It all started with my mom pushing the veggies. I have family members who vividly remember me eagerly reaching for sliced bell peppers over sugary snacks when I was around four years old. This shocked them. For the 80s I suppose healthy food was still not something most people were in to.

Then as I grew into my own, and became pregnant suddenly everything around me seemed toxic. I was more aware of what I put on my skin and what I put into my body now that I was solely responsible for this tiny baby growing inside. So I started making further changes to being even more natural mom.

Here are some of the ways I try to be a natural mom: 

• Produce – most everyone knows about the Dirty Dozen and Clean Thirteen, but how many actually buy organic? To me all I think about food when it is not organic…I think pesticides, weed killers, chemicals and GMOs then packaged up and sent to your grocery store. I’ve found research now that all the above is affecting our hormones, our reproductive organs, causing severe inflammation throughout our bodies, which results in autoimmune diseases, allergies, and the Big C. So I try to buy from farmers markets more often, from smaller less corporate grocery stores {We love Trader Joes and Sprouts.}
• Meat – we now buy 90% of our meat organic…chicken (always…have you seen Food, Inc?), ground turkey (always), pork (most of the time) and beef (more often). Some grocery stores make it easier than others to buy organic meat.
• Milk – this was a non-negotiable one for me, our milk has to be organic. I am a documentary kinda girl and you betcha I watched quite a few that talked about the abuse of the cows for non-organic milk. Just terrifying. 
• Gluten – I know going gluten-free is all the rage these days. But I have found there are some serious benefits to cutting out gluten. For some more than others. What’s frustrating is if you were to travel to Italy and indulge on pasta dish after pasta dish, your system would most likely be fine. Why? Because Europe hasn’t “super size me-Walmart me-let’s GMO it and make as much money as possible for me” they still do things the way God intended.
• Prescriptions – Before I got pregnant with my first I was told I had a thyroid problem…that I had hypothyroidism, which means my thyroid is slow and doesn’t perform, as it should. My doctor made it clear that if I didn’t get on a prescription then I could miscarry or not get pregnant because your thyroid plays a huge part in your reproductively. Well that sure scared me, so what did I do, I took the meds. But here I am three years (and another kiddo later) wondering why this was never investigated further. I finally have an appointment with a more natural doctor, who will help me solve this issue not put a band-aid over it by writing me a prescription and telling me that I have no other option than to take this pill for the rest of my life. (Um, no thanks!) I am thrilled to find real answers…to see how my body truly reacts to gluten and what I should eat and shouldn’t eat, etc. I have turned to my Young Living Essential Oils for medicine the past few years. The more I learn about the toxicity in medications and the side effects, the less I feel the need to take it. I used to pop Advil like no problem, but in the past few years I’ll use my peppermint or Panaway instead.
• Fevers – so many moms (me included) feel like they have to take their baby’s fever away immediately. Mamas – a fever is a GOOD thing. It means your kiddo’s white warriors are fighting off the bad guys. And guess what, if you take away their fever their white warriors won’t do their job. So relax on the Tylenol (of course, until the fever gets too high). But the best thing for me is cuddles, hydration, and time. **Make sure you talk to your doctor about what is best for your child, though **
• Doctors – after seeing a regular doctor my entire life and my kids seeing a regular pediatrician for the last three years. I finally decided to switch us to a natural doctor. Is it scary? Absolutely. Why am I scared? Because society tells us things have to be done a certain way and if you stray away from that, then you’re in deep water. Well, I hate that. And after going to a doctor who wants to over diagnose my kid EVERY single visit (she has reflux {no she doesn’t}, she has intermittent asphyxia {aka she has a lazy, cross eyed eye…mind you I was there to determine if she had Croup…}) So after that I was just done. I want a doctor who sees food as medicine, who researches natural alternatives as much as I do, and encourages us to heal her naturally.
• Breastfeeding – this was a pretty easy decision for me… I am the mama and the baby should have my milk. I never had any detrimental issues to my supply or the action of nursing, so I didn’t have to think about other options. For me, the benefits of breast milk are 1000 to 1 better than formula. Now hear me, I am in no way making any mom feel bad for not being able to breastfeed, but I do think every baby deserves the best. And in my opinion, breast is best. Breast milk heals, has natural antibodies, can give your baby exactly what they need, it’s not processed, and can protect their immune systems as they grow.

I hope I am able to reach some mamas with these health tidbits that have helped our family. We feel so much stronger and healthier. We love looking in our “medicine cabinet” and reaching for lavender essential oil to sooth a scratch instead of something with ingredients I cannot pronounce. The biggest takeaway from this lifestyle is my kids are learning how to live healthfully, naturally and that preventative care and alternative care can supersede some of the choices society scares us into making for our health.