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Fertility Foods | What Food to Eat While Trying to Conceive

by with No Comment PersonalPregnancyRelationship

Are you patiently, or anxiously, awaiting those two pink lines? Do you feel like you’ve tried everything or haven’t even touched the surface on what you should be doing? Were you hoping to just “do the deed” and get pregnant?

Did you know that the majority of couples become pregnant within six months, says Kenan Omurtag, MD, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Washington University in St. Louis?

However, even past six months, there’s nothing to be worried about. But, regardless if you’ve been trying for only a couple months or many months, it’s completely natural and normal to feel anxious, nervous, upset, disappointed, or disheartened (or any range of emotions to be honest). I know that I personally started to get a bit anxious about it on the second month (obviously not knowing that we would be so lucky to conceive the following month). We know how blessed we are and yet several of our friends conceived their first time ever trying.

Whatever your story is, you’re here to learn more about what we did to conceive. PLEASE NOTE: I am NOT a doctor, midwife, or ANY kind of medical professional. Everything I am sharing is based on prior research and experiences I have had. Please seek medical advice from your doctor if you’re unsure about any of this information and to make sure you devise a plan that is right for you.

Here’s what I incorporated into my/our diet daily based on our research:

  • 2-3 eggs per day
  • A protein bar a day (or just protein in general but it was easier for me to have a protein bar)
  • Reduce sugar intake
  • Little to no “wasteful” carbs
  • 2-3 cups of spinach a day (cooked/raw)
  • 2 Brazil nuts (very important for guys) every day
  • We had already been taking prenatals (eEevit and Menevit) – you should start these at least 3 months before trying for optimal results (it takes about that long for your body to feel/experience the positive effects from the prenatals)
  • Other vitamins (fish oil, magnesium, etc).
  • At least half an avocado a day
  • Bean soups weekly
  • 2-3 fish a week (salmon)
  • A handful of nuts daily
  • 1 banana a day
  • 2-3 cups of herbal tea per day
  • Probioticsd aily
  • Tract basal temperature (more information below)
  • Raise those legs 🤣 iyky (if you know, you know. But if not, read below!)

Basal Temperature: What is it, why’s it important, and how do I track it?

As the Mayo Clinic says, “Your basal body temperature is your temperature when you’re fully at rest. Ovulation may cause a slight increase in basal body temperature. You’ll be most fertile during the two to three days before your temperature rises. By tracking your basal body temperature each day, you may be able to predict when you’ll ovulate.” 

How to test your basal temperature/tips to testing your basal temperature:

  • Keep a mouth thermometer on your bed side table
  • Test as soon as you wake up (do NOT stand up, eat, drink, etc).
  • Record your results right away so you remember and can track it over the coming days/months 

It’s best to track your basal temperature for a few months in advance to get a better understanding of your body. This is because some women can have more than one spike in basal temperature during their cycle. You can also use your basal temperature to avoid pregnancy by intentionally not “baby dancing” when your temperature spikes (it’s a great way of “natural family planning” e.i. not using birth control).

If you’ve tried ovulation tests or have heard about them, you may know that ovulation tests tell you when you are about to ovulate (usually within 24-48 hours of getting a positive ovulation test) but, your basal temperature will tell you after you have ovulated. This a great way to check that you have ovulated and that your ovulation tests were correct. If you are trying to conceive, you want to “baby dance” the day you get your positive ovulation test and the following few days until you get a spike in your basal temperature (remember you need to test your basal temperature EVERY day). 

What do you mean “raise those legs”?

First, a disclaimer: Although this theory is said to not be accurate by many, it has worked for a lot of people I know personally and stories I have read online. If you’re really trying to pregnant, you will want to do everything possible (even something like this that has mixed reviews – of course, when it comes to taking medication/etc. you should always consult your doctor. Do not just try everything you see on the internet).

