After her fertility app indicated she had less than a 3% chance of conceiving, Adriel was shocked to find herself pregnant with a “miracle” baby girl at age 41. She shares how she navigated a 40-hour unmedicated labor and why she believes targeted nutrition and hormone advocacy are the keys to a vibrant pregnancy after 40.
On episode 23, Adrielle is sharing her pregnancy story at 41, a journey that began with an incredible surprise after her fertility app indicated she had less than a 3% chance of conceiving. Despite the odds, she welcomed a baby girl in what she describes as her healthiest pregnancy to date. Adrielle opens up about how a strict gluten-free and Paleo lifestyle transformed her experience, reducing inflammation and providing her with more energy than she had during her previous pregnancies in her 30s.
The conversation dives deep into her 40-hour unmedicated labor, detailing how she vetted a “natural-friendly” Doctor of Osteopathy (DO) and prepared her mind using “Kingdom Childbirth” principles. From navigating a three-hour drive to the birthing center while in active labor to the “miraculously strong” water bag that stunned her medical team, Adrielle’s story is a masterclass in autonomy and faith. She also gets raw about the “Fourth Trimester,” discussing the realities of infant reflux, tongue ties, and her personal journey using bioidentical progesterone to manage postpartum anxiety and insomnia.
About the Guest:
Adrielle is a dedicated mother and proactive “research geek” from East Idaho who successfully navigated a surprise natural pregnancy at age 41. Despite her fertility app showing a minimal chance of conception, she leaned into a holistic lifestyle—utilizing a gluten-free, Paleo-influenced diet and targeted supplements to manage an MTHFR gene mutation—resulting in her healthiest pregnancy to date. A firm advocate for autonomous, unmedicated birth, Adrielle utilized faith-based “Kingdom Childbirth” principles to navigate an intense 40-hour labor. Now in the fourth trimester with her fourth child, she remains passionate about sharing the realities of postpartum advocacy, from troubleshooting infant reflux and tongue ties to using bioidentical hormone support for maternal wellness.
Connect with Adrielle:
- Instagram: @libertywith_idahomama
Key Topics:
- The “1 in 10” Fertility Surprise: Conceiving when you think the window is closed.
- The Gluten-Free Pregnancy Advantage: How paleo and keto habits reduced inflammation and achiness at 41.
- Choosing Your Provider: Tips for finding a “natural-friendly” DO and a birthing center connected to a hospital.
- The “Kingdom Childbirth” Mindset: Preparing for an unmedicated birth through faith-based coping strategies.
- The 40-Hour Labor Journey: Navigating a long, drawn-out labor and the “strong water bag” phenomenon.
- Postpartum Troubleshooting: Dealing with posterior tongue ties, lip ties, and acid reflux in a newborn.
- Hormone Support after 40: Using bioidentical progesterone to combat postpartum anxiety and insomnia.
- The MTHFR Mutation: Why methylated vitamins and specific prenatals are critical for certain pregnancies.
Resources & Links:
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Transcript:
Jamie: Arie, thank you so much for being on the show today.
Adrielle: Of course.
Jamie: And before we get started, would you like to say a little bit about yourself?
Adrielle: Sure. I am from East Idaho and before that we lived in California.
Jamie: Oh, fun.
Adrielle: Mm-hmm.
Jamie: You wanna go on about how, how many kids you have and Sure.
That sort of thing.
Adrielle: Sure. We’re a blended family, so I have a stepson who’s a teenager, and then. Two boys and then the baby girl that we just had. So four kids and six all together. It’s a full house.
Jamie: That’s great. So let’s get into how you found out you were pregnant.
Adrielle: Okay. Well I was 41 and. 41 and a half at the time, and we were not really trying, we had actually kind of decided that our family was probably done and I was using one of those fertility apps that tells you from one to 10 how fertile you are that day.
It said, uh, one I believe that day. So we were super careful and by chances of actually conceiving that day, were probably below 3% or something like that. So about three to four weeks later, I started to feel that queasy feeling. I usually have a pretty strong stomach, but at this point I was feeling really queasy and we were spending a lot of the day traveling in the car.
