So you want to have a (nourished) baby?
2012
Becoming a mom does something to you. In many ways I feel like it’s produced a sort of “Incredible Hulk” phenomenon. One moment I will be mild-mannered Robin and then something will happen and I feel my muscles bulge, the clothes pop off, and all of a sudden I’m a blistering-ball of anger wanting to smash something:
Did you just make my baby cry!? Robin smash!
Did you just wake my little one up from her nap!? Robin smash!
Did you just offer my toddler processed garbage?
ROBIN SMASH!
Okay, maybe I’m going a little overboard, and thankfully most of my “Robin Smash” episodes only happen in my head. Let’s be honest, I’m far too sleep-deprived to do much damage. In reality, the only real difference people may have noticed since I became a mom is that I don’t shower as often. I sometimes wonder if my stench could do the smashing. Hmmmm….
What was I talking about?
Oh yes, babies and motherhood.
In all seriousness, motherhood has changed me. And it wasn’t just on that glorious day when little C finally made her appearance after 30 or so hours of labor. Just the thought of becoming a mother took my OCD tendencies to a whole new level. After years of trying to be healthy (according to the Standard American Diet), it was the thought of being responsible for growing a child nine month inside of my nutrient-deficient womb that really got me changing.
It seems that more people these days are struggling with infertility, miscarriage, and labor complications. On top of that, all you have to do is take a casual look at the CDC numbers to see that disease is rampant in our country. And when you throw in the “little” things like the bad teeth, asthma, food allergies, ADD, etc. it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that something is wrong.
Guess what? Food matters.
And food really matters when it comes to growing a person… whether it’s inside the womb during pregnancy or through breast-feeding once the baby is out. What you eat, and how your body digests it, can make a world of difference when it comes to issues of fertility, pregnancy, and birth.
Image by o5com, Flickr
Of course, knowing what will really lead to a nourished baby can be really tricky, especially in today’s world of never-ending information. With science always changing its mind every two minutes, and hoards of different dogmas to add to the confusion, who can we really trust?
How to have a nourished baby
Ultimately, I think there is a lot of wisdom in looking at the traditions and practices of those who’ve come before. And even though the actual diet looked different from culture to culture, we do know one thing:
In traditional cultures, pregnant and nursing mothers were given prized foods to help their babies thrive: Nourshing yourself with these foods is essential for your baby’s development and to keep you from burning out. – Heather Dessinger, Nourished Baby
Want to learn more?
Heather’s ebook, Nourished Baby, is a great resource for anyone looking for help on preparing your body for birth and knowing what foods are best for your baby and child. Come back tomorrow for a full review of this awesome little gem. Or, if you can’t wait, you can purchase the book here.
If you use the coupon code SUPERMAMA you can get 20% off until August 15th. Yay!
(Top featured image by Tom Konie… the man who gave me hulk gloves when we were dating. Love him.)
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Thank you so much for your website. It was you back in April with the challenge who started me on this journey. We are still going strong with whole foods and no processed or sugary treats! It’s been hard at times when I don’t want to cook but then we start cooking and when we finally sit down to our “real food” dinner, we feel so happy that we are making these choices. I never went back to the headaches and complications at the beginning of my pregnancy! Yesterday was my 36 week check up (only a little bit left!) and my doctor was just amazed at how my body is doing just because of food! He said he was so proud of me and that this baby is going to be so healthy. I know it’s hard to keep up on a blog but you are making a difference in people’s lives. Thanks so much!!!
Katie,
Thank you so much! You made me cry. I am so happy to see how positive these changes have been. It’s so inspiring. Good luck with the upcoming baby!!!