LIVE LOVE LAUGH
As a society, why is it that we feel a necessity to complicate something as simple as pregnancy?
As the male in this equation I am in no way trying to down play the significance of what is taking place. It is nothing short of miraculous. I am just pointing out a few things that I have observed in my experience thus far.
Stress is detrimental to health. The more superficial "preparations" you burden yourself with the more your baby will suffer. Focus more on keeping it mellow & less on the 1000 things you think you need to make your baby happy. The only thing that baby is going to want or need is you. You need to be healthy, rested & emotionally stable. You share your stress & happiness, so do whatever it is that keeps you smiling. We enjoy walks, hikes & exercising as a couple, if we didn't do those kinds of things often we'd get bored & find a lot more to fight about. Find your happy place & visit it as often as possible. Do things that make you laugh & the easier it will be to love.
You are what you eat & your baby eats what you eat. If you find yourself craving foods with similar characteristics your body is missing nutrients that it needs for itself & for your developing baby. Find out what food will ultimately eliminate the craving, don't just eat the junk food your craving to temporarily satisfy yourself. In addition to the New Chapter Organics prenatal we have found that juicing fresh fruits & vegetables at night eliminates almost all cravings, indigestion & insomnia. This makes sense because your are delivering highly concentrated natural foods to your system in an easily digestible, nutrient rich, juice. Yes! you can even get all of your essential amino acids "protein". This is meant to supplement your daily intake, not replace it.
There is no need to complicate something you are naturally good at. If your strip away all of the bells, whistles, gimmicks & so called "necessities" you have a species that can overpopulate the most unforgiving regions of this planet. "Sterile" room, dirt, ice, water, sand...your body continues to do what it is best at. Around the world women successfully birth all day every day. We have decided that the best way for us is to have an experienced midwife assist us in the comfort of our own home. We believe that the hospital is there for people who are sick, hurt or dying. It makes more sense to be in the place that will allow you to relax the most. Why surround ourselves with foreign germs when we have plenty of our own right here? Do your research & make an educated decision for yourself. To each their own.
When it came time to make our first trip to Babies R Us we found it a bit ridiculous. So many things that we "need". As requested by friends & family we went through the entire store, isle by isle. Cataloging everything into our registry with the little Star Trek blaster they gave us. We laughed & ran around, making the most out of the mission we had set out to accomplish. The reality is that we don't need most of what is on that list. Some of it will be nice to have but a lot of it will end up being returned for diaper money. To all family & friends, diapers are the humble gift that keep us all from being covered in shit. Sometimes the humble gift is the most effective. The less money we have to spend on diapers (known unavoidable expense) the more money we will have for the unforeseen unavoidable expenses. Keep the needs & wants in perspective.
Nothing is a guarantee, we do the best that we can with the knowledge at hand & the love that we have for our children. Eliminate your stress with exercise, eat nutritious food & keep life simple.