I have another BRAND NEW Story of Hope for you! In this video, I talk through a case and share how we got to the root of my patient’s red flag symptoms, worked with her autoimmune conditions, and assisted with the emotional heaviness of this difficult journey to a healthy pregnancy.
Enroll in my YES, You Can Get Pregnant eCourse here: aimeeraupp.com/yes
SEE THE FULL TRANSCRIPT BELOW.
Aimee:
Hello, are you getting sick of me yet today? This is officially the third time I am live on this page today, and I didn't change outfits, just to stay consistent. I am here now, this time, to come to you, live with a story of hope. So if you don't know what my stories of hope are, head over to my website. I have an entire blog dedicated to my stories of hope. And sometimes I have the honor that a client actually wants to come live with me on this page and share their story with you. So we are going to wait for my client, [Luciana 00:00:49], to come on. Let me just make sure I don't see her yet, but while she gets here, I want to share a little bit about her case, and pull up her new patient paperwork.
Aimee:
So she came to me at the age of 36. She had a known condition of, let me just see. So this is not a hot seat, so I'm only going to wait for Luciana to join me. My team, just making sure I don't see my team yet. Making sure. We're supposed to be on Instagram, right? I'm assuming my Google Calendar made it seem like it was Instagram. Let's just make sure, guys, but I'll still tell you the case. Let's see. Yeah, I think I will invite, oh, I'm going to invite you to join live, but I think you have to. Let me just see, I'm going to search Luciana, see if she comes up.
Aimee:
No, she's not on yet. Okay. That's all right. We will wait for her. Okay. So it's supposed to be on Instagram. We're just waiting for her. Okay.
Aimee:
So a little bit about her case. 36, actually, she signed up for coaching with me after having had a miscarriage, she'll tell you some of this, too, but she bought my book, Yes, You can get Pregnant, and as she said in her little write up that she sent over before we went live, that it was the first thing that gave her hope, and she devoured it. She was already gluten free because she's had celiac for over 10 years. So she's had that diagnosis, and then more recently got a diagnosis of Hashimoto's. Doctors were telling her there was nothing wrong with her. When we did do our first call, she was actually pregnant. Sadly, she miscarried soon after. So then that became her second miscarriage.
Aimee:
Let me just pull up her notes here. Let's see. So when I met her, let's see, in the question, I send a questionnaire and new patient paperwork to every single new client that I work with. “If you could get rid of one health related thing forever, what would it be?” “Brain fog, auto immunity. It's the worst. It impacts my job, gives me anxiety.” So right there, when I see brain fog, I automatically think autoimmunity, which she obviously does already have. She got a diagnosis, but still, inflammation is not managed autoimmunity. Right? You guys have heard me talk about this ad nauseam. I think many women dealing with unexplained infertility have a preexisting or a mismanaged autoimmune condition, or an inflammatory condition.
Aimee:
“What was she seeking from me? “To help coach me to the proper diet and eating plan to help me heal the root cause of my autoimmunity, Hashimoto's and celiac, help me get to the root of the problem. Heal my key gut so I can feel good and my body can support a healthy pregnancy. Once I get pregnant, understand what I should be eating to support myself and new baby. Also know what healthy diet I should have thereafter.”
Aimee:
So she did also say the last time she felt healthy, because I always ask this question, was when she was in college, 14 years ago. She's gone through a lot on the emotional front, which I won't overshare, I want her to share, whatever she's comfortable with.
Aimee:
“Do you feel like the main health challenge you're facing is ruining your life?” “It's not ruling my life, but it impacts my life. I still feel many underlying symptoms of Hashimoto's, despite being on medication. Also, I got pregnant after seven months of trying, which was longer than expected, and then miscarried. I'm frustrated that I'm not getting pregnant faster. Despite reading, Yes, You can get Pregnant, increasing protein, reducing sugar, cutting soy, and recently dairy, and taking all the supplements.” Anybody can relate. Frustrated for not getting pregnant when you've made all these changes. Anyone relate? Anyone relate?
Aimee:
“Do you like your body?” “I love my body. It feels strong and resilient, but I can tell it's hurting and things are out of whack. I have digestive issues, which tell me something is up. My temperature is out of whack, too hot at night. Then too cold, quickly. Cold hands and feet, brain fog, concentration.” There she is, young lady, “Concentration issues.”
Aimee:
So I'm going to wave at you, Luciana, and then request to join me and I will put you through or I guess I can also put through a request to you. Let me see. Now I can, now that you're on. I'm just giving everyone the back story on you. It's not letting me find you. So can you request to join me live, love? Just the little plus at the bottom. Hi, love. Do you see where you can request? Let me see if I can. Oh, here we go. No, I can't. Beth, I can't seem to ask her to join. Let's see.
Aimee:
Oh, there we go. Here we go. Send request. I'm requesting you to join me live. I'm so excited to see your pretty face. Haven't seen you in a while. Oh, that's okay. Technical difficulties happen, and I always like a little back story with sharing. I just hit the bus button to ask her to join. Let's see. Why is it not happening? Here we go. Send request. Okay. I sent you the request to join live, so you should just accept the request and then we should be good to go.
