My Pregnancy Journey & Support Checklist

Written By Nicole Rutherford

Michael and I found out we were pregnant in March of 2023, and it was a bit of a surprise! Although we definitely had babies on the mind, we were planning to wait and try in the summer so that we could have a spring baby.

Turns out, God had other plans. Although we know His timing is always the right timing, in this instance, it felt a bit comical. Now, our birthdays would all happen between October-December, even our dogs (except Leo in February). Talk about a marathon season of birthdays and holidays! 

christian pregnancy

We were praying for a girl and had decided early on to definitely do the sneak peek gender testing around 8 weeks. Because, patience is still a work in progress over here!

My pregnancy was boring.

And that’s a good thing. 

A boring pregnancy means a healthy pregnancy! And there are a lot of things Michael and I did to support my body to help ensure my pregnancy stayed boring and baby stayed healthy!

Early Pregnancy 

Although my pregnancy overall was fairly uneventful and smooth, I did have two months of horrid migraines at the end of the 1st and beginning of the 2nd trimester. That was the hardest part, I will not lie.

For what felt like weeks on end I would just lie in the dark in our bedroom for hours with a pounding head, unable to move, wondering if this would ever end. I tried ALL the natural things. Nothing really helped except rubbing an insane amount of peppermint essential oil all over my forehead/neck/temples. When I couldn’t wait it out and things got too unbearable I resorted to excedrin a few times. 

I praised the Lord when those finally subsided. Other than that, during the first trimester I had the typical loss of appetite (and sadly, an aversion to bacon the entire pregnancy), as well as some mild heartburn and nausea.

Thankfully I never threw up and my nausea was always later in the day.

pregnancy safe foods

This is what meals looked like in early pregnancy. Lunch was usually my most protein heavy meal!

The lack of desire to eat anything remotely healthy was so strong.  I think I ate nothing but gluten free bagels and Birchbender paleo waffles smothered in almond butter, sliced banana, chocolate chips and honey for 2 months. Protein was the hardest to stomach but I could usually get a decent lunch in with a smaller dinner and snacks in between. 

Mama, I know you want to do the best to nourish your baby. I was beating myself up everyday because I couldn’t get enough protein. But I promise, this phase will pass. And you’ll be back to eating your favorite nutrient-dense foods. Do what you can to eat as best as you can and know that it’s okay if it’s not perfect.

Selecting Midwife Care

I’d pretty much known from the start that I wanted a very natural, hands-off pregnancy and birth. It really felt like growing this new life was between myself, the Lord and our baby, and I didn’t see a need for unnecessary medical interventions, especially with my pregnancy being low risk. My mind kept going back to God’s natural design, and the simplicity of trusting Him, as well as trusting my body and my baby to do what He created us to do.

High on our priority list was a midwife who would work with me to have the prenatal care and support that I wanted and the unmedicated homebirth I desired. I also was keen on having a Christian midwife, if possible since my own faith was such a huge part of this process.

That proved to be more difficult than I’d anticipated. Washington is not the best state for the kind of holistic and hands-off care I wanted. We also have very limited midwifery care at freestanding facilities (meaning, not connected to a hospital) and the first few midwives I reached out to were already full, or wouldn’t work with me because I wanted a homebirth. 

I was starting to feel really defeated and a bit worried when the midwife I’d wanted declined to take me on because my “due date” was too close to Thanksgiving (literally on Thanksgiving Day, November 23), and she wanted to keep that time open for her family. As a Christian woman who values her family time, I respected that decision and understood completely, but I was heartbroken. 

holistic midwife care

Family trip to the midwife! The boys are reading their Tuttle Twins history books, ha!

Finally, I had an interview with a midwife named Mary. I had already already come into our interview with a sour attitude, feeling dejected and scared. She’d previously stated in an email that she felt that I lived too far away from the hospital for a homebirth in case an emergency transfer was needed, however, during our meeting, she saw my complete desperation for a homebirth, and by the grace of God, hesitantly agreed.

It was a tense but respectful relationship. I’d felt very closed off, and although we had differences of mind, she supported me throughout the entire pregnancy, and for the most part, respected my wishes in prenatal care (or lack thereof). It was a bit of uncharted territory for us both as I was not like her typical client. 

My Midwifery Care

  • Ultrasounds: I reluctantly agreed to have the 20 week anatomy scan done to make sure everything looked okay. That was the only one I had throughout my pregnancy.

  • Fetal monitoring: I strongly declined the use of the doppler for most of my appointments. This made my midwife nervous because she wasn’t used to someone doing this. I did agree I think 2 or 3 times total over the course of my pregnancy to ease her and my husband’s mind. I do admit, hearing your baby’s heartbeat is pretty cool! I wanted to use the fetoscope, however since I had an anterior placenta, that made it incredibly hard to actually hear anything.

