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Story of Hope: How Annie Got Pregnant NATURALLY After Two Failed IVFs

Learn the exact protocol Annie followed: aimeeraupp.com/yes

#aimeeraupp #fertilitydetective #storyofhope

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Aimee:
Well, well, well. Guess what? I'm back. I have been live a lot today and I may be feeling a little brain dead, so forgive me. You guys saw two of the Lives so far, one with Marissa. All right, Annie, you're here. So just hit request to join live if you see that next to … There's a button, Annie. You'll hit that and it'll say request … How are you not tired yet? I'm tired right now. I really am. It was effort to walk up the stairs too. I have a little bit of a headache. I'm not tired though, because I love you guys, and I love this message. And maybe I'm learning a lesson that next year we're going to space it out a little bit more. Let's see. So Annie, do you know how to do it? You have to hit … Let me see it. Can I ask you … Oh, I go [inaudible 00:00:58] live. So you should see I just asked you to come live. There you are.
Annie:
Hi.
Aimee:
How are you?
Annie:
Great. How are you? [Inaudible 00:01:09] three today or two today already?
Aimee:
I know. I know. It's all right. We're hanging in. We're having fun. Yeah, how are you? How you feeling?
Annie:
I'm great. I'm feeling great. Yeah.
Aimee:
How many weeks are you now?
Annie:
34 today.
Aimee:
Holy cow. That's amazing.
Annie:
So excited. So just a month and a half left. I can't believe it. I'm so, so happy and excited and just giddy.
Aimee:
Yeah. I love that. I love that. I love that. You wanted to come on and share your story. So why don't you tell everybody a little bit about yourself and what got you to this current 34 week pregnancy?
Annie:
I don't have the craziest story.
Aimee:
You don't have to have a crazy story, just a story. [crosstalk 00:02:02]. You did. You had some stuff, you know? Well, go ahead.
Annie:
So end of 2016, start of 2017 has been like started trying to get pregnant and-
Aimee:
And you were 29 then, 30?
Annie:
I was 30.
Aimee:
Okay.
Annie:
29, 30, yep. And went by the books, used the ovulation sticks, nothing was happening. Nothing happened for a year. And then I thought, “Oh, I should get my blood tested.” Had the blood test done, and it was pretty good, kind of low LH, low estrogen, a little. And kind of that whole first year, the way my mind works, is immediately when it didn't work the first month, something was wrong. And so I started trying to figure out what I could do, what was wrong, what I could try. And it was like, I never really gave it a chance to work maybe.
Aimee:
Oh, excuse me.
Annie:
Bless you.
Aimee:
Excuse me.
Annie:
And then when I got that maybe lower LH and estrogen, then I was immediately googling that, trying to figure out what I could do for that.
Aimee:
Yeah.
Annie:
[crosstalk 00:03:19] google this, that. It's just kind of was like this hamster wheel in my head of me going round and round in circles, trying to solve my own problem. I've always been able to do that, and I'm a person who does that. I got a problem. I fix it. So kept doing that for awhile and eventually looked for an RE, reproductive endocrinologist. The closest one, about five hours away. So we went there and she-
Aimee:
Right, because where are you located? Where are you again? [inaudible 00:03:59] right.
Annie:
So we drove to Salt Lake, and that clinic has a pretty good reputation. I liked the RE very much. They were great. They did the typical Clomid, tried Clomid and letrozole. I felt like I was more of a fan of letrozole than the Clomid [crosstalk 00:04:25].
Aimee:
Yeah. A lot of people feel better on it from a side effect perspective.
Annie:
Yeah. Yeah, I was eager to try that. And still nothing. And at this point I had also started acupuncture too.
Aimee:
[inaudible 00:04:45].
Annie:
And one practitioner said something like, “Oh, I think you might have PCOS.” So I went down that route too, but really without any … without being sure of anything.
Aimee:
Yeah. And you were doing a lot of your research on your own, right? I mean, that was the big thing, yeah.
Annie:
Oh, completely, completely and never sticking to anything for very long. I'd try, “Oh, I'm going to try red raspberry and then I'm going to try a maca. I'm going to try bee pollen. And I'm not saying that any of that is bad. It's just kind of searching for some quick fix that … It wasn't about that at all.
Aimee:
Yeah. Yeah. And then you … because then you moved on to … you got pregnant on the letrozole, right? With the baby aspirin?
Annie:
Yeah. Eventually we did end up doing an IUI and I think another year went by and then 2019, January, I did get pregnant. And that was with letrozole. And that ended at seven weeks, a miscarriage.