Aimee:
Let's see. Technical difficulties are a part of life with technology. So all good. So, but when she did come to me… I don't see the request. Okay. That's weird. Can you ask to join me live? So there should be a button on yours, that looks like a little camera with a plus button. Can you hit that? And it should say, “Request to join Aimee live,” and then I'll accept you. Oh, unable to join. Why is that? Huh? It says you're unable to join. I wonder if this is going to be a similar issue to what we had last week, Beth, with an older version of Instagram.
Aimee:
You can request to join, scroll to the top of the comments or push the plus button at the bottom of the screen.
Aimee:
I'm going to keep talking while we figure this out. So she did say, “I love my body. I feel strong and resilient, but I feel like something's out of whack.” And you guys have heard me say this many times, I trust where you're at. I trust your feelings. “Do you feel sync with your body?” “Yes, my body…”
Aimee:
Yeah. I wonder if it was an older version of Instagram. I might have to update Instagram on your phone, the app. Let's see. I don't know if you want do that. If you want to sign off, and I can continue to introduce the case and see if you have to update the app, you just go into your app store and see if there's an update. I keep getting the red thing that you're unable to join. So I think that you don't have the most up to date version of Instagram, which just happened to us last week. I think it's a new rollout. Yeah. So you can sign off and then close the app, go to your app store, look for updates. Update the app and come back on, if you don't mind.
Aimee:
I will still finish us up at 3:45 and I'm going to keep talking about your case and then I'm going to let you come on and share.
Aimee:
So, “I started keeping a health journal, really pay attention to things, track my symptoms, working from home due to COVID has given me lots of time for self-care, which I'm grateful for.” So on her new patient paperwork, she tells me, since she's read, Yes, You can get Pregnant. She…
Aimee:
Oh, there we go. You're here. Yay. Let's see. Wait, just did it on the phone. Yeah, I think it worked. Let's see. I think I just accepted you. Oh, were you on the computer? Yeah, the lives won't work on Instagram from the computer, only from the phone. That's why it wasn't working. Let's see. There we, hi.
Luciana:
Hi.
Aimee:
We did it. Yeah. That's, sorry, Instagram won't let you go live from a computer. Who knows why?
Luciana:
So I'm on the phone.
Aimee:
There we go. So am I, how are you? It's so good to see you.
Luciana:
Good, so nice to see you, too.
Aimee:
I know, thank you so much for doing this. I so appreciate it.
Luciana:
Of course.
Aimee:
I was just going through the backstory a bit, about the celiac and the Hashi's, and the miscarriages, right, when we first, because… Well, why don't you introduce yourself and say what you want to say and then we'll just get into it, if you will.
Luciana:
Sure. Hi everyone. I'm Luciana. I'm so happy to be here today. I started working with Aimee basically because I had one miscarriage and was having trouble getting pregnant. Then, actually the first day that we scheduled to work together, I found out I was pregnant again. But then a few days later had a second miscarriage. So it was just this devastating roller coaster of emotions. The second miscarriage was just like I felt like the universe was stepping on my face. It is the worst feeling. But regardless, already having had one devastating miscarriage, I wanted the support of Aimee regardless. But then after the second it was like, “Okay, I really need to be doing this work, to make me feel confident and help me to enjoy the pregnancy and not just be terrified every single day.”
Aimee:
Yeah. So there were two pregnancies, right? It was May, and then September, basically, right.
Luciana:
Yep.
Aimee:
And it was seven months of trying to conceive to get pregnant in May, then you read, Yes, You can get Pregnant, what, June, July, and then pregnant again in September.
Luciana:
Yep.
Aimee:
It was September 4th, 2020 when we talked and, “I'm pregnant right now, just took a test this morning. Period was due on 9/7.” Oh, that's probably not, the date of the paperwork was 9/4. I think we talked a couple days later. Then, I remember our emails and all that back and forth since our last call two weeks ago, yeah, that you were pregnant and then you got a period a couple days later, so you got the positive and then the period came. Then I like what you wrote up here, that you dove into, Yes, You can get Pregnant, after the first miscarriage and then decided to start working with me, and yeah, maybe talk a little bit about the dietary stuff and the changes there, because you had already had celiac. So gluten was easy peasy for you.
Luciana:
Yeah.
Aimee:
But then the diagnosis of the Hashimoto's, and I can't remember, did my book encourage you to get of the Hashimoto's diagnosis or did your doctors look into that? I can't remember.
Luciana:
Yeah. I already had that, and my doctors, they actually picked it up in my, what was it, preconception blood work. When I said I was ready to start trying, they were like, “Okay, let's test you out.” And then it came up. So I had been taking levothyroxine daily, but then I also was reading more about the Hashi's and what that means for diet and lifestyle. I really enjoyed, her book is on my shelf, I can see it. I Izabella's book on [crosstalk 00:13:10]-
Aimee:
Yeah, Izabella Wentz, great book.
Luciana:
Hashimoto Protocols. Yeah. So then I started seeing, maybe there's more to this, and I remember we discussed some of the elimination diet. What I really appreciated about working with you was I was like, “Okay, I'm ready to do whatever it takes to get pregnant. If I need to do a super hardcore elimination diet, let's do this.” I was really gearing up. But you were so compassionate. You were like, “Look, you've really been through a lot. Let's start slowly.”
