The way a pregnancy can change a new mothers life is extraordinary. Speaking from personal experience, it has completely changed me. I became acutely aware of the toxic environment around me. The level of stress, the processed food, contaminated water, chemically produced makeup and skin care; I was being poisoned, and in turn, poisoning my unborn child.
This is a touchy subject, yes. Most people who don't do any research will disagree with what I am saying, or even say they don't care. The common statement people keep telling me is, "Well this ________ gives you cancer, so I am not going to change what I am doing and inconvenience myself but not having _______."
For instance, they are not willing to cut out the mainstream deodorants with aluminum, which is known to give women breast cancer and be full of toxic chemicals, and switch to an all natural deodorant product. No one wants to smell of course, but if it helps to prevent cancer I am sure you can make the sacrifice. Or they will not cut out soda because they don't like plain water. As if there aren't 100,000 other options to choose from. My closest family still uses Secret deodorant. They also will not make the switch to a non-daily milk alternative or give up meat. Personally, I think Oat Milk is an amazing alternative if you can find a brand you enjoy. And for non-toxic deodorant alternatives, I prefer NATIVE brand until I can find a cleaner one that doesnt lose potency 15 minutes after applying.
So in turn, they have chronic diarrhea and auto immune conditions like IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and Chron's Disease. Both of which are debilitating diseases and can be treated by limiting your intake of meat and diary products and a handful of other triggering foods.
But I guess a steak or cows milk in your coffee is worth the short and long term suffering right?
I say this because I have become more aware of what is in each product that I put on my skin, use to clean my home, or put on my baby. I have eliminated so many things that I felt were harmful to us. And by making those changes, I have produced a very healthy and smart child.
By the way, I feel like everyone should know this but it seems that most don't. Johnson and Johnson baby products are very dangerous. There have been thousands of lawsuits against them for various health reasons. I encourage you to please read up on this mainstream brand before putting any products on your child, because even a simple bubble bath is poison.
Most of the time, you don't know what each ingredient is that you are reading on the back of the label. They have unbelievably long words that mean nothing to you, and then you have to take the time to Google each one. What a huge waste of time. But if you simply consume food and apply products that have minimal ingredients, you would be saving yourself a lot of time and future health issues.
There are a lot of amazing apps that will scan a product and tell you how toxic is it. If you want to get proactive about your health, I would start there. Here is a great article listing the apps and breakdowns of each one.
Once I began the journey to a cleaner lifestyle, I changed out my cleaning products in my home, eliminated toxic skin care, cut out all dairy and meat products. I focused on consuming juices and smoothies made from scratch. But more importantly, I removed the stress from my life. I tried my best to stay calm and at peace during my pregnancy. I focused hard on self care and really taking care of myself. Lots of walking, getting sun and doing yoga. I also treated myself to a few prenatal massages and facials.
I manifested each step of my pregnancy, from the baby room, planning baby showers, and each step of the birth. I was mindful of the types of clothes that I wore. Clothes have toxic dyes in them as well, so any transfers to your skin enters your body, therefore affects the baby. This doesn't end with your pregnancy by the way, all the baby clothes have chemicals too that penetrate your child's pure skin as soon as they are born. So you have to be aware that every day we encounter poisons in our environment which we can only do so much to deflect or prevent. The poisons are literally everywhere. Which is why you have to make choices to limit the amounts of chemicals and toxins that we ingest.
And I understand why my family and friends say that they would rather enjoy the toxic product or food with the possibility of getting cancer down the road, because life is not guaranteed. They don't know if they will die in a car accident on their way to work, so they might as well enjoy that carne asada burrito. And I totally get it.
But once you have a child, your priorities change. At least mine did. I couldn't be selfish anymore. I couldn't choose a good burrito or a cheap body lotion over being there for my daughter. It wasn't worth it. You have to think, who will take care of you and your children if you are sick and die? And then you think: Was that skin care product really worth it? Did I need to apply a toxic serum to my skin to treat wrinkles when I could have just used a natural one with pure fruits and vegetable ingredients? Am I really about to die from deodorant because I didn't want to smell a little and switch to a natural brand? It sounds funny now, but the real truth is hindsight is 20/20.
The journey to self care involves being less selfish. Less consuming of garbage. More mindful about what your watch on TV, what you listen to, who is around you. Toxicity is everywhere. It's in your family members, your friends, your food, your favorite show. Your body has its own frequency, and your allowing things to lower it when you don't make choices to eliminate certain negative things.
I am in no way classified under any title of vegan or enlightened. I am just in a constant state of change and growth and cleansing. This is why I continue to build this brand and share what I do in my routine. My effort is for myself and my daughter, but it also goes towards sharing information with anyone who will listen and is receptive. I want to see people learn and improve their lives.
You can read the previous blog to learn how I apply my skin care each day and what my favorite products are that I use religiously.