trails to hike through. Walking gets your blood pumping but is great for those days that you’re not feeling very energetic. 

+ Go to a rock climbing gym. This isn’t a frequent one for me but I always love it and man my arms do too. You can go alone and do some bouldering, make a friend to belay you on the walls or bring someone with you. 

+ Go to a swimming pool. Our local YMCA just finished theirs, and I haven’t gotten over to try it out yet. Swimming isn’t one of my strengths but what better place to just practice than a pool? Then maybe I wouldn’t feel like I was drowning when I decide to do a random triathlon out of the blue. 

+ Go on a bike ride. This is another one of those things that you might put off when it’s too hot out, but can be great when it starts to cool off. Just put a thin hat on under your helmet and some gloves should do the trick. 

+ Go run a 5k. Get your family to sign up for a turkey trot on thanksgiving together before you go home and fill up on food. If you’re here in Iowa that’s where I’ll be Thanksgiving Day (downtown putting on the race). 

+ Go do your own sprint triathlon at your local gym/YMCA. Ok, so this one might seem a little out there, but if there’s a pool, stationary bikes and a treadmill or a track you could totally do it. And you can even change in between your swim and the final two legs to make it more comfortable. Do a 750m swim, 20k on the bike, and finish with a 5k run.

There are so many fun things you can do for exercise this season, and these are just a few of the things I want to try out. What type of exercise are you exited to do?  

Fall is Like Your Luteal Phase

I love the concept that the seasons exist within your menstrual cycle, and I definitely believe there is some truth to this. 

And by exploring this I believe you can gain a better understanding of your cycle. So, in honor of the changing seasons we’re going to talk about how fall is like our luteal phase. 

First off, your luteal phase is the end of your cycle before your period comes and your cycle starts again. Depending on the length of your particular cycle it is roughly the last week of your cycle. 

So, fall is like your luteal phase, but what about the rest of your cycle? 

Well, winter is like your menstrual phase (your period), spring is like your follicular phase and summer is similar to your ovulatory phase. 

And some cycles I feel like my luteal phase is more like what I expect my menstrual phase to be, than what my period is actually like. 

It’s like vacation, often there’s a lot of build up and excitement leading up to vacation that actually lasts longer than the trip itself. And I find that my period is like that. My body and mind prepares for it longer than it actually lasts. 

So, the first similarity between fall and our final phase — we slow down. 

The energy and excitement of summer, and our ovulatory phase, wears off. If you stop to pay attention you will notice this. 

Our physical energy wains, but that isn’t necessarily a negative. Because even though physically we are pushed to slow down, mentally we’re very active and creative during this phase. 

I don’t know about you but I’m already thinking about next year, about potential goals, things I want to do and accomplish. 

And just like that our luteal phase is the perfect time to focus inward, to reflect, think and dig deep within ourselves. 

For anything you’ve been hanging onto, dragging around with you, that’s no longer serving you, this is a great time to let that extra baggage go. 

As your physical energy slows down, you may find yourself more tired than before. This reminds me of the dreary, gray weather we’re currently experiencing here in Iowa, and how this always effects my energy level. 

I feel like it’s mother nature’s way of preparing me for the hibernation of winter and my period. Yes, there are those who are super active during the winter. (We don’t have any mountains to snowboard down here unfortunately. And I’m a bit of a hermit in the winter. I like to be warm, snuggled up and cozy.) 

But I’ve been working on my relationship with winter. Well, I started last year trying to change my attitude towards the season. And learning about hygge really helped me. 

These next parts are necessarily season specific, but I’ve been feeling a draw towards them currently as the season is changing. 

I have this pull towards evolving, stepping outside my comfort zone. Doing things that are obviously going to benefit me, but I’m feeling uncomfortable about doing. 

I’m trying to break down a few walls of comfort in an effort to evolve as a business, a brand and as a person. I’m working towards being uncomfortable, whether thats in a professional way, or pushing myself in my own life. 

Instead of retreating back to where I feel comfortable when I hit that resistance, I’m trying to be ok in that sensation. Because I know that’s where growth happens. 

It’s not fun, but it’s important. 

