I decided in November, 2017, that I did indeed wanted a third baby. Let me clarify, I always wanted a third baby. My first two pregnancies took a lot out of me and I wasn’t sure if I had it in me to do it again. In November, 2017, my daughter turned 12 and I passed the 6 month mark after my 36th birthday. I realized time was moving fast, and if I wanted a third baby, we needed to get on it!

I was nervous about how pregnancy would take it’s toll on my body at 36 instead of 24 and 28. I wanted to have the healthiest pregnancy possible for my new baby, my kids, my husband, and myself. I spent two months preparing my body for pregnancy. Some folks don’t know that pregnancy is actually the greatest detox for our bodies. The baby will inherit our toxins unless we are careful, and of course no mother wants that! I committed myself to eating a very clean, plant-based diet for 60 days. I’m not afraid of a “treat” meal here or there, but I kept myself 95% unprocessed thru this time (meaning I did not have any processed foods). I incorporated green smoothies, lots of raw fruit and vegetable meals, and I made sure to never miss a day of taking my Juice Plus supplements and drinking at least one Juice Plus shake a day (the Juice Plus capsules and shakes are an easy way to add over 30 organic vegetables to your daily diet!). I also incorporated barley grass juice powder and wild blueberries into my daily diet–both of which are known to pull heavy metals out of our bodies. I also increased my calories a bit to ensure healthy ovulation. The only other supplements I took were Jarrow’s Methyl B12 and folate, liquid zinc and barley grass juice powder added to my smoothies a few times a week.

I was lucky enough to get pregnant right away, in February 2019. The first week I was eating 100% the way I had been since November. The day I turned 6 weeks, major nausea set in. I didn’t let this deter me from my nutrition goals! Instead of salads, I consumed a lot of vegetable soups. Luckily my Juice Plus shakes continued to taste great through my whole pregnancy. I drank one, if not two, every single day! When my body wanted crackers or a bland carb, I instead reached for bananas, oatmeal or rice. Luckily bananas usually did the trick. I carried one with me at all times. I also made sure to stay hydrated! So many mommas struggle with drinking water, and it is vital to stay hydrated your whole pregnancy! I ate intuitively my entire pregnancy. I didn’t use this precious time as an excuse to eat bad food, however, I never restricted my calories. When I wanted ice cream, I made banana ice cream with some peanut butter and chocolate chips. When I wanted pizza, I made my own. I craved Mexican food a lot! I just made my own. Of course I went out to eat once a week, and indulged a bit, but 95% of my diet was very, very clean. I had a mental checklist: have I had at least 10 servings of fruits and veggies? at least one shake today? have I drank at least 10 glasses of water? The cleaner I ate, the better my body felt. My baby continued to grow a week or two ahead of schedule. He was born a healthy 8 pounds and in perfect health. I can’t say I enjoyed being pregnant, but this time around was definitely the easiest!

(2 weeks postpartum)

Now to fitness. My fitness philosophy doesn’t change when I am pregnant. Our bodies need to move daily in a way that feels good. You will never find me in the gym throwing around heavy weights. I want to workout every day for the rest of my life. I try not to do anything that could cause an injury. I love running, but I switched to walking 4 miles uphill as soon as I became pregnant. I take a weekly strength class and cycle class that I kept up until it didn’t feel comfortable anymore, which was around 7 months. I was able to take a weekly kickboxing class until the very end! I also enjoy pilate/barre type workouts 5x week. I either do the obe app or youtube videos. There were mornings that I felt so nauseas I didn’t think I could workout. But I powered through and worked out anyhow–and I always felt better afterwards! I give 50% of the credit for “bouncing back” quickly to never getting out of shape while pregnant! My labor was crazy easy, the nurses couldn’t believe how easy I delivered him, and how amazing I felt after. My young nurse even told me she would definitely have babies if she could have an experience like mine.

Here is a sample of what I ate through out my pregnancy:

Breakfast: Juice Plus shake made with almond milk, banana and tart cherries (high in antixoidants)

Lunch: Acai bowl with granola and almond butter on top. Or a big bowl of oatmeal with wild blueberries, banana, raisins and almond butter (I often added a scoop of vanilla Juice Plus to my oatmeal)

Snack: huge bowl of fruit

Dinner: vegetable soup with rice, avocado and a green salad or chickpea pasta with sauce or homemade Mexican rice bowls

Dessert: banana ice cream (2 frozen bananas blended with 1tb chocolate chips and a date)

I also loved snacking on raw crackers with vegetables and hummus, raw almonds, raisins with an apple and kind bars in a pinch!