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This week’s episode is incredibly special because I’m officially entering my third trimester in my pregnancy, and we are flying to Brazil this week to prepare for the arrival of our little baby boy!
I’ve been getting a ton of questions about my pregnancy so far and about the logistics of traveling to Brazil, and so in this episode I will be recapping my pregnancy so far, sharing my mindset throughout it all, sharing our travels.
And how I’m honestly embracing this new chapter of my life, first time motherhood, and then I will dive into all of our Brazil birth plans and how we’re organizing everything! So let’s dive in.
My Second Trimester Experience
The second trimester was such a magical time and it played out, so much more easily than I expected, to be honest.
We spent a lot of time traveling between the UK and the US and traveling within each country, visiting friends and family.
I was able to surf through the second trimester up until 21 weeks, which was amazing.
To be honest, I didn’t plan many international trips because I had no idea How big I was going to get if I was going to be tired because of my miscarriage earlier this year I was also super cautious as to protecting my physical and mental health.
But I’ve been incredibly fortunate I’ve had no wild pregnancy cravings or discomforts.
Maybe sometimes I will get heartburn at night if I eat a big meal at night. But other than that, my body hasn’t gone through any significant changes.
Sometimes I’ll just look like I’m a little bloated, but I’m not that uncomfortable yet. I have a feeling that will change in my third trimester, but as of now, I’m just so grateful for how my body has been adapting and for the season of feeling so balanced and healthy with the whole pregnancy.
Reflecting on Life Changes
As a first time mom, I’ve also been taking the time to really reflect on how my life is going to change in the best way possible, how my business is going to change in the best way possible.
I’m honestly leaning into this new chapter with just so much excitement and gratitude. There’s obviously so much unknown and there’s always unknown in life, right?
Like you can’t plan for it all, but I’m just in a position where I’m so ready for my life, my business, my travels and my growing family to evolve in ways that I can’t comprehend or imagine right now.
It feels like the best adventure yet. And as you guys know, I always say the best is yet to come.
I was talking to my best friend Annie the other day, the co founder of ANDA, she is also pregnant. We have the same due date, which is crazy, completely unplanned.
But I was talking to her and one of her friends just recently had a baby and she was sharing how she thought that waking up every single morning was like Christmas every single morning because their life is just so magical and complete with a new little human that they created together.
And I just love that image. I’m so excited to experience that for myself because I can truly see how it would be like Christmas every day, like creating this little human and waking up with your husband and this little bundle of joy.
It doesn’t even feel real right now that’s about to be my life in two, three months.
How I Knew I Wanted To Have A Baby
I really have to do an entire podcast episode about this because I’ve also been getting questions around how I knew I was ready to have a baby or why I even want kids in the first place.
It’s just so hard to explain, but this feeling of your life leveling up in a way that you can’t fathom right now. That is one of the main clues as to how I knew intuitively and deep down that I wanted to be a mother.
So because I am truly in this mindset of excitement, gratitude, and just feeling like I am at peak state, I’m welcoming in this new chapter, in addition to all of its challenges, with open arms.
I’m also feeling so many similarities between traveling to a new unknown location that’s been on your bucket list for years and years.
Like you know that excitement when you’re on the plane about to go somewhere and you’re just so excited? That’s how I’m comparing this new chapter to.
It’s unknown but you’re embracing it, right? You’re not scared. It’s like the excitement completely takes over coupled with the fact that I’m actually going to a city that has been on my bucket list for so long.
I’ve never been to Rio and I believe the last time I talked about my Brazil birth plans, we were actually planning to either give birth in Sao Paulo or Sao Jose dos Campos.
But since then we have officially decided on Rio and the baby is due during the week of Carnaval and as you guys may know Rio Carnaval is just on another level.
We are excited but also making sure that we’re close enough to the hospital in case anything goes wrong in case there’s like a lot of traffic.
But yes we will be flying to Rio and so having the excitement of entering this new chapter plus actually physically being in a city that has been on my bucket list for so long I am just you overflowing with joy and gratitude and so much thanks to how my business enables this lifestyle and how my partner is fully on board and just as excited.
And we have the same vision for our lives. I was looking at my 2024 vision board the other day I set one as my desktop wallpaper at the beginning of every year and 2024 is another year where although it had its ups and downs, every single thing has come true and that is the power of deciding exactly what you want and knowing that you can have it all.
Why I Am Giving Birth In Brazil
Now let’s talk about the big decision to give birth in Rio. So I will be flying business class to Sao Paulo because originally, as I said before, we thought we were going to give birth in a big city.
They have the best hospitals in the world, the best medical facilities. But we decided to go to another huge city, another really big city in Brazil because we wanted to be by the beach.
We’ll fly to Sao Paulo and then take a domestic flight to Rio. The priority was for me to be fully comfortable at ease. When we were booking these flights, I had no idea how big I was going to be in my third trimester. I had no idea if I was going to be comfortable. So I just wanted to make sure that I could lie down flat.
The flight is over 10 hours and it’s going to be a long travel day, but it’s overnight. And so I’m just planning to lay down and sleep and pass out the entire time. There are just so many reasons why Brazil is the perfect choice for us, even though we’ve never, neither of us Ragz nor I have been to Rio before.
Visa Situation
First of all, Ragz is a British citizen and he’s currently applying for his green card. So if we wanted to give birth in the States, Ragz would only be able to stay for 90 days at a time.
And then he would have to do a visa run, which isn’t like the most, like you can’t really do a visa run from the states because they’re incredibly strict with visas.
And if we wanted to give birth in the UK, I would pay out of pocket for the public health system. So in that case, I was just like, why don’t I pay out of pocket anyway, in another country where it’s summertime, which means warmth, sunshine, taking walks on the beach, the laid back beach lifestyle that we love and is just so conducive to our happiness.
