The Culture of Fear For Moms.

When I had my daughter, 2 years ago. I entered a world that I never could have imagined existed.   You mean, I have to take care of this thing that came out of me and stop taking care of myself?  I know plenty of women feel instant love and instant "motherhood."  Me? Not so much.

The first year was full of fear, doubt, anxiety, depression, hormonal imbalance, weight gain, and worry.  After a stressful and complicated pregnancy that landed me in the hospital for 3 weeks just to keep the baby inside long enough to grow, I then had about every breastfeeding struggle known to (wo)man. Top that off with a baby that wasn't growing, and a medical system that made me feel like a failure for having a "failure to thrive" baby. 

The doctors told me I was harming my baby by trying to exclusively breastfeed. They told me if I didn't supplement with formula,  my baby would be in danger.  They made me fear that my baby was hungry and that I was the reason for it.  WHAT THE F*!  I was scared as hell, and struggled with listening to the doctors vs. listening to my intuition.  

Now, I am lucky enough to have plenty of holistic-minded colleagues to help offer me advice. I am lucky enough to have studied traditional nutrition and holistic nutrition. I am lucky enough to have the background in physiology to be able to question what the doctors were telling me. But as a first time mom, I couldn't help but think: What if I'm wrong? What if their conventional medicine approach was the answer and that I was the cause of my child's slow growth because I wasn't following their instruction to formula feed?

I lived in this fear for 8 months, non stop. 24/7. It consumed me. I knew I needed a different kind of help, and I knew that the help I needed would not come from the medical doctors who made me feel like a failure.  By the luck of fate, I was recommended and referred to an amazing D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathy) for help with getting my daughter up to a "normal" weight, after she was labeled as "failure to thrive."  

Osteopaths have a more holistic approach to medicine than traditional (military) doctors, and that fit more in line with my values. Simply by looking at my daughter for the first time, the D.O.  stated: "She has food intolerances and digestive troubles."  

Now, the journey from there wasn't (and still isn't) easy. We went through food eliminations, probiotics, herbs, and adjustments.  Guess what? She began to grow immediately. She began to sleep immediately. I began to feel human again, immediately.  Finally having someone on my side who was willing to listen and look beyond the "numbers" made all the difference. 

I share this with you, because I never want a first time mom to feel what I went through. Not every mom has the opportunity to seek a doctor outside of traditional medicine.  But I share this to remind you that your intuition as a "mama bear" is usually spot on.  I want to remind you that there are always other trained practitioners who can help.  If person A isn't helping, try person B. If person B isn't helping, try person C.  But never give up if your intuition is telling you that there's a different answer out there. 

Usually, the last place people look to for help is holistic care, but for me, it's the first.  I trust that the body wants to heal itself. I trust that if we can figure it out and give the body the right tools, it will begin to heal.  Holistic modalities of chiropractic, acupuncture, nutrition, movement, osteopathy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, massage, herbs, energy work, physical therapy, etc. are all available and my first choice when it comes to problems. If that doesn't work, THEN, I will seek traditional medicine. 

What if instead of running straight to the doctor's office for every cough, cold, and fever, we had tools in our "back pocket" to help our kids heal naturally? What if we had the knowledge to keep our kids' immune systems sharp so that they were less likely to get sick enough to need a doctor's visit? What if starting with Tylenol wasn't the first thing you go to, but rather the last? What if instead of labeling a child as ADHD, we helped feed their bodies and brains the nutrients they may be deficient in to help relax their nervous systems? What if we taught our kids how to cope with stress instead of mask it? 

Gosh, I wonder what our world would be like. 

Join me on September 9, 2020 at 9am for the Kids' Holistic Wellness Summit.  Six holistic wellness experts will be joining the summit to share wisdom, guidance, and tips to help us keep our children (and ourselves) healthy, safe, and well, in a world that is trying so hard to make us fear. 

I am not saying that western medicine (ie: pharmaceutical medicine) is wrong. I am simply saying, "what if there was another way?" Come and learn with me, as I interview the experts to bring you the most valuable tips to keeping our kids emotionally, physically, and spiritually well.

Save your seat at the Summit!

It's free, and I can guarantee something will awaken inside of you.