Aimee:
That sucks, yeah.
Annie:
Yeah. But it was also exciting too.
Aimee:
Yeah, to finally get pregnant. Right.
Annie:
Yeah. It was definitely … gave us a little hope, which kind of went away quickly because I didn't ovulate again and didn't get my period for like five months after that. I was a little frustrated about that because you know you had a miscarriage, and you're like, “Oh, I did it.”
Aimee:
You want to get right back on the horse. Yeah.
Annie:
[inaudible 00:06:31] yeah. And at that point, we decided to go for IVF. This reproductive endocrinologist said, “You're the perfect candidate.” I was concerned at that point. My gut said, “If I'm not ovulating, then I don't think I should be doing IVF. It just doesn't seem right.” But I ignored my gut feeling and went for it anyway. And yeah, it didn't work. We got two embryos. First one was a fresh transfer, second was frozen, and they didn't work. So that was kind of a bummer too.
Aimee:
Yeah, it sucks. Yeah.
Annie:
Yeah. But-
Aimee:
And then that was … Then you did the reboot and then you joined the e-course or was it the other way around?
Annie:
Joined the e-course first. Yeah, so at that point I had been following many different people online and I thought, “Okay, I need to stop trying to do this on my own [inaudible 00:07:46] find somebody that's not just in the IVF world, maybe not selling that product, but that's their main job.” And so I thought, “I'm going to pick somebody. I'm going to go with them.” And Aimee won. You're [inaudible 00:08:06] I could connect with and trust, and everything about what you do seem great. Really, really great. So I joined the group, the Yes, You Can Get Pregnant group, and the e-course.
Aimee:
And that was in 2019, so just last year. Yeah.
Annie:
Yeah. That was just like August, September.
Aimee:
Yeah, September of last year. Yeah, when we launched, because we only launched it in September. So I always know it's in September.
Annie:
Oh my gosh. Crazy. It was awesome. Dove right into the course, which is so, so wonderful. The group is amazing. I thought, “Okay, I'm going to be the new one. I'm going to be the newbie. It's going to take a while for people to even say hi to me.”
Aimee:
Mm-mm (negative), no.
Annie:
And everybody is so instantly warm and welcome and helpful. All of the women are so, so knowledgeable and eager to share what they know, and then yep, the reboot.
Aimee:
Yeah. So then you did the reboot with us, which was like the end of the year. We did it in January or something, right? Because we talked … Oh, you had your last menstrual period 8/27/19 when we talked. So we must have talked in September early, September, mid-September, after you joined. And you were doing the reboot. You were currently waiting for a period to come after the frozen transfer. That's what it was, right. But you said to me, “I do feel like I can get pregnant naturally.” And let's see. Yeah. And then let me see. We just went over your cycles and things like that. So what do you think were some of the bigger changes that you made? Because then five months later you were naturally pregnant, right? So that frozen transfer doesn't work, and then five months later …
Annie:
Yeah. So definitely the diet and the thing that you say all the time is you can't out supplement a crappy diet. And that is the thing that I had been ignoring, pushing away, trying to deny for all [inaudible 00:10:20]. I swore I could do it, I could out supplement a crappy night. And it wasn't bad. I just, I wasn't eating any fats and-
Aimee:
Yeah. That's right. That's what I remember too, because there was dryness. There was a lot of dryness symptoms if I remember. Your period wasn't ever heavy, it was very light. And then yeah, you had some dryness symptoms. And so it was, in what you wrote. We asked all the Story of Hope Lives to give us some data. And Annie wrote, “What worked, the Yes, You Can Get Pregnant Diet and the reboot, the bone broth and the ghee and the butter. Sweet potatoes. Turns out I needed the healthy carbs. No alcohol or coffee.” That's right. We had a good mindset shift conversation. I remember that when we talked. That was a good shift for … “And then, bottom line, I needed to stop trying to out-supplement a crappy diet.”
Aimee:
And then you said, “The office hours, no more monkey mind letting me make up stories about what might be wrong,” which I'm sure a lot of women can relate to. “And then the Facebook group, feeling acceptance, support, smart women who understand, empathize, have a shared sense of humor.” I love that. “And spirit babies.” Yeah. So yeah, so tell me more about that part, the transformation, you coming into this space where you really started to, I think, nourish yourself, right?
