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Hormones, Reproductive Health

How Birth Control Methods Affect Your Hormones, Period and Fertility

September 11, 2019 By Robyn 19 Comments

Reproductive health is a touchy subject because it is so personal, intimate and vulnerable. Politics and religion are also involved. This post is not meant to be a sociopolitical or religious conversation, or a position on women’s rights or feminism, nor am I trying to tell you what to do with your own reproductive health. My goal is to simply educate. It’s your right to know all your options so you can make a decision that is right for YOU. I hope this post is helpful for you, where ever you are <3 

How Birth Control Methods Affect Your Hormones, Period and Fertility | The Real Life RD

Birth control is prescribed for a variety of reasons, but rarely are women fully informed on all their options and the pros and cons of each option. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it’s the limited amount of time health care providers (HCPs) have with patients, HCP bias (we all carry bias), laziness….I’m not sure. But we should be more informed than we actually are.

Birth control is prescribed for contraceptive purposes, which is what it’s meant for. But it’s also often prescribed for symptom management – from PMS to acne to heavy periods to PCOS and much more. Women aren’t given alternatives so it seems birth control is the only option to help them manage these very uncomfortable and sometimes embarrassing symptoms. If that was my only option and I was told the pros and not the cons, you better believe I’d be saying yes to the prescription too!

The thing is though, once birth control is stopped these symptoms emerge again. I was told to take birth control to “regulate my period” when in reality, my body didn’t know how to menstruate on its own for 10 years, but the birth control was masking this problem. When I wasn’t on birth control, I didn’t get a period. I also didn’t know the “period” I was getting on birth control was actually a withdrawal bleed, not a physiological period. That’s my story. I get messages and emails from women every day sharing their symptoms are unmanageable when not taking birth control. If you have acne, this post and this post will be helpful to read. If you have PCOS, this series of blog posts will be helpful. If you’re not getting a period, read here. If you have irregular periods, read here. If you have long cycles, read here. If you have short cycles, read here. I need to write a PMS post (I have, but need to update it so it’s archived for now) and a post on endometriosis and fibroids so stay tuned for that.

This post is about your options for contraception. I am not pro or anti birth control. I prescribe birth control. I’m simply pro informed consent so you can make a decision that is best for you. Your HCP can be a support and resource for you as you navigate health care decisions that impact your reproductive health. These choices are important. You should feel supported, respected and cared for by your provider. But even if you don’t and you feel swayed one way or another, know you have full autonomy over your health.

This post could be thousands and thousands of words long (and I’m over 3000) so this will in no way be a comprehensive post covering all the ins and outs of birth control – side effects, cost, etc. But I hope this post serves as a quick reference guide to many options out there for birth control and speaks to the major pros and cons of each that you can’t easily understand with a quick google.

There are SO MANY BIRTH CONTROL OPTIONS. It’s fantastic there are so many to choose from! But it can become quickly confusing when it comes to making a choice.

To simplify, think of your options in three different tiers. I like to break it down like this:

  • Hands Off & No User Error 
  • Hands On & Some User Error 
  • On Demand & Most User Error 

Hands off options you don’t have to think about and have no user error (meaning you can’t “mess it up”) and therefore those options will be most effective. IUDs, the implant and sterilization (vasectomy/tubes tied) fall into this category. You get these inserted or the procedure done and you don’t have to think about birth control for years. These are more than 99% effective.

Hands on options you do have to think about, therefore they will be a little less effective since there’s room for more user error. These options include the birth control pill, the patch, the ring and the shot. You either need to do something daily, weekly, monthly or every few months. These are still pretty effective at 91-94% but not as effective as the hands off options.

On demand options are those you can use anytime and don’t need a prescription for. I’m including in this category withdrawal, condoms*, fertility awareness methods, and lactational amenorrhea. These options CAN be highly effective if used diligently. So it’s not that they aren’t effective, it’s just there there is a lot of room for user error. In addition to one hormone free IUD option, these options are also hormone free.