Aimee:
Yes, and also because your food, I have your diary from our very first conversation. Food wise, she was eating all organic. She was starting her day with hot water and lemon. You were eating within an hour after taking your thyroid, then you were doing a smoothie every morning, clean protein powder, spirulina, avocado, banana, [inaudible 00:14:00], spinach, almond milk. You were eating awesome. Salads, spinach with tuna, [barbonzo 00:14:05] or black cucumber, walnuts, fermented foods. Usually feels good sometime, but last year get horrible brain fog. So that was the biggest thing you, that brain fog, we couldn't figure that out. And we still had a harder time figuring it out, but then you went and got pregnant and it was probably moved to the back burner a bit.
Aimee:
Then, your snack was fruit or nuts, sometimes a protein shake, coconut, almond, [matcha 00:14:28] for focus, and I sent you my matcha recipe. And then we talked about how you ate a lot of bell peppers for a snack, for dinner. I remember we were talking about night shades. Yeah. And then dinner was always protein, veg and a green, all cooked in a good fat coconut oil.
Aimee:
So yeah. What you'd been through, and I think also seeing how hard you were working, sometimes I do it one of two ways and I remember telling you, sometimes we just back into the diet, because you're so close, it's more just removing a few things versus going on a super-intense egg-quality diet for a hundred days. So I said, less cold and raw, add in bone broth, and maybe do a week of no beans and no bell peppers or night shades.
Aimee:
Then, you had kept a food diary for me, cold hands and feet. But so then the next time we talked. Oh yeah, and the MTHFR. So you didn't know about that mutation, right. So then we did the genetics with you.
Luciana:
Yeah. [crosstalk 00:15:27] I didn't know any of that until we worked together.
Aimee:
That was a big eye opener, too, for you, of, could this have been the reasons for the losses? Because I feel like you were on mega foods baby in prenatal though. But were you on that for that first pregnancy?
Luciana:
No.
Aimee:
Or were you on a folic acid? Yeah. So I think you acid switched.
Luciana:
Folic acid, yeah.
Aimee:
So it might not have been enough time to have methyl folate built up in your body for you to create, and then to have all the choline, too. Then, let's see-
Luciana:
Yeah. About the choline, I was not a fan of eating eggs all the time. I would eat them every once in a while. But then with you, I was like, “Nope, got to get these eggs in every day.”
Aimee:
That's right. Then, the next time we talked, we did the 23andMe report, put you on the Methyl-Guard Plus, one every three days. That was interesting, too. Maybe talk about that. Remember how you had some interesting, I think, and intense reactions to both NAC and Methyl-Guard Plus, right. Weren't those the two that we had to slow back on you? We had to put those basically because you were super sensitive, and we see that in people with MTHFR, and I think you have the COMT as well. I don't think I've ever written down. But maybe talk about that, because you were so in touch with your body that you were like, do you remember? I remember you emailing me, like I don't feel good on this Methyl Guard Plus, and then you also got some pains in the side, but anyway, I think it shows, too, that we just worked it through together, to figure it out.
Luciana:
Yeah. With the Methyl-Guard. I also didn't realize that I probably just had too much, because there was already some in the prenatal. So I wasn't adding that into the pure supplement. So then I had that crazy reaction and I was like, “Whoa,” I had, what was it? Hyper methylation.
Aimee:
Hyper methylation, yeah. You emailed me, and I was like, “Okay, pull back.”
Luciana:
That's it.
Aimee:
But I see it a lot, too, with the Methyl_guard Plus, the dosing on the bottle is three a day. So I usually say take one a day, but if a woman, maybe, isn't working with a practitioner and just goes and gets that because she finds that she has the MTHFR, she can give herself Hyper methylation symptoms and that's not a fun way to live, right. Especially, you were having anxiety and worry, and it really does trigger all of those things as well. So that wasn't it wasn't fun for you. So yeah, on that second call, we kind of just talked, oh, this was your third call, actually. We talked a lot about giving yourself grace, the frustration, the anxiety, the uncertainty, because there was stuff going on, too. You were selling a home, right, looking for another home. You guys moved, right, and you bought a home?
Luciana:
Yes.
Aimee:
Yeah.
Luciana:
Yep. In my new office right now.
Aimee:
Yay. Yeah. But maybe, I know you mentioned that in the write-up that you shared with me, but maybe address some of the emotional stuff, where you felt like the support was, I don't know, how it helped you.
Luciana:
Yeah, definitely. It was so helpful because at that time, I was trying to just make all these changes to say, “Look, I want to build a family. I want to have my baby, and I've been living in this awesome, super cool urban condo for the past eight years.” And with COVID, with being home, I was like, “Okay, I just want more space for the baby. I really want to have a nice nursery to welcome my child in.” I love decorating and I love artsy stuff. So for me that was a fun, creative outlet.
Luciana:
So I just had all of these desires to take this big step forward in my life, and while I was trying to get pregnant and have the baby, I was also trying to look for a new home. And it seemed like both things weren't happening. There were challenges in selling my condo. The market was going crazy for buying. And then, with miscarriages, I was like, “Gosh, why can't I move forward in my life? I was want to so badly, but these are things that I can't control. I can't control the housing market. I can't control who wants to buy my condo.”
