Rowan's Birth Story

Hi friends! It’s been a long time! Since we last talked, we welcomed our sweet baby boy - Rowan - in May. I took the entire summer off and slowly started back to working with clients in September. Figuring out how to work with two kids, one being a baby, is very different different that with just one, but I’ve learned to be as flexible as possible and very much lower my expectations for myself. I love helping people overcome their health obstacles and I still very much feel called to that, but also recognize that this isn't the season for that to me my main priority, which is hard. I want to be able to do all the things but am also very much aware of my capacity right now. Hence, eight months of radio silence over here on the pod 😜

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I’m excited to share Rowan’s birth story with you! Let’s jump in!

I should have written this right after I had him because many of the details are foggy now at 6 months postpartum, but I will do my best to remember all the details. 

I had a planned c-section with Ro. My delivery with Remi was very long and very hard on my body. After delivering her, I was told by multiple providers, including my OB and my pelvic floor PT, that they would strongly recommend that I have a C-section should I have more children in the future. I had to do months of therapy after her delivery and knew I didn’t want to repeat all of that, so when I got pregnant with Ro, I decided early on that was likely going to be the best for me. When they gave me an estimate of his weight and size at my 36-week appointment, it confirmed my decision. Y’all, I don’t know why but I have really big babies, which is hilarious because I’m not tall at all - it doesn’t exactly add up. He was also transverse most of my 3rd trimester- likely because he was out of space - and although he was occasionally head down, he wouldn’t stay that way for more than a few hours. Every time I would start to doubt if I was making the right choice, something would confirm that this was going to be the best option for us. 

So the morning of my due date, I was supposed to go into the hospital at 5:30 a.m. and was scheduled to be in the OR at 7:30 a.m. I had a hard time sleeping the night before with all of the feelings - nervousness about the surgery, excitement for meeting this new sweet baby I had been growing for 40 weeks, and a little sadness and uncertainty knowing that our life and little family were about to change forever. 

My alarm went off not too long after I had finally fallen asleep and it was time to get up and go. My in-laws were coming to stay with our daughter while we were in the hospital, so I think they arrived around 4:30 that morning. The plan was to quietly slip out of the house without waking my daughter since we had to go in so early, but when I called to check in to the hospital, they asked me to move back my arrival time by about an hour. Since we had a little time to spare, we decided to wake Remi and spend a few minutes snuggling with her before we left. She was excited about meeting her baby brother and also a little teary that I wasn’t going to be home for a few nights. I remember that being a really sweet moment with her before we left. 

We arrived at the hospital a little before 6:30 a.m. and got checked in. I used to work in the hospital where I was delivering and would often have to go in at that same time for an early morning meeting, so walking in felt strangely familiar. Once we got up to the L&D floor and into a room, it was right at shift change time for the nurses, so Scott and I just kind of sat there in our room for what seemed like 20 minutes (I’m sure it was more like 5) but I remember looking at the clock and thinking “there is no way they are going to get me into the OR by 7:30”. Little did I realize how very true that was. 🙂

My BFF, Chrissy, used to be an L&D nurse there and is still pretty good friends with a lot of the nurses, so I was super blessed that she had already found out who was working that shift and who my nurse would be. She came in and we chatted for a few minutes and then started getting everything rolling. One thing about me is that I have HORRIBLE veins. Even getting a normal blood draw with me is usually an ordeal, so I was really dreading the IV. I always have to give a spiel about how I’m a hard stick and oftentimes they think I’m just being dramatic until they try to stick me. With my daughter, it took five tries to get my IV and it was pretty miserable (I had 12 sticks one time with a previous surgery and ended up with an IV port in my neck, so I’m a bit traumatized by IVs at this point). I didn’t want to repeat any of that experience, so I was praying it would be a quick success this time. Of course, when you are having any type of surgery, you can’t have anything to eat or drink 12 hours before, which is not helpful for tiny, stubborn veins. Thankfully, after one failed attempt, my nurse decided to ask for someone else to come in and try. (I always appreciate it when a nurse puts her ego aside and just gets someone else). Around that time one of the anesthesiology students had come in to go over what I could expect to happen in surgery and noticed that I didn’t have my IV yet. Since he wasn’t overly busy at the time, he offered to start the IV using an ultrasound machine that would show him the best vein to use. He got it on the first try and I was so thankful for him. He also joked around the whole time and told me about his kids. He really helped to calm me down. I jokingly say he was my good luck charm through the whole day because he was so great in the OR as well. 

