Lyla, 48 months pregnant

Lyla, 33, a mother of two, talks about fashion, food, travel, but above all, natural beauty on her blog Naturellement Lyla as well as on her YouTube channel. Today, she shares her before-during-after pregnancy journey as an informed mom, covering everything from fertility questions to a balanced postpartum (yes, fortunately, it exists!).

7 MONTHS

For my first pregnancy, it took me 7 months to get pregnant. When your desire for a child is very strong and it doesn’t work, and you are in the dark, it’s very hard. Being in a state of waiting and asking yourself many questions is mentally exhausting. Because of my job as a beauty and lifestyle content creator focused on natural living, I am fortunate to be well-informed; I knew how to track my cycle and I knew my body well, but the main issue was that I had very irregular periods. I quickly started wondering—after 4 months—thinking we should get fertility tests done and/or that I would turn to natural solutions to try to regulate my cycle. My husband got tested quickly. We started with him because, honestly, it must be said, it’s easier for men, as the exams for us are more difficult and sometimes even painful. I therefore put off this deadline for myself because I was very scared, and I was lucky not to have to reach that stage because all I had to do was buy ovulation tests, and after the second month of trying, I got pregnant! If that hadn’t worked, I would have taken dietary supplements to regulate my cycle. For my second daughter, I got pregnant on the first try; I was supplemented with vitamins to support breastfeeding my first and keep myself in shape, so that must have played a role!

8 AND A HALF MONTHS (X2)

My pregnancy lasted 8 and a half months for my first, and nearly the same for my second child. It felt very, very, very, very long (laughs). I didn’t enjoy this stage at all. Nausea, fatigue, aches, sciatica, swelling, apprehension about my changing body—no thanks! I was held back in everything: I only slept, I sometimes had dizziness, major deficiencies, gestational diabetes—everything! And beyond the physical aspect, being dependent on others to safely alleviate your ailments, asking for help to carry heavy objects or to get around… mentally, it’s also very difficult. Each time, I awaited my deliveries with impatience. My only desire for those moments was to give birth in whatever way I felt like at that exact moment, and for the medical staff to adapt. I didn’t want to go in with a fixed idea and end up disappointed that it didn’t go as planned, as that rarely happens. So, I stayed instinctive, but informed. I researched as much as possible on all the possible positions and all the options available to me in the facility where I would experience these two moments. I then drafted a birth plan beforehand to ensure everything was well understood and to anticipate various scenarios. My choice was to have one, depending on my physical and mental state on the big days. For the first one, it was a dream: even though I was induced, I gave birth very quickly. For the second, it was more stressful because she was breech.

24 MONTHS

You probably aren’t told this often, but my postpartum periods were perfect. I didn’t have any complications, no major hormonal drop, or baby blues. I consider myself still in postpartum even though my first is 24 months old, but that’s because I had two pregnancies close together and I am still breastfeeding my second daughter. Physically, I am at the heart of this stage, and dietary supplements are a great help to me. They provide everything I need to maintain physical balance more easily than if I didn’t take them. The arrival of a child in our lives is demanding and tiring, and I think I handle all these upheavals well, partly thanks to that. I follow specialists and naturopaths on social media, I consulted a nutritionist... They helped me a lot with this, and I consciously did everything in my power to avoid deficiencies and feel as good as possible [like Lyla, seek advice from a healthcare professional before any supplementation, Editor's Note].

Even if we take the time to cook raw products to make ideal plates in terms of nutritional intake—which is tedious to do rigorously, especially when you have children—we will never get all the vitamins and minerals required to stay in shape. Today, supplementing is essential. Thank you Boome for being part of this shift in habits.