Below are some of the major pros and cons – particularly the amount of hormone going into your body, the effect on your period and the effect on your fertility. To get informed about the side effects, cost, how to use the method, and other details of each option go check out bedsider.org. It is a wonderful and incredibly user friendly resource if you’re looking into birth control options. Use what info resonates with your belief systems and leave what doesn’t. The website also has information about less frequently used options like the diaphragm, cervical cap, etc. along with various articles and videos from real life people sharing about their experience with various methods. Fun fact: I recognized a couple people from my nursing program at Columbia in the videos!

Ok, let’s jump into all these choices.

How Birth Control Methods Affect Your Hormones, Period and Fertility | The Real Life RD

**if you are breastfeeding, you’ll want to avoid any birth control method containing estrogen for the first couple months (or longer, every woman has a different response) …here is a great evidence based post on birth control and breastfeeding if you want to learn more

IUDs

You’ve got two categories here: hormonal and non-hormonal.

Hormonal options in the US include Skyla, Kyleena, Liletta and Mirena.

The Hormone Situation –> These all contain a synthetic progesterone (aka progestin) called levonorgesterel. Skyla has the lowest dose and Liletta and Mirena have the highest doses. Kyleena is in the middle. Overall though, in any of them, it’s still a very small dose of hormone. The progestin is released locally in your uterus where the device is inserted, so very little actually gets into your bloodstream which is a huge plus. There is no synthetic estrogen in IUDs.

The Effect on Your Period Situation –> These IUDs can, but often don’t, suppress ovulation – therefore many women still ovulate with IUDs in place which is another positive. The cascade of hormones that causes you to ovulate each month isn’t completely disrupted like it is with other method. The biggest side effect with your period is lighter or missing periods and irregular spotting.

The Return to Fertility Situation –> Most women resume ovulating soon after the IUD is removed assuming there wasn’t an underlying issue with your period before the IUD was inserted. You can get an IUD removed anytime.

The non hormonal option is Paragard.

The Hormone Situation –> There are no hormones in Paragard, instead it’s a copper containing IUD. Since there are no hormones, your own hormones are not affected.

The Effect on Your Period Situation –> No hormones means you continue ovulating as usual. The biggest effect on your period is heavier, longer periods – the opposite of hormonal IUDs. In most women this resolves in a few months and periods lighten back up to normal. But for some women, heavier & longer periods continue for the entire time Paragard is inserted.

The Return to Fertility Situation –> Since hormones weren’t affected in the first place, you should continue ovulating as you usually would when the IUD is removed.

The Implant

You’ve got one option here in the US, Nexplanon.

The Hormone Situation –> This implant which is about the size of a match and inserted underneath the skin in your arm contains only a synthetic progesterone like the IUD, but this one is called etonogestrel. It has a higher dose of hormone than the IUDs and the hormone is released into your bloodstream. Again, no estrogen in the implant. 

The Effect on Your Period Situation –> You won’t ovulate with the implant. The progestin in the implant prevents ovulation by making your body think it’s already released an egg so you don’t release another egg. For the first 6-12 months most women experience a fair amount of irregular bleeding – for some women it resolves within a year and for others it continues the whole time the implant is in place.

The Return to Fertility Situation –> Compared to IUDs, return to fertility can be slightly slower, but still rather quick. Most women resume ovulating within a month or two after the implant is removed assuming there wasn’t an underlying issue with your period before the implant was inserted. You can get Nexplanon removed at anytime.

How Birth Control Methods Affect Your Hormones, Period and Fertility | The Real Life RD

**the combined birth control pill, patch and ring are not safe for breastfeeding mamas

The Pill

There is a progestin only pill (called the mini-pill) that does not contain estrogen. Since that’s not as commonly used, we’re going to talk about combined oral contraceptive pills that contain progestin and estrogen since those are more widely used by women.

The Hormone Situation –>There are a jillion options to choose from nowadays. They vary by the amount of estrogen and the type of progestin. So if one pill doesn’t work for you, another might. Some give you the same dose of hormones every day (monophasic) and some vary in the dose throughout the month (multiphasic) – with monophasic you get a steady stream of hormone so you’re less likely to have side effects over time. Since you take the pill orally, the hormones are released into your bloodstream vs locally with the IUD. When on the pill, your body makes less of its own progesterone and estrogen.

