Life Lately: We’re Pregnant!

If you’ve been following along on Instagram, you may already know by now that Mr. FMK and I are expecting our first baby, around July 10th 2020!

If you’re new to Fit Mitten Kitchen and this news, well there you have it. We’re pregnant.

DISCLAIMER: I am sharing my own personal experience. I am not a doctor. Please consult your primary care physician with any questions regarding pregnancy and steps to take to prepare.

As I write, I am 15 weeks along this pregnancy journey… Even though I am officially into the second trimester, it still feels a little strange writing that out.

PREGNANT.

Still feels weird…

Maybe because now I’m no longer feeling tired, basically back to eating and enjoying all of my “normal” foods again and feeling much better than I was those first couple of months.

(I’ll share more on the first trimester here soon!)

My journey to pregnancy

Let me just preface the rest of this post by saying our journey isn’t something extraordinary or emotionally exhausting. While it took us just a couple of months, I was very open to a million possibilities, things that could go wrong, the process taking a year and more hardships.

I know we are very, very fortunate and so lucky for it not only to have taken such a short time, but to have had a healthy pregnancy thus far.

I’m so thankful others have opened up about their struggles with trying for several months, infertility, miscarriage and more. There is (and should not be) shame around these topics. We are all human and women (and their partners) go through SO much in this journey. It helps to share and be kind to one another, without judgement.

So while our journey to this wonderful thing called pregnancy didn’t take long for us, I tried to be as proactive as possible with lifestyle, diet, hormonal health, and so on.

Things we did to be proactive

• Mindful caffeine intake – I didn’t necessarily do this by design, but throughout the year I started drinking less and less coffee. I certainly didn’t cut it out completely, but I maybe only had about 8-10 ounces of coffee in the morning and that was pretty much it. I’ve never been one to drink a pot of coffee, and I like my coffee with a lot of milk and a couple splashes of creamer anyhow. So my caffeine intake wasn’t anything crazy. Drew on the other hand, is a different story 😉
• Hormonal birth control – I’ve actually been off hormonal birth control for several years, and my cycle has been very regular so I am super thankful for that. When I did stop birth control for the first time (in probably 8 years or so), I recall it taking about 4 months for my period to come back. So just be aware of that if you’re thinking about trying soon and are on birth control still. Everyone’s different, but that was my body’s response.
• Healthy eating – my diet is pretty balanced so I wasn’t worried about doing a complete overhaul. But I will say I had gotten pretty lazy when it came to balanced meals so I tried to get better about eating more plants at lunch and dinner.
• Supplements – When we did officially start trying, I already had Drew taking a few male fertility-boosting supplements about a month or so prior. CoQ10, L-Carnitine, Calcium-Magnesium-Zinc +Vitamin D3. I also had been taking a prenatal fairly regularly, along with the Calcium-Magnesium blend and CoQ10. Again, we were just being very proactive and I was trying to do research to help our cause sooner, rather than later.
• Ovulation Tracking – I had used an app to track my cycle for quite some time, maybe 2-3 years. But it wasn’t until our first month (and no luck with a positive test) I wanted to actually track my ovulation. My cycles were somewhat regular, but just to be sure (again, we were READY for a baby) I tracked using these cheap little sticks so I had a better idea of when I was actually ovulating.

How we found out and taking the at-home tests.

Well, basically I peed on a stick and voila! Two pink lines.

But in all seriousness this was my second month taking a test – the first month I was 7 days late (I’m never that late) with 2 negative tests. While of course I was disappointed, I also didn’t have high hopes, knowing the process could take months if not longer.

So the next month I was mentally prepared for another negative. I had taken the first test 3 days before my period and another negative.

Word to the wise: Just wait a few days until AFTER your expected period. Tests are expensive and there’s no reason to spend more money than necessary trying to wait out all of the false negatives!

That weekend I was actually hanging out with some of my sisters and I remember telling them I was waiting to take another test until a few days after my expected period. My sister, who was pregnant at the time, kept encouraging me to wait as long as I could… It is harder than you think!

But I definitely felt different that time, compared to last month. Finally the few days passed and I couldn’t wait any longer. I took the test, the two pink lines slowly appeared. I came downstairs and looked at Drew and said, “It worked.” With a smile and this look of disbelief on my face. 😀

Mentally preparing myself for pregnancy

For me, I always knew I wanted kids. But I wasn’t ever sure when… All through my mid to late twenties, I kept thinking, “Sure I want them, but definitely not right now!”

And we watched our close friends have their first and some their second, and I saw other people in my Instagram feed get pregnant and were so excited…

And I still thought, “Nope, not ready.”

Maybe it was because of where I was at in my business and I couldn’t fathom the idea of raising a baby at the same time… But I started worrying I’d never feel “ready” or get that “feeling.”

Then sometime around when I turned 30 I started getting “baby fever.” All of the sudden I didn’t care about trying to figure out a baby and my business, I just felt ready and knew I’d make it work.

And while there are still parts of me that don’t feel “ready”, at the same time I am.

Drew and I are so very excited to start this next chapter and thank you for all of your love and support you have already shown.

P.S. Please please please know if you are trying to conceive, battling infertility, have had miscarriages, lost a baby, can’t conceive, don’t have a partner but want a baby so bad it hurts… Please know I am thinking of you. You have been, and will continue to be, in mind throughout this journey. I know these announcements can be gut-wrenching and completely heart-breaking, but I am thinking of you, always.

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photography by: Andrea Kerbuski.