The luteal phase is also where I find myself wanting more space and time to myself. So, I try to schedule that in. I’ve been working from home more. I find the balance between being social and being by myself depending on where I am in my cycle.

I made sure I had this past Sunday at home to get all the little things done around the house that I wanted to. I just really wanted to make a cup of coffee, put on some music and clean my apartment. 

I find something about ending my week that way very cathartic, and it sends me into the upcoming week feeling fresh, revived and ready to go. 

And just like that I like to plan out some time to do things that I want during my different phases. 

What do you feel yourself drawn towards at the end of your cycle?

Pushing Yourself Outside Your Comfort Zone

I am one of those people who can be a bit of a hermit. I know what I like, don’t like and what I’m comfortable doing. 

It is always a challenge when I first push myself outside my comfort zone, but it is usually always so rewarding.

And the three areas I’m going to talk about today are social, work and athletic.  

Let’s start with the easy one — athletically.

I’ve never considered myself an athletic person really. I was like the only one in my family that really did sports growing up, and I wasn’t ever really on varsity. 

But being an adult and having more control over what you do is a great thing. And I’ve been able to discover different things that I love. 

You’re probably aware that I didn’t really get into running until just last summer. Michael challenged me to run a marathon, and I thought what the heck, why not. So, I trained for a ran a marathon. 

Through that I also discovered trail running. I’ve always enjoyed going on hikes and walks, but trail running is so much fun. Plus, I think I prefer it over just regular running. 

Also last summer I decided to give a sprint triathlon a try, even though I hadn’t been training for one (outside my marathon training), but I wanted a new challenge, was bored with just running, and felt in decent shape. 

The challenge for my with doing triathlons is that I’m not the most efficient swimmer. Like I’m not going to drown, but I feel so slow. 

But at a certain point you just realize, what’s the worse that’s going to happen? I’m going to have to get pulled out of the water? Or maybe backstroke? 

Who cares?

I did my second sprint triathlon around a month ago, and I have not been running or training for anything currently, so I’m not in as good of shape as last summer. 

But I know what my body is capable of, and I was pretty sure that I could push myself through it. 

Once again I was nervous about the swim, and like 30 seconds into starting the race I thought, shit, I might have to get pulled out of the water. 

But I kept pushing myself, let go of feeling embarrassed and did the back stroke, and made it through the swim. 

There’s something I like about deciding to do a random tri without training. But maybe one of these days I will train for one. 

Work is another area that I find myself challenged in, but that’s a huge positive for me. I think I would get bored if I didn’t keep stretching myself, and pushing further and further. 

It was outside my comfort to start a YouTube channel, but look where that got me. 

It was outside my comfort zone to create a website, courses, to coach women about how to chart their menstrual cycles. But I wouldn’t be where I am without that. 

I was outside my comfort zone to do my first sponsored video, to talk to others about “what I did for work”. 

But looking back those steps seem so easy. 

And I try to remind myself of that when I’m facing my next challenge, whatever area of my life that is in. 

What’s something outside your comfort zone you’ve challenged yourself to, and how did you go about it?

Mindmapping Habits I Want to Add

I wrote a blog earlier this month about how I tried out mind mapping for the first time. And one of the first thing I mind mapped was habits I wanted to add to my days. 

Most of these are good habits that I’ve had on and off for a few years, but all that I knew would have a positive effect on my day to day. 

I wanted to dig into how I could add them into my day, specific times that might work best, what my specific goal was for that habit, and the benefits to each habit. 

So, I had a rough idea of what these habits were that I wanted to add, and the six I came up with were:

+ exercise

+ journal

+ meditate

+ hydrate

+ gratitude 

+ wake up early

Now, these might seem like pretty general habits most people wanted to add, but today I wanted to share how I broke each down into something tangible for me. 

So, the first thing I asked myself about each habit was what is my daily goal for this habit? 

exercise = 30 minutes each day

journal = write in one journal each day

meditate = either meditate or sit quietly for 10 minutes

hydrate = drink 80 - 120 oz of water each day

gratitude = write three gratitudes each evening 

wake up early = 6 am

I have to set specific goals, as I guess most people do, to follow through with them. 