When we got back to our town, I asked my husband to drop me off at the dollar store because I wanted to pick up a few things, but I didn’t want him to get freaked out yet. So I picked up a pregnancy test and some tampons also, just to kind of make it seem like I was getting normal things, you know, put, put the couple things in a bag.
And he didn’t even think twice about it. He just kind of thought, oh, she’s picking up a few things at the store. And when we got home, I went ahead and took that pregnancy test and sure enough, it was about three or four weeks after and it was, it was positive. So I had to, um, I had to call him into the restroom and.
I showed him, I was holding up the wand and I said, I don’t think it was just food poisoning or something. And he said no.
So,
Jamie: and what were you thinking
Adrielle: at the time? I was thinking it was a blessing and a surprise, and even though I was older than I was my last few pregnancies, that somehow we would find a way to enjoy this and enjoy one more child. So I guess I was kind of thinking big picture that. Even though it was surprising and unexpected that it was a big blessing and something that doesn’t happen to everybody, so one of the lucky.
Mm-hmm. People over 40, maybe.
Jamie: That’s right. And how was your pregnancy?
Adrielle: I think it was really good, actually. I was gluten-free this pregnancy, and I had been paying a lot more attention to things like eating paleo, eating keto, prior to actually getting pregnant. We had had some digestive issues going on in our family, and so we were trying to deal with that.
And I think that it actually made a big difference in how I felt during the pregnancy. So. Um, not only did I not gain as much weight and I had more energy and everything, but I also, I think it, it abated a lot of the morning sickness and things like that to the point where it was more manageable. So, and I was able to kind of move and exercise and hike and do things like that.
Have more ability to breathe through them and everything than I did. Previously. Previously I was 33 and a half and 38 with my other pregnancies, so,
Jamie: mm-hmm.
Adrielle: This one felt actually easier.
Jamie: And how was it different?
Adrielle: Different than those ones? I would
Jamie: easier. Well, that’s great.
Adrielle: Yeah. Like I was mentioning, I could do things like hiking, singing.
Feel, I’ve just felt more limber, kind of less achiness going on, and I think more energy overall, but I attribute a lot of that to going gluten-free and trying to eat more keto and more paleo.
Jamie: I know we are gluten-free at my house and it’s made a world of a difference over
Adrielle: here. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I think in the previous pregnancies I had a lot more inflammation and I felt a lot more sluggish and things like that.
So this one just starting off at a healthier weight maybe, and having less inflammation in the gut and everything was really helpful.
Jamie: Yeah. Did you have any products that helped you through pregnancy?
Adrielle: I am kind of on the more natural side of things, so I tend to do things like. Use essential oils and have different teas, you know, ginger teas, lemon teas and things like that.
Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
Adrielle: So I lean towards kind of, I go for the lemon, lemon, ginger tea, lemon in the water, helped with queasiness early on. And then I think in the beginning, the first trimester there was some. Insomnia going on. So I was kind of looking at products, ways that I could naturally increase my progesterone. So things like eating walnuts or high protein snacks that were smaller throughout the day, things like that.
Jamie: And did you find the sex out of, of her during pregnancy?
Adrielle: Yes. So. One of the benefits of being advanced maternal age is that often the insurance will cover the early genetic testing. So we had the test that I took at 10 weeks, which was a blood draw, and then about two weeks later we got the results of that.
So it not only tells you. Markers for down syndrome and things, but it also tells you the gender with 99 point whatever percent accuracy. So that’s when we found out.
Jamie: Did you want to find out anyway with it? With the genetic testing also?
Adrielle: I think I did. My husband didn’t. I think he preferred to keep it a surprise, but I was more of the planner who likes to know what’s coming down the road, so.
Jamie: Mm-hmm.
Adrielle: And just the fact that we already had three boys in the house, it’s kind of nice to find out whether it’s gonna be different this time, so.
Jamie: And how did you prepare for her?
Adrielle: Well. A lot of my preparation was kind of around having the labor that I wanted and having the right situation for that since I had some scenarios to compare it to from before.
So picking the right providers and choosing the right place to labor and making a birth plan. Those were the kinds of things that I had in the front of my mind. Other things like having a few baby showers and setting up a registry so that people knew what we needed, things like that were helpful and.
