Mom-life is no joke; but we often don’t take it seriously.
Sure, keeping little people alive is serious, but the person who holds the “mom” title is often an afterthought.
For many years, I ignored my mom-nutrition, and my whole family suffered for it. I’ve learned the hard way, that there is a better way.
Recovering from my first daughter’s birth nine years ago was probably the darkest time of my life. I didn’t know what postpartum depression was and I sure didn’t have the tools to overcome it.
To make matters worse, she was born legally blind in one eye and ragefully bent on needing me 24/7. I didn’t even know it was possible to be so “needed.” Nursing was more painful than I ever imagined (turns out I was doing it wrong). I think it would have felt better to slam my fingers in a door every two hours.
Overall, mom-life was rougher than ever thought possible. Truth is: I had done nothing to prepare for it! I still remember my midwife kindly suggesting that I attend a lactation class 100 different times and I ignorantly declined and told her I didn’t need it.
Trouble was, I was leaving on a road trip of a lifetime (mom-life) and my tank was empty. None of us would be silly enough to drive across the country on an empty tank, but we do it in mom-life all the time. We expect that our “car” will run off of fumes.
But how far does your car drive on empty? Unless you’ve got an electric one, my guess is that you can’t leave the driveway. With any car, your fuel will determine how far you get.
With any mom-life, your fuel will affect your family… and everything else.
If fuel is that important, my question is, why ignore it?
If we were running errands on “E,” you would question my sanity if I pulled over and dumped goldfish crackers in the tank. Are goldfish bad? No, not really…. but they aren’t going to serve us well in the gas tank. They aren’t going to get us anywhere.
It is the same with mom-nutrition.
WHY do we eat things that won’t serve us well?
WHY do we just dump kid snacks in our tanks instead of pulling over and getting something nutritious?! If I’d be crazy to dump crackers in the car’s gas tank, why do I dump crackers in MY gas tank?
Wouldn’t we get further on some actual fuel?
I’m on a mission to stop ignoring the “E” and actually pull over and put things in my body that are going to serve me well. I need fuel that is actually going to get me somewhere in this crazy awesome job.
For me, that starts with protein and healthy fat every every every morning.
If I don’t fuel up with protein, I want to eat everything in sight by 9 a.m. It may feel fun to munch on everything I see, but that’s not going to serve me well in the long run.
Thirteen days ago, my fourth baby made her debut into the world. This means I’m running on a postpartum gas tank, which can feel like a rollercoaster you don’t really want to be riding.
Thankfully, I’ve learned a few things since my first postpartum rollercoaster. Namely, I’ve learned how to fuel up for the ride.
I’ve learned how to care for myself so that I can care for my baby – and my family.
I’ve learned that I have nothing to give anyone if I can’t function.
I’ve learned that no one can go anywhere unless they have fuel.
I’ve learned that goldfish will wreck your car.
How about you?
Are you dumping crackers where they don’t belong? Your mom-life needs more than a few crackers. I promise.
Let’s stop ignoring the obvious and start taking care of our bodies.
This recipe was a game-changer for my mom-life. When I started drinking this every morning, everything started to function better. If mom is functioning better, everything is better.
Meet your farmer – Liz Gerdes. She and her husband run a farm-to-table raw milk dairy. They empower moms to confidently feed their families nutrient-dense food using farm fresh milk! Visit gerdesfreshfarm.com or follow her on Facebook @gerdesfreshfarm or Instagram @gerdesliz for more info.
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