Latest / Heartbeat of The Home / 02 - My Story Pt. 1

Transcript

02 - My Story Pt. 1 · Heartbeat of The Home

0:00
SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to another episode of Harpy of the Home.
0:04
SPEAKER_00: That's exciting.
0:05
SPEAKER_00: It's the first time I've used that intro.
0:07
SPEAKER_00: I officially have my name figured out, so that's super exciting.
0:11
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, this is just the second episode, but I have recorded a ton of birth story interviews and a few other a few other interviews already.
0:20
SPEAKER_00: So it's been really fun, but also kind of like I wish I had a name.
0:25
SPEAKER_00: And now I do.
0:26
SPEAKER_00: So that's super exciting.
0:28
SPEAKER_00: But today I'm just going to be sharing my story.
0:30
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, I shared my heart behind starting this podcast, my heart behind topics I want to cover and stuff like that.
0:38
SPEAKER_00: But I kind of want to dive in the why and just what has not forced me, but kind of forced me to just find more holistic answers and more holistic solutions and why I'm really passionate about it and why I just think knowledge is power when it comes to birth and our bodies.
0:57
SPEAKER_00: And this guy's designed for birth, I think, is super important.
1:00
SPEAKER_00: And so yeah, just wanted to share my story and kind of dive into just the research I've done, what's gotten me here, unfortunately.
1:08
SPEAKER_00: Um, and fortunately, um, I'm really thankful that I have this that I've kind of gone down this path.
1:14
SPEAKER_00: But just kind of diving on in.
1:17
SPEAKER_00: Um, if you're not watching on YouTube, I am outside, so apologize in advance for noises of kids screaming in the neighborhood, cars driving by.
1:28
SPEAKER_00: Growing up, I always had stomach issues like stomach pain.
1:34
SPEAKER_00: My stomach just always hurt.
1:35
SPEAKER_00: It was very much anxiety related and emotional related, um, and definitely hormone-related, but um, I just have always had stomach issues and just always felt all my emotions in my stomach.
1:53
SPEAKER_00: And then college, I and then yeah, I was just always so bloated and would eat random foods and my stomach would hurt so bad, and then I would eat them again, I'd be fine, and it was just could never figure it out.
2:05
SPEAKER_00: And then in college, this kind of continued, and my periods were just so painful and so irregular, and I just never knew when I was gonna get it and when I would get it, it would be just like cramped so bad that I physically couldn't move for like a minute.
2:21
SPEAKER_00: Um, and it was just so frustrating.
2:24
SPEAKER_00: Then I went to my doctor and was just like, hey, what is going on?
2:29
SPEAKER_00: And she was like, birth control, that'll help.
2:32
SPEAKER_00: It'll regulate your periods, it'll make them be less heavy, it'll make the pain less.
2:38
SPEAKER_00: It's just kind of like a win-win.
2:40
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, this is great, let's do it.
2:43
SPEAKER_00: So went on birth control, and yeah, I mean, my periods were regular because you take the pill and it happens.
2:52
SPEAKER_00: Um, and I yeah, more regular, less painful.
2:58
SPEAKER_00: So the solution to my problem happened, quote unquote solution.
3:05
SPEAKER_00: Um, but then my stomach just never got better.
3:09
SPEAKER_00: Um, I hated how much my body relied on the medicine.
3:13
SPEAKER_00: If I would take a pill like late, I'd get my period the next day, and then it would just go away.
3:19
SPEAKER_00: And it was just my body was so out of whack.
3:23
SPEAKER_00: And my stomach was just so in so much pain.
3:27
SPEAKER_00: And so I was just kind of started to dive into that at that point.
3:34
SPEAKER_00: I also had really bad heartburn and acid reflux, and so then they put me on medication for that, and I was just on that for a while.
3:44
SPEAKER_00: Um, and then I uh we got married, and I was like, cool, I'll I'm on birth control, this is great.
3:52
SPEAKER_00: But but then I don't know, I just really started noticing things in my mood.
3:57
SPEAKER_00: Noticed again, my stomach wasn't getting any better, my acid reflex.
4:01
SPEAKER_00: I was taking medication for it, but it was doing nothing.
4:04
SPEAKER_00: And yeah, I just really started to wonder, and not well, one, I didn't like how reliant my body was on it, but I really just started to run wonder, okay, is this really what's best for me?
4:18
SPEAKER_00: Am I actually doing what's best for me?
4:21
SPEAKER_00: Or is there another way?
4:23
SPEAKER_00: And a few people I knew in college were did like natural family planning and just like natural cycle tracking, but that was terrifying and that was way too stressful.
4:35
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, I'm in college, I'm married, I'm not getting pregnant, there's no way, which is so funny because I wasn't even taking my birth control regularly, and so anyway, but I was just so stressed.
4:51
SPEAKER_00: I was like, I can't, I can't do that, I'm not dealing with that, even though I hated how I felt, and so I just kind of continued with it and just but then I was but at the same time, it's kind of funny because at the same time I was looking into more holistic, I really started switching all of our cleaning products to more holistic options and just really looking into like non-toxic options and just the chemicals I was bringing into our home, the food we were eating.
5:17
SPEAKER_00: I was really, really mindful of what I was putting on my body, what we were like eating, and but I was still taking breath control every day.
5:25
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so I started to look into that.
5:28
SPEAKER_00: I met with our campus had a dietitian, and so I met with her about my stomach, and she was like, kind of sounds like you have IBS, but I don't know.