When I say “raise your legs,” I mean elevate your pelvis area to make sure the sperm is staying within you after you baby dance. Based on what I read, it was suggested for a minimum of 20-30 minutes afterward. This is similar to the advice of not going to the bathroom (urinating) directly after (this has nothing to do with the actual urine because of course this comes from a different place but just gravity/wiping can cause his swimmers to escape). Some people have even used their period cup or disk (inserted it) afterward to make sure there was no leakage. Some even slept with it in overnight. Just be wary that you could get an infection afterward if you keep it in too long (every body is different). I even recently read a story of a woman who had been trying to conceive for over a year and didn’t get pregnant until she used the cup suggestion. So, ya never know! 

Remember, you can try ALL of this and more and still not be successfully conceiving. Then, one month, it happens and you think, “But, I didn’t do anything differently!” We have friends who conceived right away without needing to do any of this, friends who did all of this right away and conceived straight away, friends who gradually introduced these steps, friends who are still trying to conceive, etc. Everyone is different and our experiences are all unique. However you are feeling throughout this journey is validated. You’re allowed to be scared, mad, frustrated, excited, happy, unsure, etc. Whatever you’re going through, you’re not alone.

And again, I am not a doctor or medical professional in any way, shape or form so please take everything I have said today for what you want. Do more research. Talk to friends. Talk to a midwife. Consult a doctor.

 

I wish you ALL the luck in the world in your journey to conception and pregnancy! If you’d like to connect more on social media, I would love to see you there. You can follow me and contact me directly on Instagram @its.mary.taylor! 

 

Signing off,

Mary <3 

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My Pregnancy Journey (Up to 12 Weeks)

by with No Comment PersonalPregnancyRelationshipTips & Hacks

Let me know if this sounds familiar. You’ve been trying, hoping, and praying to become pregnant. You’ve done ovulation testing every month and basal temperature daily. Waiting to see those two pink lines.

And then, it happens. ➕

You’re pregnant and it’s time to get excited! But wait…

You’re told ‘The first 6 weeks are really fragile. Don’t tell anyone. Don’t get too excited.’ ‘Now that you’ve reached 6 weeks, 10 weeks is really fragile too.’ ‘The safe zone is really 12 weeks. Only tell a few close friends and family members.’ It’s almost like you’re supposed to hide. 🙅🏻‍♀️

Hi, I’m Mary (@its.mary.taylor) and I’m 8 weeks pregnant 🤗🤰🏻

I want to normalize spreading joy and excitement throughout pregnancy – especially in the first trimester. You’re not alone if you’re feeling unsupported because there are little to no resources early on. Because your first midwife appointment isn’t for 8+ weeks and you’re unsure what’s going on with your body. ‘Is this normal? Am I okay?’ Because you ‘aren’t supposed to tell anyone.’ Well mama, I say shout it from the rooftops. Throw positivity towards it. 😍

And of course, know that something could happen but regardless, you’re pregnant right now. You should not only be allowed to be but also encouraged to be excited!

I want to bring you on my journey of my first pregnancy. To tell you like is. Support you. Encourage you. And bring you JOY (and maybe sometimes tears, questions, and pain)!

Before we take it back to the beginning (fertility), let’s recap on the last month. I’m now 12 weeks ~ yay!! which means I have one more week until my second trimester. When they say pregnancy goes quickly, it really does (the minutes and days can feel long but the weeks feel short). Did you find pregnancy to go by quickly or slowly?

I told you it wouldn’t be alllll ups and excitement. This month has been rough and tough. Lots of nausea. Constant 24/7 to be exact. If you’re feeling like this for weeks on end and especially if you’re unable to keep food down, please see your doctor! I was prescribed a pregnancy safe medication to help with the nausea and vomiting and now I’m only slightly nauseous most of the day and severely nauseous rarely. And I keep food down – nearly all the time 🤣

Now that you know the most recent updates, I would love to touch on fertility. Again, as I stated last month, I am not a doctor or a specialist by any means. This is just based on the research I have done and my personal experience.