The Effect on Your Period Situation –> You won’t ovulate with the birth control pill. Essentially, the pill makes your body think it’s constantly in the luteal phase of your cycle so your hypothalamus doesn’t release a hormones called gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) which is the start of the hormonal cascade required for ovulation. So the pill shuts down this hormone axis. If you’re on a low dose estrogen pill, you might experience breakthrough bleeding. Women experience a withdrawal bleed (not a actual period) when they take the placebo pills at the end of their pack. For some women, their periods are lighter, shorter and less painful when on the pill.

The Return to Fertility Situation –> There is not conclusive data to support fertility issues when coming off the pill. Most women (~80%) resume ovulating within a few months. Because the pill contains both synthetic estrogen and progesterone and has systemic effects, it does a good job of masking underlying issues. So it’s not so much the pill itself that is causing issues coming off the pill, rather it’s covering up symptoms that were there all along or symptoms that emerged while on the pill. Because a good chunk of women are on the pill for non-contraceptive reasons, you tend to hear about and read about more women having hormone issues when they come off the pill.

The Patch

There is one patch option available called Xulane, the generic form of Ortho-Evra which is no longer produced.

The Hormone Situation –>Like the pill, the patch contains both synthetic estrogen (ethinyl estradiol) and progestin (norelgestromin) that gets absorbed through your skin and released into your bloodstream. The dose absorbed through the skin results in less highs and lows of estrogen delivery, but the dose is about 60% higher than the high estrogen birth control pills. This higher dose doubles the risk of developing blood clots compared to the pill, but the absolute risk of a blood clot, while still a risk, is low. You apply a new patch each week for 3 weeks and then the 4th week you go patch free and that’s when you get a withdrawal bleed.

The Effect on Your Period Situation –> Like the pill, you won’t ovulate with the birth control patch. It works similarly to the pill. For some women, their periods are lighter, shorter and less painful when on the patch. It’s common to experience irregular bleeding and spotting when on the patch. For most women it resolves within a few months, but for others it continues while on the patch.

The Return to Fertility Situation –> Similar to that of the birth control pill.

The Ring

You’ve got one option called the NuvaRing.

The Hormone Situation –> Like the pill and patch, the ring contains both synthetic estrogen (ethinyl estradiol) and progestin (etonogesterel) that gets absorbed and released into your bloodstream. The dose of hormone is on the low end. You insert a new ring at the beginning of each month and leave it in for 3 weeks, removing it during the 4th week when you get a withdrawal bleed.

The Effect on Your Period Situation –> Like the pill and patch, you won’t ovulate with the ring. It works similarly to the pill and patch. For some women, their periods are lighter, shorter and less painful when on the ring. It’s common to experience irregular bleeding and spotting when on the ring. For most women it resolves within a few months, but for others it continues while on the ring.

The Return to Fertility Situation –> Similar to that of the birth control pill and patch.

The Shot

Again, one option known as the Depo-Provera shot. Called “Depo” for short.

The Hormone Situation –> Unlike the pill, patch or ring, the Depo shot contains only synthetic progesterone in the form of medroxyprogesterone. This hormone is injected into your muscle and is effective for 3 months. You have to go back to your HCP and get a new shot every 13 weeks. Each time you get a shot, a high dose of the hormone is released into your body – it’s an unnaturally high level which stops your body’s own production of progesterone and estrogen.

The Effect on Your Period Situation –> The high level of medroxyprogesterone injected into your body stops your body from making estrogen and progesterone itself and therefore you do not ovulate and the lining of your uterus does not thicken in preparation for a fertilized egg. Most women experience irregular bleeding (longer, heavier periods and random spotting) for the first 6-12 months. You could also eventually have shorter, lighter periods or skip your period all together.

The Return to Fertility Situation –> Depo has a significant impact on your fertility. Once you get a shot, the hormone stays in your body for 3 months, protecting against pregnancy. So it’s not like all the above options where you can stop taking the pill, take off your patch or out your ring or get your IUD or implant removed and fertility returns rather quickly. Even after the 3 months of effectiveness wears off, it can take up to 10 months for fertility to return.

How Birth Control Methods Affect Your Hormones, Period and Fertility | The Real Life RD

Withdrawal Method

Medical term: coitus interruptus. Layman’s terms: when the guy pulls out before he ejaculates.