5:38
SPEAKER_00: And um, so I did all these crazy like diets and cut out tons of food, introduced foods, and I was just trying all these different things, and nothing was helping.
5:47
SPEAKER_00: And I feel like I maybe was on a gummy multivitamin.
5:51
SPEAKER_00: I was not into supplements at all.
5:53
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what I was thinking, but I just had that was just not even on my radar.
5:58
SPEAKER_00: I think I started taking a probiotic and I noticed that that actually helped a lot.
6:02
SPEAKER_00: So I was on a probiotic, but that was kind of it, and I just was not feeling good.
6:09
SPEAKER_00: And then I realized I was just talking to friends.
6:12
SPEAKER_00: A lot of my friends all of a sudden just kind of stopped taking birth control as well, and they had just kind of looked into more holistic options, and so I was like, okay, well, they're doing it, I can do it too.
6:24
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so then fast forward to 2021.
6:29
SPEAKER_00: Um, again, all this time I was looking for more natural ways and like wanting to heal my body, but I still just like would not let go of birth control, um, which is valid.
6:41
SPEAKER_00: I think there's a lot of fear around or like and just wanting that control and wanting that reassurance.
6:47
SPEAKER_00: Um, but there's just an encouragement.
6:50
SPEAKER_00: There's so many other ways, and um yeah, there's just other options that aren't depleting your body.
6:58
SPEAKER_00: In 2021, my husband got a new job and he worked for a fitness center gym, and he's a personal trainer, and they offered free training, um, just random courses that he could take that were free, um, that he could just participate in.
7:15
SPEAKER_00: And one of them was, I don't remember exactly what it was, but it was um about women and their cycle and fitness and like losing weight.
7:27
SPEAKER_00: And so how to specifically work with women, how to help women lose weight and um reach their goals, how to do it like along with their cycle and just what's best for their bodies.
7:41
SPEAKER_00: And John, my husband, was like, Oh my gosh, I should go to this because I'm a guy and I know nothing about this.
7:48
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, that's pretty cool.
7:50
SPEAKER_00: So he went and he knew that I was really diving into this holistic, and he knew that I was hesitant about birth control.
7:57
SPEAKER_00: We had talked about this many times, and he was fine if I went off of it.
8:01
SPEAKER_00: He didn't care, but I was the one who was like, ah, that's scary.
8:05
SPEAKER_00: So he went to this um workshop, class, whatever, and he came home and he walked in the door and he was like, If you want to go off birth control, I a hundred percent support you.
8:20
SPEAKER_00: And I was just like, What?
8:22
SPEAKER_00: And I guess she really just kind of broke down birth control, which is kind of crazy and cool, but broke down birth control, what it does to your body, how it affects your hormones, how it affects your cycle.
8:35
SPEAKER_00: And he came home and was just like, Did you know that like when you're on your period and you take the pill to have your period, it's not actually your period?
8:42
SPEAKER_00: I was like, Yeah.
8:44
SPEAKER_00: And he was just like, and do you know it does all this, your hormones?
8:47
SPEAKER_00: It's like, yeah.
8:48
SPEAKER_00: He's like, Did you know it depletes your body of all these essential nutrients?
8:52
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, Yeah, that's why I've been wanting to get off of it.
8:56
SPEAKER_00: And he's like, Oh my gosh, get off of it.
8:58
SPEAKER_00: Like, I totally support that.
8:59
SPEAKER_00: We'll figure something else out.
9:01
SPEAKER_00: So that was my big push.
9:03
SPEAKER_00: I feel like that was 100% God as well of just me wanting to, but just having that fear of the unknown.
9:10
SPEAKER_00: And um, it's scary.
9:12
SPEAKER_00: You have to do a lot of research and you have to do a lot of like planning, and I don't know.
9:16
SPEAKER_00: It was just a lot mentally, but I feel like that was my release of he a hundred percent supports you.
9:21
SPEAKER_00: He has like telling you to do it, and you know you want to do it.
9:25
SPEAKER_00: So I just did it.
9:26
SPEAKER_00: Um, I did not do it the best way.
9:28
SPEAKER_00: I mean, better to quit than nothing, but so I just stopped taking it and that was it.
9:33
SPEAKER_00: I stopped taking it, didn't start taking any supplements, didn't do any like research, even though I had done all this research about it.
9:40
SPEAKER_00: I didn't really do any research on what to do when you actually stop.
9:44
SPEAKER_00: And so I just quit cold turkey, stopped taking it, and my body kind of freaked out.
9:50
SPEAKER_00: I stopped taking it in the fall of 2021, and then probably like October, and then January 2022, I got chronic spontaneous hives because my body was freaking out, and I just was under a lot of stress.
10:06
SPEAKER_00: I had a lot, I just was very anxious.
10:09
SPEAKER_00: I was very stressed out.
10:11
SPEAKER_00: My body was very depleted of minerals and nutrients that it needed, and then I just quit cold turkey and it kind of shocked my system.
10:19
SPEAKER_00: And I went to the gym one day and did a pretty intense workout, and it was negative 13 degrees, and then I walked outside and I was super warm and then was super hot or super cold, and then I remember I went in home and showered, and I just felt like my skin was on fire.
10:41
SPEAKER_00: And we I just felt like I was going crazy, but yeah, I just broke out in hives.
