How it Happened: How Circle+Bloom Helped Me

Wait... Miss my big announcement? Read it here.

Well, it was after a romantic evening and I told my husband we should... Kidding!! I'll spare you those details. I'm talking about what I did... Or what I think I did that helped me become with-spawn.

The first month... And even several months before, everything was extremely thought-out. I took my temperature daily, and I figured out when I was ovulating. The first month of TTC I drank herbal fertility tea, ate organic foods, took a break from french fries, I used swimmer-friendly lube and had a healthy diet. I even stood on my head... Ok, well not really, but practically. I started moderate yoga, and I kept my cool. I didn't feel stressed. I was wondering all the time "am I pregnant?" But I wasn't stressing over it. At least I didn't think I was.

After the first month I took a different approach. My BFF told me I should tell myself I didn't want to get pregnant... As silly as it sounds I tried it. I didn't think about all of the rules. I are as much fast food as I wanted, skipped the swimmer-friendly lube, and baby danced when I felt like it. Ok ok... Well I had an iPhone ap to show me when the "green days" were (yes, there's an ap for that) but I didn't focus too hard on the whole process.

The only thing I did religiously last month was meditate while listening to Circle+Bloom. It's a natural technique to help you get pregnant. It's a great way to start trying to get pregnant as well as something to add to your current routine if you're already trying.

There are 30 audio tracks... One for each day of your cycle plus a bonus ovulation track, as well as an introduction. Don't worry, it's ok if your cycle is longer than 28 days (mine is actually spot on so it was perfect for me). One of my favorites was the bonus track... It went right along with my reverse-psychology ideas last month.Before I started, I connected with Joanne, she's the co-founder of Circle+Bloom. When she first told me about it I was a little skeptic. But I started using it the last week and a half of my first cycle (you can start it at any point). It was crazy how relaxed I became by listening to it. I sometimes listen to music while relaxing but this had a way of taking me into a deep... Almost hypnotic relaxation that I couldn't get to alone.

Joanne has PCOS, but she now has two beautiful children. She said exploring the connection between the mind + body, as well as the direct connection between stress and hormone balance and ultimately fertility, gave her the idea of creating a daily relaxation program that tracked to the monthly cycle. Given the fact that our bodies are changing every day throughout the month, a physiological daily guided visualization made complete sense to her. As she says “it was my “ah-ha” moment and one that I will never forget standing in my kitchen with this idea that hit me like a bolt of lightening. I have never turned back.”

If you're like me you LIKE to know what's going on with your body... But you also know stress can be bad for conception... And you also know annoying it is for people to tell you that. This program helped me relax, AND let me know EXACTLY what's going on with my body each day while I was TTC . It even made the two week wait, as well as the first couple of weeks of my cycle more interesting! As weird as it sounds it gave me something to look forward to every morning.

I personally loved the program! I think it helped me relax and ultimately helped me get pregnant. All of the other stuff I threw out the window but I stuck with this. I know I didn't try to conceive for long, so it's hard to compare the evidence... But I know with my extreme-controlling personality it can sometimes be difficult to just calm down. I think it's important to take some time daily to relax, and what's 14 minutes a day? Maybe it was my "I don't care" attitude, or maybe it was all of the french fries I ate... But really I think my new pregnancy had A LOT to do with this. Plus, it's nice an natural!

Want to try it? Circle+Bloom has a free download on their website for cycle days 1, 5, and 13! AND they're giving one full program away to one of my readers! That's a $125 value!!

Here's what you do to enter:
-Follow my blog (mandatory)
-Leave a comment with something you learned by visiting Circle+Bloom's site there's TONS of info on there, so that won't be hard (mandatory).

For extra entries (please leave seperate comments for each entry):
-Become my Facebook Fan
-Become a Circle+Bloom Facebook fan
-Tweet "I just entered @FutureMama's giveaway for @circlebloom's fertility relaxation program. http://bit.ly/2oHleg"
-Follow @CircleBloom on Twitter
-Add my NEW button to your blog!
-Post about this giveaway on your blog.
-Email Subscribe to my blog (don't forget to confirm your email!)
-Vote for me on Top Baby Blogs (per day/computer) (just click the link)
-Download Circle+Bloom's Free Trial (5 entries! Please leave 5 comments)

Contest ends Saturday November 6th at 11:59 pm. I'll choose a winner with random.org. Good Luck!

I disclose: The product in this review was provided to me free of cost for the purpose of conducting this review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are not influenced by monetary or other means of compensation.

My Cure for Stress

"I'm not stressing."

That's the quote I use to chant to myself and say to my husband when I was working at a high-stress sales job years ago.

I'd ramble off about the annoying people I'd talk to, how my commission was on the verge of a higher bracket, and how I REALLY wanted to use the extra money to save for that new car.. "But I'm not stressing," I'd add to the end of my rant. Kind of like how you can say whatever you want about that girl you don't like at work but just add "bless her heart" to the end to make it all ok.

The last week in a half I've been trying hard not to stress... Less stress = better incubating quarters. I also decided to do some of my favorite things in order to make me feel better.

First, I got a pedicure. LOVED it. Sadly, I hadn't painted my toenails since my cruise in January... Yea, a pedicure was WAY past due, and SO relaxing. I brought Fully Fertile and had to highlight a great quote I came across regarding mental stress and negative thoughts: "Every day you need to weed the garden of your mind. Pluck out the negative thoughts, words and feelings by the root. If you don't they will grow like weeds and begin to take over even your most positive thoughts." What a thought to remember!

I also started listening to Circle+Bloom and I'm LOVING it. I try to listen to it in the morning when I get up, or at night before bed, and enjoy the meditation and relaxation it brings. More on this later!

Then, I went SHOPPING. There are few things that can make me happier than spending money. I walked past Bath and Bodyworks and noticed they had a new scent, so I decided to stop in and smell it... And loved it. Then the lady had me sold when she told me about their buy 2 get 1 free promotion. The bubble bath was only $12 and a bubble bath sounded SO nice, so I got that, the body mist, and a free tube of body cream.

Snoop even got some pampering at Petco. I couldn't fully enjoy my day off knowing he was at home missing me! So I dropped him off for a bath and brush while I got my toes done. He thanked me.

I also did something I'm so excited about because it's something I can cross off my "Baby Bucket List." I started Yoga! I've been waiting awhile to start a Pulling Down the Moon fertility yoga class but it keeps getting rescheduled, so I'm taking a gently moderate class for now. My yoga instructor is AMAZING. She's so nice, and afterwards I feel like I've gotten a good workout and had a chance to relax and calm my nerves.

After that I went home and got all dolled up with my hubby and we went to my company party. It's always fun looking extra fancy from time to time, and it definitely got my mind off things. We didnt' stay much longer than an hour or so. It was a blast, but the "open bar" doesn't keep non-drinkers around as long as unlimited cookies... I didn't see cookies.

If you live in Central Texas and have thought about taking fertility yoga let me know, I'd LOVE to join a class together at Sundara Yoga! And on that note, Pulling Down the Moon has been SUCH an inspiration in my whole journey. I love their 12 week holistic program to fertility, and though mine has turned into more like a 20-week plan, it's helping me so much.. Really, I've even started to eat more organic food for heavens sakes (more on that later)!

I heard today that they are up for the Shine A Light award, as a small business that is making a BIG difference! They are making a BIG difference in my life! So I've voted, and if what you've read has made any kind of difference for you please help and vote for this deserving small business.. Helping so many women, infertility struggles or not, to get ready to get a bun in the oven! You can nominate them here.

In other news I got my first BFN.