Hi, I’m Ashley.
Four years ago, I was at my worst. I was twenty-seven and physically active, yet I felt terrible. I was exhausted, anxious, constantly nauseous, up ten pounds from my usual weight, suffering from excruciating menstrual cycles, and struggling with fertility.
As many of you may be able to relate, I was frustrated and angry; I felt broken and like a total failure. It didn’t help matters that my sister pestered me about having kids with every visit. She eagerly promoted their irresistible qualities, the adoration they evoked, and the utter joy they brought into a person’s life. I’d spew the usual lies: I’m not ready, I don’t have enough money, I’m too busy living my dreams, etc.
Almost as soon as I walked out the door, I would begin to spiral down into a pit of desperation and despair. What was wrong with me? Why was it so easy for other people to get pregnant? Why were people who didn’t want kids able to get pregnant even when they tried not to?
The feeling of inadequacy would morph into a boiling rage. What was the point in even trying? Babies would force me to stop traveling. Why wouldn’t people leave me alone? It was none of their business. I didn’t need the constant reminder that I was failing at what was supposed to come naturally to me as a woman.
It took longer than I’d like to admit, but I decided I wasn’t going to pity myself and be angry at people who meant well. I was already into natural health treatments to a small degree, but never thought much about nutrition. I plunged in full force. I cleaned up my diet (though, looking back, not nearly as much as I should have), I started exercising, I stopped drinking alcohol, and I took supplements to add nutrients that might have been missing from my diet.
At that point, my husband was one hundred and ninety-five pounds, down from over two hundred and sixty. (This is important to mention because men’s health is vital to the process of getting pregnant.) For some reason I had encouraged him to get healthy while ignoring my own issues. He lost thirty pounds in the first month of my health plan. A couple months later he was down another thirty. The change was so drastic all our family and friends brought it up regularly in conversation, and the Custom and Border Protection officer in Norway eyed him suspiciously before voicing the difference in his appearance. Jason silently preened through it all. Men enjoy being told they look great during their transformation too, though they will never admit it.
I focused on this to encourage, and fuel, my own health journey. Within the first month of using a progesterone supplement, my irregular cycle went to twenty eight days. By the second month, with a light exercise routine, I was down almost ten pounds, and I had muscle definition I had been lacking since I stopped playing college sports. By the third month, I was pregnant. The awesome part, I found out, and was able to tell my husband, on our anniversary.
I wish I could say that I had the perfect pregnancy and postpartum experience due to the changes I had implemented, but that isn’t how the story goes. The second half of my pregnancy was filled with pains and swelling. Labor was very long and very painful. My four day old was thought to have colic, he developed eczema all over his body, had terrible cradle cap, and he went through a six month long sleep regression. All the while, I was suffering from a rough stage of postpartum depression. To say the least, I was discouraged and exhausted.
Back to the drawing board. Through countless hours of research, I discovered dietary changes that got rid of his colic, eczema, and cradle cap. An environmental change and a few supplements had him sleeping through the night in a single week.
Armed with all this knowledge, I was able to quickly get pregnant the second time around, had very minor swelling during my pregnancy (happened mostly when I slacked on my diet), my labor was incredibly fast, I had next to no issues nursing my sweet little man, and I didn’t struggle with postpartum depression.
Going through this opened my eyes to the fact that there are millions of women experiencing difficulties getting pregnant, sustaining their pregnancy, and having healthy babies. We live in a world gone mad, and what should be natural and easy has become a harrowing experience. It is my goal to direct and encourage woman in hopes that they will escape the pains that often come from the process of conceiving, carrying, and feeding a baby. I hope that my journey may also be an inspiration to those struggling with their own issues, and a guide to how to get onto a healthier path.