The holidays can be A LOT, especially if you’re trying to get pregnant.

Travel can cause stress, which can affect your fertility, so be sure to practice relaxation techniques, such as breathing exercises. Try the box breath, where you breath in for four, hold for four, breath out for four, hold for four, and repeat. Be aware that long flights, and any change in routine, can affect your ovulation and menstrual cycle. Make sure to take into account any time change if you’re tracking your cycle using a basal thermometer. Get plenty of rest to help adjust to your new routine and try to mitigate the effects of travel.

If you’re trying to eat whole foods, rather than the fast food (which we recommend if you’re TTC), pack nutritious snacks to keep you satiated throughout your travels. And, even though you’re on vacation, try to keep up a healthy eating and exercise plan. We recommend the 80/20 principal, where you indulge 20% of the time in all the wonderful holiday foods you love but try to eat cleanly for the other 80%.

This goes without saying, but even while traveling, you should continue to try with your partner! If you’re staying with family and feel uncomfortable having sex while your relatives are in the room over, go to a motel or get it on in the car. Being in a new place could be a fun way to mix up your sex life and bring some more joy back into TTC, especially if you've been trying for a little bit.