10:45
SPEAKER_00: Anything if I like went like this, if you see in the video, but if I just like scratched my face because it itched, then I would get hives in that spot.
10:52
SPEAKER_00: I couldn't rub lotion on my legs because I would just get like hives.
10:56
SPEAKER_00: I just was covered in like lines.
10:58
SPEAKER_00: If I would like accidentally brush my face or put hair behind my ear, anywhere that I touched on my face would break out on hives.
11:04
SPEAKER_00: Any contacts with anything, hives.
11:07
SPEAKER_00: And felt like I was going crazy.
11:10
SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, my nervous system was just kind of in shock and just going crazy.
11:18
SPEAKER_00: And so kind of just had to ride that out.
11:21
SPEAKER_00: It stopped after I feel like I had it for like three months, um, two or three months.
11:27
SPEAKER_00: And yeah, it was just clearly my body was going through it, and I just had no idea what to do.
11:33
SPEAKER_00: And just kind of wrote it out.
11:34
SPEAKER_00: It slowly went away, and then just kind of carried on.
11:37
SPEAKER_00: I started I think I started to go to therapy.
11:40
SPEAKER_00: Um, thankfully, I was just kind of at a point where I just couldn't function and I just needed support.
11:49
SPEAKER_00: And my husband really, really encouraged me to go, and I'm so thankful that he did.
11:55
SPEAKER_00: And I just started to really dive into my anxiety and my stress and just worked through a lot.
12:02
SPEAKER_00: Highly, highly recommend therapy to absolutely everyone.
12:06
SPEAKER_00: I believe everyone should go to therapy.
12:08
SPEAKER_00: Um, I know some people might not agree with that, but even if you are thriving right now and you're the doing the best you ever have been, I believe therapy is really beneficial.
12:18
SPEAKER_00: Even if it's just check-in once a month or something, I digress.
12:21
SPEAKER_00: But I started therapy, um, which is really good.
12:25
SPEAKER_00: But then I still just I was working on myself mentally, which is phenomenal.
12:33
SPEAKER_00: But um physically, internally, I my body was still just depleted.
12:38
SPEAKER_00: And so in the fall, I believe in August, I started to get really dizzy.
12:44
SPEAKER_00: Um, it started when I was driving, and so that was really scary.
12:48
SPEAKER_00: I would just start to get super dizzy and it would go away and get really dizzy and go away.
12:53
SPEAKER_00: And I it just kind of was came and went for a few days and then happened randomly when I could tell I was like a little more stressed, or if I was just hungry, or just really, really tired.
13:07
SPEAKER_00: And then it kind of was constant, it came on constant, and I like didn't drive for like a month, and I uh did a ton of testing.
13:16
SPEAKER_00: They did because like my heart weight would like jump like crazy, and it was just there was just a lot, and so I had to wear like a heart monitor because they wanted to make sure there's nothing with my heart, I got my ears checked, I uh obviously got tested for vertigo, wasn't vertigo.
13:34
SPEAKER_00: Um, they tried to reset the crystals in my ears, it wasn't that, and there was just I was just going around in circles, meeting with all these specialists and just trying to figure out what was going on.
13:46
SPEAKER_00: And then God, I do not know how I landed in this office, but God clearly, clearly directed me there because I do not know how else we would have I would have gotten answers, but somehow I got directed to a physical therapist after they like checked my ear, like hearing and ears and stuff.
14:05
SPEAKER_00: She sent me to a physical therapist.
14:07
SPEAKER_00: Um, and he is the one who tested for vertigo and all this stuff.
14:10
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so it basically ended up being one of my inner ears just wasn't connecting with my brain that like I wasn't dizzy.
14:19
SPEAKER_00: So it's I don't know, it wasn't vertigo, it wasn't all these other things.
14:24
SPEAKER_00: Basically, he was like, I can't officially diagnose you with this, but I believe it's stress-induced.
14:30
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, that kind of checks out.
14:32
SPEAKER_00: And so obviously, I was going to therapy at this time.
14:34
SPEAKER_00: I started physical therapy, and it really helped.
14:37
SPEAKER_00: I just kind of had to retrain my brain that I wasn't dizzy and just kind of teach my body that I wasn't in fight or flight.
14:44
SPEAKER_00: And so clearly my nervous system is just maxed.
14:48
SPEAKER_00: Did physical therapy.
14:50
SPEAKER_00: Um, and obviously during this time, I'm in physical therapy, and I am clearly stressed out.
14:59
SPEAKER_00: And something I didn't mention, I do have PCOS.
15:02
SPEAKER_00: That was kind of something that was mentioned just because of my like really happy periods and like inconsistent, and then we kind of did some more testing.
15:12
SPEAKER_00: Um and so during this time where I'm super dizzy, I did not get my period for six months.
15:20
SPEAKER_00: And I this would happen again, irregular periods, but six months was about the longest it had been or it had gone.
15:30
SPEAKER_00: So at this point, it had reached been a few months.
15:34
SPEAKER_00: I was taking pregnancy tests.
15:35
SPEAKER_00: I was like, I know I'm not, but I'm just gonna take them.
15:37
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, okay, when it gets to six months, I'll make an appointment.
15:41
SPEAKER_00: And so got to six months.
15:42
SPEAKER_00: So I went and made an appointment with my doctor.
15:46
SPEAKER_00: Um, and she was the one who helped me figure out that I had chronic spontaneous hives, and she was the first doctor that has actually listened to me.