The Hormone Situation –> Zero impact on your hormones because as a female, you’re not really involved with this method.

The Effect on Your Period Situation –> Nada. Unless you get pregnant and then your period goes away.

The Return to Fertility Situation –> Your fertility was never hampered with. This method isn’t that effective with a failure rate around 22% and that’s if the guy is very aware of his body and very good at this method. Unless you’re okay getting pregnant, pick a different method 🙂

Fertility Awareness Methods

This involves you tracking your cycle and observing and taking note of your body’s different signs – body temperature, cervical fluid and cervical position. If used correctly and consistently throughout your cycle, it’s pretty effective at preventing pregnancy (95 to 99%) which is up there with the other hormonal methods. But most people aren’t that accurate and consistent so when you account for some inaccuracies and inconsistencies it’s more like 76 to 88% effective. This method does involve you taking note of signs each day and interpreting them to determine if you are fertile or not (and then not having sex or using a condom when you’re fertile) so it’s more involved than all the above methods. But, it can be very empowering and give you incredible insight into your body and reproductive health – whether you’re using it to prevent pregnancy, get pregnant or just learn your body.

FAMs are not for every one. But they are for some women. If you want to read more about this method, I wrote this post and this post that gives you all the details.

The Hormone Situation –> Zero impact on your hormones. You’re not putting anything into your body.

The Effect on Your Period Situation –> None. Although it can give you a ton of information about what’s going on in your body during your cycle.

The Return to Fertility Situation –> Since no hormones are involved, your fertility isn’t affected. For women using this method, they become more aware of their fertility.

Condoms

**this is how you protect against STIs – all the other options in this post do not lower your risk of getting an STI. Also keep in mind you must store condoms properly for them to be as effective as possible – improper storage decreases their effectiveness. If you use condoms perfectly (which most people don’t) they are 98% effective, but realistically with more typical use they are around 85% effective.

The Hormone Situation –> Zero impact on your hormones. You’re not putting anything into your body.

The Effect on Your Period Situation –> None because….no hormones.

The Return to Fertility Situation –> Since no hormones are involved, your fertility isn’t affected.

Lactational Amenorrhea

This is a highly effective method of birth control (98%) if you are breastfeeding and meet the following conditions:

1) your baby is under 6 months old

2) your period has not returned yet

3) you are exclusively breastfeeding on demand both day and night – which means no solid food or other liquids and nursing at least every 4 hours during the day and every 6 hours during the night.

Because this method relies on the intensity and frequency of baby suckling, pumping (and therefore bottle feeding) unfortunately does not provide the same effect as nursing. Although all you pumping mamas are total rockstars! Just make sure you aren’t relying on this method.

The Hormone Situation –> Suckling by the baby stimulates prolactin production. This prolactin production disrupts the release of a hormone (GnRH) that gets released from your hypothalamus and therefore everything downstream in your HPG axis is disrupted, preventing ovulation. In short….the hormone prolactin prevents ovulation.

The Effect on Your Period Situation –> You don’t get a period while using this method.

The Return to Fertility Situation –> One any of the above variables (age of baby, frequency of nursing, absence of period) are no longer met, there’s an increased likelihood of ovulation resuming. Although not as common, some women don’t resume ovulating until they are no longer breastfeeding. Keep in mind you can get pregnant before your first period because you ovulate before you get a period. Monitoring your cervical fluid can be helpful in determining if you are fertile or not before your period returns.

Okay! That’s a lot of info, but I hope it’s informative and easy to understand and most of all empowering for you as you make a decision that is best for YOU. Birth control is not a one size fits all thing. Leave your comments and questions below – I’d love to hear from you! This conversation is so, so important.