After getting my IV in, we just had to wait for the OR to be ready. Little did I know though that there were a couple of other deliveries on the floor that had either been going a long time or there were complications with them, so since my section was planned and not emergent, I kept getting bumped back by those deliveries. I was a little frustrated by that at first because I was already starving and feeling antsy that things weren’t staying on schedule, but I kept trying to keep myself calm and remember that I was just thankful that I could be bumped because both I and my baby were good and stable. 

Around noon we were told that they were ready for us and things started moving fast. We did a few last-minute prep things, my nurse got my fluids started in my IV and off we went

So as I’m thinking back through all of these details and that postpartum/newborn haze, I want to take a quick little detour and share with you about this new productivity hack I was introduced to recently. It’s a little drink called Magic Mind and I mean little literally - as in only 2 oz but it is packed full of nutritious, brain power-boosting ingredients. It’s made with a blend of matcha green tea - think sustained energy without the jitters, nootropics like lion’s mane and cordyceps mushrooms that support mental clarity and bust brain fog, and adaptogens like ashwagandha and rhodiola for natural stress support. It also only has 3g of naturally occurring sugar, so it doesn’t spike your blood sugar either, which makes it super easy to incorporate into any part of your day. I’ve taken it first thing in the morning before heading out to school drop off and I’ve also really loved drinking it in the afternoon when I’m feeling a little draggy. I love that it doesn’t spike cortisol, so it provides sustainable energy without any of the negative health effects on your adrenals or hormones. I even gave it to my husband one afternoon when he came in from his office complaining about how tired he was - I honestly wanted to see how he would respond to it without knowing anything about it. When I asked him about how he felt later that evening, he was like “Oh yeah - I forgot I was even tired, so I guess it works! “ That pretty much sums up how I feel when I take it as well. 

If you have any issues with productivity, brain fog, lack of focus, or a drop in your mental energy in the afternoons, I recommend trying out a 30-day supply of Magic Mind. If you hate it or it doesn’t work for you (which I doubt) they offer a full money-back guarantee! You can order Magic Mind for yourself by going to www.magicmind.com/alainad and using the code ALAINAD20 for over 50% off your first subscription or 20% off your one-time purchase. I think you’re going to love it!

So where was I with the story - oh yes - finally heading back to the OR.

I remember feeling nervous as they wheeled me back. They gave Scott instructions to get all geared up while they got me settled in the OR, so he left me at the door. I thought it was so odd to be wheeled all the way to the OR door in the bed and then they had me get up and walk into the actual OR. I’ve had a few surgeries before and it was such a different experience being highly medicated before ever getting in there and this time being fully aware of everything that was happening. 

Once I was situated on the operating table they started my spinal block. I was super nervous and I think all of the emotions of the day finally caught up with me because I remember shaking a lot - before they ever got the spinal block in. All of the nurses and anesthesiologists were great and kept trying to ask me questions and distract me. There were so many people in that small room and everyone seemed to be focused on what they were doing. Once the spinal was in, they laid me back and started prepping me for the procedure. I got super numb fast and before I knew it, they were ready to start. The anesthesiologist was by my head the whole time checking in on how I was feeling and helping me to get as comfortable as I could be on an OR table. Scott came in just a couple of minutes later and my OB announced she was ready to start. Within 2-3 minutes I heard her say “Oh, lots of hair!” and she dropped the little window covering down in the drape. She held up the sweetest, chunkiest baby boy so Scott and I could get a good look at him. It’s so crazy how I fell in love with him immediately. He looked so much like Remi did when she was born, it blew our minds. I felt like I had given birth to the same baby twice! 😝 My OB held him there for at least a full minute for us to just soak him in while they cut the umbilical cord. 

