How I (Finally) Got Pregnant Quickly

Getting Pregnant with Baby #1

So, I discovered alllllllllll of that when I was trying to get pregnant with my oldest son. And for 6 straight months, I was downright obsessive about what supplements I took, what I ate, when I was ovulating. I monitored everything, and every month I was so excited that this would be the month! …and then it wasn’t.

I was so stressed out about getting pregnant, and every time it didn’t happen stressed me out more. Of course, that stress spiraled into something of a depression, and for 6 months I would wonder what was wrong with my body? Why can’t I get pregnant? Can I get pregnant at all? Or is it just that I can’t get pregnant quickly? Was I infertile? Every time cycle day 1 rolled around, it was crushing. I send my heart out to anyone trying and feeling this way, especially those who’ve been trying for even longer. Years! How strong these women are to endure what can feel absolutely heartbreaking.

But around the 7th month of that process, I finally just resolved myself to it taking a long time. I mean, for some people it takes years. And I knew I couldn’t keep going like that for years. Once I accepted that it could take a long time, I was able to relax about it a little.

Wouldn’t you know? The very next month after I chilled the efffff out, I got pregnant with my sweet baby boy!

(Please believe me, I know how annoying it is that everything seemed to boil down to “just don’t stress about it”, and how not-helpful that phrase is. Every time someone said “Relax and let it happen,” to me, I wanted to punch them squarely in the face. For one thing, it’s not like you can just flip the worry switch to “off” and go on with your day. Plus in a lot of cases, the situation is way more complicated than that. Bodies – and babies – are frustratingly difficult. For my specific situation, though, it really did seem to help. How annoying.)

Getting Pregnant with Baby #2

Ok, so. Getting pregnant the first time can be difficult, sure. But once your body figures out the whole process, it’s way easier to replicate, right? Now it’s less “how to get pregnant” and more “how to get pregnant quickly”!

Not so much. At least not in my case.

Really, though, I thought getting pregnant quickly would be much easier the second time. After all, now I knew my body’s ovulation schedule, and what I should be eating, and what supplements I should take. But it wasn’t. So for another 6 months, I stressed and obsessed over everything. Every month, I was like, “Oh, as a second-time mother aka expert, I know this feeling. This is the feeling of pregnancy. I KNOW IT.”

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!

Getting Pregnant with Baby #3

Armed with all my notes and knowledge and previous experience, we decided to try for baby number three. At this point, I was roughly 5 years older than when we were trying for my oldest son, and after trying for 7 months with both of my previous pregnancies, there was no doubt in my mind that I would not be getting pregnant quickly this time around.

I restarted my fertility regimen – daily doses of royal jelly, prenatal vitamins, CoQ10, DHEA. This time I added in myo-inositol and D-chiro-inositol, too. I went back to my fertility-friendly diet, I practiced my fertility meditations, and I spent the first month slightly (ok – very, very) stressed out about the whole process. Getting pregnant was on my mind 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week. I was even convinced once that I was feeling implantation, since I’d felt it with my daughter. Spoiler: I was not.

I went into month 2 very, very tired of being so stressed all the time. So I just… stopped. Okay, it wasn’t that easy. But I figured, if it took so long the last two times, it’s going to take at least that long this time, so there’s no point in stressing about it now. I kept taking my supplements and eating my healthy-fatty foods and monitoring all my stats, but I didn’t obsess about getting pregnant quickly this time. In fact, we were trying even less frequently in the hopes of “swaying,” so I was certain it’d take longer than before. I was fine with it, finally. Truthfully, it being my last pregnancy, I felt a little attached to the ritual of trying to conceive! I was really quite enjoying all the fuss over my body and how connected I felt to it during the process.

So a few days after ovulating, we went to the beach, had a super relaxing weekend, and I peed on a stick… Two lines?! I honestly couldn’t believe it. I hadn’t stressed about getting pregnant once, so how did my body even know what to do?! And sure enough, after just two months of trying, it happened! I’m currently 7 months pregnant with my youngest son.

