{This post is written in honor of PCOS Awareness Month}

So I have this thing called PCOS. . .a condition or syndrome or whatever you’d like to call it. Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Sounds horrible, doesn’t it? It sorta is. As it’s name would indicate, I do have multiple cysts on my ovaries (or is it in my ovaries, I’ve never understood which it was) but they are not the kind that grow big or rupture or anything painful like that. Honestly, I’ve never felt any pain as a result of my friends the ovarian cysts.

PCOS is, in essence, a diagnosis given if you have a collection of symptoms. For me those symptoms are: irregular cycles (and with that, lack of ovulation), acne (hello high school) and weight gain around the belly area (awesome). The bottom line is – my ‘plumbing’ (or ‘operating system’ for those of you that prefer a modern analogy) doesn’t work. PCOS involves hormone imbalance and insulin resistance but once again, I’ll spare you my vain attempt to address something medical. If you are interested in finding out more information on PCOS, check out this great article from Conceive Magazine. If you suspect you may have PCOS, I encourage you to talk with your doctor.

When I heard that September is PCOS awareness month I thought long and hard about doing a post about it. But for days I couldn’t come up with anything interesting on the subject. Even though about 5-10% of women (age 20-40) suffer from PCOS, I couldn’t see how many of you would be interested in the topic. And then I felt alone. Broken. As if my body was the only one out of sync. And then I thought about how everyone probably feels this way at one time or another about one thing or another in their life so maybe I’m not alone.

There are things I can do to help manage my PCOS. One of them is eat healthier (low carb) which I admit I struggle with (I’m Italian, we love our pasta and bread!). The other thing I can do is take birth control pills. Of course since I am currently TTC (trying to conceive) I am skipping the pill which is why my face looks like a pizza right now (please don’t stare if you see me around). Lastly, exercise is a big help in managing PCOS and I am happy to say I have been working out more regularly lately.

At the end of the day I am still broken. I often ask God to heal me and then I wonder if he doesn’t because I’ve not yet committed to eating healthy. But deep down I don’t believe God’s miracles are contingent upon our perfection. If they were, we would not see them. . .ever. We do need to do our part in the process though, making the right choices and being diligent. As my struggle to conceive continues, I am working harder at doing just that. So that my body would be restored and life would come – in more ways than one.

Are you broken? Physically or mentally, are you worn down from a battle? Whatever you face, know that as you seek God for wisdom in doing your part, he will come with his love and his grace to restore you to life.

I will believe that for you and for me.

As we work through the edits for the book, I am forcing myself to rethink all of the tips and advice we are offering new moms to make sure our suggestions are helpful yet balanced and take different personalities and lifestyles into account. I personally knew from the start that I wanted my baby on a schedule. As I stumbled through those early days of newborn chaos, I learned many things about myself and my baby along the way but at the end of the day, though less rigid than I thought it would be, my daughter thrived on a set schedule, as did I.

So is putting your newborn on a schedule the “right” thing to do? Well that depends on you, the mommy. God has entrusted your little one into your care and He will provide the wisdom and strength you need to parent your child. The Pregnancy Companion will share stories and tips about how a schedule can be helpful in bringing about some sense of order to your life but just as with all things related to parenting, you should take every bit of advice and prayerfully consider if you should and how you should apply it to your baby.

One of the most powerful tools of motherhood is community. Besides prayer, leaning into other moms is one of the best things you can do as you determine what type of approach to take in terms of scheduling. Look at other moms that you trust and observe their methods. Consider moms around you that share your lifestyle and values when it comes to time management and feeding. Perhaps you are not able to breastfeed. Observe moms that you know are bottle-feeding and see what works for them. On the flip side, if you are breastfeeding, your schedule may look a bit different. So much of the early days with a newborn are trial and error. Be gracious with yourself as you figure out what works for you.

I think I say this in the book but there are only a few things in the Bible that would be considered “non-negotiable” when it comes to parenting. Most of the decisions you face will not have a clear-cut right or wrong answer. So lean into God-given wisdom and observe moms you trust and I know you will figure out what’s best for your family.

We’d love to hear from our readers what worked for you. We want this blog to be a faith-based community moms and mommies-to-be so please share your wisdom here. We even turned off the log in requirement for comments so it should be super easy for you to chime in now!

No matter what your method, I wish you all peace as you parent your child.

I read an interesting article in the May issue of Redbook about breastfeeding. Interesting to me because I did not breastfeed Hope but perhaps controversial and bothersome to others. Still it is refreshing to see both sides of the story being told in our ‘breast is best’ society. While I completely agree that breast is best, having not been able to use mine to adequately nourish my child, I am happy to see others like me find their voice in the mommy world.

Read for yourself and if you are at that place of deciding on breast or bottle, I hope you’ll feel confident in the decision you make for you and your baby.

Redbook Mag Breastfeeding Article

I don’t mean to brag but my two year old has never had an ear infection or been on antibiotics so formula must be worth the small fortune I paid for it! Just a bit of encouragement from my experience for those considering keeping their boobs inside their bra for the first year of their child’s life.

We’d love to hear your breast or bottle feeding successes or woes.

Here’s to dairy…no matter what its source,

There are just so many myths about the birth control pill I barely know where to start, but I wanted to address a few of the more common ones. One of the most common questions I get is:

“I’ve been on the pill for 2 years, so how long will I need to go off the pill before I want to get pregnant?”

The answer is 2 months.

“But I’ve been on the pill for 5 years, so how long will I need to go off the pill before I want to get pregnant?”

The answer is 2 months.

But I’ve been on the pill for 10 years, so how long will I need to go off the pill before I want to get pregnant?”

The answer is 2 months.

The good (or bad ) thing about the pill is that it has a short “half life.” It is only in your system for about 24 hours. That’s how people get ‘pregnant on the pill,’ they miss one or two and their ovary slips out an egg. There is not some kind of tolerance that your body builds up to the pill over time. There are a lot of women who think the longer they are on the pill the harder it is going to be to get pregnant. THIS IS NOT TRUE. Actually, if you are prone to ovarian cysts or have a history of endometriosis then being on the pill can be PROTECTIVE of your fertility. The pill helps prevent cysts from forming and endometriosis from growing. As a general rule, we recommend having one cycle off the pill and then try to conceive the month after that.

Another common myth is that you should give “your body a break” from the pill every few years. This is also not true. Now there are certain people who should not take the pill at all (such as smokers over the age of 35), and obviously if you don’t need the pill you shouldn’t take it (yes, I know, I’m starting to sound like the announcer that talks fast at the end of the drug commercials). However, if you are happy with the pill and your doctor says that you have no medical problems that would interfere with it, then there is no need to give your body a break from it.

So, those of you considering pregnancy should definitely start taking prenatal vitamins, but don’t stop using birth control until you want to get pregnant. I was once asked by a patient (not Jess!) if she should stop her birth control pills when she started her clomid? Hmmmmmm. I’ll go with yes on that one.

FYI: if you are on the depo-provera shot, that is another story. It can take up to year for ovulation to return.