They took him over to do a quick assessment of him while the team put me back together. I remember starting to feel a little light-headed at one point and mentioned it to my anesthesiologist, but he had already noticed my BP dropping and pushed a med to help. He was amazing! After a couple of minutes, they bundled Rowan up and brought him over for Scott to hold while they sewed me back up. I think this part may have lasted about 20 minutes or so but it was all a really quick blur. We just stared at him taking in all of his squishy newborn goodness and I was so relieved he was out. I remember commenting on how I could already breathe so much better! He weighed 9lb, 2 oz, and was 21.5 inches long. Such a big, chunky baby boy with a head full of dark brown hair. 

Within a few more minutes my OB said she was finished and everything went beautifully with zero complications! Thank the Lord! I was super relieved that I didn’t get nauseated or feel awful. I actually felt really good for just having major surgery! 

Scott handed Ro to me and they wheeled us back to our room for recovery. I immediately got to do skin-to-skin with Rowan and let him start nursing.  We had that lovely golden hour of soaking him in and just getting to be the three of us. 

Once I could feel my legs again and everything looked good, they moved us over to the postpartum floor. 

My parents had been waiting in the waiting room all morning, so they wheeled me right past them on the way. They visited with us for a while and then Scott’s family came and brought Remi up to our room. Watching her meet her baby brother for the first time was such a sweet moment. I’ll never forget her jumping up and down and dancing around with pure joy and excitement. It was a moment I had prayed for many times and it was just perfect. 

We were in the hospital for two days before they discharged us and both of us did really well with recovery. I had great nurses who stayed on top of my pain meds, so I never really had bad pain during the whole stay. Getting up the first time was a challenge but once I was up and could change clothes and pull myself together a bit, I felt so much better. It’s very hard to sleep in the hospital (unless you’re my husband 😝) so I was super tired, but Rowan was a dream. He nursed and slept like an angel baby. 

My only regret from our hospital stay was not asking for more help from lactation. They came in multiple times and offered assistance but because I had breastfed Remi and Rowan had latched quickly, I thought I was good to go. It wasn’t until I was already home that I realized that he had latching issues (a lip tie) and we were going to need some help. So let that be a word of warning, always take the help. Don’t assume you have got it down, even if you’ve done it before. 

All in all, I really couldn’t have asked for a better c-section experience. It obviously isn’t my preference for giving birth, but I feel confident that it was the best choice for what my body needed and I’m thankful for the team that I had during the delivery. I think the doctors and nurses can really make it break the experience in this type of situation and mine were truly all wonderful. 

I will be doing another episode all about recovering from a c-section, so I’m not going to get into that part today. If you have any questions about c-section recovery, or postpartum recovery in general, or something that you want to be sure that I cover in that episode, send me a DM on Instagram and let me know!

Answering Your Pregnancy Questions + HF Update

Hi friends! This episode is a little different in that I’m answering some of your questions and in that, this will be my last episode for a while! As of when this podcast is airing, I’m just a few days out from my due date with our second child and getting everything ready to meet him next week! I’ll give a little more info on what you can expect from the podcast over the summer as we transition into being a family of four. We’re excited for this new chapter for our family and while you won’t be hearing much from me over the next couple of months, I do have tons of resources and previous episodes (95 to be exact) for you to go back and listen to over the summer. I also have a new resource to share with you that I’ve been working on for a while and was finally able to finish. If you’re on my email list, you already got access to it in your inbox yesterday, but I wanted to share it here too. My new guide is called Little by Little: A Beginner’s Guide to Reducing Toxins. It’s a free download that walks you through the process of transitioning into a less-toxic lifestyle in a way that doesn’t stress you out. It starts with what I feel are the most important or highest priority products and things to transition and then moves through a list, helping you with the transition over time, rather than feeling like you have to do everything at once. I know when I first started learning about toxins and environmental exposures I felt super overwhelmed and discouraged because I just didn’t have the capacity or the budget to throw away everything and start over with less-toxic options. So I created this guide with that feeling in mind and I hope that it will take away that stress/overwhelmed element for you. It even includes an actual checklist for you that you can print out and stick on your fridge so that as you work through one area, you can see what’s next and hopefully will make the whole process feel more achievable. I’m excited to get to share that with you before I take a little time away. 

Okay, so let’s get into answering your questions about this pregnancy and what you can expect from me in the next few months! 