The next thing I asked myself was, what specific time of day could I fit this goal into. Another important step to actually getting it done.

exercise = a morning walk or run, bike or walk places, take the stairs

journal = morning pages first thing, normal journal late afternoon

meditate = either in the morning before work, or when I need a break

hydrate = all day obviously but a glass before coffee and breaking it up between hours 

gratitude = first thing when I get into bed

wake up early = morning, duh

And finally I thought through different benefits I saw in each. 

exercise = important to move my body each day, good way to take a break during the day, get out in nature, clear my mind.

journal = document things, brain barf, more focused, think through things, clear mind, less anxiety, free therapy.

meditate = less anxiety, calmer mind, free therapy. 

hydrate = better skin, digestion and energy.

gratitude = more grateful and positive, less anxiety

wake up early = more productive in the morning, get my day started, get to have coffee. 

I thought through each habit one at a time, starting in the center with “habits” and branching further and further from there.

I then made a list in Wunderlist where I could store all the notes in an organized, tangible fashion. And it’s nice to have them in an easily accessible place where I can go check in on them and get inspired again if need be. 

I’ve been really good at journaling, daily gratitude and waking up early and not so great at hydrating, meditating and exercising. 

And I think that’s an important note to end on. You’re not going to seamlessly add this new habit into your life straight away. You’re going to mess up. Hell, you might even forget about it. But that’s ok. Failure doesn’t mean you can’t keep trying. 

Keep tweaking when you do it, how you do it and you’ll find the sweet spot in your days to add it to. 

What are some habits you’ve been working to add, or maybe remove from your day to day life?  

Too Much Estrogen?

Today I just wanted to share some gathered information I had on having too much estrogen, what that means, how it presents and what you can do. 

Excess estrogen is normally caused by a higher production by your ovaries as well as your body not being able to process and get rid of estrogen properly. 

Symptoms:

+ gaining weight unexpectedly, trouble loosing it, find weight sitting around hips, bloating

+ tender swollen boobs as well as fibrocystic breasts

+ heavier periods

+ mood swings

+ low libido

+ headaches

+ hair loss

+ poor memory

+ trouble sleeping

+ feeling exhausted

+ a normal cycle that becomes irregular, as well as shorter cycles

+ cold hands and feet

If you want to get test your estrogen levels it’s suggested that you test midway through luteal phase because you can test your progesterone level as well. Your estrogen level should be no higher than 270 pg/mL or 1000 pmol/L. 

Your doctor may prescribe some sort of hormone therapy, but if you’re curious about what you can do at home it most focuses on what you can do and eat to help your body flush out estrogen better. 

1. take care of your liver

     - drink less alcohol

2. eat more fiber

     - keep things moving

3. take a probiotic

     - keep your gut health in check

     - also avoid antibiotics for this reason

4. manage your stress levels

     - go outside

     - journal

     - meditate

     - whatever your techniques are

I don’t have a ton of experience with high levels of estrogen personally beyond having low progesterone and therefore more estrogen that progesterone, but I think it’s worth talking about. 

Think you might have an irregular cycle but not sure? Learning how to chart your cycle is a great way to not only learn about your cycle, but to gain a better understanding of what’s actually going on. And it might help you get answers faster. 

I’ve created a Chart Your Cycle course for those new to charting. If you’re curious and want to learn more, click here. 

Things That Could Be Messing With Your Menstrual Cycle

Ok, so I’ve been really into making lists lately. 

And today I wanted to talk about the variety of things that could be messing with your cycle. 

But first, a fun fact. Did you know that only ovulation can be delayed, not your period? I remember back in the day hearing gals tell other gals, “As soon as you stop worrying about your period being late, it will show up.” Basically saying that by stressing over the fact your period had not shown up would somehow delay it from showing up. Oh, and I believed it. 

You can, however, delay ovulation by being stressed out (as well as other things), and that, in turn, will extend your cycle as a whole, making your period late. But as long as you’ve ovulated your cycle is pretty much set from there. 