  • Glucose test: I declined this. With Michael running regular blood labs (and sharing it with our midwife), plus my healthy diet and supplementation regimen, it wasn’t necessary at all.

  • Group B strep (GBS) test: I agreed to this, reluctantly. There really wasn’t any risk to the baby and it was a simple swab. It came back negative, so no need to worry about the possible use of antibiotics at birth.

  • Routine blood labs: Michael ran these each trimester and we shared them with our midwife. 

Other tests I declined: genetic screening, non-stress test, biophysical profile (non-stress test + ultrasound when going over 40 weeks), cell free DNA screening. 

How I Supported my Body Throughout Pregnancy

 Stress was very high in the first trimester because so much was so new and unknown, and I was terrified of something bad happening. I tried to lean not on my own understanding but to trust in the Lord. 

It also didn’t help that we were in the process of buying our first home and preparing to move in May. So in between bouts of nausea and naps, I was packing up everything in our rental home and selling items we no longer needed or wanted to take with us.

There were lots of naps + slowing down/resting my body, fresh air + sunshine (a coveted thing in the PNW), light workouts, epsom salt baths, prayer and meditation using the Christian Hypnobirthing app, and worship music. Staying on top of my nutrition (eating enough!) and hydration was also crucial.

Doing a little workout from Pregnancy & Postpartum TV on YouTube. Zoya supervises.

I’m thankful to my husband, who as a functional health practitioner did so much to support my body nutritionally and supplementally throughout pregnancy. I didn’t have the energy to do it by myself.

He even prepared homemade pregnancy-safe bitters (coming soon to our shop!), which sparked the idea for our now business, Fruit of the Womb Herbals!

Nutrition

Mama, your nutrition matters! It’s fueling and feeding your baby. This is not the time to throe caution to the wind and eat whatever you want because “you’re pregnant.” This is the time to eat the most nutrient packed foods you can! Growing a human takes a lot of work.

The demand on your body is high. You need to pump it full of healthy proteins, fats and carbohydrates that give

Your body the energy, and vitamins and minerals it needs. 

Once I was able to move past the 1st trimester nausea and lack of appetite, I was so happy to be back to my regularly scheduled food programming. In the summer months I ate a lot of lighter protein (chicken, fish), protein smoothies and fruit. Once the weather cooled, I was all about hearty slow cooked soups and stews with as much red meat (and organ ground beef) that I could stomach. I also ate lots of oatmeal boosted with goat milk whey protein & minerals from Mt. Capta.

Iron is so crucial especially in later pregnancy. I l had red meat probably 2 times a day, and at least once a day throughout pregnancy. We also did lots of kelp and cod livers & tuna/salmon (Michael makes the best tuna/salmon salads).

Pregnancy staple foods. So full of nutrient-rich vitamins & minerals for me & baby!

I also drank my NORA pregnancy tea faithfully throughout my entire pregnancy (once I hit 16 weeks), and I honestly do feel like it helped so much. Plus, it was a tasty treat to sip on throughout the day when I was sick of plain water or LMNT packets!

Here’s a lot of what I ate (all organic): 

  • Protein: grass-fed beef, bone broth, pasture raised chicken, pork (sadly not bacon) & eggs, wild caught salmon, cod livers, white fish, oysters, clams, mussels (did somebody say cioppino?!), raw goat cheese, goat milk yogurt

  • Healthy fats: avocados, grass-fed butter, organic nuts & seeds, almond butter, cod livers

  • Carbohydrates: potatoes of all kinds (sweet, reds, yellow, fingerlings), rice, corn, zucchini, broccoli, asparagus, carrots, onions, all the fruits 

Of course there was room for moderate snacking + treats. I love the Justin’s almond butter cups, Lesser Evil popcorn, Smartsweets, So Delicious cashew milk ice cream, and homemade hot cocoa.

For hydration, I drank about 2 packets of LMNT a day (watermelon, orange and grapefruit are my favorites), and a quart of pregnancy-safe NORA tea. You can learn ALL about NORA pregnancy tea in our blog here, and try some out for yourself in our shop! I cannot say enough good things about this powerful herbal tea blend for pregnancy (and postpartum).  

I drank my tea cold or room-temp for most of pregnancy (warmer months) and once it cooled down, heated it up!

Supplements

Here’s a list of the supplements I took throughout my entire pregnancy, and into postpartum. Be sure to check with your healthcare provider, midwife or holistic practitioner before adding any supplements to your regimen.