We were able to kind of get a lot of diapers given to us and a fund set up for things that we couldn’t afford to get ourselves. So a lot of that kind of preparation was nice. Friends and family giving us a lot of baby girl clothes that we wouldn’t have had otherwise, and some nursery furniture and things like that.
Jamie: And what were you looking for in a, A provider?
Adrielle: Right. So, like I said, being more on the natural side of things and having labored twice before, those were hospital births and I felt somewhat limited in my ability to set up the atmosphere that I wanted and. In this case? Mm-hmm. I was able to find a place that was still connected to a hospital, but it was more of a natural, I, I wouldn’t say natural, but more of a birthing center.
So set up with maybe five rooms in it and everybody got more intimate attention kind of. And so I was able to choose a place that was smaller, a little more intimate, and a provider who was okay with me wanting to do things naturally, not really have a medicated labor, avoid interventions and things like that.
And the provider I ended up finding was someone who was a doctor of osteopathy. So he’s a do. And a little more open to just really respecting what the mom wants to do and respecting my birth plan and not mm-hmm. Having a lot of interventions or medications or things.
Jamie: You’re speaking my language because that’s what I want, but it’s kind of hard to find.
Adrielle: It is. Yes. And I can’t, I kind of went about it backwards.
Jamie: Mm-hmm.
Adrielle: Because I. I found the smaller birthing center that was connected to the hospital, and I knew they would be covered under our insurance, and then I found out who all delivered there, which doctors had privileges to deliver there. And then I asked in a kind of a crunchy mom’s Facebook group if they had experienced anyone local who really respected their wishes and let them do what they wanted naturally.
And that’s how I came across his name. So he ended up being someone who was already had, had privileges to deliver there at that birthing center, was also covered by my insurance, but then was also recommended by other moms like me who wanted to do things more naturally. So. That’s how I found him.
Jamie: That’s cool.
Yeah. And did you feel the need to take any classes to prepare?
Adrielle: You know, we, this was the first birth that we were really focused on keeping it as natural and as autonomous as possible. And so we came across this kingdom childbirth class online that basically prepares you. From a, from a faith-based standpoint of how to trust that your body was made to do this, and it’s, it knows what it needs to do.
Mm-hmm. And become really familiar with, and really confident with your body’s abilities to not only take the pain and channel it into a productive thing, but give you that mindset of faith over fear, you know, um, confidence. And courage.
Jamie: Mm-hmm.
Adrielle: In, in what you’re able to do. And since I had done one unmedicated birth before, I knew that I could do it, but I wanted to do it without fear.
So that’s why we took this kingdom childbirth class online where she kind of made videos in her home. Teaching others how to trust in what your body’s gonna do and trust God and, um, kind of have coping strategies set up that help you focus in the right ways throughout. And we found it really helpful.
Actually,
Jamie: I haven’t heard of that. I’m gonna have to look that one up.
Adrielle: Her website’s called a Heavenly Welcome, so,
Jamie: okay.
Adrielle: Yeah.
Jamie: And for a birth plan, I guess you described unmedicated. Was there anything physically in the room that was important to you?
Adrielle: Yes, I had. In the room. I had a playlist that had worship songs and calming music, and I set up a Bluetooth speaker.
Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
Adrielle: So that that could be going constantly, basically. And then. We also set up the laptop with a Zoom, because my parents couldn’t be present. They live in another state, so they were actually watching the whole process on our Zoom meeting.
Jamie: Oh, neat.
Adrielle: During the labor and delivery. What else? Oh, there was a big birthing ball and I used the bathtub and the shower quite a bit.
Mm-hmm. And bounced on the birthing ball. And then I
Jamie: Did you wanna labor in the bath at all?
Adrielle: I did, but it wasn’t, at the end, it was probably about two to three hours before she was born. Mm-hmm. That I was using the tub still.
Jamie: Gotcha.
Adrielle: Mm-hmm. And then I was using the, oh, like the railing on the hospital bed mm-hmm.
To, to lean and do squats on the floor. Mm-hmm. So I was doing really low lunges and squats off of that.
Jamie: Mm-hmm.
