Christina Anstead is opening up about how different her pregnancy and fertility journeys have been with all three of her children and urging other mothers to share their experiences as well. The Flip or Flop star shared a snuggly photo with her three kids — daughter Taylor, 9, and son Brayden, 4, both of whom she shares with ex Tarek El Moussa, as well as son Hudson, 2 months, whom she shares with husband Ant Anstead — adding a heartfelt message in the caption.
View this post on Instagram
“3 kids, 3 completely different pregnancies and deliveries,” she began. “I don’t have a normal cycle and the ovulation sticks have never worked for me. That being said, Tay was a natural pregnancy at 25 and my easiest labor. Brayden was an IVF baby and also an emergency c section. Hudson was conceived shortly after Acupuncture treatment I received to help with PCOS (as well as cord cutting but not sure you guys are ready for all that).”
Videos by PopCulture.com
She continued, “All fertility journeys are complicated and can be physically and emotionally draining. I definitely felt very hormonal and isolated during my IVF attempts,” urging new moms and people trying to conceive to download the Peanut app and connect with others about their ups and downs.
“I would have loved to get advice and meet other women going through similar experiences,” she wrote. “[Peanut] is an app to build friendships, find support and learn from one another. Trying to conceive can be a tough road, and having a community who can relate to your story is so important and something that I really wish I had going through my fertility journey.”
Anstead’s message definitely resonated with her followers, many of whom were curious about the cord cutting practice she had hinted was maybe a bit too wild for the main caption. Upon request, the HGTV star tagged her cord cutting expert, Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Sheila Campbell, who jumped into the comments to explain what Anstead attributed to helping her conceive.
“Cord cutting has to do with the rituals we utilize to disconnect from others. We can disconnect through energy practices such as: visualization, yoga, breath work, acupuncture, focused intention and prayer,” she wrote. “There are energetic threads that connect people to one another. Similar to the wind, you cannot always see these energetics but you can feel them.”
“This in modern terms can be intuitive feeling, sensing and being,” she continued. “Most of you have probably hung out with someone and felt like you needed a nap after or walked into a room and have known there was just a fight in there. That is because the energy you are sensing or being drained of. In Chinese medicine and Daoism disconnecting from other peoples energy and learning how to harness our own energy in our body is an essential part of our well being and mental health.”
Photo credit: Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic/Getty