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I asked a while back what pregnancy-related questions you guys had and I’ve just compiled a list of some of the more common questions I’ve received over the past few months and want to talk through those now. Every pregnancy experience is different, even in the same woman, so I’m sure some of what I share you will relate with and probably some that you won’t and that’s fine too. I wanted to take just a few minutes to answer some of these questions before my mind gets super hazy with even less sleep and postpartum hormones. 🙂

How am I feeling? How has this pregnancy been in comparison to the last? 

This is probably the most common question and I so appreciate that people care to ask, but it’s always funny to answer because it changes from day to day. As of now, I’m feeling pretty uncomfortable and very ready for this little guy to be out, as I’d say most women feel at 39 weeks along. 

This pregnancy has been pretty different than my first pregnancy with our daughter. Of course, that was 6 years ago, so I don’t fully remember every detail about how I felt with her but there are some definite differences. I’ve had a whole lot more heartburn with this one than with her - especially during the first trimester and then of course, here at the end again. I honestly don’t remember having heartburn one time with my first but I’ve for sure made up for it this time. I also had some nausea in the first trimester, but not a lot. More just the heartburn. It was pretty smooth sailing during the second trimester until about 20 weeks and I started to experience severe hip pain, especially at night when trying to sleep. If you haven’t heard Remi’s birth story, I had a rough delivery with her and she was way bigger of a baby than any of us imagined. I had to do months of PT after her delivery and had been pretty good as if I had restored my core for the most part before getting pregnant this time, but as soon as my belly started growing and stretching things out, I started having a lot of pain in my back and pelvis. So, it’s been a much more challenging pregnancy physically than my first. All I can say is that I’m super thankful for my chiropractor. If you guys have listened to the last episode, you got to hear from her and all the benefits of receiving chiro care during pregnancy, but I can honestly say that I’m not sure how I would have made it through these last few months without treatment. I’m super thankful for that and outside of just typical discomforts and aches/pressure at this point, I’m feeling good. Just ready. :)

Did I experience infertility again this time? How long did it take? 

I’ve shared a lot about our infertility journey before our first pregnancy and having endometriosis/multiple surgeries, etc. but I guess I haven’t shared a whole lot about how things were this time around. Secondary infertility is less talked about and I think sometimes harder to define/diagnose because there are so many factors at play. So to answer the question, I would say yes - we did experience secondary infertility but it was quite different than the first time around. I did have to have another excision surgery for endometriosis, but it had been about 6 years since my last one and thankfully there were minimal lesions found and not near the amount of adhesions or scar tissue that was found before. We didn’t do any conventional fertility treatments this time around - just tried on our own. Right before I got pregnant, I was going to go in to have my tubes flushed, as this was one of the things that my fertility doc suggested since he said it wasn’t fully opened after surgery, but I got a positive test before doing that. From what I can tell, it seems like maybe because of that tube situation, I was likely having a successful release of an egg during ovulation every other month, so that likely contributed to the time it took us to conceive this time around. All in all, it was probably two-ish years of trying. As I said, it was very different this time around because we had a toddler, at the time who took a long time to sleep through the night and wean. Plus I had surgery in the middle of all of that, so I didn’t keep track of the time quite as rigidly as I did the first time around. Also, from an emotional perspective, I just knew what I was willing to put myself through, and not this time around. As I said, we didn’t do any treatments (outside of surgery and acupuncture) and I didn’t obsessively track things like I did the first time. I would do ovulation tests for a few months and be really on top of things and then when I felt myself burning out, we’d take some time off from being as intentional about it. So because of that, it’s hard to define “how long it took” but it did take some time and there were really hard moments along the way. Especially when Remi would ask for a sibling or why she didn’t have one. But as we’ve learned time and time again, the Lord was faithful during all of it and brought peace to just rest in Him when we needed it and strength to try again when we needed it. I heard someone say one time that God gives you the strength and grace that you need for today - not for tomorrow, or next week, or next year - but for today, so don’t waste your time worrying about something that may happen down the road that you haven’t been given grace for yet. It’s sufficient for today - so rest in that and know that whatever comes in the future, His grace will be sufficient for that day too. I can say that I didn’t perfectly model that this time around but many days were easier because I’ve learned that God will give me what I need and that I can trust Him with our family.  