Adrielle: And they did have a, uh. Squat bar to attach to the bed, but I ended up just kind of using the elevated part of the top of the bed to hang onto it and go on all fours towards the end.
Jamie: Now, listening to this, I, it seems to me like you had a doula.
But what, who guided you through this?
Adrielle: No, we used the principals from the online class. Oh. We used a lot of them. And my husband was pretty much my coach, I guess. So he was there, especially the last two to three hours he was doing hip squeezes to provide counter pressure.
Jamie: Mm-hmm.
Adrielle: And that was huge. That was a game changer for me.
So I didn’t really have that before. So between. Singing along to the songs on my playlist during contractions. Mm-hmm. And him providing hip counter pressure. That’s what got me through almost pain-free. Like I would say, I, I didn’t feel pain or extreme discomfort until the last two pushes before she came out.
Wow.
Jamie: That’s impressive. And how did your birth start? I’m assuming it started off at home because you were all natural.
Adrielle: Yes. We, and we live about three hours from where we were going to birth. So I was not wanting to wait too long to get in the car and go. So I had been timing mm-hmm. Contractions from about midnight on and they were getting, you know.
Five, six minutes apart, and I didn’t wanna wait much past that to head out since I knew that we had a two or three hour drive. So after, let’s see, midnight. They were pretty regular up until about five, and I told my husband, I think we should head out. I just don’t know exactly how, how much I want them to get closer together, you know?
So we went ahead and headed out after I, I had time then from midnight to five, and when we got there and got checked in. They said, you’re really only about one centimeter dilated, so it’s not, we can’t really check you in until you’re at least two centimeters or so. So they sent us away and that we were left with the dilemma of, okay, do we drive three hours back to where we live and just have everything start over again and come back and baby’s born in on the road.
You know, what exactly do we do? And Uhhuh, we opted to stay in town. We got a hotel room and I did a lot of walking. There was a place in Idaho Falls where the falls are, and you can just walk around the water on this track. They have available on the sidewalk, so we were just walking, walking, walking, walking, walking, bouncing, stretching, lunging.
I was doing all the things and. It took probably about 35 to 40 hours from the time I first started timing regular contractions till she was actually born. So he ended up having to break my water to get. Enough dilation and that after that, it took about 5, 5, 6 hours after he broke my water.
Jamie: And how far along were you at that point, whenever you got there?
Were you at least a two?
Adrielle: We spent the night in the hotel. We checked in with them in the morning and I kind of asked the doctor, what are my options here? Because we really don’t want to go home. But we don’t know if staying is the right answer either. And he suggested trying to strip the membranes. So we went into his office the next morning, he stripped the membranes, tried to stretch things out a little bit, and then we went on our way to eat something and try more walking and everything.
And I would say about 7, 7, 6 hours after he stripped the membranes, I felt a lot more intensity.
Jamie: Mm-hmm.
Adrielle: Like things were actually moving along.
Jamie: Mm-hmm.
Adrielle: So we headed back to the birthing center and they checked me again. And this time they were willing to admit me ’cause I was at least two. She said, I, I can say you’re a two now.
So we know you have a long drive to get back to your house, so we’d rather you just hang out here for a little while and see if things get moving.
Jamie: Mm-hmm.
Adrielle: And then we spent that night there also
Jamie: Oh
Adrielle: gosh. In the birthing center. Mm-hmm. Because they didn’t want us to have to pay for a hotel again.
Jamie: Oh, that was nice.
Adrielle: And then the next day, yeah, he finally, the next day we talked about breaking the, breaking the water and that’s when things got going. So,
Jamie: so you were admitted. And that was five hours from when he stripped your membrane?
Adrielle: I would say so, yes.
Jamie: Okay. And then you had another couple hours in labor before she was born?
Adrielle: So the timeline would be when contr regular contractions actually started. It was midnight on Sunday morning. They sent us away. Sunday morning, about eight o’clock or so, we spent that whole day walking and everything. Spent the night in the hotel. The next morning he stripped my membranes, so. Monday and then things were getting more action.
So they admitted me later on Monday and then we spent the night there Still, it wasn’t enough action technically, so we kind of slept a little bit at the birthing center. And then Tuesday morning, afternoon is when he came and broke my water.