15:55
SPEAKER_00: Um, because other doctors, even when I had gone on birth control with that one doctor, had gone back to her and was like, hey, I'm having like stomach issues and like bloating, and like I have all these, I had all these questions of things that I was experiencing.
16:09
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, could it be related to birth control?
16:11
SPEAKER_00: And she's like, No, doing research now.
16:15
SPEAKER_00: Yes, it definitely can be caused by birth control.
16:19
SPEAKER_00: Um, but so I have just been had really a lot of struggles with doctors in the past, and this one doctor really listened and was like, What do you think it is?
16:26
SPEAKER_00: Like, what had what what research has you have you done?
16:29
SPEAKER_00: Like, does this do you feel validated in this?
16:31
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, Yes.
16:32
SPEAKER_00: She's like, Okay, we think it's chronic pointing as hives.
16:35
SPEAKER_00: Do you think it could be anything else?
16:36
SPEAKER_00: And like really asking and involving me, and it just made me feel really seen and heard.
16:41
SPEAKER_00: And so I went to this doctor again.
16:43
SPEAKER_00: It was like, did kind of my physical or whatever.
16:46
SPEAKER_00: And um, at this point, I had stopped taking my acid reflux medicine because I was like, I'm taking it, it's doing nothing.
16:54
SPEAKER_00: Also, there's a cause for the acid reflux, not just you have acid reflux.
16:59
SPEAKER_00: So I was like, let's find the cause for that.
17:02
SPEAKER_00: And then I had told her, hey, I've been on my period in six months, I'm out of birth control, but like I know my hormones are out of whack, but I need a referral for an OB.
17:12
SPEAKER_00: And so I feel like that was the one that was so memorable because she had a student with her.
17:21
SPEAKER_00: I know that students need to learn, but every time I've had a student in the room, it is just rough.
17:28
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I remember I said, Oh, I had to stop taking my acid reflux medicine.
17:33
SPEAKER_00: And they're like, why?
17:34
SPEAKER_00: It's like, oh, it's not really helping.
17:36
SPEAKER_00: And I kind of want to find I really want to find the reason and like do more research into my gut to figure out why I have acid reflux.
17:44
SPEAKER_00: And I remember she looked at me and she's like, so you want to find the root cause, you don't just want something to fix it.
17:52
SPEAKER_00: Like, we can just give you a higher dose.
17:54
SPEAKER_00: I was like, no, I don't want just a band-aid, I want to find the root cause.
17:59
SPEAKER_00: So she's like, okay.
18:01
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, why does that sound crazy?
18:04
SPEAKER_00: Why is it sound crazy to want to figure out what's actually going on in my body?
18:09
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so then they referred me to an OB because I hadn't gotten my period in six months.
18:14
SPEAKER_00: And so then I went to the OB.
18:16
SPEAKER_00: And I was just so nervous going in because I know that I have a more holistic route.
18:22
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, I wasn't on birth control, which is crazy that that's kind of a more holistic route.
18:27
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I was like, I'm not in birth control.
18:30
SPEAKER_00: I really want to figure out what's going on in my gut, and I just want to make sure there isn't anything else wrong.
18:35
SPEAKER_00: And I think at this point, obviously I was anxious and I was like, I just want to make sure there isn't something like wrong, wrong for fertility, just like we're not trying to get pregnant right now, but for the future, I went into the UB, and of course you meet with the nurse and kind of tell them everything, and they write notes, and then the doctor comes in, you tell them everything again.
18:57
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I was like, hey, I'm here today because I have not gotten my period in six months.
19:02
SPEAKER_00: I'm not on birth control.
19:04
SPEAKER_00: I do not want to be on birth control.
19:05
SPEAKER_00: I have been off of birth control for about a year now, and I do not want birth control at all.
19:11
SPEAKER_00: I'm doing it trying to figure it out naturally, but like my gut is off, my hormones are off, clearly haven't got my period.
19:17
SPEAKER_00: I just want to know, like, is there something I should be doing?
19:20
SPEAKER_00: Are there supplements I should be taking?
19:23
SPEAKER_00: Do I need to change my diet?
19:24
SPEAKER_00: Like, what is going on that I haven't got my period?
19:27
SPEAKER_00: Like, is it lifestyle changes?
19:29
SPEAKER_00: What do I need to do?
19:30
SPEAKER_00: I'm willing to change things.
19:32
SPEAKER_00: I just I want answers.
19:34
SPEAKER_00: And I remember she looked at me and she's like, okay, so what let's just put you on a different birth control.
19:41
SPEAKER_00: And then I reiterated, I do not want to be on birth control.
19:45
SPEAKER_00: I already said that.
19:46
SPEAKER_00: It's not about finding a different birth control.
19:48
SPEAKER_00: I'm not going to be on birth control.
19:50
SPEAKER_00: I want to find out what is going on in my body and heal it.
19:54
SPEAKER_00: And she looked at me and said, Well, then I don't really know why you're here.
19:59
SPEAKER_00: And I just kind of sat there because what do you say to that?
20:06
SPEAKER_00: And she kind of asked a few more questions and kind of explained, okay, well, we'll test for a few different things just to make sure that there isn't something else going on.
20:16
SPEAKER_00: Um but then she recommended she looked at me and said, you know, if you lose about 10 pounds, your period might come back.
20:26
SPEAKER_00: That helps some women.
20:27
SPEAKER_00: So maybe if you lost some weight.
20:33
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for that confidence boost.
