18 Birth Affirmations + Free Printable

I shared in my How I Prepared for a Natural Birth post that I used birth affirmations throughout my labor. These simple words were so encouraging to me during this challenging time. Childbirth is so much of a brain thing, just as it is a physical thing! No matter what, I wanted to keep reminding myself that I could do it. In order to do this I needed to be prepared. I knew there were going to be difficult times, painful times, and times when I just wanted everything to be done. So, I wrote these simple birth affirmations down and asked my mom and my husband (my birth team) to read them to me throughout my labor when they knew I needed them.

For all you pregnant mama friends, whether your goal is a natural birth or not, we all need encouraging words during birth! So, I'm going to share the ones I wrote down with you and I've included a free printable at the end for you to print out and cut out and toss in your hospital bag. Speaking of which, inside my hospital bag I had a specific labor bag with my affirmations, essential oils, gum, etc. so it was quick to toss in our hospital bag (we were hoping to labor at home as long as possible), pull out of our bag at the hospital. This was easier than having my mom or husband go through all the things in our hospital bag to find something, since it was all in one bag already.

18 Encouraging Birth Affirmations

1 | It always seems impossible until it's done

2 | You are doing better than you think

3 | I can breathe through this contraction

4 | I relax & release by body, as best I can

5 | But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength 2 Tim 4:17

6 | You are going to feel like at some point you cannot do it...that is when your baby is coming

7 | When I am afraid I will trust in you Psalm 56:3

8 | I am relaxed and calm

9 | It's not pain, it progress

10 | The pain will not last forever

11 | The pain that you've been feeling can't compare to the joy thats coming Romans 8:18

12 | You can do anything for one minute

13 | Inhale confidence, exhale doubt

14 | Everything is going well

15 | I am doing a fantastic job

16 | The pain is powerful, but I can handle it

17 | I accept this pain to welcome by baby into the world

18 | One contraction at a time and at the end of all this I'll have by little peanut

Want to download these real quick so you can take them along with you? Click this link or this link

Is there something you prepared before you gave birth to help you along the way? Share below!

Kayty

What is Whole30?

Our post on our Whole30 experience has quickly creeped into the top 5 most read posts. Additionally, we've been getting lots of questions like, "Whole30, what?" "What do I need to know about Whole30?" "Hey can you tell me more about Whole30?" All of these questions basically add up to: What is the Whole30? So we've decided to answer all your lovely questions in one big blog post!

If we did not answer your question please ask it below, we would love to try to answer any questions you have! Or, head to the official Whole30 website and you should find answers to further questions there. Also, this post is in no way endorsed or sponsored by Whole30 so our list might not have EVERYTHING on it. This is just a general post to give you an idea of what the Whole30 is!

Let's dive in!

What is Whole30?

The Whole30 is like a reset program designed to change your life in 30 days. For 30 days you eliminate certain food groups that could be having a negative effect on your health. Some of these negative effects you might not even know are negative effects until you are finished with the 30 days and the Reintroduction. If you have inconsistent energy levels, skin or digestion issues, unexplainable aches and pains, or a hard time losing weight, what you are eating might be effecting these things! So you cut them out, all at once, for 30 days and then you slowly reintroduce them and pay attention to how food groups effect you. Besides weight loss, there are so many benefits do doing the Whole30. Personally, we have more energy now than can ever remember, we have broken away from several unhealthy food habits we previously felt imprisoned to, and we believe we have a healthier relationship with each other because of all this "Food freedom."

What to avoid?

1 | Dairy // The ONLY exception is ghee.

2 | Grains // For real, none

3 | Sugar // Fake or real, you cannot have any sugar

4 | Alcohol

5 | Legumes // No beans, no peanut butter, no soy, etc.

6 | Carrageenan, MSG, or sulfites

7 | "Recreation foods" // What does that mean? Ok, so you cannot make pancakes out of bananas and eggs. It is not acceptable to take approved ingredients and recreate them into junk food. Think: breads, pizza crust, ice cream, muffins, cookies, etc.

8 | Stepping on the scale // You may step on the scale on Day 1, but then no more for 30 days!

Reading labels is a HUGE part of the Whole30.

There are a few fine print rules, you're more than welcome to continue reading here.

Okay, so what can you eat?

1 | Unprocessed meats and seafood

2 | Eggs

3 | Vegetables

4 | Fruit

5 | Nuts and seeds

6 | Oils

Again, read all your labels first!

What happens after 30 days?

We are not going to go into too many details because everyone does the Reintroduction process a little differently. After 30 days, you can choose to reintroduce the food groups you have avoided for 30 days. Some people choose to do it slowly over 10 days which allows for analysis into how each food group affects their overall health. Others will wait until something "worthwhile" comes up and dig into a bunch of food groups at once.

What results did you see?