How I (Finally) Got Pregnant Quickly

So, what did it? What magic combination unlocked pregnancy for me like a video game cheat code? The truth is…. I can’t be 100% sure, except about the fact that there was probably no actual magic combination or cheat code. There’s so much involved and so many different factors that I can’t just point to one secret and say “This is it! Do this and it will work!”

But I do think all of these factors contributed heavily both to my quick conception this time around and to the fairly easy pregnancies I’ve been lucky enough to have.

Ovulation

After my first two pregnancies, I’d finally hacked my ovulation. Seriously, I had it down to a science. I knew the exact moment I was ovulating.

Of course, I’m also, like, really into data and tracking and logging information. And I won’t say “no” to any tools that help with that.

I used an Ava bracelet this time around to help me determine exactly when I’d be ovulating. I loved it. You just wear the bracelet to bed, it collects the important info, and then in the morning it syncs to your phone and shows you all your data and helps you figure out your ovulation window. You can read more about how it works here. If you’re interested in trying an Ava bracelet, you can use the code CHERYL at check-out for a small discount.

In addition to my Ava bracelet, I also used ovulation strips, and I tracked my basal body temperature using a smart thermometer from Amazon that uses Bluetooth to sync to the Femometer app on your phone. I loved it, too. It tracked everything and helped me monitor my body’s trends so we could get the timing just right.

Staying Active

I’m a runner. I love(ish) running, and I trained for half-marathons not too long before trying to conceive our last baby. But I periodically had issues in the past with running throwing off my cycle. I think it was due to me training so hard and not fueling my body enough at the time, but there were times during training that my cycle would be delayed an entire week, which just threw everything off.

So, this time around, I stopped running for the two months it took us to conceive. I actually stopped all high-impact exercises. I did not, however, stop exercising altogether.

Instead, I focused on yoga and T-Tapp workouts and other low-impact exercises that kept my body moving. I made sure that I kept my activity levels up without overdoing things.

I started running again a few weeks after we conceived, and I’m still going to this day! Sure, running at 28-weeks pregnant means extra-supportive leggings and doubling up on the belly bands, but whatever.

Important Note: My doctor has approved my running and workout routines. Please be sure to discuss any strenuous activity with your medical professional before diving in.

Egg Health

I started my egg-health-regimen a few months before actively trying to get pregnant. That means approximately 3 months before, I started incorporating prenatal vitamins, royal jelly, CoQ10, DHEA, myo-inositol, and D-chiro-inositol into my days. That way, when my husband and I did start actively trying, my body was already developing healthier eggs and preparing itself to potentially, hopefully nurture another baby.

Eating Really Well

Like my egg-health routine, I started focusing on my fertility diet well ahead of us trying to conceive.

I made sure to up my intake of healthy fats and in general I started intentionally eating more food on a regular basis. I focused on nourishing, healthy, whole foods. That means lots of recipes like my Whole30 Chipotle Beef & Avocado Bowls and my Egg Roll in a Bowl with Creamy Chili Sauce and especially my Best Ever Tom Kha Gai Soup.

Mental Health

I’m going to say the simplest, potentially most-annoying-to-hear phrase anyone could possibly say in this journey…

“Don’t worry about it so much.”

NO, WAIT, I KNOW! But this really did help me. I didn’t stop doing the work I needed to do, like eating right and taking my supplements, but I did stop obsessing over whether or not I was getting pregnant (after the first month, I mean). Distractions like gardening and cooking helped divert all my energy, which helped keep me from agonizing over every little thing.

I also got, like, really into studying traditional Chinese medicinal beliefs for getting pregnant, like “don’t let your feet get cold” and “don’t eat cold food” because you need to keep your womb warm to encourage fertility, which I know sounded at first to me like, “Wait, what??” Not something your OB tells you, eh?

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.