What prenatal vitamins am I taking? 

This entire pregnancy and even for probably about a year before I got pregnant, I’ve been taking Needed’s prenatal vitamins. First, I was taking their multi-capsules, which is their full-strength supplement, and then during the first and second trimesters, I just took their essentials, which is a paired-down option that is only a couple of capsules because that’s about all I could handle. Then once I finished those, I’ve gone back to their full-strength version for the third tri and added in their probiotic, as well. I’ve also tried to take an omega-3 supplement throughout my pregnancy, but haven’t been super consistent with that. If you’re looking for a prenatal supplement - I highly recommend Needed. I interviewed one of their founders earlier in the year. You can go back and learn more about why their products are different than the industry standard but I’ve really appreciated working with them and just truly believe that they have one of the best options available for perinatal health - preconception - postpartum. You can save 20% off any order with them by using the code HEALTHFORWARD.

What are some of my favorite pregnancy support products, supplements, etc?

I just put together a guide sharing some of my favorite products and things that I’ve used during this pregnancy and what I feel has helped me feel as good as I could. I’ll share that below, but I’ll mention just a few things here as well:

• Genexa Antacids - I told yall about the heartburn. These things have saved me on multiple occasions, especially during the middle of the night. I love that they have the same active ingredient as TUMS but without all of the other flavoring, colorings, and other junk that you get with that. 

• Electrolytes are another big one that I feel has made a big difference. I especially noticed the difference early on when I was dealing with some nausea and just sheer exhaustion, I would feel so much better when I would incorporate minerals and electrolytes. I started using the Pickleball brand several months ago because they are one of the brands highest in potassium, and I feel like it makes a huge difference. I will also sometimes use coconut water or aloe leaf in my drinks as well, but I love the pickleball packets, it has a lot of minerals that I need already put together and I don’t have to measure, etc. I also plan to keep incorporating this throughout postpartum and breastfeeding to keep myself hydrated. 

• I’ve already talked about how much I’ve relied on chiropractic treatment - so that’s been a big one but also taking magnesium soaks/baths. You guys listen, I don’t know how any woman makes it through pregnancy without a bathtub. I know some of you aren’t bath people, but I just cannot understand. That is the only place where I feel comfortable these days and truly cannot imagine life without it 😀The magnesium also helps with relaxing my muscles as I’ve dealt with some Restless Leg Syndrome this last trimester and helping me get better sleep. Not to mention, it’s just good support for my body and especially for my liver as everything is working extra hard these days. 

How long am I taking off? What will work look like when I’m back? 

Well, the short answer is - at least the summer. This will be the last podcast episode and I won’t be producing any regular content or working with clients at all this summer. I’m sure I’ll be on social here and there and sharing some things there, especially after the haze of the first few weeks wears off, but I won’t be “working” per se. I’m not exactly sure when the podcast will be back when regular content will start to flow again or exactly what it will look like. As of now, I’m thinking likely in the beginning of September but I’m not holding myself to that. I’ve never had two kids before and honestly just don't know what life will look like being home with them and trying to run a business. So, we’ll just see. 

The good news is that all of my previous episodes will stay right here and you have 95 episodes worth of my voice to go back and listen to if you start missing me ;) 

My Foundations of Health course - Move Forward, Feel Better will also still be available, so if you’re looking for some health coaching between now and when I’m back, that is a great resource for you that you can access at any time.

Well, that answers all the questions that I have and pretty much wraps things up for today. Everything is linked in today’s show notes and always over in my Instagram bio as well. I’ll miss sharing with you guys this summer but I’m sure you’ll be hearing from me again soon! As always keep moving forward, go love your people well, and I’ll talk to you next time! 

Pregnancy Faves

Amazon Black Romper // Genexa Antacids // LTGL Magnesium Soak (HF10 to save 10%) // Primally Pure Baby Balm (yourhealthforward10 to save 10%) // Needed Prenatal Vitamins (healthforward to save 20%) // Reduce Insulated Tumber // Pickleball Electrolyte Powder // Amazon Maternity Leggings // Amazon Pregnancy Pillow