If you are following me on social media you may know that I am expecting my third baby at the end of October 2021! We are so excited to welcome our third (and probably last) baby into our little fam! We always planned on having three children, but this little Fall baby caught us a bit by surprise. 

And here’s why. We had to try for our first two children for a solid 6 months before getting those two pink lines on a pregnancy test. And we assumed it would be the same this time around. So when we started talking about baby #3 I thought… “Ok, let’s start timing/trying in Jan and we can expect to get pregnant in July 2021”.

We conceived Baby #3 the very first month we tried for a baby. I honestly couldn’t believe it. My husband couldn’t believe it. Dang. That was quicker than we thought. And full disclosure, panic entered my mind. Three kids 4 years old and under!  Thoughts such as "Are we ready for another?";  "How are we going to pay for 3 kids in daycare?"; and finally, "Is my body ready?" entered my mind

Don’t get me wrong, I totally know how lucky, fortunate, and truly blessed we are to be able to conceive a child. My heart goes out to every single woman dealing with infertility or infant loss. We are beyond excited to welcome another sweet little baby into our lives. 

Nevertheless my initial reaction was shock, panic, and then pure joy and excitement. So I’m sharing all of this with you to describe why I believe I got pregnant so quickly this time around. There were a few health and wellness habits I was already starting to practice prior to conceiving Baby #3. Here are three tips to prepare your body for a baby. 

Preparing Your Body for Baby

1. Diet: My diet is the number one thing I believe that impacted my fertility and ability to conceive. I believe that what you consume plays a huge role in your health. Below are some of the general diet changes I made when trying to get pregnant. 

- Alcohol:  Prior to getting pregnant with all three of my kids I really cut back on my alcohol consumption. In fact if you recall one of my New Year’s resolutions for 2021 was to stop drinking any alcohol during the week (hey Baby #3). 

- Fruits/Veggies: We all know fruits and veggies are good for us. Some are even classified as "fertility foods".  Leafy greens, pomegranate, pineapple, citrus fruits, berries, and yams are all foods I made sure to have as part of my regular diet. 

- Healthy Protein: Similar to fruits and vegetables, nutrient dense and protein rich foods such as salmon, beans, lentils, and full fat dairy has also been shown to improve fertility. You can find a list of more fertility foods here. 

- Tea: There are some specially branded fertility teas on the market. Prior to conceiving all three of my babies I would drink a cup or two of Fertility Tea each night. I don’t know if it helped, but it definitely didn’t hurt. 

2. Stress Reduction:

Alright so I debated sharing this one because there was nothing I hated more than hearing “just stop stressing about getting pregnant and that’s when you’ll get pregnant”. Ughhh. Anyone who’s tried to conceive a baby knows that when you are trying to get pregnant it consumes all your thoughts. Especially if it doesn’t happen the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and maybe even 30th try. However, there is quite a bit of science out there stating that when stress is high fertility rates are low. Women with high levels of stress have been found to take 29% longer to conceive. This article “How Stress Can Hurt Your Chances of Having a Baby'' highlights the science behind why this might be the case. 

Helpful ways I have found to lower or manage my stress include:

- Practicing mindfulness/mediation (there are many free apps)

- Scheduling and planning my days and weeks (ex. meal planning)

- Exercise (which leads me to my next tip for conception) 

3. Exercise

Exercise is such an important part of basic health. You are more likely to conceive when your body is in a good state of health and well being. Moving your body can improve blood flow, endorphins, and keep you moving and feeling strong physically and mentally.  Exercise is also an important way to maintain a healthy weight.  Being outside of your healthy weight range can impact your ovulation, thereby impacting your ability to get pregnant. 

Final Thoughts:

Of course there are many other factors that come into play when conceiving a child and some of these things are out of our control. However, above are three simple things that are within our control and can only improve chances of conception if you are hoping to have a baby in the future. Was there anything you found to be particularly helpful when trying to conceive your baby? 

-Monica (Moving Like A Mother)