Luciana:
At the same time it, even my body, I'm doing all these things, but I can't necessarily control it. So it was a lot of frustration, and a lot of uncertainty and anxiety, and this thinking of, “Why can't I just do the things and get to the other side of the rainbow?” I think I read, even Michelle Obama's book, she went through this that often in life when you're the kind of person that makes plans and does things, and can set a goal and achieve it, it just be very frustrating when you feel like you're doing the same thing, but you're not getting pregnant or the pregnancy isn't staying.
Luciana:
So it was really helpful to just have these conversations with you, in addition to having a therapist to talk to. So I felt like I needed a lot of support, and I reached out and I got the support that I needed.
Aimee:
Yeah. I think that's another thing to like highlight about you, from the get go, was you came in knowing what you needed, knowing what you wanted, super in touch, and super ready to execute, which makes my job a hell of a lot easier, to be very honest. But the in-touch-ness part, and then just working through, and also I think you being so in touch, and you were able to be vulnerable and share your frustrations and then also see what your body was going through, and the changes you were making, and how they were impacting you.
Aimee:
So then you fully commit, right? I have some of your food diaries, but I feel like you fully commit to no dairy, because you were still having some, right?
Luciana:
Yeah.
Aimee:
I remember some food diaries, and you would be out to dinner one night, and there would be nachos or something. You know what I mean? And then-
Luciana:
The dairy was rough. It was really rough.
Aimee:
It was rough. Yeah. You didn't [crosstalk 00:21:32].
Luciana:
It was the hardest.
Aimee:
Not everybody loves me during that time. And then the peppers, and then I feel like, let's see. So then a lot of our communication is via email, too, at one point. So I'm looking at emails, and things were shifting in you. You didn't have a lot of, if you will, red flag symptoms, to go back to your original paperwork right here. Well, you did have a good amount. Dry eyes, ringing in ears. Dry scalp, dry scalp, dry skin. Allergies, asthma, cold hands and feet, indigestion, gas, nighttime urination, joint pain, sickness, too hot. So how did you notice your symptoms start to shift when you stepped into all of the recommendations? Do you remember?
Luciana:
I noticed the biggest change in my skin. The skin was not as dry. I remember being shocked that I didn't need lotion.
Aimee:
Right. Wow.
Luciana:
It was like, “Wow. My skin is like naturally hydrating itself. It's so great.” And then, even itchiness in my skin, that went away.
Aimee:
Yeah. And the brain fog did that start to lift?
Luciana:
Oh yes. Yes. That really improved.
Aimee:
And then that helped with the anxiety, because the brain fog would give you anxiety about work performance, right?
Luciana:
Yes.
Aimee:
That whole, yeah. Your skin is glowing today, mama.
Luciana:
Aw thank you.
Aimee:
Your skin is glowing. So pretty. And then, so we started working together September. You were pregnant then, another miscarriage, and then two months later, right? November.
Luciana:
Yep.
Aimee:
We did it again. She sends me an email, “Positive pregnancy test, Sunday, November 8th, 2020.” “Soooo,” with four os, “I got a positive pregnancy yesterday. That's getting pregnant on the second try after the miscarriage in September, we were feeling very fertile.” Which again, remember she was not feeling very fertile because it took seven months that first time around. “But, of course, I'm terrified for the potential of another loss. I'm seeing my OB-GYN on Wednesday to do the beta test, until then I wanted to review, confirm, modify my supplements.”
Aimee:
We had you on the Cod liver oil, the D, the spirulina, your prenatal, your Dr. Ron's liver pills, your sunflower lecithin, if you weren't eating the eggs. So she, again, was nailing it. You took that MTHFR guide that I share with everybody, and you went to town with it.
Aimee:
And then we stopped the Methyl-Guard Plus, because you were feeling that insomnia Hyper methylation. You stopped the MAC because you had that bad reaction of the severe nausea, which I was so interested in. I haven't ever seen it again, but it's, for me, on my radar, too, now. It must have done something to, your body was processing it differently. You were doing acupuncture once a week. “I feel like this will give me extra support.”
Aimee:
And then I wrote back and I said all your supplements were good. And I wanted you to add in the low dose aspirin, right?
Luciana:
Yes.
Aimee:
“Don't stop until you're through the first trimester.” And then I said it again at the end, “And take the aspirin, please.” I was very redundant. Then, “A bit scared of taking the low dose aspirin,” is what you had said to me. I understood because we had the Hyper methylation symptoms for the Methyl-Guard Plus, the MAC did not make you feel good, and then it was yet another foreign thing. And you were scared, and you took low dose aspirin the month before, and you remember you felt pregnancy symptoms the month before, but you got a period. So I feel like that was a chemical, it was trying to happen. We often see that in the months leading up to the actual pregnancy we get to take home.
Aimee:
Then, this month, you had the very similar pregnancy symptoms and you didn't take the aspirin, so you were afraid to reintroduce it. I totally understood that, but I think I was… and then you were a little concerned about the liver, and I was a little pushy. I was like, “I don't want you to have another loss. So to me, taking the baby aspirin is a no brainer, has zero side effects and can be the missing link. So my advice is to take it daily, but you have to do what feels best for you. I will support you either way. I've just been down this road too many times and I don't want you to have another loss.”
Luciana:
I remember that email, and that was very helpful for me.
