I wrote a very detailed post about six months ago, preliminarily gathering what I’d learned so far about preconception.  It was aspirational and pretty well-informed.

But how did it turn out?  What have I actually been doing since then?

As with most of my habits in life, I’ve gone in phases.  I’ll break it down by category.

NUTRITION

I finally got a weekly farm box delivery.  It’s Farm Fresh to You, so maybe not ideal, but definitely a guarantee of relatively local organic veggies in our fridge.  I got into the very aesthetic habit of processing the herbs and green onions immediately into cute little water cups in the fridge door.

My partner commented, “Our fridge is like a jungle.”  Goal achieved.  Plus, now I eat cilantro and green onions every day.

I still haven’t cooked a whole chicken, and I’m still buying bone broth from Costco.  But I am getting a pound of organic chicken liver, and sometimes hearts too, about every week.  Since that routine’s in place, I also keep us stocked with beans, lentils, seeds, seaweed, chocolate, and anything else we can’t get from Costco.  Victory.

At one point my sister stocked our freezer with a bunch of meat, including Costco ribeyes, and since then we’ve been keeping those in rotation. Steak is historically my favorite food—why not enjoy it regularly? (We’re also not eating out as much.)

I upgraded my morning oatmeal to include bone broth instead of water, some extra butter, the usual three hard-boiled eggs, and fresh herbs.  Right now I’m on a miso soup kick instead, so I’m having that with eggs and seaweed.

And lastly—surprisingly!—I’m on a three-meals-a-day schedule.  For several months, I needed to eat more frequently to reacquaint my body with safety (feel hunger -> eat food -> feel safe).  I had a repeating task reminder on my phone to remind me to eat every three hours.  I’m not sure what shifted—if it was my blood sugar balance, my nutrient stores, my mindset, my body composition—but suddenly hunger was both present and not dangerous, and my meals were large enough that three per day made sense.  Voilà!

I’ve come such a long way with food.  As I wrote at the New Year, the stability and financial support of my relationship has made that possible.

But I also have to credit all of the work and learning I’ve done over the last 15 years, since that time my dad tried to bribe me to read Eat to Live and I said no.  Teenaged me wasn’t ready, but I figured it out eventually.

I put some of the best information into the Self-Care Checklist freebie, and then I channeled a whole masterclass/mini-course/workshop about Breaking Addiction with Radical Self-Care that I’m putting off recording.  I hope to get it finished before the wedding, so stay tuned!

EXERCISE

I could not stick with the Birthfit Basics.  I also couldn’t stick with my powerlifting routine.

What I came back to was running!

Then, when running every day got unsustainable for my ankles, I started alternating running and hiking—best of both cardio worlds, and bonus nature.

A couple of months ago, we did a 30-day Glute Challenge which was super effective.  This month, leading up to the wedding, I found a Dumbbell Challenge to do in addition to the cardio.

In no other circumstance would I have the motivation to learn dumbbell exercises.  But we’re probably getting rid of our squat rack, and we have dumbbells, and I need to do some strength training (and, apparently, learn something new).

I’ve barely done yoga.  Right now my sadhana is 15 minutes of alternate-nostril breathing.  I think it’s just right.

Lastly, I seized the moment and acquired a jade egg and class from Kim Anami—for the deep core.  I’ve wanted one for a very long time, and once again the wedding provides the perfect motivation to practice.

Don’t doubt the power of short-term goals!

MENTAL PREP

Wow, so I’ve come a long way here.  Of course I’m still a fiend for birth content, but my sources have shifted dramatically.

I’ve gotten a lot more critical of homebirth midwifery.  I’m not sure what came first, but I know that after being terribly disappointed by a local midwife who gave the same fearmongering speeches to my client that I’d heard in hospitals, I understood why NOT having a midwife present could be safer for a normal birth.

Suddenly the blue-gloved hands in birth imagery struck me as invasive, gross, unnecessary, tingeing the otherwise perfect moment with intrusiveness.

Just as the idea of a birth center was wrecked for me as a utopia, medical midwifery fell from its pedestal.

Conveniently, I started the MatriBirth Midwifery Institute in September, and we got to the birth content just last month (after a quarter of self-mastery tools which I loved).  All of the information presented is in line with what I’ve come to know about birth, and what I’m willing to consume outside of the program has shifted to self-knowing, sacred, and very witchy.  It’s on-brand.

What are my favorite content sources now?

• Podcasts: Birthing Instincts, Born Wild (whom I got to interview when they were seeking an apprentice!), Wise Women Diaries… and Free Birth Society can have an honorable mention
• Audiobooks: Give Birth Like a Feminist, honorable mention Womb
• Instagram: @theprimalpriestess, @thefitness.doula, @trusting_life_, @spiritysol, @goodnightmoonchild, and sure, @freebirthsociety.

SUPPLEMENTS

We settled on a brand!

We got all of our FullWell supplements at once in order to get 20% off everything.  So there’s a drawer in our kitchen that has 15 bottles of vitamins for me, plus a dwindling supply of fertility booster, fish oil, and men’s multivites.

That was easy!

We’re also currently taking Milk Thistle at night to support our livers as we semi-conduct a fertility cleanse according to Real Food All Year by Nishanga Bliss (my acupuncturist).

GUIDANCE

I’ve made a lot of progress (in getting to know myself) in therapy over the last six months.  Having an explicit container in which to process is a great idea.

I’m working on making my learnings available as guidance to others, through social media and my free and paid offerings.  I’m less interested now in attending births (although I’m of course honored to), and more interested in gathering to share knowledge and cultivate inner guidance.

This year has big WOMEN’S CIRCLES energy.  I’ll attend one this Saturday, and after the honeymoon I intend to start one unless I find one nearby first.

I’ve been very lucky and supported in tending so acutely to my wellness, and I hope that it results in massive blooms of all kinds.

Thoughts?  Contact me!