Josh // After just 1 round of the Whole30 he lost 20 pounds! But, like we said there are plenty non-scale victories too. He also has a flatter stomach, leaner appearance, and his clothes fit better. He has less bloating, and he noticed when doing the Reintroduction and when eating off the program certain foods make him bloat, a lot. He has been able to improve his blood sugar regulation, something he has been struggling with for at least 5 years. He is happier, more patient, less stressed, less depressed, has fewer cravings, and has an overall healthier relationship with food. Just to name a few :)

Kayty // After the first round of the Whole30 I lost 11 pounds. This put me back at my pre-pregnancy weight after trying for about 8-9 months to lose those last 10 'baby pounds.' I have way fewer migraines, can identify cravings vs. hunger, feel happier, less stressed. I no longer have mid-afternoon slumps where I want a nap, or feel like I need caffeine or sugar to keep me going. I have learned to listen to my body when eating and no longer use food as a comfort or reward. I feel like I am so much more in tune with myself because of my freedom with food.

Can you share some meal ideas?

Yes! Head on over to my Instagram and there is a highlight just for you called Whole30. There are over 30 ideas there for you. 

Did you really not cheat?

For real, promise a million times over, we did not cheat in our first Whole30. This means you can do it too! It is only 30 days. Anyone can do anything for just 30 days! In our second one, we made homemade French fries and then realized that wasn't actually allowed! At least everything was still compliant, but still, it reminded us to check the fine print of the rules more often.

If you are thinking about completing the Whole30 we would recommend you head to the official Whole30 website to check out all the program rules. You can also buy the Whole30 book which has all the information you need as well. We did purchase the book and it has lots of tasty recipes and it is nice to have a hardcopy reminder of all things Whole30.

Anything else you want to know? Share below!

Kayty

A Day at the Lake + WeeSprout Food Pouches Review

Before having Cora, one of our favorite ways to spend a day where we had nothing going on was to head up to the lake and hike, picnic, and swim. Last summer after Cora was born, we made it there once! Adding a baby means brining along so many more things and adds so much more uncertainty to every trip. Are they well rested? Will the car ride go smoothly? Do we have enough diapers? You get the idea. This summer since Cora is older we were determined to make it there more than once so we decided to gather a bunch of things that make summer trips easier with kids.

Our first trip this year was so much fun for everyone. We drove to a lake about 20 minutes from our house. Instead of hiking we went straight to the water because Wisconsin has been so hot and humid. Cora had a great time in the water. When she is in deep water she just wants to cling to you. We mostly just walked around in the water and did some bouncing. After we swam we enjoyed some healthy snacks on the shore. Almonds with an apple for mom and dad and Cheerios with mixed fruit applesauce for Cora.

So what made this trip with a 1 year old easy for us to do? Our top 3 summer trip must haves are WeeSprout reusable food pouches and silicone baby bibs (which I totally forgot to bring!), Munchkin snack catchers, and a Little Unicorn outdoor blanket.

WeeSprout reusable food pouches are a must have with kiddos. You could spend a fortune on pouches from the store, but think of all that waste you are tossing into the garbage. We prefer these reusable pouches! They are a breeze to clean because there are NO CORNERS and they can even go in the dishwasher. We usually rinse ours out in the sink then throw them in the dishwasher. WeeSprout offers 3 different sizes (3.4 oz, 5 oz, and 7 oz) We have the 5 oz. option and this suits us well. Cora can easily eat a full pouch and be full so we haven't needed to go up to the 7 ounce size yet, and I know the 3.4 oz would be much to small. Plus, whatever she doesn't eat in one sitting just goes in the refridgerator for the rest of the day for later. If it isn't finished by the time I load the dishwasher at the end of the night it goes in!

WeeSprout also makes silicone baby bibs which make life so much easier than the cotton bibs we had been using for way to long. We were going through 2+ bibs a day because of this adorable messy eater, but now we can just wipe the mess away after each meal and use just 1 bib a day! The bibs are ALSO dishwasher safe so just toss in at the end of the day with your pouches and you are good to go the next morning.

Our other adventure favorites are the Munchkin snack catchers, which make minimal mess for things like crackers and dried fruit, and a Little Unicorn outdoor blanket, with a water-resistant surface it wipes clean when spills occur and we can sit on it in our wet swim suits without a problem. The blanket also folds up on itself into a carry case. We keep it in our car at all times in case we ever need a blanket.

Look at those wrinkly toes and beach hair. Sweet girl doesn't care, she's just having a blast outside, and boy oh boy does she LOVE the outdoors.

We are actually headed up for our SECOND trip to the lake today. Our goal was once a month this summer so we are happy we're making it work. No matter what kind of fun you and your family have, make sure you have products that make the fun things you do EASIER!

What are your must-have products for adventuring? Share below!

Happy Monday! -Kayty

disclaimer :: this post was sponsored by WeeSprout, all opinions are 100% my own, we do not support brands unless we think they are a great fit for our family so you can be sure this is an honest review