So, starting with stress, here’s a list of a few things that can mess with your cycle:

+ stress — cortisol is no joke.

+ travel — even if you’re having fun, hurtling your body through different time zones and schedules can throw your cycle out of whack. I should know. 

+ sleep — goes along with the whole cortisol thing. 

+ diet — your hormone production is partially affected by what you eat. 

+ alcohol — having too many drinks can mess things up.

+ exercise — when I was deciding on training for a marathon or not one of my concerns was messing up my cycle with that. 

+ weighing too much, or too little — you want a nice cocktail of hormones for everything to run smoothly in your body. Just like having too little fat/estrogen can mess things up, so can having too much. 

+ medicine — of all varieties can impact your cycle in many ways

+ smoking — worse PMS, less oxygen getting around your body, and messes with most hormones. 

+ sickness — goes back up to the cortisol thing.

+ breastfeeding — from what I hear your hormones can be a bit whacky as it as after giving birth to a baby, but did you know that breastfeeding suppresses your fertility? 

I think the most important take away today is that having a balanced cycle is somewhat of a delicate dance. You need to be taking care of your body. And it’s not that hard. Avoid the things you know are bad for you, sleep more, eat your fruits and veggies, and find your choice of stress-reducing activities to try out. 

Obviously, there are more than just this list. And there are real hormonal imbalances that could be really screwing with how you feel, so don’t just write everything off. If you know something doesn’t feel right go figure out what’s going on.

It might be a simple fix or change you can make, but it also might be something you need help with. 

I just made a video this week about why you should consider charting more than just your basal temperature and cervical fluid. You can go watch that here. 

And if you haven’t heard of or tried out charting for yourself, but are interested in learning more. I have a great course for those new to FAM (Fertility Awareness Method) and the sympto-thermal method more specifically. You can check that out and sign up here!

Have there been things that you’ve noticed impact your cycle? What were/are they and how have you fixed it?  

How I Celebrate the New Moon

I’ve always admired the moon, but it wasn’t until the past few years that I started ‘celebrating’ the different phases of the moon. And it’s really just an acknowledgement rather than like a seance in the woods. 

And I don’t do it every month, but there are just those times where you’re drawn to doing something to commemorate it.

First off, I want to share some of the phases of the moon. I normally focus on the new moon for some reason. And I always notice the full moon, as well as have it on my calendar. Waxing and waining, not so much, although I do find them interesting.

I also think there is a similarity between the lunar cycle and the menstrual cycle, just like there’s connections between the seasons and our cycles as well.

So, below I have listed out four phases of the moon, the question you should ask yourself during that phase, what menstrual phase it correlates with, and what the essence of that phase is about. 

New Moon - “I want…"

+ menstrual phase

+ new beginnings, optimism, hope

Waxing Moon - “If I were free…” 

+ follicular phase

+ growth, learning

Full Moon - “I release…"

+ ovulatory phase

+ peak energy, gratitude

Waning Moon - “I feel…"

+ luteal phase

+ let go, cleanse, break habits

You can celebrate a phase however you see fit. Like I said above the one I find myself most drawn towards is the new moon, but every now and then I like to focus on the full moon as well. 

But today is about what I do on the new moon. 

Some people like to have a little new moon ritual, but I like to keep it more basic than that. 

I always wait until it’s dark out, turn off the harsh overhead lights, usually light a candle or an intense and use a lamp or the twinkle lights to illuminate what I’m doing. 

Other elements I like to add are music and a cup of tea or a glass of red wine. 

I haven’t been the best at meditating lately, but I like to at least take a few minutes to just sit there silently, if not meditating. 

Once I’ve created the atmosphere and mindset for it, I’ll begin. 

And my chosen ‘main event’ is to write a letter to the Universe. It’s a way to manifest what you want, put what you want into words and send it out into the universe.

I’ve talked before about writing letters to the universe, including a script of how I do it. You can read that here. 

Basically, I start by listing a few things I’m grateful for at that moment before getting into what I’m asking for. I then wrap it up with a few more thanks before signing the letter.

And although I write my letters in either my journal or in my Evernote app on my computer, there’s a sense of putting what it is you want out there and just leaving it along after that.