20:36
SPEAKER_00: And then she's like, or just get pregnant.
20:38
SPEAKER_00: And that usually helps think up your cycle and make it more regular after you have the baby.
20:46
SPEAKER_00: And I just sat there like, what is going on?
20:52
SPEAKER_00: It was the most discouraging thing.
20:55
SPEAKER_00: And also what the heck?
21:00
SPEAKER_00: Um so I went home and cried to John.
21:04
SPEAKER_00: And then of course I got my period literally the next day, of course.
21:08
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, see, they didn't need to lose 10 pounds.
21:11
SPEAKER_00: But it was just so discouraging because, but even like if you ignore the 10 pound part, just so like, I don't even know why you're here.
21:19
SPEAKER_00: What?
21:20
SPEAKER_00: Um, I feel like I was so disappointed, but also kind of expected it going into that.
21:23
SPEAKER_00: And I feel like that honestly just jump started, okay.
21:26
SPEAKER_00: Clearly, I have to do this on my own.
21:28
SPEAKER_00: Clearly, I need to do my own research.
21:30
SPEAKER_00: Clearly, I need to find people that are like-minded and just find resources that are not don't want to use the term, but Western medicine, that people who want and promote a more holistic route and just want to support women's hormones and bodies.
21:46
SPEAKER_00: And I think the more I learned, the more infuriated I got that I had to do this much research, do this much research to figure out my body.
21:57
SPEAKER_00: So I started, I found a few podcasts.
21:59
SPEAKER_00: Um Freely Rooted is huge.
22:02
SPEAKER_00: I will link them in the show notes.
22:04
SPEAKER_00: They just broke down, they have an amazing episode on birth control.
22:08
SPEAKER_00: So if you're listening to this and you're considering it's kind of making you question birth control or you just want more information, they have a phenomenal episode about that.
22:16
SPEAKER_00: Honestly, probably a few.
22:18
SPEAKER_00: Um it is information overload in an amazing way, but it can be overwhelming.
22:23
SPEAKER_00: But um, so take it a little bit at a time.
22:28
SPEAKER_00: But that podcast really helped me find more holistic resources and just answers to some questions that I had.
22:36
SPEAKER_00: I had another friend who was kind of going through the same thing.
22:39
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so it was just really good to relate to her.
22:42
SPEAKER_00: We kind of shared different things.
22:44
SPEAKER_00: I started really trying to support my metabolism and balance my blood sugar.
22:49
SPEAKER_00: That was huge, especially with my PCOS.
22:52
SPEAKER_00: And so um I was taking I started eating, I I know this was kind of a fad for a little bit, but I'm honestly getting back into it right now because I'm in a season of needing to heal my hormones again and kind of reset things.
23:07
SPEAKER_00: Um, but raw carrot salad before a meal, phenomenal, binds any extra estrogen in your body and um sorry, that adrenal cocktails, which is just kind of orange juice and collagen, and there's some really good recipes for that.
23:24
SPEAKER_00: Um, that just supports your blood sugar metabolism, um, beef, gelatin, gummies, just kind of all these different things that how can I support my gut?
23:32
SPEAKER_00: How can I support my hormones?
23:34
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so I really just started diving into okay, I should be having healthy fats.
23:39
SPEAKER_00: I don't need to be drinking oat milk, I should be drinking whole milk.
23:44
SPEAKER_00: Um, it's okay to have good butters, like good source of fats and meat and eat and snacks, and um, I feel like counterintuitive to a ton of things that we've heard.
23:55
SPEAKER_00: Um, and I just started really learning how to fuel my body.
24:00
SPEAKER_00: I started to work on healing my gut and my hormones, and then at the same time, I was very heavily in therapy, and so because everything is so connected, and I knew it, but I didn't know it, and I didn't know how to I just feel like it's so overwhelming when you know something's wrong, but you don't know where to start, and so like, okay, my gut is messed up, my hormones mentally.
24:23
SPEAKER_00: I am stressed out of my mind, my skin is breaking out.
24:27
SPEAKER_00: Like, I there's just so many things, and it's okay.
24:31
SPEAKER_00: Well, do I fix my gut?
24:32
SPEAKER_00: Because I'll fix my hormones.
24:33
SPEAKER_00: Do I work for my hormones?
24:34
SPEAKER_00: How do I do that?
24:36
SPEAKER_00: Do I like mentally if I'm better?
24:38
SPEAKER_00: Will that make everything?
24:40
SPEAKER_00: Like, it's just it was so overwhelming.
24:41
SPEAKER_00: Um, but in the meantime, I was in therapy, which was helping so much.
24:47
SPEAKER_00: God brought so much healing in my mind, in my heart.
24:54
SPEAKER_00: Um, we worked on so many things and just brought this piece and really helped with my stress and my anxiety.
25:04
SPEAKER_00: Still struggle with it, but just it's therapy is amazing.
25:09
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so was just really working on holistic healing.
25:13
SPEAKER_00: And in this time, I think in 2023, I was asked to do birth photography for a friend at church, and they were planning a home birth.
25:24
SPEAKER_00: And I was so excited.
25:26
SPEAKER_00: I had never done a birth before, and I was just so excited.
25:30
SPEAKER_00: And so they recommended that I watch the business of being born because one, I had never photographed a birth or been to a birth or seen a natural birth before.
25:38
SPEAKER_00: And so she was just like, Hey, we really recommend you watch this.