How Birth Control Methods Affect Your Hormones, Period and Fertility | The Real Life RD

References

Galzote, R. M., Rafie, S., Teal, R., & Mody, S. K. (2017). Transdermal delivery of combined hormonal contraception: a review of the current literature. International journal of women’s health, 9, 315–321. doi:10.2147/IJWH.S10230

Girum, T., & Wasie, A. (2018). Return of fertility after discontinuation of contraception: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Contraception and reproductive medicine, 3, 9. doi:10.1186/s40834-018-0064-y

(n.d.). Bedsider Birth Control Support Network. Retrieved from https://www.bedsider.org/

(2007, November 20). Contraception and Lactation. Retrieved from https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/565623_3

Stoddard, A., Mcnicholas, C., & Peipert, J. F. (2011). Efficacy and Safety of Long-Acting Reversible Contraception. Drugs, 71(8), 969–980. doi: 10.2165/11591290-000000000-00000

Van der Wijden  C, Manion  C. Lactational amenorrhoea method for family planning. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2015, Issue 10. Art. No.: CD001329. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001329.pub2


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Comments

  1. Tonya says

    September 11, 2019 at 10:23 am

    Thanks so much for this post! It’s very informative. I’d love to see a note for each type of birth control about whether it is safe for breastfeeding moms.

    Reply
    • Robyn says

      September 11, 2019 at 3:46 pm

      edited!

      Reply
  2. Ellen says

    September 11, 2019 at 10:41 am

    Wow, this is super informative and so nice to have in one place! Thank you! Out of curiosity, do you know if condoms are less effective in practice because they aren’t used enough or because of some malfunction with them/improper storage? My bf and I use FAM and condoms on any fertile/uncertain days and while it’s been working well for a year, we aren’t quite ready to get pregnant.

    Also, do you have tips for finding an HCP who supports not wanting to use hormonal bc? When I explained that I’d had HA as a teen and I know my hormones are sensitive and I don’t want to interfere with them artificially, so I’d prefer FAM, mine basically said “do whatever you want but you’ll get pregnant if you aren’t on it,” and while I know that’s not necessarily true and I feel pretty confident in my choice and method, it’s hard to not feel supported by a practitioner.

    Reply
    • Robyn says

      September 11, 2019 at 3:49 pm

      Hmmm…I don’t think frequency of use would necessarily affect how effective they are – I think it’s more that people don’t use/store them correctly …in full transparency, Cal is the result (a blessing of course) of FAM + a broken condom 🙂

      I don’t know a database to search right off the top of my head by generally speaking – midwives are usually more open than OBs I’ve found

      Reply
      • Ellen says

        September 15, 2019 at 4:00 pm

        Thanks so much! Good to know- I just wasn’t sure if the error rate took into account not using them when they should be used. 🙂 We’ve talked about the instance of a malfunction, and then we’d just have a little surprise blessing.

        I appreciate that info!!

        Reply
  3. Katie says

    September 11, 2019 at 2:50 pm

    Thank you for such an informative post! Do you have tips/resources for someone interested in the fertility awareness method? An app or something? I’ve been on the pill since I was 14 (to regulate heavy periods and acne) and now many many years later am interested in going off of it and becoming more in touch with my body/hormone levels/fertility.

    Reply
    • Robyn says

      September 11, 2019 at 3:49 pm

      I’ve provided links to more resources under that section 🙂

      Reply
  4. Megan says

    September 11, 2019 at 6:28 pm

    Thanks for this great post! What’s the pro/con of choosing a higher vs lower dose IUD? Or, how would that decision be made?

    Reply
    • Robyn says

      September 12, 2019 at 9:55 am

      since IUDs only contain progestin and not estrogen and hormone is released locally, you’re not having the major side effects you see with estrogen and systemic release in birth control pills (like blood clots, breast cancer etc) — the lowest dose Skyla has a shorter time of duration (3 years) with Mirena lasting 5-7…..overall IUDs are all low dose though even the “higher dose” ones are still very low dose

      Reply
  5. Alissa Newman says

    September 11, 2019 at 11:31 pm

    Hi Robyn! Thanks for a lovely article. Just confused since I thought you had mentioned that you tried for your son? You made it seem like he was planned in your pregnancy announcement. Did you not want kids?
    NOT trying to question you or be intrusive–I love you and your message–but was just seeking clarity about this.
    The only reason I am asking is because I really admire you for taking your unplanned pregnancy with joy 🙂

    Reply
    • Robyn says

      September 12, 2019 at 9:51 am

      I don’t think I mentioned either way 🙂 We definitely wanted babies and were planning to start trying over the summer – we were pregnant in Feb

      Reply
  6. Greta says

    September 12, 2019 at 7:06 pm

    Thank you so much for such a helpful article!! Since the hormonal IUD’s give a low + local dose of the hormone progestin and you get a true period (vs. BC pills), could I still accurately check when I ovulate? By using a basal thermometer or monitoring my cervical mucus? I don’t want kids yet but would still want to be able to know I am ovulating regularly for down the road when I want to try and get pregnant.

