Rapid Fire Q&A From My Pregnancy So Far!

Helloooooooo my friends! I thought it was about time for a rapid fire Q+A about all things pregnancy. These questions are the most common ones that you have asked since we made our announcement, and I’m excited to dig into them today. As always, thank you so much for sharing in this journey with us (and if you’re like, “wait…you’re pregnant???” click here for the full story). 

Alright, let’s get started!

Was baby Eskuri planned? Were you trying? How long did it take?

Yes! I talk about this at length in this pregnancy post. We went into it very intentionally and prepared our bodies ahead-of-time. We actually only tried for one month and got pregnant in the first month, so I’m very very grateful for that.

Are we finding out the sex?

Yes we ARE. Adam would have been fine waiting but honestly I just like can’t??? For me, knowing whether it’s a boy or a girl and envisioning that a bit more feels just like an opportunity to bond and prepare. I alsoooooo just think I’m too impatient to wait, ha! (here is the video of us finding out!)

Do you feel more in tune with your body? 

Yes and no. My answers are very different from one trimester to the next. First trimester I felt sooo unlike myself, and 2nd tri I feel EXACTLY like myself… but just with a bump! 

On one hand, I’m very aware there’s another human in my body! I feel like I’m trying to stay in tune with MY portion of the body, but I feel kind of out of touch or like I don’t feel in tune with the *other* body. I know I’m nurturing and growing it, but I have felt verrrrrrry different. So many things that are inherently me—feeling driven, being organized, seeking healthy foods—have felt different during pregnancy, especially during my first trimester when I felt lethargic and slower. It’s hard to put into words, but I’ve just felt different.

On the other hand, I feel like what I’ve done really well is listening to my body even though I do feel more different than I normally do. And while I wish I felt a little more like “myself,” I understand the reason that I don’t feel that way and I’m just trying to give myself grace, listen to my body, be okay with things not looking perfect, and take it day by day. 

I will say I feel very natural and intuitive in motherhood and pregnancy. I feel very connected that way, but my body has never been through this so it does feel new! For me, feeling in tune with my body often comes from consistency, time, and attention. And since this is all new and things are constantly changing, I feel like I have moments of feeling in tune and feeling clarity, but then the next moment of growth happens and things kind of change. So ultimately I’m taking it day by day, doing my best to listen to my body along the way, and follow my intuition. 

What were your first signs of pregnancy?

I would say in the two-week wait (during the window before you can take a pregnancy test) it was like PMS on steroids. Normally with PMS I have some bloat and gas—I was SO bloated, SO gassy, my boobs were huge and sore (like how they are on PMS but wayyyyyy bigger). I was also more hungry, and I was having CRAZY dreams. Basically my progesterone just kept rising because I was actually successfully pregnant, so that felt really encouraging to me. I just *felt* like I was pregnant from the moment of conception, and I talked about this stage a bit more in depth in this post. So yeah, those were my personal first signs!

Are you nervous about navigating pregnancy? 

I have had a lot of nerves around certain aspects of pregnancy, because I do know that you can be healthy and do everything “right” and it can still end in miscarriage or a chemical pregnancy. 

So for me (especially first trimester),  I would get very very nervous before ultrasounds, and I’d have frequent moments of like, “Are you okay in there? Is everything alright?” So I wouldn’t say I’m nervous about navigating it, I would just say I was quite nervous about whether baby’s okay. I felt like I was “protecting” myself a bit for the first trimester and mentally distancing myself because I was so worried baby could be “taken away” from me. 

I think the turning point for me was the 16 week heartbeat check. I feel like that’s where it hit me that the pregnancy was lasting and here to stay. 

But am I nervous about myself navigating it? No, not really! I think motherhood is so beautiful and I do feel ready. I feel NATURAL in a lot of ways around babies, kids, nieces, nephews, how I want to parent, etc. 

I *was* nervous about things like my relationship with my body changing, how I would feel, taking time off work, being less productive (and this is just isolated to pregnancy, not motherhood!). But in terms of getting through pregnancy and managing my health and taking it day by day, I’m not nervous about it. I feel confident about it actually. I’m just trying to trust my gut, follow the data, but also follow my womanly intuition. 

What has working out been like? Are you still running?

So I am still staying active, but I would say it definitely looks different. My movement during pregnancy has been a lot more gentle, a lot slower (so…a lot more walking than running!), and a lot more focused on strength and flexibility. I’ve really been trying to feel strong throughout this pregnancy, especially in my lower body and glutes, so I’ve been doing a lot of squats, lunges, and hip openers.

To guide what is “safe” exercise wise, I have been using the app, EXPECTING AND EMPOWERED: (coupon: kate10) i. love. this. app. this is a pregnancy/postpartum work out app that is designed by credentialed physical therapists (so amazing!) ONLY with specific exercises that are safe for pregnancy (they even break it down by trimester/week of your pregnancy!) .

