9 Things I Did Differently to Get Pregnant This Time

After four years, multiple IVF cycles, three devastating miscarriages, and countless setbacks … Aela’s road to motherhood has been anything but easy. Follow her story on Babble and don’t miss the latest chapter in her journey below.

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I tried EVERYTHING this cycle — and it worked.

Four years into a fertility journey, and you feel like you’ve tried it all, done it all, and absolutely nothing is new to you. By this point, if you’re anything like me, you actually have tried it all. Any seemingly silly old wives’ tale, you’ve done it. Any latest advice from mommy bloggers, you’ve taken it. Any new recommendations from medical professionals, yep, you’ve asked your doctor about them all. I’ve tried everything.

I just never tried everything at the same time.

But this cycle? This cycle I did, and I’m pregnant. Now, I’m not saying any of this actually worked and is the reason I’m sporting a little baby bump — which is really more bloat than bump at this point — but I can’t exactly say it isn’t the reason, either. Desperation is one hell of a motivator.

1. I ate better.

My eating habits have always been pretty good, but this cycle I kicked it all up a notch. I cut out nearly all refined sugar and avoided cookies, cakes, and other delicious reasons to live. I was on a mission and had no refined carbs (totally making up for that now, since plain pasta is one of the only things I can keep down currently). And I upped my fresh fruits and veggie intake, like whoa, as well as lean proteins. Basically, I wanted to keep any foods that didn’t have solid nutritional value off my plate.

2. I cut out all alcohol.

They say to limit or avoid alcohol altogether when you’re trying to get pregnant, but there was a time that the stress of this journey led me to have a glass of wine here and there. Nothing crazy, but enough. At the time, it felt like an easy way to destress. But this cycle, I stopped it all. Not that I drank all that much to begin with, but I didn’t drink a drop for nearly two months going into and during this cycle.

3. I lost weight.

I’ve always been fairly slender, so I didn’t really have much to lose, but four years of fertility meds added some extra pounds and they needed to go. Between eating better foods and not drinking any alcohol, the excess weight pretty much melted away in a few weeks.

4. I went for regular acupuncture.

I’d done acupuncture before, but never really kept with it. This cycle, I had pre- and post-transfer acupuncture, as well as acupuncture once a week since my transfer to help with implantation and to help maintain the pregnancy. It’s also since helped me with my anxiety about miscarrying (again) and with my nausea.

5. I bought all the crystals.

Yep, I went the total hippie route and decked myself and my home out with stones and crystals that are said to help fertility. Rose quartz, moonstone, the list goes on. I’ve worn one around my neck since the day I started meds this cycle, and I haven’t taken it off since. It was a random and loving gift from a dear friend. Another friend of mine, from Bolivia, gave me a Martenitsa, which is a red and white bracelet made of yarn that you start wearing March 1st (three days before my transfer), the purpose of which is to bring health and all good things associated with springtime.

Other friends lit candles and sent prayers during the time of my transfer. While it doesn’t matter if I personally believe in any of this stuff, the fact remains that others believed it for me, and I carried each of those beliefs with me the day our final embryo was transferred into me.

6. I ate the core of a pineapple the day of my transfer.

A reader suggested this in a comment, and I thought it was probably one of the weirder things I’ve been told, but I also figured, why not? Apparently, there’s an enzyme in the core that helps with implantation, so I did it! I ate pineapple core before and after my transfer. Ironically, pineapple has become one of the few foods I can tolerate right now.

7. I wore two pairs of socks.

This just sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? Well, it was another suggestion from a reader, and like the pineapple core, I figured, why not?! The purpose of wearing two pairs of socks is to keep my feet warm and my blood flowing. Hey, someone out there believes, and so I wore two pairs of socks the day of my transfer. I don’t know if this made a difference or not, but my feet weren’t cold!

8. I put my feet up every day.

My acupuncturist made this suggestion, and since I was going with everything this cycle, I followed her instructions. She said that sitting with your butt up against the wall and placing your feet straight up the wall for 20 – 30 minutes helps blood flow to the uterus. Good blood flow helps implantation and maintenance of a pregnancy. Plus, this is super relaxing and feels great.

9. I stopped all treatment for two months prior.

I gave myself a total break from all fertility meds and treatments for two full months. After going nearly nonstop for four years, giving my body a break from all the hormones, pills, injections, etc. allowed my body to clean itself out in a way, to flush it all away and to start fresh.

Like I said before, I can’t say that any of this actually ended up making the difference as to why I finally got pregnant, but I also can’t say it didn’t make all the difference in the world.

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