Tweet

I hope you enjoyed those last days of summer and celebrating with sunshine, watermelon, and perhaps a cocktail or two 😉

As much as I look forward to summer, I love when that crisp air rolls through and birds start their migration, indicating fall is on it’s way.

I want to start by addressing the elephant in the room. And that is that I haven’t really been around, much less written to you for a few months.

I wish I could say it’s because I’ve been doing so many exciting things, but the truth is, I’ve spent most of my time since May on the couch. Doing a whole lot of nothing.

I’m pregnant! 23 weeks along now, and our baby is due February 5th.

As some of you know my journey into motherhood has been a bit of a rocky road, so I’m actually telling you about my pregnancy before almost anyone else.

I’ve been keeping this close to my heart in part out of fear that something may go wrong. In part because I’ve been feeling like this is my own special secret. In large part because I’ve been so freaking sick I can’t even tell you!

We actually found out unexpectedly in our first week of a month long trip through Europe.

I was thrilled! And then….very very nauseas and sleepy.

So I gave myself permission to retreat for a while.

I only had the energy for the current clients I was working with, my family, and my body. Well…if eating a few saltines and sipping ginger ale counts as self-care 🙂

I’m not going to lie, it’s been hard.

While I’m thrilled about this new life I’m creating, I’d been so used to a “go go go” mentality, feeling stuck on a couch and isolated can cause some depression.

I feel like I’m finally coming back to life and wanted to share with you a few things I’ve learned and loved.

I’m not affiliated with any of these, just cool things I wanted to share. Maybe they can become tools for your toolbox as well.

1. Sometimes not doing anything is actually doing something. Most of our modern lifestyles either teach us to, or force us to, be on the move all the time. If our bodies aren’t physically moving our minds certainly are. I had to remind myself again and again that even though I felt like I was “not doing anything” I was actually doing some really important work…creating a baby.

Whether it’s creating a child, creating artwork, allowing a project come to life, or just vegging the F out because your body needs some time to chill, that is doing something.

2. Life ebbs and flows. I learned from Alissa Vitti of Flo Living just how different men and women’s hormones and bodies are. This should be such an obvious thing, but it’s not! Men’s hormones reset on a cycle of 24 hours. That means that men have the capacity to show up, day in and day out, produce, and shine like the sun. Women are on a (did you guess?) moonly cycle. Our hormones reset approximately every 28 days.

This means that when we try to show up to our life the same way as men, it often doesn’t work! We exhaust ourselves or get stressed out. There are times in our cycle where we may be more tired, moody, happy, productive, etc. If this is the case in a month I had to remind myself that obviously pregnancy was going to throw off my body and emotions quite a bit!

Props to my husband whom has really stepped up to take care of us, and put up with my mini tantrums. This is an ebb before the flow. Life has seasons. Roll with it.

3. Listening to podcasts, reading fiction novels, and a little fluff helps.When you’re feeling down, and especially when you have zero physical energy, a little fluff can go a long way. I watched every episode of Glee over again (which I indulged in during my first pregnancy!). I started reading fiction again, not just self-help. And I found a few podcasts that inspired me.

My absolute favorite lately was Yoga Girl’s “From The Heart” episode with Seal as a guest. Wow that man is inspiring! So much so that I made my husband re-listen to the episode with me when he got home. On a wellness/yoga based podcast I was expecting him to say some of the same stuff you hear regurgitated again and again, but what he said was so unique I was blown away.

4. Going green! While I’ve taken a slight step back in my business, which will continue over the next year or so, I’ve found my passion again for the environment and how that connects to our personal well-being. The thing is that us and nature are one. Really. What is good for the environment is good for us and vice versa.

I cleaned out ALL of our cleaning supplies and replaced them with just one cleaner, Branch Basics, which is completely non-toxic for our bods and the planet! Love this stuff! I did the same with my makeup drawer…it got a cleaning and replacement with more natural products. Think Dirty is an awesome app that can help you with this. I also decided I wanted to get out there and volunteer more for local environmental organizations. Meet new people and do something I deeply care about…a win all around!

5. Social media detoxing. I really haven’t thought of this as a detox. One day I just woke up nauseas, couldn’t bring myself to post or check any social media, and didn’t look back. At first this was tough because I felt like I “should” be posting, or “should” be keeping up with what’s going on with others, but then I realized if I wanted to do that I could just pick up the phone and call them, and that yes…alas…life will go on without me feeling like I need to post daily or respond to every single comment.

It’s funny how when you stop for long enough, you don’t miss it! At all! I started craving more real life connection instead. And it helped me start some good habits again. I resubscribed to the app HeadSpace and began meditating when I needed it, and started stretching for at least 20 mins in low light before bedtime.

So there you have it! I’ve been hibernating all summer but I’m slowly and quietly returning. I have my big ultrasound in two weeks but no…we’re not finding out the gender of our baby. It’ll be a surprise!

I’ll start writing a bit more regularly and sharing tidbits of free resources, things I love, and tools for your own love and happiness. I’m going about things differently this time around and will not be censoring myself as much.

Much love,

Alexis