Aimee:
The tough love isn't always easy for me, but sometimes I put on, you're a professional, too. I put on my hat where I'm like, “She's paying me for a service. I have to show up, and tell her how I feel.” And then I talk to you about nutrition, vitamin A in the pregnancy. Yeah. And yeah, you were feeling good.
Aimee:
Then we were able to go on, let's see, overall, you were feeling really good. I'm trying to see when we, “Some great news, I made it past the first sonogram and heard the heartbeat. Doctor said all looks good. I'm now seven weeks and three days pregnant.” You had a bit of spotting, which totally freaked you out. Do you remember that?
Luciana:
Oof. Yeah. Very scary.
Aimee:
And then you do the Thyroid panel and the vitamin D and the Ferritin, we had to increase the levothyroxine, remember? So same thing. I do think that those are critical things when working with me. I think, knowing you, you would've probably been on top of it, or maybe your doctor, but a lot of docs don't check the thyroid in the beginning of pregnancies, and we often need to increase medications. So, and sometimes that can play a role in the miscarriage, and the health of the pregnancy, right. So yeah, you had sent me your thyroid panel here.
Aimee:
Then, so there's some questions. How do you get your husband on board with the healthy eating habits? You guys were pretty healthy to begin with, but maybe share. Yeah. How did that work in your house?
Luciana:
Yeah, so I definitely do a lot more than he does. He does not do the smoothies. I actually made them for him for a while and he liked it, but he was like, “Eh, just not my thing.” So he just respects what I eat. We have different breakfasts. Sometimes we have different lunch. Sometimes I will make him the salads, and he likes them. But then for dinner, it's pretty straightforward. I love to cook. So I cook healthy things and he likes it, but it's just, I respect what he eats for breakfast, and he respects what I eat and, and it's cool.#.
Aimee:
And that's the key. I actually came up earlier today, in office hours in the, eCourse, where one of the girls in the group is having a hard time in her relationship, and some other practitioners told her it's very difficult to conceive if you and your husband are fighting a lot or not on the same page. And she had asked, “Do you believe that?” And I said, “Well kind of, but not really. It really depends on how you take it. If you can just respect his wishes, and not take them personally, and let him be who he is, and not hold resentment, then I don't think it impacts things negatively. But I think if you judge and hold resentment and feel unsupported and really focused on that lack of support, then I think it can worsen things.” Right?
Luciana:
Yeah. Yeah. The dairy was rough, though, because a lot of what we like to do together are like little happy hours where we put out cheese and charcuterie and stuff. So that was a little bit challenging, and we love to just cheat, not cheat, but just enjoy Mexican, with sour cream-
Aimee:
I remember that from your food diaries. It's funny, as we were talking, I'm like, I just remember the food diaries with the Mexican food. And I was like, “We got to just focus on the guacamole,” but that was hard, but you did it, and it paid off. So why don't you share? So I want, what made the biggest impact for you on this journey? You wrote things here about go going through the 23andMe data, we've been working at a clinic and doing all the testing, and they just said there was no issues, that you were just unlucky for having two miscarriages in a row, right. So talk about that a little bit. That must have made you feel really helpless as well, and frustrated.
Luciana:
Yeah. That was so frustrating because it was like, “Okay, what can the medical establishment, this specialized clinic, tell me about the case?” And the answer was, “Nothing.” Well, I'm not going to say, “Nothing.” It was helpful to know that there was no underlying issue that they found, and for me, for the anxiety that I was feeling, it was huge to just be able to like eliminate any other causes, and get that off the table. But then when the doctors are like, “Well you're just unlucky. We don't know,” It's like, what would I have done otherwise, if I hadn't been working with you?
Aimee:
You would've kept on having, I think, some losses, to be honest. Or maybe [crosstalk 00:30:22]-
Luciana:
Yeah, because I wouldn't have made any changes, I would've just been like, “Well I'm healthy [crosstalk 00:30:27]-“
Aimee:
And even, Yes, You can get Pregnant, I had written that several years ago, and there's a section in the back about the autoimmune thyroid and what to do, but it's not a huge, huge focus, right. So the egg-quality diet wasn't out yet when we were working together, but body belief was, and that's when I was really catching onto the autoimmune aspect of things and the more aggressive changes we needed to make. Because that's what I was seeing, over and over again, it was similar cases to you. Girls would be like, “Oh I read, Yes, You can get Pregnant, I'm doing all the things, but I still have all these symptoms. I still don't feel my best.” It was like, “Something else is up.”
Aimee:
You had a known celiac and then you had just gotten the Hashi's. A lot of girls will come to me and they have those issues, and they don't have them diagnosed, right. But then we adjust things. But yeah, I think you would've eventually figured it out, because you're an advocate for yourself. But I do think we came together at a very critical time, because your fertility, I think, really improved. All of a sudden you were starting to get pregnant pretty regularly. It was like, “Okay, now we need,” and I do think, I hear what you say, but I do think that the baby aspirin probably had an impact as well. We suspect, right?
Luciana:
Yeah.
Aimee:
You'll do it again, if you have another [crosstalk 00:31:46]-
Luciana:
Yeah. Actually about the baby aspirin. I remember mentioning it. I don't know if it was my OB-GYN or if it was the doctor at the clinic, I said, “Well, this is what I'm doing in my first trimester,” actually I think it was the fertility clinic. And they said, “Oh, well you have the MTHFR, so just keep doing that.”