We are told that on average it takes a healthy couple six months of trying to get pregnant. And although even if we think we truly accept this, when you’re in that time of trying, it feels like forever. You may even see your friends, colleagues, acquaintances, or even random‘s online getting pregnant (planning or not) and feel a little (or a lot of bit) jealous. The first month is fun – it’s the hope and the want but not the need. It’s only been a month. Month two comes around and you’re thinking OK maybe we should be a bit more precise and start to do more research. By month three it no longer just feels like a want but a need. I need to get pregnant. I’m starting to worry. Again, even if we know it’s normal. This is when we started to really dive into research and change what we were doing. A lot of it had to do with diet! Check out this blog for more information on the fertility foods/supplements we started taking (before trying to conceive and during conception). 

The month that we made changes to our diet, we successfully conceived! Now, again, I’m not a doctor and I’m not 100% sure what made it “happen” for us but if you’re at the point of doing everything you can to make it happen, this is what I suggest. Feel free to DM me or comment below with any questions including ovulation testing and basal temperature readings etc 🤍

I am SO excited to take you on this journey with me! To see more frequent updates or chat to me, follow me on Instagram!

Signing off,

Mary Taylor <3

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How I Told My Husband I Was Pregnant

by with No Comment PersonalPregnancyRelationship

Hi there! Thanks for coming to my blog. I am SO excited to share the story about how I told my husband we were expecting. I haven’t shared this story with many people yet, besides a few close friends/family members maybe. It was a few months in the making because we had been trying to conceive for a little while before getting pregnant.

I had decided I wanted to announce that I was pregnant with something that my husband would resonate with. Hence why I did a beer pregnancy announcement!

The next step was to design and order custom pregnancy announcement t-shirts! Then, I had to plan how I would give my husband, Robbie, the t-shirts and show him mine! 

I decided to also create a custom beer bottle label (pictured below the video) which would be used for the real announcement. Then, I would give him the t-shirts.

Some background to the video: Robbie always fulfills all of my wants and needs.

Before lunch, while he was still in the other room, I placed the custom labelled beer bottle in the fridge and waited for the right timing to capture him opening our drinks drawer and seeing the bottle. However, things weren’t going quite to plan. I made lunch and we sat down directly across from the fridge at our “breakfast” bar/counter. Part way through lunch I sighed, “I am really thirsty!” thinking that Robbie would of course offer to get me something to drink. But he didn’t! I even said, “After all your hard work organizing this morning, you deserve a beer,” but he responded that he didn’t want one. A little later, I mentioned it again while he was in the kitchen. But, again, he took no notice to my “dire thirst!” 

We were supposed to be getting ready to leave but I refused to get up from my seat (as it was the PERFECT place to capture the moment and I didn’t want to miss him seeing the baby announcement beer bottle). So I asked if he could get my shoes for me and I put them on while still sitting at the counter. When he came back in the room, I asked if he could get me a kombucha while I put on my shoes. That’s when this happened….

“First came love. Then came marriage. Then came a baby in a baby carriage.”

SURPRISE! You’re going to be a dad Robbie! 

“Robbie, you’re not the only one brewing anymore. Drink up because you’re drinking for two now.”

Thank you so much to everyone who has shared in our pregnancy announcement excitement! We are so grateful for the love and support. I cannot wait to continue to share my pregnancy journey on the blog and on my Instagram. You can follow me here to stay up-to-date!

Signing off,

Mary Taylor <3 

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The Big Surprise

by with No Comment PersonalPregnancyRelationshipTips & Hacks

After your first date with someone that you really hit it off with, the first question is, “When’s the second date?” Later comes, “When will he propose?” And then, “When’s the wedding,” and “When will you have kids?”

We’re all looking forward to the next part of life. For us, the answer was simple but the steps were more difficult. Although we love children and couldn’t wait to grow our family, we had a checklist of things we wanted to accomplish before having kids.