Hospital Quality
A country like Brazil with some of the best private hospitals where I can stay multiple days in the hospital after my birth, I can get the best doctors, I have a presidential suite, I have all the amenities, and give my baby a third passport.
Three Citizenships
So our son will be born with an American, English, and Brazilian passport, which I just think opens up so many opportunities in the future because we are an international family.
We want to world school our kids and having a third passport from not just any country, but from an emerging markets. So one of the BRICS countries, Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa. I’ve obviously put a lot of thought into this and so those are our main reasons.
Oh and also of course being close to the ocean and as surfers we are walking distance to the beach.
Accessibility To Help & Quality Lifestyle
Having access to night nurses, doulas, nannies, help whenever I need. This is just the perfect lifestyle for us and we know it’ll be such a peaceful environment to welcome our baby into the world.
The Airbnb that we booked, it has a pool, it has a gym, it has outdoor spaces like a Brazilian barbecue, and then it also has 24/7 security and sauna and spa.
Ultimately, although this is a very non traditional decision, I know that it will support our happiness. And that is the whole reason why I live my life so untraditionally. Because I know I’m different. I know exactly what makes me happy.
So why not give me and my family all the happiness by just taking different steps, right?
Like I’m not sacrificing on anything. I’m not sacrificing on the quality of care or hospitals. If anything, I’m paying for the best of the best. So it truly just feels like such a gift for a future full of travel and excitement and opportunity.
Finding A Doctor
As we get ready, we’ve been setting up interviews with doctors in Rio to find the best fit for the birth experience that we envision and I’ve also started taking Portuguese lessons.
I speak Spanish but Portuguese is different enough where I definitely need lessons to learn the vocabulary and the different conjugations. So that’s been really fun and helpful for communication.
Hiring Help
Assistant
And of course I have an amazing assistant Carolina, who I found through Instagram, and she has been amazing to help with translations and communicating with government officials when needed.
Doula
We’re also planning to hire a doula to support us when we get there through the birthing process and postpartum.
Night Nurse Or Nanny
Depending on how things go, like I mentioned before, we’re also considering to hire a night nurse and or a day nanny. and or a chef to help us adjust in those early months because I know that I’m going to want to rest and I have the ability to hire help. I know it’s going to be a huge adjustment and so it’s all about creating the best environment and support system for first time motherhood.
One of the more practical parts of this process has been researching how to navigate it, the bureaucracy in Brazil that is.
We’re looking into everything from getting a birth certificate to securing the baby’s birth first passport, which is going to be Brazilian so that we are ready for future travels.
We’re planning to come back to New York as soon as I feel fit and ready to fly.
But through it all, my mindset has always been that our baby is an addition to our lifestyle, definitely not a hindrance. And I roll my eyes when people tell me, enjoy your life now before a baby comes.
Or they’re so like, condescending in a way just because other parents see their baby as like a hindrance of you can’t travel anymore or your whole life is going to change and you can’t enjoy the same things anymore.
Instead of focusing on that, like how about focusing on our baby is an enhancement to our lifestyle and makes it that much better because I truly believe that I’m still going to continue traveling and surfing and living the life that we love with our little one.
I’m still going to be running my business and growing it and doing everything i’m doing now but with a growing family And a little human by our side. So it’s all about staying intentional and adaptable.
Planning Baby Items
Other logistics in terms of crib and stroller and all of these things that you have on your baby registry, I don’t fully agree with many of the American capitalistic ways.
I feel like American companies pressure you to have everything for the first year of a child’s life purchased before they arrive and having the nursery decorated.
Because we are full-time travelers, we will not be doing any of that. It was really important to me to get a few essentials that I know will travel with us that I know will use for many months, if not years, but for the most part, Brazil has Amazon Prime, they have MercadoLivre, their own online marketplace.
Brazilians have babies, like people around the world have babies. And so I’ve also been getting a lot of concern. Like, how are you going to bring all your diapers to Brazil? How are you going to bring a crib?
And I’m like, I can buy it there. I don’t need to just buy everything in America. America is not the only country that sells these things.
So it’s just really funny how I’ve been met with so much concern. And to me, it’s just such a simple answer. Like I can order things online over there. I don’t need to travel with everything to Brazil.
And considering that we’re planning to come back to New York after so many items, like at that time, my baby’s going to be at a different stage in life than a newborn, right?
So I can always buy things later. I don’t really have that pressure or that worry inside of me.
I think Ragz and I are both handling this really well. We’ve been answering questions in a very calm and practical manner and I totally understand like our lives are not normal, but by sharing this information I’m hoping to inspire others to think outside the box as to what type of life and what type of family or what type of travels would best support your happiness in a new chapter as well.
I will probably write an entire blog post about this in case anyone is interested as to how we made this decision and how we’re navigating everything behind the scenes interviewing and finding help. So yeah, that is where we are as I step into the third trimester and prepare for this incredible new life experience in Brazil.
Final Thoughts
It is so exciting, a little nerve wracking, but just mostly filled with a lot of joy and anticipation. I’m planning to take many road trips around Rio.
We were able to stay for many months in Florianópolis back during COVID and we weren’t allowed to travel to other parts of Brazil.
So I’m very foreign to this area and I’m just really excited to explore and be there for Carnaval if I can get to the parade.
Thank you all so much for being part of this journey with me. It honestly means the world to share these milestones with this amazing community of listeners.
If you enjoyed this episode, it would mean a lot if you could go on Apple or Spotify and leave us a review. Have an amazing week, my loves. I will see you in the next episode!
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