25:43
SPEAKER_00: It kind of just gives you a picture on why we're choosing home birth and our heart behind it and why we've chosen this for our family.
25:50
SPEAKER_00: And you'll kind of see a few births, um, just so that this isn't the first one you've ever seen.
25:55
SPEAKER_00: And I was excited but nervous.
26:00
SPEAKER_00: I had no, I didn't even read what it was.
26:04
SPEAKER_00: I just was like, cool, I'll watch it.
26:06
SPEAKER_00: So I had my sister come over, highly recommend watching it with someone, highly recommend watching it with your husband before you have a baby.
26:12
SPEAKER_00: But also, if you're planning birth or even if you're just interested, highly recommend watching it with your spouse.
26:16
SPEAKER_00: But also, it was so fun watching it with my sister.
26:19
SPEAKER_00: Um, because I had kind of gotten her onto this holistic kick and just kind of was setting her things, being like, hey, you should look into this.
26:26
SPEAKER_00: Hey, this is super interesting.
26:27
SPEAKER_00: And so I was like, hey, come over, let's watch this together.
26:31
SPEAKER_00: I'm scared.
26:32
SPEAKER_00: And so we watched it together.
26:35
SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh, watch it.
26:36
SPEAKER_00: I will link it in the show notes.
26:38
SPEAKER_00: The business of being born, so interesting.
26:40
SPEAKER_00: It talks about the history of birth specifically in America and just how it's changed, why it's moved to hospitals, why it originally moved to hospitals, the statistics.
26:51
SPEAKER_00: It was made in 2008.
26:54
SPEAKER_00: So you can check, but it's kind of crazy because the statistics really I have researched since then have not changed a lot.
27:02
SPEAKER_00: If anything, C-section rates have gone up even more.
27:06
SPEAKER_00: Um, and it was so fascinating.
27:09
SPEAKER_00: I feel like it was so fun watching it with my sister because we both had been doing kind of on our holistic journeys.
27:16
SPEAKER_00: And so we paused it probably five times and just stared at each other in awe and silence and was like, what?
27:24
SPEAKER_00: And then we debrief and then keep watching, and then we pause it and debrief and watch and pause and debrief.
27:29
SPEAKER_00: And it was so cool, so good.
27:33
SPEAKER_00: Um, and I feel like it just lit a fire underneath me of I'm having a natural birth.
27:38
SPEAKER_00: Where before I was like, um, give me all the drugs.
27:42
SPEAKER_00: I didn't want to feel a thing.
27:43
SPEAKER_00: When I this was like before I was in like high school and college, it's like I do not I'm have always been terrified of needles.
27:51
SPEAKER_00: So I was like, I don't want to feel a thing, but I'm terrified of the updateural.
27:55
SPEAKER_00: I remember there was a family friend who was like, Well, you don't have to be an epidural, and I was like, Yeah, right.
28:00
SPEAKER_00: Um, but that just made me so passionate about it, and I was pumped for this home birth.
28:04
SPEAKER_00: And then I was there for the home birth.
28:06
SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh, it was amazing.
28:08
SPEAKER_00: I'm so honored that I was able to be in the room for it.
28:12
SPEAKER_00: Um, and document it was incredible.
28:17
SPEAKER_00: I would not shut up about it.
28:19
SPEAKER_00: When I came home the next week, John was just kind of like, Can you stop talking about birth?
28:25
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, No, it is the coolest thing ever.
28:28
SPEAKER_00: Are you kidding me?
28:30
SPEAKER_00: How is it that she just literally birthed a whole human being and brought life into this world, and everyone is just continuing on like nothing happened?
28:40
SPEAKER_00: This is insane.
28:42
SPEAKER_00: I remember she gave birth, and like 10 minutes later, they were kind of he was just like chilling on the bed, and they were kind of just like checking his vitals and he sneezed, and I was like, You are a human being, and like 10 minutes ago, you were in her stomach.
29:03
SPEAKER_00: Birth is wild, it's incredible.
29:06
SPEAKER_00: God is phenomenal.
29:08
SPEAKER_00: But it just made me like so excited about birth, and birth had been a huge fear of mine, and like having kids was a huge fear of mine, and it just was like, oh my gosh, this is the coolest thing ever.
29:23
SPEAKER_00: I cannot wait to do this one day, hopefully, god willing.
29:27
SPEAKER_00: And so that kind of really started my really diving into natural birth, kind of again continued my holistic healing journey, and like I said, with the like raw carrot salads and just adding things into my diet, adding variety.
29:42
SPEAKER_00: I started taking a lot more supplements and started taking a prenatal just because that is super supportive for your body.
29:51
SPEAKER_00: Honestly, I kind of always just take a prenatal until I'm probably have my last kid and I'm done breastfeeding, and then I'll go back to multivitamin.
29:58
SPEAKER_00: Prenatal just offer so much extra support, especially leading up to pregnancy.
30:02
SPEAKER_00: So looking into preconception, just start taking a prenatal.
30:05
SPEAKER_00: My advice.
30:06
SPEAKER_00: I'm not a medical professional, but that is my advice.
30:10
SPEAKER_00: But talk to your medical professional.
30:12
SPEAKER_00: And this time, um, I also started drinking raw milk, which do your own research, do your own thing.
30:20
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I feel like that really did help heal my gut because I really could not do dairy before that.
30:26
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I could have raw milk and I was fine.
30:29
SPEAKER_00: And I noticed a huge, huge difference.
