family + business operations for parent entrepreneurs

WELLNESS

We're Kevin + Courtney Gilroy: married best friends turned parent entrepreneurs.

OrganicFamilyCEO.com is the resource hub + like-minded community we were missing in our first days of new parenthood + business ownership.

Becoming a profitable stay-at-home family changed our life. Now, we help other current + soon-to-be parents have a healthy start to parenthood + entrepreneurship.

Learn more about our systems for running the business of family alongside the family business here or ask us questions here.

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PARENTing

Entrepreneurship

What We Did to Get Pregnant on the First Try

In this post, we’re sharing what we (well, mostly Courtney) did to conceive our daughter (+ then our son) on the first try.

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Yes, we got pregnant on the first try. Twice.

In this post, we’re sharing what we (well, mostly Courtney) did to conceive our daughter (+ then our son) on the first try. The results are our own + we’re sharing this to encourage hopeful parents that organic, non-invasive fertility methods can work.

Knowing that fertility challenges are common in our generation, we wanted to do as much work as possible up-front to boost Courtney’s fertility. This post is purely informational + published with so much heart + intention (+ with those families who are navigating infertility right now in-mind. We see you.).

Before we jump in, partners TAKE NOTE: many of the efforts Courtney made to improve her fertility would serve partners well in their fertility, too! Join in + let this be part of the fun of building a family together.

Babymaking, here we come!

No. 1 — Learn Baseline Fertility Metrics

After a general wellness check with her OB/GYN, Courtney started keeping a record of her menstrual cycle, sexual activity, diet, exercise + mindset.

In the event of fertility challenges, we knew that most physicians would ask for a record of those wellness metrics to begin their testing from. We thought keeping track right from the start of “trying” would help us keep time on our side as much as possible. 

No. 2 — Stop Taking Hormonal Birth Control ASAP

We truly believe this is a big one. Courtney gave her body ample time to reset itself after chemically controlling her fertility.

Courtney had actually stopped taking hormonal birth control pills for more than one year prior to trying to conceive, then used her baseline fertility to avoid sex during her peak window. 

Following the natural family planning (NFP) method can be 99% effective (same as a condom).

We feel like this is where a health teacher in high school would say something like “but 100% guarantee is abstinence!”

We were in agreement that if we happened to get pregnant during the time of practicing NFP + not necessarily “trying”, that we would be more than okayin fact, great! — with that.

No. 3 — Start Taking an Organic Prenatal Multivitamin 

Immediately after quitting birth control pills, Courtney started taking organic prenatal multivitamins.

Courtney researched the best possible prenatal multivitamin options that she could find + only one met all of her criteria: MyKind Organics Women’s Prenatal Multivitamin.

[Related: Our Daily Vitamins + Supplements]

No. 4 — Cut Out Caffeine Entirely

There’s no big research on caffeine + fertility, but Courtney felt like anything that altered her body’s natural state the way caffeine did was likely too overpowering for conception.

Courtney quit her daily iced coffee cold turkey one day + she doesn’t recommend being so mean to yourself if you decide to quit or reduce caffeine, too!

Space out the cups of coffee over a few days + reduce the quantity without the headaches.

Update Note: For Baby #2 (our son KJ), Courtney did consume a small cup of iced coffee daily after halfway through the second trimester + found no adverse effects. However, she did note that when she would nurse Baby #1 (our daughter Kensie) after having coffee postpartum (without ever having consumed caffeine during that first pregnancy), Kensie would get much more energized than usual! The buzz seemed to transfer. Interesting, huh!

No. 5 — Invest in an Exciting New Water Bottle

Something as simple as finding a water bottle you love can boost your hydration exponentially because you’d actually be drinking more water from your beloved bottle.

No. 6 — Acquire a Taste for Green Smoothies 

This Dan’s Famous Apple Pie Smoothie recipe from Simple Green Smoothies was Courtney’s gateway smoothie. The recipe tastes like dessert + packs in a nutritional punch for minimal effort. 

Follow the recipe exactly + you’ll be on your way, too. (Assuming you like apple pie?)

No. 7 — Commit to Organic Living

If we were going to bring a real baby into the real world, then we needed to get real with ourselves + be living authentically.

Courtney committed to doing work she loves, surrounding herself with positive people or choosing to skip being around negative ones, following her gut + not overthinking what her body was telling her she needed.

We took a hard look at our finances, relationships, home supplies, beauty products + our expectations for having a baby. For what felt out of alignment, we made a plan.

No. 8 — Book a Vacation

Courtney asked her OB/GYN how to get pregnant + she said, “go on vacation + get drunk!”

Our OB/GYN was joking with the bluntness, of course, but her point was to not overthink the babymaking. Relax, let some genuine passion stir up + don’t make the attempt mechanical if it doesn’t have to be.

So, we went on a 3-week European vacation with the mindset that this could be our last big adventure trip for a few years. We traveled to Italy, France, Croatia, Montenegro, Greece + Germany, then ended the trip with a spontaneous week camping the Ring Road around Iceland.

Circling back to update this post almost 5 years later, we can now say that this investment is still giving us the best possible return. 

No. 9 — Have a Lot of Great Sex

Just to make sure we’re being very clear here: if you do all of the above-mentioned activities but not this one, you’re going to be out of luck.

We had sex almost every day — even multiple times per day — because we genuinely wanted to.

Just for good measure, Courtney tilted her pelvis up afterward by propping up a pillow under her tailbone for a few minutes to make sure all of the semen had gravity’s help.

Some professionals say this has no bearing on fertility whatsoever, but we figured trying couldn’t hurt! Courtney’s Italian grandmother (Nonna) + mother both swear by this method. Who knows!

No. 10 — Test Conservatively

We brought pregnancy tests with us on the trip + Courtney actually peed on the stick at the Godafoss waterfall in Iceland where we learned we were, in fact, pregnant! 

But despite Kev’s anxious + excited anticipation, Courtney made us wait until the number of days post-peak window that the test inserts indicated so that we weren’t getting our emotions all over the place reading false results from too-soon-testing.

Yes, the waiting is so challenging but that result was incredible + SO worth waiting for! 

Now we’d love to know: what activities have you tried to help with your conception? 

What’s worked for you?

We’d love to hear the natural steps you’ve taken — or are thinking of taking — in the comments below or in our Instagram direct messages @organicfamilyceo.

If you send us a direct message with what other resources you’re loving or looking for, we’re happy to share more of what we’ve found helpful for our re-productivity as parent entrepreneurs. ???? See you there!

Disclaimer: We do not guarantee your specific results. We’re not doctors + we don’t play ones on the internet. We love sharing what has worked well for us as purely an informational post for your consideration as you start + grow your organic families.