  • Prenatal Digestive Bitters: Taken to help support digestion, stimulate appetite, curb nausea, indigestion, heartburn and other digestive pregnancy symptoms 

  • Desiccated Spleen & Liver capsules: Taken for optimal hemoglobin and iron production and balance throughout all trimesters

  • Multi-vitamin (copper & iron free): Taken for general nutrition since pregnancy has a much higher demand for nutritional needs 

  • Spore-based probiotics: Taken for overall gut health & microbiome support

  • Magnesium: Taken to prevent pregnancy constipation and reduce muscle cramping (especially in 3rd trimester). I actually added in an additional product (Biotics Research BIO CMP to help with muscle cramping)

  • Trace Mineral drops: Taken for additional mineral intake 

  • Biotics Research Beta TCP: Taken to aid in fat digestion and help with pregnancy nausea

  • Cod liver capsules: taken to support healthy brain function & development, and reduce inflammation

Holistic Services/Exercise 

  • Webster-certified Chiropractic: Do this if you can. I cannot emphasize the importance of working with a Webster certificate chiropractor throughout your pregnancy and into postpartum. Benefits: reduces nervous system stress, balances the pelvic bones, muscles, and ligaments as they grow/expand,  optimizes mama’s pelvic function in pregnancy and birth, and helps to get the baby into an optimal position. This was a priority for me because of my spinal fusion in my lumbar spine. 

  • Acupuncture: This was mostly for late pregnancy and to have handy in case baby was breech and we needed another way to turn her (moxibustion, anyone?). I want to like acupuncture, but for me, the benefits don’t seem to last too long. My acupuncturist also did some cupping, which did feel amazing on my expanding, sore hips and legs towards the end of my 3rd trimester. 

  • Prenatal Pilates/Yoga: I followed free workouts from Pregnancy and Postpartum TV on YouTube as energy levels allowed. I really wanted to do more but I met my body where it was at and averaged 2-4 workouts a week. If I had to do it over, I’d probably work with a pelvic floor specialist as well. 

Regular visits to me Webster certified chiro were a MUST throughout my pregnancy. 

Late Pregnancy 

Towards the end of my pregnancy, particularly at weeks 38-41 things got very uncomfortable and sleep became challenging. I carried our baby girl until 41.5, and trust me, by then I was so desperate to meet her!

I had the most digestive issues at the end of my pregnancy when space was limited in there! I really relied on my husband’s homemade digestive bitters to help with unpleasant acid reflux, heartburn and indigestion. 

Also, get a body pillow, mama. Find whatever one works for you. It is a Godsend. I used this one from Coop Sleep Goods for overall sleep support, and the BabyBub maternity pillow for the last month to support my bump (although I wish I’d gotten it sooner). My husband has since stolen my body pillow for himself. 

Family walks & waiting on labor to start after 41 weeks hit. IYKYK


For weeks leading up to her birth I struggled with intense hip/quad, glute pain and intense muscle aching. It felt like I’d run a marathon but forgot to stretch or train for it. I would literally have to wake up in the middle of the night and foam roll for 30 minutes just to get a bit of comfort. I used this CBD massage oil and the Doterra Deep Blue cream. Pricey, but SO worth it. Walking helped a bit, too.

I was terrified of having a breech baby (and had Spinning Babies bookmarked!)  and also fearful that my spinal fusion would prevent me from having the unmedicated homebirth I wanted, or result in painful back labor and/or hospital transfer. I had an anterior placenta and for most of the pregnancy, our baby was sunny side up (or posterior), which every birth professional, book and blog will tell you is not the ideal position. 

However, I continued to go to the Lord in prayer and seek comfort from my husband that my baby would be in whatever position was best for her. And trust me when I say there was a constant state of emotional warfare raging inside of me. I really had to work to keep my faith. 

And there were times where I doubted. 

But then a word from a friend, a hug from my husband, a church sermon or a Bible verse, these whispers from the Holy Spirit renewed my faltering faith time and time again.  

My Top Pregnancy and Birth Resources  

I did a lot of mental prep work throughout my entire pregnancy for my labor and birth. Below are my most highly recommended resources! I personally used the Christian Hypnobirthing course & app, Mama Natural course & book, Hypnobirthing book and the happy homebirth podcast. Honestly I would’ve taken the Happy Homebirth course but I didn’t learn about it until after purchasing the Mama Natural one. That one was great but more focused on unmedicated hospital or birth center births and I was going the homebirth route!

Courses

Books

Podcasts

  • The Happy Homebirth Podcast

  • Your Birth, God’s Way

  • Pain Free Birth

  • Holy Wild Birth

  • Peaceful Homebirth

  • Built to Birth 

Additional resources

Nicole Rutherford
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