In July of last year, our finally checklist item was marked off: For my husband, Robbie, to work from home!

And so, the adventure began…

Not a trick, just a treat 🍭
Our family is growing by two little feet! 👣

Based on a true story!

A Burke Production Presents 2 Little Feet, starring Robbie, Mary, & Kona Burke. Introducing ‘Yet To Be Decided.’ Produced by nature & written by our hearts. Directed by “morning” sickness. Featuring lots of ginger & naps.

In select theaters June 2022. 

If you know me personally or even just follow me on Instagram, you may know that I like to do things big. Announcements. Parties. And just life in general. So, creating this pregnancy announcement was just my style! We even did a separate photo for our dog’s Instagram account to really highlight her “Big Sister” promotion (bandana). 

If you’re pregnant too and wondering how you can surprise your family with an announcement, we had tons of compliments on our movie theater poster pregnancy announcement. People had fun looking through all the little details and kept finding new and things to look at (the little kiwi onesie, bottle of ginger essential oil, jar of pickles, stretch mark cream, and ginger sweets were some of my favorite things! 

If you want to do your own movie poster announcement but don’t have photoshop or Canva pro, don’t hesitate to reach out. I’d love to help!  

I know I have skipped around a bit and missed some very important details, but don’t worry, they’re coming soon! For now, let’s celebrate what is! 

With love. Signing off,

Mary Taylor <3

© Susannah Lynn Photography

Anniversary Weekend (Turned Week) | One Year Anniversary Ideas

by with No Comment ADPersonalRelationshipTravel

What a whirlwind the last week has been! We were supposed to celebrate our first year wedding anniversary the weekend before our anniversary, but something came up and we had to reschedule. Our actual anniversary wasn’t until Monday/Tuesday (depending if you want to count US time – where we got married – or NZ time – where we live but it’s a day ahead).

You can read all about our San Diego wedding and our New Zealand wedding reception. If you’re a current bride or bride-to-be and would like wedding inspiration, check out our FREE wedding Facebook group.

This blog post may contain affiliate links and ads. I may earn a small commission from clicks but they don’t cost you anything to use them and they help support me & my family. Thank you for understanding.

I had been planning my surprise for several weeks though and I couldn’t hold out much longer so I followed through with my plans on the Friday before our wedding anniversary. It was a combination of a few people helping me pull off the ultimate surprise! Thank you to my in-laws for secretly sneaking my wedding dress into our apartment (there’s a funny story about that) and to Suzanne from Stellar Backdrops for the INCREDIBLE wood prints.

I put on my wedding dress, laid out Robbie’s wedding outfit (even his bowtie) for him to put on then I set up the living room with my Stellar prints and a platter board and surprised Robbie! I had our wedding video playing in the background and we re-watched it and listened to our wedding speeches over again (while in tears). You can watch our wedding video here.

When I received my Stellar Backdrops order, I was absolutely speechless at how gorgeous they were. I was worried that like other wood prints I have purchased in the past, that the images would look blown out (too bright) and would lack the detail and color in the original image but they turned out perfectly! We love the 3D wood lettering on the wall hanging image and the shape, size, and stand for the hexagon print. We can’t wait to show these off in our home! You can find Stellar Backdrops on Instagram, Facebook, and even on their website! To receive a 10% discount towards your first purchase of their wooden print range – use code THANKYOU10. Valid until 30 September 2020. If you have anything from Stellar Backdrops already or use purchase from them after seeing this blog, take a photo and tag me on Instagram and/or Facebook, I would love to see what you got!

If you’re looking for anniversary gift ideas, prints are a great way to remember your wedding day and have beautiful home artwork! We’re even going to put the wall hanging print as the centerpiece for an entire photo wall in our hallway (if you want to see more about our home building process and home inspiration blogs, you can find me on Instagram @its.mary.taylor and read home-related blogs here).

