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PCOS

PCOS, Skin 101, Soul

Happy Mother’s Day!

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Hey loves!

I am just beside myself that this Mother’s day I get to celebrate the coming of my little miracle baby.  For so many years, I prayed, cried, and dreamed of the day that I would be blessed with the title of mother so it is still surreal that I will be official next month when my little baby boy is here. Although the pregnancy journey has not been easy (all day “morning sickness” for the past eight months…ugh!), I am forever grateful that God saw fit to answer my prayer.

Despite what doctors have said, I got pregnant the good, ol’ fashioned way (with some changes in my lifestyle and thinking).  It does not get any more miraculous than that.  For the women for whom this day is especially difficult because of infertility, loss or grief, please know that you are not alone. God truly does restore!

Don’t forget to pre-order my e-book , This Side of Faith, on Amazon! It is all about how I healed from PCOS, got my miracle baby, and learned to live the life God had in mind for me. I list the steps that can also help you to live the life you have always wanted despite whatever odds are stacked against you.

PCOS, Preggo, Soul

My E-Book Launch!

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I am so excited to announce that I am launching my new e-book, This Side of Faith: How to Heal from PCOS, Get Your Miracle Baby, and Change Your Life! It has been on my heart to write this book for some years now and it feel like a dream to actually have written it and about my natural health journey with PCOS but, now that my little miracle baby will be here next month I have even more motivation to put my testimony and experience out there sooner.

After announcing my pregnancy on social media about six months ago, I have been humbled by the number of emails, texts, and messages from women who said that I had given them hope to be able to overcome their own fertility and health issues. I had no idea that me telling my story would have such an impact. It was during this time that I knew I had to start writing about my experience to show many more women what was possible.

I decided not to overthink it, stop second guessing myself, and to just write. A few months later, This Side of Faith was born. Find out the steps that can lead you to the healing, miracle baby and the life you have been wanting!

Now available on Amazon for pre-order here.  Thank you for all of your support through the years as I have shared bits and pieces of my life here on Simplistic Chic.  I hope you will be inspired by my book to take charge of your life and always know that there is a purpose to the challenges you are going through right now.

Feel free to email me with any questions at: candice.selby@gmail.com

PCOS, Preggo

The Three Women Who Helped Me Get Pregnant

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Hey loves!

I’m just a few days away from hitting the 20-week mark.  Ahhhhh! Yep, halfway through this miraculous journey.

Current symptoms/updates:

  • nausea throughout the day off and on….still (at least the vomiting has ceased)
  • my appetite has picked up a little bit- all I want is vegetable lo mein, fruit, and red snapper
  • I’ve gained a total of 7 lbs, after losing 4 lbs. in my first trimester
  • leg cramps at night- probably from dehydration since water still makes me gag
  • neck and upper back aches like crazy!  There’s a prenatal massage in my near future.

My body has been going through some serious changes.  Most of them have been amazing while others have been more difficult to go through but, I thank God every day for this blessing of being able to carry a life.  I will never take this miracle for granted.

It has truly been a journey to even get to this point and it is still ongoing.  I have to especially thank God for helping me to come across three women who do not even know the role they played in helping me to prepare my body (and mind) for pregnancy and overcoming PCOS.

  1. Alissa Vitti- she is an integrative nutritionist, author of Woman Code, and founder of FloLiving.  I was listening to a podcast last summer that she did with Jess C. Lively and I had to find out more about this lady.  She too, had PCOS and talked about how diet can really change your body.  Alissa was able to get pregnant naturally at the age of 37 after doctors told her that she might not ever be able to conceive.  I wrote down all of the suggestions she gave for dietary changes and I put it into action right away!  I also stalked her FloLiving site almost daily and read all of her tips.
  2. Tierra Goes Green– I love her ‘straight up, no chaser’ approach to giving the facts on living a holistic lifestyle! I have learned so much from reading her website and Instagram posts.  She also gives one-on-one consultations about what to do for your situation and help you meet your health goals.
  3. Gessie Thompson-  I was so inspired when I read about how this beautiful lady fought against fibroids for ten years and won!  Her faith and belief that she would have a baby despite all of the health problems she experienced was truly phenomenal.  She is now a fertility coach and co-founder of the 90-day Hope Beyond Fibroids elimination program, helping other women to take charge of their health and fertility.

I want to thank these ladies for allowing God to use them to help others, like myself to be encouraged and more informed about how our bodies works! I am forever grateful.

To those of you who are praying, wishing, and hoping for better health and/or healthy, natural pregnancies ask God to show you what to do next, and stay in a place of love.  When I changed my outlook on my situation and made up my mind to let go resentment, anger, and jealousy EVERYTHING changed.

“With God, all things are possible”. – Matthew 19:26

Fit Life, PCOS, Preggo

Advice I’ve Gotten As a Pregnant Woman

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I’ve been pregnant for all of 18 weeks now and I get all sorts of tips and advice from women almost everyday.  Some I will actually incorporate and others…..I’m not so sure about yet.

Here are the top three tips I have heard so far:

1. Let’s talk about SEX.

Okay, so I was told by more than one person to keep your sex life up all 9 months. Yes, all nine! It may involve some improvising towards the latter months but, I was told it will be well worth it. Some people think it helps prevent tearing during delivery by keeping blood fully circulating to those tissues down there making them would be more resilient and more elastic.   I suppose it couldn’t hurt to try it out!

2. Stay as calm and stress-free as much as possible.

Everything you feel, your baby feels!  

Now this one is probably the one I’ve heard the most from women, specifically older women like my grandmothers. They have all said your baby feeds off of your energy so, it is so important that you try to stay as calm as possible during this time. For anyone, stress management should be a part of their daily lifestyle but, especially for those of us carrying and nurturing a new life.

With hormonal changes, morning sickness, a growing to-do list, and the regular, day-to-day life responsibilities, this is something I struggled with a lot (and still deal with) in the very beginning of my pregnancy.  I am much more aware of my emotions now though and I am constantly finding new ways of getting things done while still making sure to take care of myself and my baby emotionally and physically.  
3. Exercise.

I’ve read this countless times and heard from other women just how important exercising while pregnant is. Long before getting pregnant, I always said that I would workout throughout my pregnancy.  That was before I knew that I would be one of the lucky ones to have extreme all-day nausea, vomiting, and unable to eat hardly anything so mustering up the energy to go workout was not about to happen.

I am 17 weeks pregnant now and feeling slightly better some days so I’ve started to doing some walking on the treadmill, light weight training videos, and great pregnancy workout videos I have seen online like those from knockedupfitness.com.  I’m easing my way up to 20 minutes a day, three days a week.  

Staying physically active can help to keep your body toned, give you more energy (pregnancy fatigue is real!), make your labor and delivery easier, and help you get that “snapback” after baby is born.  Of course, you should always, always, ALWAYS check with your doctor first before exercising while pregnant because every woman’s situation is different and may call for certain precautions.    

Moms, what is some advice you would give on pregnancy?