Jamie: Gotcha.
Adrielle: So he probably broke my water. Tuesday, about one or two.
Mm-hmm. And she was born at 8:00 PM on Tuesday. Wow. That’s, so the whole, the entire thing was probably a 35 to 40 hours.
Jamie: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Adrielle: Labor, but not active.
Jamie: Gotcha. How does that compare to your first two births?
Adrielle: Yes. Oh gosh. Well, my first was probably about 10, 11 hours total, but I did get an epidural about five centimeters.
With him.
Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
Adrielle: And I think it slowed me down, actually. And then they added some pitocin at the end to get the contractions closer together. So I couldn’t really feel much of what was going on or any of the pushing or anything. I couldn’t really feel what my body was doing. But my perception at about five centimeters dilated was that I couldn’t make it anymore.
That I couldn’t keep going if this is how it was gonna feel, and I didn’t realize. That I was going through transition and that it was gonna be over soon probably. So I went ahead and got an epidural and I think it slowed things down and added another four or five hours probably.
Jamie: Wow.
Adrielle: With my second, it was a world of difference because when I went in, I was about five centimeters already and about three to four minutes apart, and that’s five 30 in the morning.
And he was born by six twenty four,
Jamie: so that one was fast.
Adrielle: Yes. So I didn’t even have a chance for any intervention. For medications. Yeah, because he just flew out of there. It was very intense and there was a lot of screaming and yelling. So this one, it was long and drawn out to actually get to where I needed to go, but I hadn’t realized that having a really strong water bag would actually keep me from dilating enough.
Jamie: Really.
Adrielle: So that was kind of what the holdup was. ’cause he said later, your placenta and your water bag were very strong for your age.
Jamie: Is there anything you could have done about that? That’s just natural, right?
Adrielle: I think it had something to do with the supplements I was using. I was taking. Cod liver oil during the pregnancy, and he was just kind of blown away when he looked at my placenta and said, wow, this is super strong and stretchy.
Like most women over 40, it’s their placenta’s starting to, you know, shrivel up at this point or whatever.
Jamie: Wow.
Adrielle: Like really?
Jamie: Did you decide to do anything with the placenta?
Adrielle: I, I’m still deciding it’s frozen right now, but I did take it with me, but he had to put five or six cuts in the water bag to even get it to
Jamie: Wow.
Adrielle: Give up ’cause it was so strong. So it was keeping her head from being able to engage all the way and, and dilate enough.
Jamie: And so how old is she now?
Adrielle: She’s three months on Tuesday.
Jamie: Okay, so you’re just ending your postpartum. How was your recovery from that?
Adrielle: I think my body bounced back really quickly. My uterus got back to normal pretty quickly and they were kind of surprised about that too.
And, you know, I started breastfeeding, um, I dropped most of the weight already. And that was about 30, 35 pounds. But I think for me more, what’s more challenging is that I get kind of deficient in progesterone during postpartum, and then I have anxiety and insomnia.
Jamie: Mm-hmm.
Adrielle: So when I’m supposed to be sleeping, I’m supposed to be sleeping when the baby’s sleeping, right?
Jamie: Mm-hmm.
Adrielle: But it’s a challenge for me, and it has been for my other babies also too. Get a mindset that’s more hopeful and more energetic, because I just feel extremely rundown and I don’t, I’m already a light sleeper, so when I have to get up to feed every couple hours, I don’t easily go back to sleep.
Jamie: Hmm.
Adrielle: So I’ve been supplementing with some progesterone trying to kind of level out my hormones and help me have a more hopeful mindset and get more rest when I can.
Jamie: Mm-hmm. How did breastfeeding go? I guess it’s going right now too, right?
Adrielle: Yes, it’s been okay. I think the main thing with this baby is that she has a lot of reflux, and that’s been a challenge because.
We troubleshoot everything obviously with things like ties in the mouth and dairy intolerance or whatever it is. So I already don’t eat gluten now. I don’t eat eggs, I don’t eat dairy, and I’ve had to be really careful about things that might contain hidden dairy or whatever.
Jamie: Mm-hmm.
