My Pregnancy Journey

A JOURNEY INTO MOTHERHOOD

The Maison/Made family is growing! We will be welcoming a new baby boy to the family (and company?) this coming March which has been a wonderful bit of news I’ve been waiting to share with you all. When I discovered that I was pregnant, naturally a flood of emotions poured over me, a combination of elation, anxiety, joy, fear, and above all, uncertainty. I have never been the type of woman who actively dreamt of, or pursued motherhood, we decided many months ago that we would leave it to chance. If it happened, it happened, and if not, that would be fine too!

So when it DID happen, is when the journey began for me. I had never really looked into it so I was starting from square 0. Did I have to change my diet? My exercise routine? My skincare routine??? How do I find a good OB? What does a doula exactly do? Where should I buy clothes and which should I buy that I could potentially use post-pregnancy to avoid throwing or giving them away?

All of these questions, and more, flooded my mind and as a small business owner, there isn't much space left there to begin with... But thankfully with some help from friends and family, I've been able to slowly carve out the things that work for me, and I thought I would share for anyone who might be going through (or will go through) a similar experience. I hope that it proves useful!

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Overall, so far, the pregnancy has been more difficult than easy. For the first four months of my pregnancy, I found myself reluctantly learning to let go of a dedicated agenda and loosen my expectations for each day. I had to learn that it was normal and ok to not feel well for what ended up being several months straight. Some days were better than others, but as a person who enjoys her work, and working, it was a mental challenge to relinquish to my body when it dictated that I would spend the day in bed.

As far as skincare was concerned, this was one topic, probably the only one, that I felt comfortable with. I didn’t change my routine very much, my personal skincare rituals have always been built upon the idea of supporting the skin’s physiology, protecting its integrity and this stayed constant once I became pregnant.

I’ve always been disciplined when it came to skincare, and if anything changed, it was to ramp up this care and attention. Naturally I’m not someone who uses an extravagant amount of products or has countless steps in their daily skincare ritual, so at this time it felt natural and intuitive to keep it that way. I did, however, include a few new rituals like gentle body masks, baths with coconut milk, yoghurt, oats and/or sugar, nettle and calendula hair and body rinses after most showers (ending with a nice splash of cold water), and massaging a delicious oil serum that I’ve been developing for the last couple of years, twice a day.  I’ve been using our entire range of products throughout the pregnancy, along with a couple of formulas that we have developed, but we don’t yet offer in the M/M skincare range just yet. A body oil serum (that we recently gifted in orders placed over the holidays) is one of them. I developed it as an expectant mother for absolutely everyone, including other expectant mothers, during and after pregnancy.

I also incorporated a few extra hydrosols like peppermint and spearmint which came in very handy during the periods of morning sickness (godsends really!), and as hydrosols are natural multitaskers, I also used them as candied, invigorating pick-me-up mists and also throughout the pregnancy to cool and calm swollen and tired legs. Because I have the good fortune of working with Biodynamic ingredients, all the wonderfulness of the Biodynamic purity and vibrancy during this special time made me feel very nourished, revitalized, and protected. Having direct access to our products made me very grateful and happy and excited to share this with others in the same position.

All the above being said, it is difficult to predict how a pregnancy will affect your skin. We are all different, with different bodies, under different circumstances, different hormone surges, and different living situations. I don’t believe there is a “one formula fits all” so while that may be somewhat frustrating for those looking for a singular fail-proof approach, I’ve found that pregnancy is a good time to pay extra attention to what our body, and skin, are telling us. 

In my experience, the famous glow is, at least, partly and so far, a myth. Of course changes in your immune system, hormones and microbiome impact the body throughout pregnancy, but how this manifests itself it’s different for everyone. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this changes!

The idea or mantra has been to take care of my skin for the present, through the changes it experiences, but also for the future, trying to keep it resilient, nurtured and protected for the postpartum period.

