Doing Well: An Interview With Jessica Dixon
Jess and her beautiful baby bump in her back yard in Toronto
by Fran Allen, CNP
Doing Well: an Interview with Jessica Dixon
Certified Holistic Nutritionist & women's health specialist
Jess is a Holistic Nutritionist and passionate practitioner dedicated to hormonal and reproductive health based in Toronto. We met years ago, before I studied nutrition and she has always been a wealth of inspiration, knowledge, support and a dear friend to me. Jessica is a specialist in women's hormone health, she became passionate by researching and working to manage and eliminate her symptoms of Endometriosis. It has been truly remarkable to watch Jess and her partner embark on this journey to starting a family with such humility and honesty. I asked Jess to share about her experience with pregnancy.
CAN YOU SHARE A BIT ABOUT YOUR JOURNEY TO MOTHERHOOD?
My journey to motherhood was quite a common one, it did not go as planned initially. My partner and I decided to start trying to conceive, I was in my late 20’s and with a history of endometriosis and hormonal imbalance I knew the process may take some time, and it did.
I had prepped my body with a huge amount of knowledge around fertility and was supporting conception in all the holistic ways I knew how: a “fertility diet”, cycle monitoring, acupuncture, basal body temperature, seed cycling, abdominal massage, supplementation, herbs and the list goes on. The process of ttc (trying to conceive) is a rollercoaster. Anyone in the position will tell you, the highs and lows are incredibly emotional and exhausting. The hope leading up to ovulation, and then the waiting game and anticipation leading to another period right on time, feelings of disappointment and failure. I want to add anyone reading this and going through this know you are not alone. Reading stories of success helped me some days, and set me back others, but no matter what the experience, infertility is common and needs to be talked about.
After about a year of trying with no luck, we decided to get more information and started tests through a fertility clinic. This process was overwhelming, but we walked into the clinic knowing we had a lot of information, lots of hope and wanted to minimize invasive intervention if possible. I suggest to anyone deciding to go to a fertility clinic, be your own advocate and do lots of research, if possible work with a holistic fertility practitioner to help navigate the test results you receive, and take your time (if possible). I found more information put me at ease, but I also did not want to be pushed in one direction, I wanted to keep our options open.
Control is an issue I struggle with, the process of ttc with no success is a major test in relinquishing control. I learned a lot as we entered our second year of ttc I knew I had to change my angle and let go. With all this focus on my hormonal picture for the past decade or so it was quite a surprise to hear the news that my partner could use some hormonal health support to increase our chances for success. We tend to put all the pressure of fertility and pregnancy on women but it takes two, and male fertility support was a huge learning experience for me and my partner and reduced a large amount of stress I was feeling.
After about a year and a half of trying we were away at a wonderful wedding, totally enjoying vacation and forgetting all about fertility, and I realized I was 4 days late. I decided to enjoy the festivities, not even tell my husband and after a week took a pregnancy test, which was positive, the first positive I had seen.
HAS THIS PREGNANCY CHANGED YOUR NUTRITION PHILOSOPHY?
Definitely. My attitude around food shifted over the course of ttc, loosening my grip on eating the “right” things and began giving myself permission to listen to my body and eat what brought me joy, without guilt or shame. Pregnancy as a whole is a whirlwind in terms of nutrition, the heightened senses, fatigue, nausea, heartburn and so on makes eating healthful nutrient dense food less of a concern to just eating what you can keep down so you have energy, usually meaning simple carbs, and thus reignited my love affair with toast and cereal.
WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST SURPRISE TO YOU ABOUT BEING PREGNANT?
The biggest surprise has been how pregnancy allows you to look at your body in an entirely new way. I get to support another being with my body and the whole process is out of my control is pure magic. I’ve gained permission to be kind to myself in a new way I had never felt before. To be honest I was surprised with my disinterest in food, I love to cook and prep and get excited about every meal, instead I had to rely on others making food for me and often eating the most plain foods at sporadic intervals because my body told me that's what it needed. Also was very surprised that the general public is so unaware, I rode transit for most of my pregnancy and was only a handful of times offered a seat, everyone is on their phones and does not take a moment to look up or pay attention..even when there is a big belly in their face. Really made me want to take the time away from my phone, reduce screen time and be more present.
WHAT EXCITES YOU MOST ABOUT MOTHERHOOD?
Oh man this is a big question… The fact that I get the opportunity to mother at all is a huge excitement for me, a lifelong dream, I feel incredibly grateful that we were able to get pregnant. I am so excited to watch this little person grow and learn and form a relationship with me that I hope is as wonderful as the relationship I have with my mother.
DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVORITE FOODS, RITUALS OR PRODUCTS HELPING THE TRANSITION?
Foods: It’s a bit of trial and error for each individual, but first and foremost staying hydrated is key. Hydration will help improve all the symptoms of pregnancy. I found drinking water surprisingly difficult so I liked to flavour my water with lemon or cranberry juice or just have coconut water. I also found keeping that blood sugar stable so important, so snacking often and protein as much as i could, loved almond butter on everything, blueberry smoothies with vanilla protein powder, and chicken wings have been on repeat. All the fruit has been amazing and hemp on everything and yogurt.
Rituals: I love- napping when I can and walking lots everyday, these have been so so helpful. I have really focused on body work with some of my favorite practitioners in the city, osteopathy, prenatal chiro and massage, acupuncture and pelvic physio have all been amazing for making my body feel its best during this transition. West End Mamas has been a great resource and so helpful.
Products: I love the Pai Stretch System, it has been a wonderful combo for my growing belly
The Thorne’s Basic Prenatal multivitamin, it’s great and just two capsules per day.
Province Apothecary’s Radiant Body Oil and Custom Face Serum for helping balance my hormonal skin fluctuations
I’m loving lots of Magnesium, I use the Ancient Minerals Magnesium Oil Spray
a large exercise ball to sit on (great for the hips) and a shoe horn, makes all the difference when bending over
Jessica and her beautiful son Burkley, born June 14th, 2019
SHARE A SIMPLE RECIPE YOU’RE LOVING THESE DAYS:
Rhubarb crumble adapted from Salad for President recipe.
Ingredients
For the filling:
3 cups rhubarb, cut into 1/2” pieces
2 cups strawberries or apple cut into ½” pieces
4 tbsp coconut sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp tapioca starch
For the crumble:
1 cup almond meal
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cardamom
2 tsp chia seeds
¾ cup oats
¼ tsp kosher salt
½ cup maple syrup
⅓ cup ground flax meal
2 tbsp coconut oil
Directions
Heat oven to 350° F.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine rhubarb and other fruit of choice with coconut sugar, vanilla and tapioca starch. Set aside
In another bowl. Combine almond meal, cinnamon, cardamom, chia seeds, almonds, salt, and oats. Stir to combine.
In a small saucepan, heat maple syrup over a low flame. When the syrup starts to bubble, add oil and flax meal. Continue to simmer, stirring all the time with a fork, until the mixture thickens to a caramel consistency, about 3 minutes.
Pour the gooey syrup over the dry ingredients, and, using a fork, mix well to combine.
Pour fruit into a pie pan. Top with crumble and bake for 30 minutes at 350°F, for about an hour, check halfway through. Let cool before serving.
You can find out more about Jessica by visiting her website www.jessicadixon.ca