Annie:
Yeah. I mean, it's changed my whole life, without a doubt. Yeah, it's something that needed to happen since I was 16, 15, and I think I was just pushing it away and pushing it away and trying to force through everything and [crosstalk 00:12:12] my own problems. But every shift, like adding fat to my diet, I felt so much better, so much better. Carbs, I think ever since I got that idea of PCOS might be a thing, I stopped eating carbs and my body didn't feel good at all on that.
Aimee:
Yeah, it didn't like that.
Annie:
And when you just make those little shifts, it also affects your thinking, [inaudible 00:12:39], sleep. I never used to sleep well, or I think I could go to sleep really, and that mindset shift was huge too. Like, “Oh my gosh, it's 8:30 and I am already asleep. It can happen.” Same thing with alcohol and coffee. You helped me realize it's just in my head that I think I have to have a drink at night to [crosstalk 00:13:06].
Aimee:
To relax, to unwind, yeah.
Annie:
And it turns out it's not that big of a deal at all, actually. I just had so many things that I thought were true that I was telling myself [crosstalk 00:13:19] for so many years that it was really … I mean, changed my life forever, absolutely. And thank God because I'm going to be a mom.
Aimee:
I know. How do you feel about that part? Do you feel ready?
Annie:
Yeah, I'm so excited. I don't know how the heck it's going to go or what to do, but you know.
Aimee:
Figure that part out. That's what we have the new momma group for. And you've been in there and asking questions and getting support from … And there's a lot of moms in there. We have some moms that have like a four-year-old or a two-year-old that they've been through it, and a bunch of newborns right now, I think too. So you're seeing all the things, office hours, talking about sleep deprivation. I'm sure you're looking forward to that, but you'll get through it.
Aimee:
And then I think too, I love how you highlighted, “What I struggled with the most, trying to out-supplement a crappy diet,” which I think a lot of women are doing, self-medicating, right, where you were just doing Dr. Google and reading all the different articles out there. And like you said, trying things but not sticking to them. And then the other part, “Trusting myself, trusting my gut, doing the hard work.”
Annie:
Yeah.
Aimee:
It paid off for you though really fast. I mean, to consider that basically you tried since March 2017, right? And then the one pregnancy, but then the IVFs. And I think had you not had the intervention, you probably would have went back to the … have gotten on the hamster wheel of that or …
Annie:
Yeah, that was the plan. And I probably wouldn't have changed my diet, and that's probably a main reason why … I don't know. Who knows why it didn't work, but …
Aimee:
Yeah. And so are you currently still following similar diet, like yeah, Yes You Can Get Pregnant style? Yeah.
Annie:
Yep. Same-
Aimee:
Fat and bone broth. And I remember when you got pregnant, you messaged me, you were worried because of the previous miscarriage, and we just kind of worked it through on email. And you were keeping me in the loop through that early stage. I remember.
Annie:
Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's nerve wracking, but it's also like, you can trust that plan, that that plan works. And I've had such a great pregnancy. I felt so good the whole time.
Aimee:
That's amazing.
Annie:
I have nothing to compare it against, but it's been so great.
Aimee:
I think you went in balance, and I think proud though, too, right, because you really … Like you said, you did the hard work and then you're … It's kind of like, Marissa, I don't know if you got to see Marissa's earlier today at 1:30, that she said how proud she is of herself that she stuck to the plan and it worked and it came to fruition, and there's just such a sense of pride with that, that she did it and you did it. You know?
Annie:
Yeah. I'm definitely proud. And it's almost really funny to me, all these years, I thought I couldn't do all these things. I felt I couldn't not drink coffee, not drink alcohol. And it's so easy. And not only that, my husband, he's a really good beer drinker.
Aimee:
Yeah. I remember that was a part of our conversation. You were worried about him and his drinking. Yeah. I mean, as it pertained to fertility, not like huge picture drinking. Yes. Go ahead.
Annie:
Well, listen to this, Aimee. He's gone nine months without drinking now.
Aimee:
That's amazing.
Annie:
I know. And it's because of this group. He [inaudible 00:17:05].
Aimee:
That's amazing. I love that. That's amazing.
Annie:
It's very cool.
Aimee:
Yeah. And it is. You're just in the right space to welcome in this child and just getting ready to … You're creating your family and the energy that you want in that family then. Yeah. You're starting and I love that. I'm happy for him. That's amazing.
Annie:
Yeah, it is.
Aimee:
I love a glass of wine, but I'll tell you, I haven't been drinking either and it's like, it goes through phases. I drink so much less than I ever used to, but life is just so … I just feel so much better without it. It's really … I sleep better. Everything just is better, you know?