This doesn’t mean acting upon opportunities that come your way, it just means I’ve put it out there so I don’t need to fret about it anymore. 

Do you celebrate the new moon? What will your ritual/routine be this weekend when it comes around again? 

Taking a Personal/Mental Health Day

Sometimes we all need a little mental health day. This isn’t a sick day. Nah, I can keep working when I’m sick, which I do. 

But there are those days that you are mentally, physically and emotionally drained and just would be rubbish at work anyways so why not step back and take care of yourself for a day, or half day, or evening? 

+ Plan it out ahead of time:

- do you need to tell your boss

- what do you need to get done to step back

- put up an out of office on your email

- make a list of what you’re going to do with your time

+ What are you going to do?

- is it a productive, get shit done, sort of day?

- is it a sleep in, take care of yourself, sort of day? 

- or a combination of both?

Regardless there’s a few things to consider:

+ allow yourself to sleep in

     - but don’t over do it 

     - or wake up early

+ shower and get ready,

     - even if you’re wearing loungewear all day

+ don’t veg out all day

     - you can but you won’t feel refreshed

     - there’s time in the evening for this, or when you need a little break, but don’t lose your whole day doing this

+ eat nourishing meals (hell maybe even meal prep)

     - either make yourself something at home

     - get food, but not fast food (ok maybe one meal that not super healthy)

Some ideas of stuff to do:

+ go outside

     - go for a walk/hike

+ reconnect with someone 

     - write a letter, call someone, meet for coffee

+ make it about you (self-care)

     - put on a mask

     - take a bath

     - get a massage

     - do your nails

+ sundays are my GMLT (get my life together) day, but maybe you need a week day to do this — hit reset

     - laundry    

     - get groceries

     - clean my apartment

     - plan out my week

+ run errands you’ve been putting off

     - doesn’t seem exciting but you’ll feel good after

+ declutter an area of your house

     - go through your shoes, your bathroom drawers, fridge

+ journal 

     - it’s my free therapy, and I’m able to work through stuff

+ meditate

     - or sit quietly for 5-10 minutes

Your personal, mental health day can be anything you want it to be. It really is tempting to just veg out on Netflix all day (we’re all guilty of that), but I promise you’re going to head back to the real world feeling so much better if you’ve made time to do nourishing things for yourself. 

What are some of the things you do on a personal/mental health day, even if it’s on the weekend? And I should add that I know everyone can't take a day off work for themselves, but this doesn't mean you can skimp on these things. Make time for it in the evenings or on the weekends. 

Gut Health + Hormones

So, this is one of those things that I know is important, but haven’t really dug too deep into. And that's our gut flora, or gut microbiome.

I’ve noticed such a difference in my health and wellbeing from when I changed my diet and started paying more attention to what I was putting into and onto my body. 

So basically you’ve got a gut full of bacteria working hard to keep your body in order. The good bacteria in our gut are called probiotics, which we’ve all heard of.

Probiotics can help break down and recycle the hormones in our body, which is great because we don’t want too much of any hormone hanging around too long. 

And the big one that comes to mind here, and in the realm of our menstrual cycle, is estrogen. If our estrogen isn’t being properly discarded from our body it can wreak havoc on a lot of things. 

I’ve mentioned our endocrine system before, but I need to start talking about it more often because it’s pretty important. It makes over 50 hormones! To be honest I didn’t even know our bodies had that many. 

Some fascinating facts I learned when researching:

+ 95% of serotonin is made in your gut. 

+ 80% of our immune system operates from the gut. 

+ there are 80 million neurons located in your gut microbiome and it is known as the second brain! 

Symptoms of an imbalance in your gut:

+ bloating and gas

+ acne and skin issues

+ not pooping regular (diarrhea and constipation)

+ headaches and feeling foggy

+ feeling anxious or depressed

+ get sick often

+ hard to lose weight

+ deficient in vitamins and minerals

+ reoccurring yeast infections

So how can you make sure you’re helping instead of hindering your good ol’ gut bacteria? 