    Reply
    • Robyn says

      September 16, 2019 at 7:58 am

      hi Greta, any method with hormones is going to affect the reliability of fertility monitoring – even though the hormones are local and a small amount, some still enters the bloodstream and the uterine environment is affected. Cervical fluid thickens to prevent sperm from entering (like a plug) ….in short, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when you ovulate.

      Reply
      • Greta Weidner says

        September 19, 2019 at 5:06 pm

        Thanks for clarifying! It’s something I have been wondering as I am deciding between an IUD vs FAM

        Reply
  7. Melissa Weimer says

    January 3, 2020 at 9:00 am

    Hey, Great Article. I am not using any birth control pills and other methods. I and my bf are not planning any baby right now, and we are using condoms. I hope that won’t affect our health. What’s your suggestion?

    Reply
  8. alok says

    March 12, 2020 at 6:06 am

    nice post keep up the good work.

    Reply
  9. Sakshi Singh says

    May 31, 2020 at 1:53 am

    Such a nice article..got more info in one articles.

    Reply
  10. Clarice says

    June 27, 2020 at 10:30 am

    Hi Robyn,
    Wonderful post a always…. I’m pregnant with my second baby right now and have been lucky to get pregnant both times me and my husband planned pretty much immediately. As grateful as I am for this we DO NOT want more children after this pregnancy. What is the best long term plan. I don’t want to be on hormones for the rest of my fertile years, but don’t want an accidental pregnancy. Are there risks in vasectomy or getting tubes tied? I know there is info online but would love your opinion. Thanks!

    Reply

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A non-diet dietitian and nurse practitioner helping women find peace with food, accept their natural body size and heal from hormonal issues and period problems.