I’ve been using this a lot (especially as my bump is growing now and it’s more confusing what I can/can’t do). It really helped simplify which exercises were “safe” during pregnancy, annnnnd they also have a postpartum exercise segment, I plan to do after our babe arrives :) As always, check with your doctor/physical therapist on if these are a good fit for you, but I have been LOVING this app as I navigate having an ACTIVE, strong, & empowered pregnancy!

When it comes to movement during pregnancy, you should of course do whatever is right for you and what your medical professional recommends! But for me, working out and movement feels natural and like something I can count on. Movement feels like retaining a piece of myself that I really like, because it’s an area of focus I’ve always had in my life.

Some days I run, a lot of days I walk (and I take a LOT more walk breaks on the days I’m running!). I’m still moving pretty much every day, but it’s just a lot more gentle, intuitive, and grace filled. I’m not trying to set any records—this is nottttttt the time I want to PR or make fitness gains— it’s more about maintaining at least a baseline of the fitness & movement I’ve built up over the years. To me, “working out” in pregnancy just about me staying active, feeling strong, balancing blood sugar,  enjoying the mental gift that is movement, and really preparing my body to be strong in labor and postpartum. 

How do you see yourself balancing your work and baby life?

This is kind of the golden question! I feel like you can have so many things you envision and hope for, but I also know I haven’t been a mom yet so I don’t know exactly what that will look like. But I feel like what it will be like for me is giving myself a lot of grace but also maintaining a firm commitment to who I am as a woman and an individual outside of being a mom. I want to continue to feel like my own person. 

And yes, I can’t WAIT to be a mom, but I know for example that I will pay for childcare so I can have time alone to work and be in my own energy and nurture my passions. So I have no idea what it will look like specifically—I have a lot of hopes and dreams and things I envision but I’m not there yet. 

At a higher level I know I intend to work part-time and get outside help so I can be really present when I’m with my child and really present when I’m with my work. I’m under no illusion that I can do this all on my own! But hopefully, with help, I’ll be able to find a rhythm and balance that works for me and Adam and our life. Sooooo TBD on that one! 

How did you know you were “ready” to get pregnant?

I know a lot of people will say you never truly “feel ready” to get pregnant, but that was not my experience (or Adam's). I was READY. I felt clear, confident, and at peace with the decision that I was ready to become a mom (a huge part of it was journaling through these things before we started trying). I know everyone is different with this, but I just wanted to share my experience that I truuuuly did feel that aha! moment of being “ready” and total clarity. I go into alllllllll the details about this in this blog post, so check it out for the full story!

Pregnancy truly can be so beautiful.…but there is no doubt it can ALSO be a big, challenging season of transition – mentally, physically, and emotionally. These workbooks are here to support you in YOUR unique experience – prenatal, pregnancy, and postpartum. (Grab them here!)

What type of provider do you have? OB? Midwife? Combined?

I have a midwife and I ADORE her! I’m with a midwife practice that’s part of a hospital and larger OB organization. She is the perfect blend of science and holistic, and a greeeeat match for me. She talks to me about both the physiology and spritual/emotional side of pregnancy, and I just feel super aligned with her practice style and holistic (yet responsible, science-backed) approach. 

What was Adam’s reaction?

If you’re familiar with the concept of #KateLuck, you know that things don’t allllllllways go to plan for me. So I had this perfect vision of putting a note on the coffee for Adam to find the morning that I took the test…but I kid you not this was the ONE day that he switched up his morning routine and had coffee before he went for his run. So, naturally, I panicked and told him he HAD to look in the coffee drawer because there was a critter in there… *facepalm*

But facepalms aside, it ended up being the happiest, simplest moment ever. (Psssssst…want to see a video? I recorded his reaction and you can watch it here.)

What has nutrition been like?

I covered this a bit in my first trimester post, and let’s just summarize it by saying it’s looked DIFFERENT. My nutrition during pregnancy has been very intuitive, and honestly I’m just doing the best I can. 

I’m definitely not taking the approach of “I’m eating for two and I can have whatever I want and I have an excuse to eat all the junk food!” But instead I’m really listening like, “Okay, my body wants carbs again, how can I try to sneak a little bit of protein in, cook this with better ingredients, and do the best I can?” 

But in general it’s been a lot less veggies (they just sound GROSS), forcing protein as much as I can, and a lottttttttttt more simple, predictable foods like rice and noodles, plain bread, and fruit. Click here for a more thorough recap of my first trimester nutrition.

Have you had any cravings?

I have not really had any cravings! One thing I learned during the first trimester is that if something FINALLY sounded good I was like, “Oh this must be MY food” and then I’d buy it in bulk like omg something finally sat well and I didn’t throw it up this must be IT. So I’d buy a ton of it…and then hate it the next day.