+ Consider a probiotic, and not just any old probiotic. Do your research, go to a local health shop and ask for a recommendation. 

+ Check out your diet! You want to avoid all the processed junk available for us to eat because it’s only going to negatively impact your gut flora. Make sure you’re getting enough fiber to keep things moving, get those good good fats in your diet, and don’t be shy when it comes to fermented foods. 

+ Avoid things like stress, antibiotics, antibacterial cleaners and like I said above, processed food. Get that cortisol under control with things like sleep, meditation, yoga, journaling, whatever works for you. 

+ Take some vitamin D. It’s actually a hormone, and important to your gut health. It’s pretty easy and common to be deficient. 

+ Ditch the pill, or at least think about it. You would be shocked to learn how much hormonal birth control impacts your body. It alters around 150 different bodily functions. It throws your microbiome off balance, and can make your PCOS worse. 

There’s so much more I want to dig into in regards to this topic, and I hope to continue to do so. 

I had a lot of digestive issues before I got my diet in order and quit the pill. Have you had gut issues? How did you figure that out, and what did you do? 

Reoccurring UTI's and Yeast Infections

I had a request to talk about reoccurring yeast infections, and while they’re not the same thing I’m going to talk about reoccurring UTI’s as well today since that’s what I have experience with. 

I’m going to start by letting you know that I actually have never had a yeast infection, but boy do I have experience with UTI’s. 

I got a few UTI’s as a young kid. I just remember drinking a lot of cranberry juice, going to the doctor for antibiotics, and one procedure where they had to go in a take a look. 

Then when I became sexually active they came back with a vengeance. I started getting them pretty regularly, and there was a two year period where I almost always had a UTI. Either I was getting one, had one or on antibiotics to get rid of one. 

I tried every remedy under the sun and read through every forum I could find to try to prevent them. But the only thing that made them go away was antibiotics.

Antibiotics are known to make your hormonal birth control less effective. We have a family friend who got pregnant because of antibiotics canceling out her birth control. So, that’s no bueno. 

The solution I discovered (for me)…quitting hormonal birth control. 

Yup, that’s right. I have not had a single UTI since quitting the pill.

Here’s a video I made where I shared my thoughts on hormonal birth control and UTI’s.

Now, I wonder if hormonal birth control can lead to yeast infections in a similar way. 

Here’s what I’ve learned:

Hormonal birth control disrupts the natural balance of hormones in your body, and if I can share anything with you it is this: hormones control everything in your body, and you need to be careful messing with them. 

By disrupting our hormonal balance this can lead to yeast overgrowth. Overgrowth happens when Candida (a form of yeast) attaches to estrogen, which prevents our bodies from using it, driving the levels down. 

Basically, the type of birth control you’re on can work to create the necessary environment where yeast infections happen. 

Now, for some lists of do’s and don’ts! (But to be honest, I read through plenty of these when I had UTI’s and nothing really did it for me until I quit the Pill…but what’s the harm of sharing what’s out there?). 

Things that can lead to yeast infections:

+ not getting enough sleep

+ too much sugar

+ wearing pads/tampons for too long

+ tight or synthetic clothes

+ irritating products: bath, detergent, lube, etc.

+ stress

+ antibiotics

+ a weak immune system

+ high blood sugar

+ hormonal imbalance near period

+ being pregnant

Things you can do to prevent yeast infections:

+ wear cotton underwear

+ wear loose, breathable pants

+ change out of wet clothes (workout/swimsuits) ASAP

+ limit your sugar consumption

+ use natural soap and detergents

+ avoid regularly using panty liners (let your bits breathe)

+ avoid scented feminine products/soaps

+ get a probiotic 

+ eat a balanced diet - consider checking out candida diet

+ switch to birth control without estrogen

+ keep your lady parts clean and dry — don’t be rough or use complicated soaps, just focus a gentle hand and some water in the folds and creases to clean them off 

+ sleep more

I’m sure if you struggle with yeast infections or UTI’s you’ve read every forum and list out there on how to treat and prevent them. I wish there was a one-stop solution for everyone. 

Have you had any experience with yeast infections? What have you found to help?