Annie:
Yep.
Aimee:
And then when you do have it once in a while, it's like you really appreciate a little sip of good red wine or something like that versus this habits, you know?
Annie:
Yeah. Yep.
Aimee:
And so what else? Is there anything else you want to share with everyone about your overall experience? I mean, was there a point where you lost hope or you felt like you couldn't figure it out or you weren't going to figure it out?
Annie:
Yeah, absolutely. And I was always really hard on myself by saying things like, “You shouldn't feel this way. It's only been three years.” Or, “Some people it's 10 years.” Or, “You've only had one miscarriage, some people …” and I would always ruminate on that, but at the same time I was so lonely and so hopeless and feeling and-
Aimee:
Yeah, [crosstalk 00:18:53].
Annie:
[crosstalk 00:18:54] feeling and kind of out of control for a person who likes to be in control, and that's something I'll always work on. Yeah, I think the thing that I would definitely highlight is the group, the Yes You Can Get Pregnant group and weekly office hours. Just knowing that I could ask you a question, it would magically make all my stupid questions go away. Just knowing that I can, then I'd say to myself, “Well, I don't really need to ask that because I know the answer already,” or, “It's in the e-course and I don't need to ask it again.” It's just that reassurance that there's the opportunity to do that in the group. It's insane. I went from spinning wheel monkey mind to like, “I got this. It's good.” And if I do actually have a question-
Aimee:
A question. Yeah, we're right here. Right.
Annie:
Yeah. There they are. Yeah. So I [crosstalk 00:19:54].
Aimee:
You know what I always say, and you've heard me say it because you've been in office hours. But when I created the e-course, it was always people who teach you how to create digital courses. So they're not in healthcare or whatever. And someone was saying, “Oh, you should host office hours.” You got to create a Facebook group and then you should go live once in a while and host office hours to answer questions.” And I had no idea the value of it the first time I … No idea. No idea that the access to me every single week and how much … It does. It allays the fears. Instead of going to Google and searching and landing on these forums and finding all this kind of not so supportive stuff, just go into the e-course group and search.
Aimee:
I mean, now we have four years of content in there. It's like, you can pretty much type anything into that search box and you'll find conversations on it. But then also that you get to ask the question. And it's amazing too, people like you now who have been through it. But there's so many students that stick around even after they're pregnant or have children because they love it and they love the support. [Laura Fletcher 00:21:04] is a great example. I mean, she answers half the questions before I even get on office hours. Between her and Beth I'm like, “I'm not really needed here, actually.”
Annie:
Amazing. I know. It's crazy. It's so cool. It's so cool.
Aimee:
It is that thing of … And we learn together too, right? Sometimes people bring up stuff and I'm like, “I don't know, I'll go research it. I'll come back with an answer.” But I do. I love the banter in that group and I love the support and I love seeing how supportive you guys are of one another. And really, I just had no idea it would become what it is. It's just as valuable as the content in the actual modules that I created, if not more valuable too, because it's always evolving, you know?
Annie:
Yep. Totally.
Aimee:
Yeah. That's so amazing. I love it. Let me see if anybody had … You guys have any questions for Annie? Let's see. People just saying, “Oh, how are you not tired?” That was to me [inaudible 00:22:08] right now. Where did I go to school to acupuncture? I went to school in San Diego, Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. Graduated in 2000 and I think three or something like that. What is this? Oh, “I love life on tons of healthy fats.” So someone's just … Me too. It's funny. I just got blood work today. I did a whole slew of labs last week with my functional medicine doctor. And she was like, “Let's just do a whole physical on you. When was the last time you had your cholesterol, your lipids checked?” I was like, “Oh gosh, it's been probably, I don't know, 10 years.”
Aimee:
I said to my husband last week, I was like, “God, with the amount of fat I eat.” I was like, “I'm just so curious what my cholesterol will be.” My cholesterol is like … everything on the lab was green, green, green. And I'm like, ” I mean, I eat so much saturated fat.” I was cooking dinner tonight and it was like tablespoons of ghee and cooking in the pan. It's just crazy that what we were taught versus what actually is, and it had zero impact on my cholesterol. But I think it helps with creating really rich, good quality hormones and eggs. Steph says, “Congrats. What a beautiful story.” Erin says, “I feel like that too sometimes. Dr. Erin Google here.” Yeah, I know. I know.
Annie:
Terrible.
