How I'm Optimizing My Health Through My First Pregnancy
As a first-time mom, this pregnancy journey has been completely new to me. In the early parts of the pregnancy, I certainly felt a range of emotions — gratitude, excitement, uncertainty, anxiousness, joy, anticipation, overwhelm, discomfort, calmness, and peace. Before this, I never really thought about what I’d be feeling when this time in my life eventually arrived. Truthfully, I didn’t know if it ever would. Both CJ and I have struggled with several health issues through the course of our lives that led us to believe at times that our dreams of becoming parents one day might not be a feasible outcome for us. The fact that I’m writing this today at 31 weeks pregnant feels like a miracle to me, and I am so grateful to be experiencing what I once thought might never be possible. It’s why I’m writing today. The prioritization of MY health over MANY years is what I believe to be a critical contributing factor to our ability to have a child, and it’s the habits I’ve built over the years that are carrying me through my pregnancy journey today. Since the day I found out I was expecting, I knew I had to do my best to control what I could — my health, my stress, and my environment.
OPTIMIZING & PRIORITIZING MY HEALTH
Years of stomach issues and a family history of heart issues have led me down a path of learning to understand, cure, and optimize my health. I’ve learned the importance of monitoring my bloodwork and optimizing my lifestyle for the healthiest me possible. What does that look like for me now that I’m pregnant? Much of the habits I had before have stayed the same, but have become more important than ever:
Focusing on my nutrition
Tracking and analyzing sleep
Staying physically active, but being mindful of how physical activity can also create stress
Prioritizing self-care
Micronutrients and Supplementation
Reducing stress and prioritizing my mental health
NUTRITION
Focusing on my nutrition means making sure I'm getting enough nutrients to fuel myself and my growing baby. After many years of undereating, sometimes without even knowing it, it's been a huge focus of mine over the last few years and especially lately, to be extra mindful about eating to fuel. I've focused on eating mostly whole foods, limiting processed foods (but not being crazy restrictive), and making sure my meals have a healthy balance of protein, fats, and carbs to maintain blood sugar levels. Prior to pregnancy, I did some self-experimentation with a continuous glucose monitor using the Levels app, so I already had a pretty good understanding of how my usual staples impacted my glucose/insulin response. My staples by macronutrient:
Proteins: turkey, chicken, eggs, salmon, grass-fed beef, lentils, tofu, protein smoothies
Carbs: rice, potatoes, gluten free bread/english muffins, gluten free pasta, bananas/fruit, granola, snack bars
Fats: avocados, cashews, almonds, chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, nut butter, olive oil
SLEEP
Since December of 2020, I've been using the Whoop to track my HRV and sleep data. It's helped me understand how much sleep is optimal for me and how certain activities or behaviors can impact a quality night of sleep. It's also helped me learn and understand that just the amount of time spent in bed doesn't necessarily equate to the same hours of quality, restorative sleep. Through pregnancy, I've been intentional about making sure I get at least 7 hours. To optimize sleep, I make sure the temperature is around 65 degrees, I try to keep sleep and wake times as consistent as possible throughout the week, and I do my best to wind down and clear my mind from work or other things an hour or two before I lay down.
FITNESS
Before pregnancy, I was training as a "hybrid athlete." I put it in quotes because it's a term some may not be familiar with, but one that's more popular these days as athletes recognize the importance of maintaining muscle and strength while also training for endurance sports. I was running 4-5 times per week and doing lots of functional fitness to maintain strength. When I found out I was pregnant, I limited the running - partly due to discomfort and mostly because I knew I wanted to limit the strain on my body. I immediately started prioritizing a strength routine, incorporating weights, functional exercises, and deep core work. I have been following Madeline Moves "Mom Moves" program and have loved how it is already optimized for transitions and modifications throughout the trimesters. Following a plan has been one less thing to think about and it's been great! I also completed my Pre/Postnatal Fitness Certification to understand more of the physiological changes through pregnancy, how the pelvic floor and deep core play a major role, and how to be smart with exercise and modifications.
MICRONUTRIENTS
Here's the daily stack I've been taking the whole pregnancy so far:
MSW Nutrition: Liver Love
MSW Nutrition: Mitochondriac
MSW Nutrition: Vitamin D+K2
MSW Nutrition: Zen
SELF-CARE and REDUCING STRESS
This has been a big one and something I'm so proud of considering how difficult it has been for me in the past to prioritize my own self-care. I've always felt guilt associated with spending time and money on the typical self-care things - like nails, facials, and massages. But I've also learned that you don't necessarily have to spend money or go to a fancy spa. You can prioritize reading, writing, relaxing, going to a workout class, meditation, going for walks, spending time with your friends and so much more.. I've felt such a huge difference in my mood and mental clarity by dedicating time in the mornings and nights to a routine that fills my own cup, and know it's something I'll be sure to continue once the baby comes so that I can provide a good example and show up as my best self to take care of him.
Stress reduction has also looked like setting boundaries around my work - not opening my work computer on weekends unless absolutely necessary, not responding to emails past a certain time, and working from home a few days per week. It's also looked like reducing the intensity of workouts, resting more, and practicing a mindset that no task is more important than focusing on my health right now.
It's been mentally tough to slow down at times, but these habits have helped me so much.
Figured I'd write this blog to share a few of the main ways I've been committing to being the healthiest me possible in hopes that it may help or inspire another mom out there. With the potential for so many uncontrollable circumstances during a journey like this, it's been super critical for me to make sure I can look back and say I did everything I could within my control.
And that goes for life in general for whatever journey you may be on yourself -- build the habits now and the system will keep you resilient when things change around you.
- Erin