Commandment 4: She Knows Her Body

Hey Beautiful!!

Following my Bare Skin Beauty Awakening I stopped using sunscreen because of all of the toxins in it.  In my mind I figured that I would rather let my body defend against damage from something natural (the Sun) rather than foreign chemicals.  Still, not using sun protection isn’t ideal.  Soooooooo I was super excited today to make homemade sunscreen until I realized that I needed to order a few things first.  I’m not sure what all I thought was in the ingredient list when I first decided to pick this activity for the day…but it’s more than I thought! Either way I found these great sunscreen bars and since I know you will want to immediately follow along when you see how great mine turn out (:P lol!) you will need:


My Red Nose!!
You can tell I need some good Sunscreen!!

Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

Shea Butter

Beeswax

Uncoated, Non-nano Zinc Oxide

 Changing topics a little today from getting the toxins out to Commandment Number 4 is A Pre-Pregnancy Momma knows her Body.  This has several components from being best friends with your cycle to learning the amazing and purposeful things that occur during Pregnancy.

 

I once heard Dr. Sears say during a presentation that most telling sign of how healthy someone is would be their waistline.  As woman, I believe we have an even more telling sign:  her monthly cycle.

Ladies, we are super lucky to have periods. (grumble grumble) I know many of you might not agree but it’s this really cool thing that all women, regardless of whether or not she wants to have children, should take important notice of. You see we get this monthly report of sorts from our body during that one week especially of how efficiently our body is running.  A healthy woman should have a regular cycle.  It should come pretty close to clockwork – when you ovulate, when you start your period, how long it lasts, etc.  Generally, I would say that if your cycle is “easy” then your body is giving you an excellent report on how it’s operating. If you are irregular, if have horrible and intense cramping, if you are super heavy or really light…then something is not right.  That something could be about a million different things, especially if your ‘normal’ is pain-filled.  I’m not saying that menstruating should be like dancing in the clouds, but it’s shouldn’t be debilitating. The fact is that unlike men, we get this really obvious report card every month on how our body is doing giving us an awesome chance to act on it and make changes to improve our wellbeing. This goes beyond achieving a regular cycle because it indicates a healthier pregnancy and baby, but it primarily a sign of personal health and should be significant to all the ladies. This I really can’t emphasize enough.

A Pre-Pregnancy Momma is BFF with her Cycle, and I don’t mean just because she is that monthly reminder that you are not preggers – even though you want kids someday, just not yet! Trust, I was not always on good terms with this lady.  I have been in just about every type of relationship with my cycle before becoming best friends: strangers, enemies, that friend from across town that just randomly shows up and you begrudgingly deal with, in mourning over (that time I lost my period due to being very sick), in love (when it returned), friends and finally BFF. Since I was one of the first girls in my grade to get her period (we code named is ‘playing in the dirt’. We were young and weird haha) I have never been regular. It was always extremely painful and I never knew when it coming. It wasn’t until probably about three years ago that I started to find some consistency and a lot less pain. I attribute most of this to the abundance of fruits and vegetables in Juice Plus that I had begun taking a few years before. Continually improving my Healthy Lifestyle, since then I have only grown more familiar to the point that I can feel the egg drop.   

Birth control is another important issue that the Pre-Pregnancy Momma doesn’t take lightly.  Let’s first assume that we all know how important it is to were a condom, especially if you are not in a monogamous long-term relationship to prevent STDs. (I know they are called something else know but I guess I’m old school and I don’t feel like changing the terminology.) Now that’s said I want to discuss the dangers of The Pill and other hormonal methods. Education Time! Generally, we are probably all aware of hormone birth control putting woman at high risk for a blood clot and other cardiovascular problems as well as weight gain, but taking the pill has many other serious side effects. My personal experience was with not so serious side effects but I still decided at a young age (~21) that I couldn’t take birth control.  Let me first say that I have struggled with depression since…huh…since I around the time I first got my period actually – think there’s a line there?? Lol! Anyway I since determined that hormones played a large role in my mental illness and when I was first on birth control I was also taking an antidepressant. I had finally gotten to a good place with counseling and other activities but when I got on the pill I just tanked.  I started to feel myself, all of a sudden fall right back into a hole and no doubt it was due to the hormone disruption. It was then I had just decided that due to long-term mental issues, I couldn’t use that kind of birth control.  Actually, it was a blessing in disguise because the pill or the ring in my case, can affect more than just how you feel.  Birth control pills, patches, rings and implants operate by providing a very high dose of synthetic estrogen and progestin which trick the body so that you don’t ovulate. They also mess with your cervical mucus and thin the lining of your uterus…all things that need to be in good working condition when you do want to have a baby and they don’t just fix themselves overnight when you go off the pill. They are linked to tons of diseases including breast cancer, cervical cancer and now Brain Cancer reported this past January in Time Magazine. Additionally this type of birth control destroys the good bacteria in your digestive system essentially impairing your immune system. Dr. Mercola presents a concise article on the dangers that you can read here.

So don’t be afraid to put that biotch on the calendar!  Recording your cycle, including ovulation if you start to feel the cues is super important!! There are so many easy apps you can download on your phone there’s no excuse. I use Life – PeriodTracker.  Keep track of your symptoms.  For me when I have painful cramping I know something isn’t quite right, maybe I’ve been drinking a little too much or not exercising enough.  When I catch it early I know it’s usually something little and a simple change will allow a quick fix. Also track your most fertile days, check out your cervical mucus, and monitor your body temp all to help prevent pregnancy before you are ready. Having a healthy body makes tracking these fertility clues easier to see and record.  It all ties together ;)

 Enough period talk! Let’s talk the Pregnancy Body. 

I don’t claim to be an expert by any means on giving birth – I’ve never had a baby and all my knowledge is from the books.  But that’s just what I want to encourage Pre-Pregnancy Mommas to do.  Know what is to come before it happens, have an idea of what kind of birth plan you’ll want, know what Vernix is and how important it is for baby!! Find a book and an author that speaks to you in some way; not just a cut and dry this is what happens sort of thing but one that really inspires you to embrace motherhood. The first one I read that I just love and could read over and over of course is The Kind Momma! I feel like when you are pregnant that there is so much going on that your one job should be to relax and take care of baby. Already having some knowledge about being pregnant and giving birth takes away some of the anxiety and stress surrounding the unknown. Make decisions – or at least develop an opinion on things when you have a clear head instead of when you are pregnant and have all these new crazy levels of hormones floating around.
A Pre-Pregnancy Momma takes control and responsibility of her Pregnancy.

 

I challenge you to embrace your womanhood including your cycle! I mean who doesn’t want basically painless periods and a clean bill of health straight from your body every month. Make one simple change at a time to improve your health and essentially your comfort level when Aunt Flo comes round. I suggest start with water - it’s my first solution for every ailment! Start tracking you cycle and symptoms and get familiar with them.

A Pre-Pregnancy Momma trusts her body and listens when it’s telling her something is wrong all on the path toward a Healthy Body and Healthy Future Kiddos.

 

If you want more information or help easing period pains and achieving a regular cycle then talk to me! How do you naturally deal with that time of the month aches and pains? Have you experienced a change from an irregular, painful cycle to one that’s regular?

 

 

with Love,

Mandy