30:31
SPEAKER_00: And so that was really cool.
30:34
SPEAKER_00: I found a local farm.
30:36
SPEAKER_00: Love them.
30:37
SPEAKER_00: I can link resources to find local raw milk near you.
30:41
SPEAKER_00: So started drinking raw milk, local honey.
30:44
SPEAKER_00: Um, I really thought the type of PCOS that I had was insulin resistance, and so I was kind of treating it like that, but not really.
30:55
SPEAKER_00: I hadn't really done that much research.
30:58
SPEAKER_00: We had a friend, they were going to a chiropractor that offered a preconception class, and the season of life, John and I were, and we're like, Yeah, we probably will want to try and have kids soon.
31:09
SPEAKER_00: So let's go to the class.
31:10
SPEAKER_00: So John and I went together, and it was so insightful.
31:15
SPEAKER_00: A lot of the information I knew just because of how much research I had been doing the past like five years.
31:22
SPEAKER_00: Um, just because of how much research I had been doing past like three to five years.
31:27
SPEAKER_00: I don't even know.
31:29
SPEAKER_00: But it was so good to hear it again and have someone kind of tell it to John because I think something that can be really isolating about this is I do all this research and then just trying to relay it to him can be frustrating and just hard for me because I'm like, I don't know if I'm saying this right.
31:46
SPEAKER_00: And um, and so it was just really good to get we got such good information and just some of the things she said, I was really resonating with what I was struggling with because my hormones still my periods were still super irregular and I was just struggling.
32:00
SPEAKER_00: And so I talked to her afterwards and I had a few questions for her, and she just everything she said was exactly what I was looking for in a doctor.
32:09
SPEAKER_00: Um, she was she's a naturopath, and she's a holistic doctor, and I just I think while she was talking and answering one of my questions, I was tearing up because it was just all I had ever hoped that a provider would tell me one day.
32:26
SPEAKER_00: And so I was like, okay, well, how do I work with you?
32:30
SPEAKER_00: And so I set up a um just intro call with her to be like, okay, these are the things that I'm struggling with.
32:36
SPEAKER_00: I need help.
32:37
SPEAKER_00: Can you help me?
32:38
SPEAKER_00: She was like, Oh my gosh, absolutely.
32:41
SPEAKER_00: So I we were praying about it, and like most holistic things that I love, she did not take insurance, which is totally fine.
32:53
SPEAKER_00: Um, people can break it down for you while they don't take insurance.
32:56
SPEAKER_00: It makes sense, but it hurts the bank account.
33:01
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so it obviously was going to be an investment.
33:04
SPEAKER_00: And so John and I were praying about it, and I was like, okay, I'm going to try meeting with my doctor one more time.
33:11
SPEAKER_00: And I was just praying for clarity after meeting with her of like, okay, if this is helpful, I do not need to meet with a solicit doctor, but if not, then God, you direct me because I need help and I need it from someone and I need your direction of where to go.
33:27
SPEAKER_00: Um, so I met with this doctor and I, you know, started the whole spiel of hey, I need hormone support.
33:37
SPEAKER_00: I am not in birth control.
33:39
SPEAKER_00: I do not want to be in birth control.
33:41
SPEAKER_00: We want to try and have kids soon, but like my hormones are out of whack.
33:45
SPEAKER_00: I have an irregular period.
33:48
SPEAKER_00: Help.
33:49
SPEAKER_00: But again, I don't want to be in birth control.
33:51
SPEAKER_00: I want to figure this out naturally.
33:53
SPEAKER_00: Can you help me?
33:54
SPEAKER_00: And just kind of talked through all of that.
33:57
SPEAKER_00: And the first thing she said, all right.
34:01
SPEAKER_00: So let's put you back on birth control.
34:04
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, What the heck?
34:10
SPEAKER_00: Um Yeah.
34:12
SPEAKER_00: She was like, Okay, we're gonna put you, we should put you back in birth control.
34:16
SPEAKER_00: We'll try a new one.
34:17
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, No, I do not want to be in birth control.
34:20
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
34:20
SPEAKER_00: So then I asked if I could get some tests done, I think, um, just to test some levels.
34:27
SPEAKER_00: But she's like, so I know this sounds really counterintuitive, but she's like, just go with it, just listen.
34:35
SPEAKER_00: It's like okay.
34:36
SPEAKER_00: She's like, So what I recommend for you is let's put you back on birth control six months, and then in like six months, quit it cold turkey, and then you'll be super fertile, so then you can have get pregnant, and then once you're pregnant, you're good, and then afterwards, like after pregnancy, your cycle can just like level out again.
35:03
SPEAKER_00: And I was like there's so many things wrong with that.
35:12
SPEAKER_00: One I said I'm not going on birth control, two, what three going on birth control will completely deplete my body, and then you quit cold turkey when your body is the most depleted, and then you get pregnant right away.
35:32
SPEAKER_00: So then you're starting pregnancy super depleted, and you're going into it where your baby's going to take all the nutrients.
35:39
SPEAKER_00: What?
35:40
SPEAKER_00: Also, okay, yeah, yeah, I would regulate my period, but I'm not even getting a period if I'm on birth control.
35:46
SPEAKER_00: There's just so many things.
35:48
SPEAKER_00: I was like, she's like, okay, so then do you want me to put a prescription in?
35:50
SPEAKER_00: I didn't say any of that, but I just kind of looked at her.