Aimee:
Yep.
Luciana:
So they seemed, because when I asked about that-
Aimee:
You felt really supported. Yeah, because here it is. “14 weeks, heard the heartbeat three times, did all the genetic testing. It's a boy, and so happy and exciting.” You did have some more dairy, you incorporated dairy back in, in that second trimester. I think that's good for everybody to hear, though, too, and I had said to you, “Just let's get through the first trimester and then we can play around with it.” And you were getting more allergies, sneezy, runny nose systems. Postnasal drip, itchy skin.
Luciana:
Yeah.
Aimee:
So I think, what did I say? “Those reactions to dairy tell me your body isn't loving it. So I'd still urge in pregnancy to keep it only a few servings a week. Keep it full fat and organic.” Then, that's right. You were reading Gabby's Super Attractor, book, too. So [inaudible 00:33:03]. Yeah, because I think that's another piece of it, too, of the mental, emotional support. You and I were working through things. You had a therapist, but you were also educating yourself on that spiritual level, too. How do you feel that was helping with the anxiety around all the uncertainty in your life at that time?
Luciana:
Oh, it was so helpful. Very helpful. I remember even with the miscarriages, what was the book? Spirit Babies?
Aimee:
Oh, Spirit Babies, yes.
Luciana:
Yes. That was so beautiful. It was so helpful and just on a deep level, it helped me relax a little bit. Even in meditations and things, I would just have just visions that really contributed to some positive emotions, that helped me cope with the challenges. But at the same time, I think that with a lot of these spiritual books about manifestation, and attracting, and positive thinking, I think that's really important. But at the same time, it's critical to let yourself feel the negative feelings.
Aimee:
A hundred percent.
Luciana:
So after the second miscarriage, a friend sent me the book, It's Okay that You're not Okay. That was huge, and I really needed that time to feel this emotion.
Aimee:
Yeah. You need the permission, right, to breathe and be angry and be sad. Yeah. I'm not about what do they call it? Toxic positivity.
Luciana:
Yes, exactly.
Aimee:
Shoving it down your throat. Not helpful at all. If you listen really close to the spiritual teachers, like Gabby, or Abraham Hicks, who I'm a big fan of, or [Deepak 00:34:46], a lot of it is they talk about acceptance, accepting what is, so that does translate to that, sitting with what is, so that it starts to dissolve and creates less resistance. But you do have to hit the acceptance, in order, I think, to then manifest and [inaudible 00:35:06].
Luciana:
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So I think I picked up Gabby's book, Super Attractor, it was after the New Year, and I was like, “Okay, I've done a lot of grieving. I've sat with it. So I'm ready, now, to read a book like this.”
Aimee:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then we found each other, we did your [inaudible 00:35:27]. I'm looking all the way back to our original emails and then we-
Luciana:
The, Pure Genomics, was incredible.
Aimee:
The what?
Luciana:
The, Pure Genomics.
Aimee:
I know. So just so you guys know, too, what Luciana did was, she coached privately with me. So with that, she gets access to the eCourse, the online community, and then we do a bunch of testing. So we did the 23andMe genetic tests and I run it through, Pure Genomics, the Dutch test. Did you ever do that? I don't think-
Luciana:
No.
Aimee:
You still have it, don't you? Probably, because-
Luciana:
I don't know.
Aimee:
… we never sent it. Oh, I might have. Sometimes we refund, and don't send, or it might have been, maybe I didn't add it in. No, it was last year. Did I have the Dutch and everyone? Anyway, now I do the 23andMe, so the, Pure Genomics, report. So that's all your genetics, I'm throwing in a biological age test now, too, by Thorn, which actually shows what your biological age is, versus your genetic age.
Aimee:
So ideally, I want to do one at the beginning and then one at the three month mark, so people can see how many years they've taken off of their genetic age, and then we do the Dutch, the hormonal test, too. But I feel like with you, we probably refunded you because you were pregnant and then you got pregnant again pretty quickly thereafter, but I can go back and look and see. So what else do you want to share with everybody? Because you were there once, with all the anxiety and stress about, were you ever going to get to the other side, and now you have maybe Leonardo, and yes, go ahead. Share with us.
Luciana:
Yeah. I think just being kind to yourself, I think that's the biggest key to all of this. I say that in, being kind in, taking the time you need to feel that anxiety, and feel the sadness and the grief. I remember, after the first miscarriage we were in the thick of COVID, and I was like, “I don't want to see anybody. I don't want to do anything.” I'm usually a very extroverted person, and I felt like COVID allowed me to say no, and not see anyone, but otherwise I would've had to do just be very clear with my boundaries on that. So I think being kind to yourself when you aren't feeling well, but then, when you are in a place to feel good, and you're ready just allowing yourself to be open and feeling that joy.
Luciana:
I think one of the clearest times where I was like, “Okay, I'm ready to have positive expectations,” it was last Halloween, and basically, a lot of my friends who have children said, “Oh, come over, we're going to have a little party. We're going to take the children trigger treating.” Of course, I'm there with all my friends who have their adorable kids and I wasn't even pregnant yet, and I'd come off two losses, but I was like, “You know what? I love Halloween. I love dressing up. I'm going to have a great time.” So first of all-
Aimee:
[crosstalk 00:38:27] a week later though, by the way.