On our actual anniversary, a few days later, we weren’t going to do anything but Robbie (my husband) convinced me to get off work and head to dinner! He didn’t need to do much convincing because I love exploring new restaurants. We had been wanting to go to a restaurant in the harbour for years so when he told me we were going there, I was even more excited!

The rest of the week included eating out almost every night, hanging out with friends, and relaxing at home. When the weekend came, it was finally Robbie’s day to plan! Saturday morning I slept in and was greeted with a list of activities for the day. I didn’t realize until later that evening why he had chosen all of these activities in the order that he did. Can you figure it out?

Photos, art, picnic, earrings (or errands – to go buy earrings), restaurant. I’ll give you a hint. Do you know what the traditional one year anniversary gift is?

It’s paper! We weren’t going to do gifts this year so he spelled out paper with the first letter of each activity! Although we didn’t actually do everything on the list (it was way too cold for a picnic so we got lunch with his parents instead – which was just as good), we had so much fun with each of the things we did!

I loved that he thought about me and really put effort into our day of celebration. I had been wanting photos for a while but we kept putting it off. It was actually so much more fun than I thought it would be! We walked all around looking for amazing street art and murals in Mount Maunganui. If you come here or you live around here and want to see some street art for yourself, check out this amazing map with locations of street art and murals in Tauranga and Mount Maunganui! Here are some of my favorite images!

Love a good (funny) outtake!

To finish off the day, we went to my favorite Italian restaurant in the Mount. They always spoil us and even set up an adorable candle for us at our booth right by the fireplace. We always get the sharing platter – value for money 100/10.

On Sunday, we got to have another relaxing, go with the flow day. We went to the local farmers market, had massages (best of our lives – and again, another local Mount Maunganui place we often go to), and even sat in the sun at our community pool. For dinner I made the most incredible pulled chicken tacos!

If you’re looking for one year wedding anniversary gift ideas (paper related gift ideas), here are some fun options:

💌 Tickets somewhere (a show, amusement park, plane tickets, etc)

💌 Printed pictures, artwork, or a wedding album (technically made out of paper and if you get a Stellar Backdrop wood print, wood makes paper 😉)

💌 Lottery tickets

💌 A new journal or book (here are some really cool marriage journals that could be fun)

💌 DIY coupons

💌 Magazine subscription

If you enjoyed reading this and would like more information on home, lifestyle, advice, tips, tricks, and more, follow me on Instagram @Its.Mary.Taylor and on Facebook at Mary Taylor! I can’t wait to see you there!

Signing off,

Mary Taylor <3

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Love Languages

What are Love Languages & Why Love Languages are Important

by with No Comment Relationship

Did you know that there are five love languages?! When Robbie and I first met, Robbie didn’t know what love languages were. When I explained it to him, he immediately could identify with what his love languages were. The five love languages are: quality time, gifts, physical touch, acts of service and words of affirmations.

I quickly realized that we had very similar views when it came to quality time and physical touch! One thing that we differ in is gifts. Robbie is not a gifts guy so giving him gifts wasn’t going to show him that I love him. However, on the other hand, I love gifts! I can honestly identify with all of these love languages although quality time and physical touch are my number one’s.

So, why is your love language important to know about? And why should you know (and remember) other people’s love languages too?

Because not everyone values the same things with love languages, it’s important to know what people in your life identify with which love language. The love languages that you prefer to receive might not be the ones that you like to give or might not be the ones that you tend to give. This could be true for your partner, family members, or friends too. This leaves room for a lot of miscommunication. You think that you’re showing love (or how much you care) to these important people in your life but they might not be identifying with that love language and therefore, can’t see or feel how much you care. We need to learn how to love people in the way that they prefer to be loved. This means that sometimes it might not be the most natural thing for us to do. But, if that person is important in your life, do you want to make sure that they feel loved. 

“I’m not sure what love languages I prefer or what I give. How do I know which love languages I identify with?”