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A little way I’m learning to enjoy these years o A little way I’m learning to enjoy these years of getting to spend so much time with my kids: aka another way I’m discovering some pockets of peace so my heart & mind & soul don’t crumble under the reality of dependent & emotionally dysregulated tiny humans.  About once a week we go somewhere for baked goods. We drive or walk, buy something buttery & then find a beautiful, relatively quiet outdoor spot where the boys can romp and I can sit and think my thoughts while I watch them play. This past week we were found ourselves at the Wool Factory where the boys threw rocks & whatever else off the bridge while I ate 90% of this almond 🥐 from @coucourachou that will blow your mind. Boys ate the other 10% bc they were busy playing and didn’t ask for more quickly enough 😜  I’m finding *for me* playgrounds have a time & place but they aren’t where I enjoy motherhood & my two toddlers the most. Baked goods & a pretty outdoor spot without high drops my 15 month old could launch himself off of…I’m here for it.
I brought this bag of snacks along when I took the I brought this bag of snacks along when I took the boys to hike out at one of our favorite spots last week and when I ripped it open I was regretting my choice to share them with my kids. @baresnacks randomly sent me a box of snacks and I usually eat free food we receive or give it to a friend/neighbor and move on. But I felt it my duty to tell you about these bc they are THAT GOOD. I’m not getting paid and this isn’t sponsored - I was just shocked at how tasty these were and felt you needed to know. We ate them with some buttery roasted nuts and the combo was 👌🏻 but they are good just on their own.  The boys climbed rocks and swam in the reservoir - leave it to my almost 3 year old to want to strip down naked and fully submerge himself in chilly water on a sixty degree morning. “Mama can I get super nakey?” Sure baby. Sure. This is your childhood.
It’s a hard sell to get me to accept an offer of It’s a hard sell to get me to accept an offer of extended alone time away from the babies to just be. And that isn’t something that’s best for me, it’s an area I gotta grow in. So this afternoon when Nick pushed me out the door and was like - get out of here plzzzz - I walked to my favorite cafe and ordered a thick pastrami sandwich and sat there for a good LONG while before taking a long, peaceful walk in the rain to wrap up the afternoon. Note to self: stop being such a control freak and go be by yourself sometimes.
a girlfriend brought me a 🍪 the size of my face a girlfriend brought me a 🍪 the size of my face from @mariebettecafe this morning when she came to get her toddler who played with us all morning and it is v good. even better when paired with an iced latte 😍
#AlignPartner I left off a few weeks ago sharing a #AlignPartner I left off a few weeks ago sharing about how taking @alignprobiotic regularly has improved my digestive regularity.  And I’m still taking them! I’ve permanently added Align 24/7 Digestive Support* into the roundup of supplements I take before bed (prenatal, vitamin D, choline & DHA - all which help keep me healthy while breastfeeding) so I can keep seeing the benefits.  Just because you see benefits, doesn’t mean you should stop taking your probiotic. Keep taking Align daily (under the supervision and recommendation of your health care provider of course) to keep seeing the benefits!  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - one of my favorite parts of Align probiotics is that they don’t need refrigeration AND they come in a convenient little blister pack that has the days labeled. It’s the little things people! #MyAlignGuutJourney #guthealth  *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
I realized it was going to be a long, hot afternoo I realized it was going to be a long, hot afternoon (91 and muggy in MAY 🤯) when a toddler nap was refused and a baby nap was cut wildly short ....so my tired mom brain pulled out two plastic storage bins, filled them up with soap & hose water and striped ‘em down naked in the yard. Two hours later, it was almost time for an early dinner and I had magically been able to sit for most of that time and we already had baths checked off the list. 👍🏻 I’m archiving this idea for my future self, hope it helps another tired mama out.
#AlignPartner I left off a month ago sharing about #AlignPartner I left off a month ago sharing about getting better at doing the basics to care for myself which included taking my supplements and @alignprobiotic regularly.  Probiotics take time to work so I wanted to give it a full month to see the full effects of @alignprobiotic. So here are my honest thoughts: it took a few weeks to notice any differences, but near the end of the month I did notice some changes in my digestive balance - even while traveling! I’m not someone who experiences occasional gas, bloating or abdominal discomfort frequently enough to notice a difference, so I don’t feel like I can comment on how well Align works for those benefits.  All in all though, taking @alignprobiotic was a positive experience and I really appreciated how the capsules don’t need to be stored in the fridge, making it convenient to take them with me anywhere #MyAlignGuutJourney #guthealth  *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Where we will spend a good majority of our summer. Where we will spend a good majority of our summer. Because the swampy VA summer has already begun (it’s in the low 90s today 🥵 lord help) and creeks are our retreat - not only from the heat but also from the noisy world. I need this just (if not more) than they do! We’ll be at the splash pads and pools too, but the quietness of the creek...my mental health is so about it. And it’s hours of play for them! Win win.  A couple things to note: this scene also included a few toddler reminders on finding another direction to throw rocks instead of at his brother - so not all is serene 🤪 and also, yes I am now that mom who buys the same clothing for both kids bc it keeps things simple & i think i kinda like it too 🤷🏻‍♀️
Things I love about midwifery among many: the appo Things I love about midwifery among many: the appointments, no matter how long, feel so unhurried. 
Just walked in from an appointment with my midwife because I was due for a Pap test + an overall wellness visit. My last pap was during my first trimester with Cal which feels like a jillion years ago, but it’s only actually been three years. Life changes so fast! Pre-baby life feels like a whole other life.  I’m wayyyy overdue for a visit to my PCP bc I’ve been under OBGYN or midwifery care for the majority of the past three years while having babies, but I am pretty good with keeping up with my paps. It seems women often think they need pap and/or HPV testing way more frequently than they do (and providers sometimes perform these tests more frequently than necessary - remember more testing doesn’t always mean better outcomes!)  So if you need it, here’s a quick little reminder on this chilly spring Friday afternoon on how often you need this testing (these are the recommendations from ACOG)  Women aged 21–29 years should have a Pap test alone every 3 years. HPV testing is not recommended.  Women aged 30–65 years should have a Pap test and an HPV test (aka co-testing) every 5 years (preferred). It also is acceptable to have a Pap test alone every 3 years.  If you get abnormal results, this testing frequency could change - but for healthy women with normal results, you actually don’t need testing as frequently as you might think. Which is great news for those of you who hate the speculum.  Ok, off to finish up some things on the to-do list (including cleaning this kitchen) during nap time and then come 5 o’clock, crack an IPA with our neighbors 🍻
#AlignPartner Over the past seven months since bec #AlignPartner Over the past seven months since becoming a mom of two, caring for myself has gotten shoved to the back burner. And it's been a challenge to make it a priority. My routine-resistant personality has upsides and downsides when it comes to motherhood. So I'm starting small this year with a consistent bedtime routine that includes taking my supplements and @alignprobiotic and hoping as that becomes consistent, my mornings will naturally shift too.  In short my bedtime currently goes like this….jammies & face care when putting the babies to bed. Before I go to bed (anytime between 9pm and 12am...) I’ll pump, take my supplements and fill my water. Then I go upstairs and brush my teeth. And then get in bed. The kicker: 70% of the time I find myself finishing up tasks on my phone IN BED. I hate this habit.  Back to supplements. This is something I have been able to stick with. On top of fish oil, my prenatal, choline and vitamin D, I recently added @AlignProbiotic 24/7 Digestive Support*§ to see if it helps with abdominal discomfort and regularity because when I don’t drink coffee or am traveling that can get thrown off.  I’ll be taking it every day for the next 28 days since it takes TIME for our bodies to adjust to probiotics - and I'll be taking you guys along with me as I share my honest thoughts. Many people think if they don’t see changes within the first 7-10 days then the probiotic isn’t working, but that’s not the case. I’m giving myself more than just a week or two and instead a full month to see the full benefits. I’ll keep you posted over the next month. Check out my stories to learn more! #MyAlignGutJourney #guthealth
 
