I am more than ever giving thought to what I…we…eat. A lot of that has to do with the we part of that sentence. For the past 6 months I have been Jack’s main line. Up until 2 weeks ago, when we started experimenting with solids, Jack has only consumed breast milk and I have worked hard to make that so! We have lived through tied tongues (anterior and posterior) that needed clipping 3 times, round the clock hourly feedings, vasospasm, thrush, low milk supply…all of it! We have been on a good stretch for a little while now and so I have had some time to reflect on my eating habits…habits that directly affect baby Jack’s eating habits too.
The main theme has to do with the connection between how I feel and what I eat. Since Jack was born, actually throughout much of my pregnancy, I haven’t really felt well. I’ve been blaming it on my 43 year old body undergoing the incredible physical changes of pregnancy and trauma of the c-section that brought Jack into the world.
What underlined the connection for me was our latest hurdle, the thrush, and how I learned that the best way to avoid it has to do with diet. In particular when your diet is high in sugars, dairy, and grains.
I’ve always overindulged in cookies, candy, ice cream. Being at home, alone with Jack most of the time, has made it easy for me to continue the indulgance on a grand scale. His dad visits once in a while and helps out a lot when he does but I am pretty much doing this on my own and its become way too easy to slip into a bag of cookies or a bowl of ice cream for comfort at the end of a long day of caring on my own. I’m surprised we didn’t experience thrush before the 6 month mark!
So, I have decided to eat ourselves well and have started by simply eating good, fresh, food – so easy to do in the summer in farm country! I’m also committing to document what I eat under the category ‘Eating Well‘ (look, it’s already there in the sidebar) as a way to keep track of myself. It’s easy-peasy with my phone’s camera and WordPress Android app, though longer posts like this one will most likely be composed on a desktop…these big fingers just keep hitting the wrong spots when composing on the phone.
I want to be a strong healthy mom for Jack, not to mention a strong, healthy me for me, for a long time to come. I have a feeling I will need to be in order to keep up with him!