Aimee:
“Awesome, Annie.” Let's see. “That's so awesome.” Everybody's cheering you on. So nice that everyone can learn from each other. It is. It is. “I think I missed this, but how long was Annie on the diet making the changes before she got pregnant?” Let you answer that.
Annie:
[inaudible 00:23:53] long. I mean, five months. I had always been eating healthy, lots of vegetables, for sure. But the change to lots of fats, adding back in carbs, and then completely … and I'm not saying everybody has to completely cut out alcohol, and that was five months.
Aimee:
Yeah. Five months and then pregnant naturally.
Annie:
Yep.
Aimee:
That's amazing. And I feel like in between … I mean, we only did one … We did one call, right? But in between, I feel like I remember in office hours, you mentioning your period was better or you started to see a heavier flow. You started to see the shifts and then it did happen pretty quickly.
Annie:
Yep. Yep. Definitely noticed the shifts. My luteal phase got longer, which was something I was trying to fix just that part of the cycle. And you helped me learn that it's actually the follicular phase that affects the luteal phase. Once again, trying to fix like, “Oh, this is what needs to change.” But it's-
Aimee:
Yeah, progesterone. You just need to fix [crosstalk 00:25:07]. Right. Right.
Annie:
Like slap some cream on and it's going to be good, right? And you helped me learn that you just can't ignore the whole-
Aimee:
The whole cycle. Yeah.
Annie:
Yep.
Aimee:
Amazing.
Annie:
Yes!
Aimee:
All right, guys. Well, if you don't have any more questions for Annie then I think we will call it a night over here. One thing I want to say is I'm not going to pick a scholarship winner right now. I'm going to pick one tomorrow on my Live with Ms. Courtney, which another … She has a newborn too. Let's see. What time is that at? 1:00 tomorrow with Courtney. So if you can be there, that's great. And then there's also another Live on Saturday night at 8:00 PM. And same thing, we'll pick another scholarship winner then. And if you guys want to check out what the course that helped Annie, just go to aimeeraupp.com/yes and check it out. And yeah, yeah, do it, do it. I don't think you'll regret it, you know?
Annie:
Best [inaudible 00:26:19].
Aimee:
Oh, you're sweet. Thank you. Well, it's been an honor. I mean, yeah, you were a fast turn around, but that's it too, right? Everybody's on their journey. Everybody's on their journey, and we never know. We never really know the when, but I do think we have a good understanding of the how, and it's just, some people just take longer being in that space than others. But yeah, it was great to be able to also to support you when you got pregnant. Because I remember how scared you were to have another miscarriage. And it was great to be there to support you, and then now to see you at the end of the pregnancy.
Annie:
Yay!
Aimee:
Yay! I know. It's going to be soon.
Annie:
[inaudible 00:27:02] Aimee.
Aimee:
Aw, you're welcoming, Annie. Thank you so much. All right. Goodnight, everybody. See you guys tomorrow. Okay, bye, Annie. Thank you.
Annie:
Bye.

End of Transcript

Aimee Raupp is a licensed herbalist, natural fertility expert and acupuncturist in NYC, offering natural fertility treatment, care & coaching solutions to women who want to get pregnant! Get pregnant fast with natural fertility care, Aimee’s online fertility shop & coaching solutions. Aimee Raupp has helped hundreds of women to get pregnant naturally! Aimee and her team are experts in Chinese Medicine, Massage & Eastern Nutrition! Get pregnant naturally, achieve optimal health & vitality, take control of your health! Aimee is excited to work with you at one of the Aimee Raupp Wellness Centers NYC. Aimee's Fertility Coaching Program is a personal guidance along your fertility journey. If you are trying to get pregnant naturally, this program is for you! Aimee Raupp offers holistic, wellness and natural fertility books. Learn how to enhance your fertility and get pregnant naturally with Aimee’s cookbooks and diet guides! Shop Aimee Raupp's natural fertility shop with online workshops, videos, consultation and coaching on fertility, meditation and healthy nutrition!

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About Aimee Raupp, MS, LAc

Aimee Raupp, MS, LAc, is a renowned women’s health & wellness expert and the best- selling author of the books Chill Out & Get Healthy, Yes, You Can Get Pregnant, and Body Belief. A licensed acupuncturist and herbalist in private practice in New York, she holds a Master of Science degree in Traditional Oriental Medicine from the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine and a Bachelor’s degree in biology from Rutgers University. Aimee is also the founder of the Aimee Raupp Beauty line of hand-crafted, organic skincare products. This article was reviewed AimeeRaupp.com's editorial team and is in compliance with our editorial policy.

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