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
We had an AFTERNOON today. Toddler didn’t care f We had an AFTERNOON today. Toddler didn’t care for a nap. Putting baby down was harder than I wanted it to be. Miraculously, I had a moment of clarity as I was covered in tiny humans and decided I wasn’t doing the nap battle thing a on 60 degree, gorgeous, sunny spring day 🙅🏻‍♀️ so I piled both babies into the car half naked, opened the sun roof, put on white noise for them and an audio book for me and drank a kombucha as I drove a meal to a postpartum mama. Thirty five minutes later we had a sleeping baby and a toddler who at least had a rest. Baby transferred without waking HALLELUJAH and although my toddler didn’t nap today (lord help) at least we got soaked in breezy sunshine 😎🤘🏻💆🏻‍♀️
We veered from our usual Friday night homemade piz We veered from our usual Friday night homemade pizza (minus the dough, we leave that to @albemarlebakingco) because we are eating pizza tomorrow with some friends - instead I called my mom and asked her how she makes her chicken fingers and we fried up a big ole batch of chicken nugs 🙌🏻🤤 along with a sheet pan full of sweet potato fries and a simple arugula salad dressed with parmesean, olive oil and s&p. Oh and my moms honey mustard recipe for dipping. It’s SO DANG GOOD.  Over the past 6ish months we’ve been practicing (and practicing and practicing bc it doesn’t come naturally) unplugging from technology and slowing down and resting and just being for one day a week. Some call it Shabbat. Some call it Sabbath. Maybe you call it something different. All I know is IT IS SO GOOD FOR MY WEARY SOUL and the day I look forward to ALL WEEK. Sundown on Friday to sundown Saturday. Nothing but rest. For us that means hiking (or something outside) and napping and reading and being with friends and eating really good food. And drinking some really good wine or craft beer. Sometimes whiskey. 😛  And because I know I’ll get asked about the chicken finger recipe and also because it’s too good not to share and Momma Coale said I could, here ya go:  Cut chicken breast into thin strips or small pieces (I prefer nug size bc the breading to chicken ratio is perfection). Salt and pepper those babies really well. Then dredge them in all purpose flour, then egg, then panko - just like you would bread anything else. Then fry them up in a light oil - I use avocado oil because that’s our everyday oil. You could also use canola or peanut oil. Just fill a pan with an inch or so of oil on medium high heat. They only take 2-3 minutes per side. You can always temp them to make sure they are at least 165 degrees F to really make sure they are done. Dunk in all the sauces and enjoy!  Happy weekend!

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