This is a great question! Especially if you’ve never heard about love languages before, you might be a little bit confused as to which you identify with most. The best way to think about it is to rate the five love languages from most important to least important. You might love and appreciate all of them but you’ll most likely have a top one or two. If you’re still unsure, you can take a quiz which will help you identify which love languages you resonate most with. You can take the quiz here.

Love languages are important in everyday relationships (everyone from your spouse to your parents, siblings, and friends) because it can be a huge source of confusion, frustration, and miscommunication if you’re showing someone you love them in a way that you like to receive love but they don’t like to receive love. Next time you’re giving someone a gift, think about which love language resonates most with them. Maybe next time instead of gifting someone a physical gift, you’ll gift them a homemade coupon for an act of service like cleaning their home or making dinner. Maybe you’ll gift them a one-on-one experience they have been wanting or you’ll even write them a card telling them how much you love and appreciate everything they do for you.

I would love to hear about which love language you resonate most with! Let me know on Instagram and send me your gift ideas for your love language!

If you enjoyed reading this and would like more information on home, lifestyle, advice, tips, tricks, and more, follow me on Instagram @Its.Mary.Taylor and on Facebook at Mary Taylor! I can’t wait to see you there!

 

Signing off,

Mary Taylor <3

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10 Cheap Date Ideas

by with No Comment Relationship

Robbie and I love having date night! Whether it’s going out for a movie, finding a new happy hour spot, or eating at a sit down restaurant, it’s always fun! But, since we are saving for our new home, we often want to go on dates without the added expenses. We have learned to turn almost every night into a date night (even if that means watching trashy reality TV in bed)!

Here are some of the cheap (or free) date nights we recommend:

  1. A DIY art project! We went to a dollar store (you can also shop online at the Dollar Tree and have things delivered) and picked out a bunch of things to create a sign with our last name! We don’t often get creative with crafts so this was a new and fun way to connect. We brainstormed where it would go and what colors to use before we sat down to execute it together.
  2. A walk through the neighborhood. This is a great way to get exercise and connect with your partner. Whether you want to walk through your neighborhood or go somewhere else for a hike this is a perfect date night/day activity! You can even find a new place to watch the sunset.
  3. Window shopping! We like to get out as much as we can so even when we don’t have to buy anything, we like to walk around the mall and window shop. Even if we don’t leave with anything, we still get to talk, explore, and get some easy exercise. This is a great winter date night activity for when it’s raining or snowing (as long as the mall is indoors)! 
  4. Happy hour – but just go for one drink! We love trying new places and new drinks but sometimes don’t have the funds to go for a full dinner. Find a place during the week that has daily specials or happy hour. Super easy, super fun, and way cheaper than a full priced date night.
  5. Game night! We love playing games and if you already own them, it’s free to play! 
  6. Gardening! For some this might be a chore but we had fun going shopping for and planting our own garden. It was not only cheap but it also provides us food for more date nights.
  7. Beer or wine tasting at home. Go to your local grocery store and pick out a few wines or beers to try at home. You can cover the labels or put the bottles in brown bottle bags and guess which one was the most/least expensive, the oldest, or the best!
  8. Go on a picnic. You need to eat dinner anyways so why not pack it up and take it to a park you’ve never been to before? This is super fun and really easy! 
  9. YouTube dance lessons. We did this when we were practicing for our wedding dance and it was a blast! We laughed the whole time! We also found a local restaurant that offered free dance lessons once a week. If you look you might something similar in your area! 
  10. Read a book together. Find a book that both of you have never read and read it outloud together. Robbie and I are currently reading The Power of Now and it’s super fascinating! Neither of us are big readers but it’s been fun to read together.

BONUS: If you have an animal shelter close by, see if you can volunteer! You can even go in just to pet and play with the animals. This is a great way to help the community, serve others, and spend time with your partner.

If this blog helped you to learn something new or get inspiration and you want to stay up to date with what we are doing, follow me on Instagram or Facebook! I’d love to hear about what you do for date nights too! 

Signing off,

Mary Taylor <3