Luciana:
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So my husband and I, we dressed up and we had a great time, and I played with all the kids, and took photos and I just thought, “I can't wait until my baby is here with all of these kids.”
Aimee:
Yeah. Yeah. You shifted that from a place of lack, to a place of positive expectation and excitement.
Luciana:
Yeah. Yeah.
Aimee:
And that was it. I think you felt it, too. You were frustrated, and worried, and traumatized. Miscarriages are freaking traumatizing, and it's a double edged sword. You can't wait to get pregnant again, but you're scared shit to get pregnant again. Right?
Luciana:
Yep. Absolutely.
Aimee:
But you were able to shift that mindset and just dive in, and I think, too, you hit that place of, “Okay, I've looked under every stone, I'm doing all the things I need to do. I have all the support I need.” And for you, it was. It was a really quick turnaround, I feel like. We did three coaching sessions, and we're saving two for another time.
Luciana:
Yep.
Aimee:
Which is amazing, not all my girls get to nail it that quickly. But I felt like you came to me already so empowered and educated, and just ready. Very ready.
Luciana:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). I think the looking under every stone, that was the key for me, because a lot of times I do get the anxiety. I get stuck in my head, but I was like, “If I can eliminate all of these other things, then I can really focus on what I can do to keep moving forward.”
Aimee:
Well, that's, I find, the key with miscarriage recovery, if you will, especially in the next pregnancy. I know we talked about it of, “Make a list of the things we've uncovered and we are supporting, and how we're doing it differently this time around,” basically, so that you can rest on that. “Okay, I've checked that box. I've checked that box.” And that was for you, too, the simple things of, just getting our thyroid checked again and, during the pregnancy, taking the baby aspirin, asking a lot of questions, getting everybody on board.
Aimee:
So, how is motherhood treating you?
Luciana:
Oh my gosh. I love it. I love it so much. And the baby, he came a month early, and he was-
Aimee:
He came a month early, and I love that part of the story, too. That he was so healthy and strong, he didn't even need NICU.
Luciana:
Yeah.
Aimee:
That speaks volumes to your health. Yes.
Luciana:
Yeah. It was amazing. It was such a shock, because we had just moved and we were like, “Oh, we have six weeks, set up our house,” and then baby comes. It's like, “Nope, baby's coming two weeks after, right away.” He was ready. I went into labor, we knew it was going to be a C-section, right, because he was breach, but I went into labor and there we went. I remember the first night, we left our house at 8:00 PM, thinking, “Oh, they're probably just going to send us home, this is a test run, no big deal.” He was born at 10:50 PM. So it was that fast. I remember they took him to just monitor his breathing the first night. So my husband and I were in the postpartum recovery room and we were like, “What just happened?”
Aimee:
Yeah. Wow.
Luciana:
It was a shock, but then any worries I had about work, because I was expected to be at meetings the next day, all of that, it just melted away so fast. Any worries I had about setting up our house, it was just like, “Nope, I'm mom, this is it.” I feel like I fell into this place of grace, and I was just like, “I'm here, maternity leave starts now, here we go.”
Aimee:
Then, there was some issues with milk production, right, and we messaged about that quite a bit.
Luciana:
Yes.
Aimee:
You said that, too, I was like, “Get back on all the things,” and that's basically what you did, and you pumped a lot too. It was like, pump 20 minutes after every feed, right. That's what my baby nurse taught me worked. What was that? Yeah. “Difficult getting my milk supply, went to Aimee for advice, and went back to getting my spirulina, Cod liver oil, and liver pills, combined with lots of pumping, and then my milk supply came in.” Because I had even said, I could get you some herbs if you want. And you were like, “Let me try these things,” and then, right.
Luciana:
Yep.
Aimee:
And how long did you breastfeed for?
Luciana:
So it took me a month of pumping to get my milk in.
Aimee:
Wow.
Luciana:
So it was a lot, and at the end of the month, I was like, “If this doesn't work, I don't know if I can do it anymore.” But then it came in.
Aimee:
Okay. That's amazing. And how old is the little guy now?
Luciana:
He's three months.
Aimee:
So you're still breastfeeding? And that must feel good.
Luciana:
Yeah. Yes it does.
Aimee:
Aw. And how's your body feel?
Luciana:
Feels good. It's healing, recovering.
Aimee:
Good.
Luciana:
Yeah, I'm feeling good. I'm getting more sleep now, which is nice, and my husband goes back to work next week. So then it'll be just me with the baby, and I'm going to focus on getting exercise in again.
Aimee:
Good. Good. Yeah. And then do the C-section scar recovery. Have you been doing that stuff that I have in there?
Luciana:
Actually, no.
Aimee:
For the, New Mama Guide, because you should have a copy of that somewhere.
Luciana:
Yes, I do.
Aimee:
Yeah. Go to the C-section scar recovery. Because there's that little Accu Derma roller. It's a little roller that has like little tiny needles. You put caster oil over the scar and roll the scar up and down this way and this way, and it'll make it just, you won't even see it.
