My pregnancy journeys and Natural Cycles

There are a few things in life that we cannot fully control, while some couples get pregnant very quickly others can not only take months but also years and for a few it's a dream that never seems to become a reality. Everyones journey towards pregnancy and parenthood is different and each come with their own set of highs and lows. Equally there are some who would prefer to not have children wish to wait until its the right time and have a reliable and natural birth control before wanting to start a family. I have never really spoken much about my personal journeys with my two boys but after Natural Cycles got in touch I felt it was a good time to share.


If you are regular reader of my blog you will know I much prefer to lead a more natural lifestyle. I rarely take medication, my approach to health is always that of a whole food, organic vegetarian diet and I believe that getting outdoors and into the fresh air is high beneficial for your wellbeing. I did for a brief moment in time take the Pill but I found I suffered with  side effects such as it made my asthma worst, my legs would swell occasionally and it made me quite hormonal so for me it wasn't worth it.

With my first I did fall pregnant very quickly, I think it was the first month and apparently my mother was exactly the same and even though it was still a surprise we felt quite ready for this journey.
While I was pregnant however we found out that John had a testicular tumour (check yourself Boys it's really important!) when I was about 12 weeks pregnant. it had to be removed quickly and this didn't allow us time to investigate banking sperm for the future. It was a highly stressful time for all of us for a variety of reasons but it also meant that my eldest would possibly be the only child we could conceive as this was going to affect his fertility, to what degree we wouldn't really know.

Besides the rough start my first pregnancy was fairly easy going, after the initial morning sickness which subsided at around 17 weeks and then sciatica in the final weeks it was okay, although personally I struggled a bit with not being able to be as active and reduced energy. The birth went far from planned, I had wanted a water birth with the use of a Tens Machine but due to my youngest showing signs of distress as well  as big drops in his heart rate I was sent by ambulance to the hospital and pretty much whisked into surgery straight away but in the end not matter which way they come out, what is important is he was healthy and what more can you ask for.

I always knew I didn't want two children too close together and wanted to wait until my first was at least 2yrs old before even thinking about having another one. For one reason and another it wasn't until my eldest was nearly 4yrs old before we found out I was expecting again, the delay was partially due to being on a waiting list for surgery and trying to find the right time around that to try and conceive. Even though it did happen fairly quickly once things settled, having always had irregular periods I really wish at the time Natural Cycles had been available not only to know what days I was most fertile but also for natural birth control.

For those who don't know what Natural Cycles is it's a hormone-free fertility app invented by Swedish husband and wife team Dr Scherwitzl and Dr Berglund, a top physicist who was part of the Noble Prize winning team that discovered the Higgs boson. The app has already helped over 5000 Swedish women conceive within less than three months on average and it's just launched in the UK!
In recent clinical studies it's actually been shown to be as effective as the contraceptive pill and can pinpoint ovulation with the same accuracy as methods used in hospitals which is absolutely amazing news if you ask me! Of course just like the pill you need to be organised and use the app daily as it works but identifying a woman fertile window by tracking her period and temperature which needs to be input every morning to create a unique algorithm. Natural Cycles is also the first fertility tracking app for women to be regulated as a medical device!

My second pregnancy was slightly more problematic than the first as I suffered with extreme back and rib pain but we still all got through it together, happy and healthy. We have not closed the door completely to having a third but right now with Baby G still not sleeping through the night at nearly 2yrs old so we still feel very much in the sleep deprived vortex you expect in the early days. Thats the great thing about this app is not only does it help those who want to embark on a family but also those who wish to practice natural and safe birth control especially as a recent study confirmed a link between hormonal contraceptives and depression. 

Natural Cycles is offering women in the UK a refund if they don’t conceive in the first 9 months of use as well as 50% off a yearly subscription by visiting https://www.naturalcycles.com/en/plan and inputting this code (valid until 31 December): SSSBNC 

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