35:52
SPEAKER_00: She's like, So, do you want me to put a prescription in?
35:55
SPEAKER_00: I was like, No.
35:57
SPEAKER_00: She's like, Oh, so you don't want to go on birth control?
36:00
SPEAKER_00: And I said, No.
36:02
SPEAKER_00: And so she said, Okay, well, I'll order those tests for you.
36:06
SPEAKER_00: We'll wait for the results.
36:08
SPEAKER_00: Everything should be fine though.
36:10
SPEAKER_00: So she ordered the results again, didn't know what anything was, and she just like everything looks good.
36:18
SPEAKER_00: So I feel like that was my clear answer to go work with a holistic doctor.
36:25
SPEAKER_00: If you can't tell.
36:26
SPEAKER_00: Um, so I started working with her, and I'm really hoping I can get her on the podcast.
36:33
SPEAKER_00: Um, and it was phenomenal.
36:35
SPEAKER_00: I've never felt so heard and seen in my life by a doctor.
36:40
SPEAKER_00: And she listened.
36:42
SPEAKER_00: It was a phenomenal call.
36:45
SPEAKER_00: In the call, we went over everything.
36:47
SPEAKER_00: She reviewed all my notes, came into the meeting so prepared, so ready to talk and just support me.
36:53
SPEAKER_00: And we I left with a plan with supplements to start taking, with testing to get done.
36:59
SPEAKER_00: Um, I we kind of we narrowed it down and I got answers that I had um high cortisol PCOS.
37:06
SPEAKER_00: And so she gave me kind of a protocol for that, and that helped immensely.
37:12
SPEAKER_00: And I just kind of learned ways to cut out the stress in my life.
37:17
SPEAKER_00: Not really, but um, I just kind of looked into more ways of okay, what is causing high cortisol?
37:22
SPEAKER_00: What are practical ways that I can help reduce those spikes in cortisol?
37:27
SPEAKER_00: And how can I detox this cortisol out of my body?
37:32
SPEAKER_00: Um, and it was just so helpful.
37:35
SPEAKER_00: And we kind of talked about all of that and did some follow-up calls, and then I got pregnant, and um it happened very naturally, and um, without tracking anything, just only tracking was I just knew my cycles because of how much research I had done, and I had started doing natural family planning once I um quit birth control, and I feel like I genuinely feel like I went into pregnancy supported um hormonally.
38:06
SPEAKER_00: Um not as much as I had hoped because I hadn't been working with her very long.
38:12
SPEAKER_00: And I know that um for women and like your egg health, it's kind of four months in advance, is kind of your egg health depends anyway.
38:22
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I still went and supported and was able to meet with her after I was pregnant for pregnancy support, and that was just huge, and so I feel like that really set me up well and just kind of gave me hope in this journey, and so that is kind of just how I've gotten here.
38:40
SPEAKER_00: I feel like kind of I'm gonna be obviously sharing my birth story, but kind of skipping that to like right now.
38:48
SPEAKER_00: Um, I can just tell I'm kind of back to that depleted state.
38:51
SPEAKER_00: And so I'm just so so thankful that I have her protocol um and things that have worked in the past to um reference and kind of go over again.
39:00
SPEAKER_00: Um, so I'm starting a bunch of those.
39:03
SPEAKER_00: I'm just super passionate about this because of how much research I've done.
39:08
SPEAKER_00: And I just think God has created our bodies so incredibly.
39:12
SPEAKER_00: We can grow human beings and birth them and take care of them and sustain them.
39:19
SPEAKER_00: We can provide them food.
39:21
SPEAKER_00: And um, He has created us so complex in the most beautiful way, and because of that, we have to take care of our bodies differently.
39:30
SPEAKER_00: And we have we're all so unique.
39:32
SPEAKER_00: We deserve to support our bodies and nourish them.
39:36
SPEAKER_00: And I've just become so passionate about actually nourishing our bodies, actually eating, like actually getting the supplements that we need, because I for the longest time did not do that.
39:45
SPEAKER_00: And um, whether it was just hormone imbalance or stress or just all these different things, I think I have just started to really learn to just really take care of our bodies.
39:57
SPEAKER_00: And I'm just really passionate about that.
39:59
SPEAKER_00: And we deserve that.
39:59
SPEAKER_00: We deserve to feel good and nourished and energized throughout the day and not have energy crashes and blood sugar crashes and just feel fatigued, like we should feel nourished and beautiful.
40:12
SPEAKER_00: And um yeah, I'm just really passionate about that.
40:16
SPEAKER_00: So that's kind of my heart and like my story of like how I got to this place and why I'm just really passionate about supporting moms in motherhood and just getting to motherhood.
40:27
SPEAKER_00: So I will link there's a few things that I mentioned, I'll link them in the show notes, um, a few podcasts, even a few that I haven't mentioned, but I'll link a few podcasts that were really helpful when I was starting to go on this journey.
40:40
SPEAKER_00: Um, some people that I followed on Instagram that were really supportive.
40:44
SPEAKER_00: Um, the business of being born.
40:46
SPEAKER_00: Watch that if you're really interested in more holistic birth.
40:50
SPEAKER_00: But um, that is my story.
40:53
SPEAKER_00: Uh next episode, I'm gonna be sharing my birth story, which is exciting.
40:58
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for being here and listening and just supporting.
41:01
SPEAKER_00: So I hope you are having a phenomenal day and we'll chat soon.