Luciana:
Oh wow. Nice. Okay.
Aimee:
It's really nice. It's really nice. Yeah. [crosstalk 00:43:59] I even have one of my girls just had a second, I guess she's six months old, or he's six months old, and so, two C-sections, and she did it the first time around, and she's doing it second time around. It's legit, there's no scar there. It's crazy. And she's only six months now, it's the second time they went into the same scar. So it's another nice perk of working with me. I have this, New Mama Guide, that I spent a long time putting together for everybody.
Aimee:
All right. Well, this was so lovely. Thank you so much. So any parting words to anybody listening in who needs some inspiration, help, from a lady who gets it?
Luciana:
Gosh, just to say, really that, yes, you can. Yes, you can get pregnant. It's so powerful. That's just such a powerful phrase, and I know Obama used it too, but I really feel it. If you try, and if you're there, and if you do the work, do the emotional work, do the things and treat yourself with kindness and compassion, you can get there. Yeah.
Aimee:
Yeah. Oh, I love that.
Luciana:
With amazing support from Aimee, and I had support. I had a therapist, I found a really good endocrinologist, a woman. I had this man before, he was not very helpful. So I was like, “I'm going to find someone that treats me with compassion.” So yeah.
Aimee:
Well, and I think that translates to advocating for yourself, right.
Luciana:
Yeah, exactly.
Aimee:
And you invested in yourself, too, which I think takes a leap of faith, and action, and just show shows a commitment, though, right? You were all in, and it was, and still is, an honor to work with you. And it was fun to see the fast turnaround, too.
Luciana:
Oh, thank you. It was an honor to work with you.
Aimee:
Aw. I mean it, to support work you through that early stages of the pregnancy, too, because that's the scariest part. It really is, especially if you've had losses. It's like, “Is this going to work?”
Luciana:
Yep.
Aimee:
Didn't I send you to the fertility clinic? I was like, go there for the [inaudible 00:46:06]. You went to the OB-GYN, I can't remember, but you'd already had the relationship with the fertility clinic, too. So it was like, “They're the best they'll give such good attention to detail, those first eight weeks.”
Luciana:
Yeah.
Aimee:
Yeah. All right, my love, well, thank you so much. Thanks for coming live and for sharing with everybody your story.
Luciana:
Of course.
Aimee:
As you know, you watched these stories of hope back in the day, it just helps so many women see real life people and what they've done, and you really did step into your power. I think you always were, when I met you, you were already a powerful rock star, but it's just that thing of owning it all, and it's beautiful.
Luciana:
Yeah. Yeah.
Aimee:
Leonardo's lucky. Lucky to have a mama like you.
Luciana:
Oh, thank you.
Aimee:
You're welcome.
Luciana:
Thank you so much, Aimee. I love working with you.
Aimee:
Aw, same, love.
Aimee:
All right guys. So, oh wait, Beth, am I supposed to give away another scholarship right now? I forgot.
Aimee:
Let's see what she says, but if you want, you can close out, Luciana, and then I'll send you an email later just thanking you for that.
Luciana:
All right, sounds good. Thank you.
Aimee:
Have fun, mama. We'll see you soon.
Luciana:
Bye.
Aimee:
Thank you.
Luciana:
Take care everyone.
Aimee:
Bye.
Luciana:
Bye.
Aimee:
Let's see. If I want to, I can give away another scholarship. Let's see. Well, who's still on? Okay. People, start dropping some hearts if you're still on and let me see, or comments. I see that there's a handful of people still on. So if you want, now, in the comments, so I can actually see your name, knowing that you're still here, and let's… all right, there we go, let's let people roll in. Let's see who we, “I needed you to these real estate.” All right. You guys are cute. [Carme75 00:48:06]. Let's see. Here we go.
Aimee:
Gina Marie Lee, are you in our eCourse or no? You just follow live, right? Or Beth, can you tell us? Because your name is familiar. You were just on one of the other ones before. Let me see.
Aimee:
“Ladies, get in on this. It's so worth it.” Oh, thank you, Laura. “Been following for so long, would be honored.” “Thank you for all you do.” You guys are so sweet. You're not in the eCourse. Okay. So now you are, young lady, Gina Marie, it's you. And it's always spontaneous, guys. No offense if you didn't get picked, we have lots more to give away over the next couple days, okay. You are on here a lot. Well, now I'm going to see you in office hours next week. So just DM us on the back end, and Beth and my team will get you set up and you are the scholarship winner for the eCourse. Oh, you're welcome.
Aimee:
And for those of you that want to know more about the eCourse, and Luciana did the master level, where she worked privately with me, but there are plenty of girls that just do the eCourse basic and get similar results. Because you get weekly Q&A's with me every single week in our private community, so you still get my feedback. Then, we also do have a mid-level package, where you get to coaching consults with my fertility coach associates, who are also equally amazing, that I work with on a weekly basis to go over cases. So there are plenty of ways for you to get the support, but check out the eCourse, AimeeRaupp.com/yes.
Aimee:
I think I will be live again in about four hours, with another story of hope from another case of mine that had a long haul to get to mama hood, but she did it, and you're welcome, Gina Marie. Thank you all, and, okay, I love you guys. I'll see you later. Ciao for now.
END TRANSCRIPT.
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