So I would say just be patient with yourself—sometimes the thing that sounds good only sounds good for that day (or moment) and the next day sounds awful. (First trimester is a TRIP)

So don’t do what I did and waste money by buying things you’re convinced you’ll like in the long term. So I haven’t had any cravings yet, just a lot of aversions. Nothing honestly sounded really really good at any point during this pregnancy so far, but again, I’m taking it day by day.

Now that you're pregnant has your beauty/skin routine changed?

No and I’m so thankful for that! I switched  to nontoxic beauty and home products before I was pregnant, and it’s sooooo nice to not be navigating all of that while I’m pregnant and adding stress by constantly worrying like, “Is this okay for baby?”

It’s such a relief to already know my ingredients are clean, pure, nontoxic, and safe so I haven’t had to change anything because I was already using safe products.

My nontoxic product A-Team includes Primally Pure for clean skincare that works like a dream (coupon: KATE10), ILIA Beauty to enhance that pregnancy glowwwwww, and Branch Basics to clean literally every surface in my home (coupon: THEFOUNDATIONBLOG). If you’re interested in learning more about any of my nontoxic beauty favorites, click here! Using clean products was already a priority for me (I actually wrote a whole blog post about the reason!) and I’m very thankful I didn’t have to change everything up while I was pregnant.

Any design plans for the nursery?

YES, and I am sooooooo excited for that. The moment we toured this house we were like, “This would be the nursery!” 

It has beautiful pine ceilings, it’s a decent size, and we’re ready to have some fun with it. I think it’ll be a little more playful, colorful and textured than the other rooms in our home. I loooooooove kid spaces and I’ve always been excited to design a nursery. Also I did want to mention that even though we’re finding out the sex, we’re designing a gender neutral nursery because we want to use it in the future with other little ones—we don’t want to be wasteful and renovate a nursery for every single child; we want to design it to be gender neutral so we can have it for the long haul. If you want to see the general vibe of the style we’re planning for the nursery, click here to follow along on Pinterest! 

What did you do to prepare your body for a strong and healthy pregnancy?

Honestly this is SUCH a good question, and I have soooooooo much to say about this. I genuinely want to go really in depth here and a lot of you were asking about this, so I’m going to write a full blog post on it since I think it’s too much detail to answer in a little Q+A! Great question, stay tuned on this one and check back here!! 

What are you doing to prepare for labor?

Again, I won’t know until I experience it, but to try to prepare for labor I’ve been doing a lot of fertility, motherhood, and labor meditations, and focusing on a lot of positive affirmations. I’ve been journaling my hopes for labor, just kind of like holding a vision that I hope for but being flexible.

I’m a nurse; I know things change and I know that different interventions are needed but I’m still just kind of holding for what I hope happens and working for that but not feeling overly attached to it since you can’t predict the future. I'm also communicating what I hope for with my midwife so she’s aware—I think a big part of it is that communication. I would also say I’m kind of surrendering to what labor will look like. I have no clue, but I’m trying to prepare as much as I can.

What excites you?

Oh my god. So much. I’m so excited to see Adam as a dad. I’m honestly excited to give birth. I’m excited to have a baby nursery and cute little baby onesies. I’m excited to breastfeed. I’m excited to just settle into the new rhythm of life and the hibernation period after birth. I’m excited to see my parents interact with the baby as grandparents. 

I’m SO excited to on walks—I picture that all the time just walking around but like oh my god I’ll be walking with a kid! 

And also I’m excited to just kind of savor this last season of life with just me and Adam. I know things will change, but I feel ready for that change.

What makes you nervous?

A lot of things, but I think one thing I’ve done really well is journaling out my limiting beliefs and trying to get to the core of them. I’m honestly nervous about my body changing. I’m nervous about finding the time to take care of myself after birth. I’m nervous about how parenthood could impact my marriage. I’m nervous about finding childcare. I get nervous about the financial costs of having a kid. 

I get nervous about all those kinds of things, but the only way to calm those nerves is to 1) acknowledge them 2) really sit with them, and then 3) take action and try to get as organized as I can (....but then just surrender the outcome). 

For me it’s been preparation, prayer, surrender, There are a lot of things that make me nervous but I also trust myself enough to handle those situations when they arise. I am adaptable! I am great problem solver! I can adjust my sails as I go! 

I’m so happy for you, but will you still have your normal content?

YES. Yes yes yes. I know I’m on a baby and pregnancy-sharing spree, but that’s because it’s so new. The Foundation Blog will still be allllllllll the integrative health, holistic recipes, self care rituals, journaling prompts, and everything else you’re used to just with some holistic pregnancy and motherhood content sprinkled in. Thank you for asking this! It will be the same old, same old but just with a new topic that will be included. I’m so excited to continue to share this new aspect of my life with you.

All your Questions, Answered

That’s it for today’s quick Q+A! As always, thank you so much for coming along with me for this pregnancy journey. If you have more questions, go ahead and leave them in the comments and I’ll make note for future Q+A posts.

Cheers, friends!

XX,

Kate

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