Adrielle: So I’ve taken a lot of things outta my diet, which can be kind of depressing when you’re already.
On the verge of feeling depressed, so, so I’m not positive that she has a dairy or egg or gluten intolerance, but the chances are pretty high. So I’m just leaving them out of my diet. And then also, we had a posterior tongue tie and a lip tie. Snipped for her. Mm-hmm. Revised, um, so that she would be ingesting less gas and everything when she’s breastfeeding.
Jamie: Mm-hmm.
Adrielle: So a lot of that kind of thing has been going on.
Jamie: Wow. That sounds challenging,
Adrielle: and you have to sit up longer with her after you feed to make sure that she’s upright so that she spits up less, and you know? Mm-hmm. Like if it’s acid reflux, it’s burning their esophagus, so she’ll be really, really uncomfortable and grunting on groaning and wiggling all night.
So you have to sit up for an hour or so sometimes after feeding, just to wait for that to die down so that you can lay her down and she doesn’t really sleep. Totally flat either. So she’s, she has an incline in her bassinet and everything
Jamie: to help with that.
Adrielle: Lost lots of troubleshooting.
Jamie: Yeah, it sounds like it.
So mentally, has the doctor just been prescribing progesterone and that helps with your mood?
Adrielle: In the past, my first postpartum episode with my first child. I did have a little bit of Zoloft and that kind of got me over the hump.
Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
Adrielle: But in this case, the progesterone kind of allows me to sleep at night without feeling that anxiety all night.
Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
Adrielle: And that’s the main purpose of it. So far. She’s in the process of switching me to a more effective version of it that’s bioidentical. So instead of having the pharmaceutical. Oral pills. I’m gonna be trying the topical cream that’s a little bit more effective, she said, for just making you feel better overall and having less anxiety and everything.
Jamie: Wow. That’s good.
Adrielle: Mm-hmm.
Jamie: Is there anything else you wanna add about your pregnancy? I don’t think you mentioned cravings.
Adrielle: Oh man. It’s funny that now I can’t have dairy while I’m breastfeeding her because. This pregnancy was soft serve ice cream, all the frozen, creamy stuff. Mm-hmm. And I don’t even like it usually during my regular life.
I don’t even like ice cream. I barely ever want it, but I was visiting the soft serve. Almost every day during the summer, especially my husband said, we’re not gonna be able to afford this
Jamie: too much money’s going to ice cream. Hopefully
Adrielle: I needed my own budget category just for frozen treats, I guess.
Jamie: Well, is there anything else you wanna add to your pregnancy or birth?
Adrielle: I think that. I was very happy that we ended up with a facility that was very respectful of our wishes, and a doctor who was very respectful of our wishes.
And that gives you this sense of security and safety when you’re laboring, that you can just let go of the fear and know that your birth plan’s gonna be respected and. They already are on the same page with you about things. So it was super nice not to feel like I had to fight hospital staffs or policies, and I could just feel comfortable doing what I already knew I wanted to do.
And even towards the end, when I was in the most intense part of labor, they would come in to do their data monitoring and their checks and everything, but. If I didn’t really answer, you know, their million questions or things and I just wanted to be in the zone and focus, they were okay with that. They kind of just, okay, we’ll just leave her alone.
So even at the very end when she was about to be delivered, it was just my husband and me in the room and. Not a bunch of people scurrying around and making a big fuss and stressing me out. So it was just he and I, you know, my parents were on the Zoom and they left us alone for a good. 20, 30 minutes at the end.
They didn’t come in till they heard me hollering with my last two contractions, pushing her out. Then they rushed in and they caught her so that my husband didn’t have to, ’cause he thought he was going to have to.
Jamie: That’s really nice. I think I would, I would like that. I think alone time at the end.
Adrielle: Yeah.
We could just be together and he could support me and. Then I, I was thinking to myself, they better hear me. Getting loud right now and know that they need to come in because he can’t leave. Yeah. To get them or anything. So it all worked out. They came in like right at the nick of time and um, and caught her and everything.
So I think just that’s a huge part of, I think being over 40. Maybe having had time to research and experience some things in your life is that you know what you want and you hopefully know how to advocate for it, and it makes for an overall better pregnancy, better birthing experience. I would just encourage everybody to.