Regarding food, I focused on a nutrient dense diet, which is something I have enjoyed doing regardless, pregnancy or not. The first trimester was the hardest so I focused on a lot of my comfort foods: veggies, potatoes, bone broth, avocado, eggs, leafy greens and artichokes. As soon as I began to feel better I started adding back liver and other organ meats, a wide variety of vegetables, nuts and seeds, seafood and fatty fish, some fruit, coconut water, smoothies, ghee and butter, legumes, some dark chocolate and pasta (my absolute favorite!). I’m also taking a prenatal supplement, vitamin D3 +K2, a probiotic as prescribed by my doctor, and drinking plenty of water. Like most of us I assume, I do still forget to sip on water throughout the course of the day, but I have found that when I’m good at remembering to do it, I do feel better than when I don’t.

I have also been consuming a good amount of herbal teas that have enough research behind them as to be deemed safe for pregnancy. I find it interesting that during “normal”, non-pregnancy times, herbal tea is regarded by most to be fairly harmless and inconsequential. I’ve always been of the opinion of quite the opposite, knowing the healing and nourishing power of plants, especially those that are grown, harvested, processed, and stored properly where those medicinal qualities are still present once they make it to my mug. Yet, once you become pregnant everyone seems to do a complete 180, where teas become these forbidden potions. What I’ve learned through copious amounts of research is that yes, there are herbal teas that ought to be avoided, but there are still many that are quite beneficial. Personally I’ve made a blend including raspberry, oats, nettle, and chamomile which has been absolutely wonderful and nourishing. Maybe we should add Biodynamic teas to our product line??

In terms of exercise, I’ve always been a fairly active person but through the first 4 months I had a hard time exercising, however, now in the second trimester, I’ve been trying to get back into my routine with the proper adjustments. I did go on runs a few times during the pregnancy but not anymore, so I’ve swapped that for fast walks. I’ve also been going to the gym to do modified exercises with light weights, the Tracy Anderson method for pregnancy (which is truly great), and some prenatal yoga. More recently I’ve included pelvic floor exercises and breathing exercises which have been very welcome additions.

I’ve also been trying to get a good night of sleep as often as possible - I’m a bit worried about all that is said about the first months in the life of a baby and how you can’t predict if you’ll be able to sleep at all, if your baby will need you at all times of the night or if he/she will be a good sleeper from the beginning. There’s a lot of advice and information out there that I personally find to be a bit of fear mongering so I try to take everything with a grain of salt.

When it came to clothes, I didn’t want to buy a lot of maternity clothes, I don't know if I’ll have any future children, and I don't like the idea of buying clothes that I’ll use for just a few months. I wanted to be frugal and only get the necessary things that I might be able to continue to wear post-pregnancy. I had a wonderful sales associate that helped me when looking for exercise clothing at Nike who was pregnant herself who recommended some yoga pants that I look forward to using again once the baby boy is born. Overall during the 1st trimester I did not buy a lot of clothes, and then all of a sudden practically nothing in my closet fit me anymore! I had to sort out some basics, and one of my favorites are these sweatpants from Levi’s, which have been an absolute staple. Also with the new curves I purchased some pieces that favor shapes and give space to the growing belly and make me feel like myself.

A first pregnancy can create a lot of uncertainty, so I bought many books because I wanted to prepare myself for every step of the process with knowledge, but I also realized that there are many things that are simply intuitive so I trust my judgement and let the process unfold. Some books that I have found speak to me are:

~ The Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby & Child Care

~ Real Food for Pregnancy: The Science and Wisdom of Optimal Prenatal Nutrition

~ Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong--and What You Really Need to Know (The ParentData Series)

~ Mindful Birthing: Training the Mind, Body, and Heart for Childbirth and Beyond

At the end of the day, I try to keep my pregnancy simple. Our bodies are equipped with the tools it needs, after all women have been carrying babies for thousands of years! I eat as best I can, keep stress low, exercise often but low-key, and make sure to get lots of rest. The process can certainly be overwhelming, with conflicting information and many opinions, but I believe that the reality is that we don’t really need that much. Trust the body, trust the process, and enjoy the journey when possible.

– Carolina