To have faith in what you know you want and what you know your body can do.
Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
Adrielle: And that was huge for me, just to feel that sense of satisfaction and and safety in the whole process and have my wishes respected.
Jamie: I like that. Do you plan to have any more kids at 40? I think I know the answer.
Adrielle: I think 42 and doing all the sleepless nights is kind of.
My last straw at this point. So I don’t think I would be able to, to go without this much sleep again in my life without losing more sanity. So I’m going to say that we’re probably done and I think my husband would agree.
Jamie: And what has been your biggest challenge being pregnant in your forties?
Adrielle: I think just already having a lot of pieces in place in my life, like older children.
Career stuff to think about, things like that. I think keeping all those balls in the air and feeling like you have to juggle everything at this point of life, it’s, some people are okay with all of the multitasking and all the head space that it takes up to do it all. But for me, you know, I wanna take care of my older kids and I wanna help the older ones with their school stuff and make sure that I’m there for them that way, but.
Just the mental energy it takes to sustain life with a newborn. And being very pregnant, it, it takes up most of my energy and most of my head space. So I don’t have a lot to give to other pursuits, you know, like hobbies, career older kids.
Jamie: Mm-hmm.
Adrielle: So I think for me that’s kind of the challenge was just finding balance for all of the other things in life.
At this point,
Jamie: is there anything you’d recommend that would help prepare someone for pregnancy and birth in their forties?
Adrielle: I think just. Kind of knowing all of your options from facilities available to support people, staff, doctors, doulas, midwives, kind of being familiar with all of those aspects, knowing what your insurance covers and what you can afford out of pocket, those sorts of practical things.
If you can do that ahead of time, it takes a lot of the, the load. So it’s kind of doing your research on. What’s available to you and financial aspects ahead of time so that you don’t have that stress going forward into the pregnancy. And I think it’s good also, if you. If you understand your body and you know, if you already have any conditions or intolerances or other things.
For example, I have one copy of the M-T-H-F-R mutation. It’s a gene mutation. And having known that, I knew that I needed to take a prenatal vitamin that didn’t have folic acid, it needed to have methylfolate in it, methylated things in my prenatal vitamins. Mm-hmm. Um. So I had had the time by 41, 42 to kind of know those things about my body, know myself.
Um, I don’t have a gallbladder, so I need to take bile support, um, supplements. Otherwise my pregnancy, digestive issues were way worse. Mm-hmm. So those sorts of things, knowing. I had the gene mutation. I needed certain types of methylated vitamins that could help me avoid, uh, birth defects or cleft palate or things like that in the baby.
And I’m just kind of a research geek. So I think that when you’re somebody like me, you go into a pregnancy in your forties knowing that there’s certain things you can do to make it easier and to keep yourself healthier and feeling good.
Jamie: Mm-hmm. I love that. And what advice would you give yourself when you were pregnant, if you could go back?
Adrielle: I think just to take the help that’s offered by people so. If you have people in your church or your community or your family or friends who are willing to kind of take the load off, I say, say yes. You know, don’t feel bad about saying yes because you’re at a season of life when you need to give yourself balance and give yourself rest for a lot of reasons.
Not just for you, but for the baby, for your other family members. And if people offered to come over and clean. Or bring a meal or things like that. I would say be vulnerable with them and be willing to accept the help.
Jamie: And where can our listeners find you on the internet?
Adrielle: I am on LinkedIn and I also have a Facebook account with my last name before my first name.
Mm-hmm. So it’s Patton Adriel, and. I have a blog going also, but it’s not super active. So they could find it if, if they really want to. Mm-hmm.
Jamie: And I don’t think you mentioned your Instagram.
Adrielle: Oh, my Instagram, yes. Do you need a specific way to find it? Or
Jamie: I can leave it in in the description and that’s fine.
Adrielle: Liberty with Under Idaho. Mama.
Jamie: Perfect. Perfect. Adriel, thank you so much for sharing your story and coming on the show.
Adrielle: That’s my pleasure. Thank you for inviting me. I really had fun describing it, and I don’t often get an opportunity to encourage other moms in this same stage of life, so I consider it an honor.