A HEALTHIER 2014!!!

 I am going to look like this (or better) again:

and not this: (unfortunately, I do not have a current picture because I actually weigh a few more pounds than this picture! Wow!!! )

YES!!! I am so excited for a healthier and skinnier year. I have been contemplating the past few years and when I FELT the best. Hands down, it was the year I went without sugar.  Why I ever started eating sugar, I have no idea. I am heavier than I have been in years or ever. The past year has been a year of change and stress. My coping mechanism is to eat. Mostly chocolate chips. Enjoy Life chocolate chips. Amazingly, delicious chocolate chips. So, stress or no stress for my health, I am going sugar free, grain free, and peanut butter free.  Why peanut butter? Because, I LOVE peanut butter and it does NOT love me. =) And, YES that does mean NO CHOCOLATE CHIPS. =(

I bet you are wondering about my game plan and here it is:

January: I am going to go eat ONLY honey as my sweet and only occasionally.  I will be not only gluten free but grain free as well. What does that mean? That means: no wheat, oats, corn, rice, buckwheat, etc. I will be eating a lot of organic meat, organic fruits, organic veggies, organic eggs, fermented veggies, good fats,  and RAW dairy.

February: I am going to kick it up a notch. I will do everything the same as January but eliminate honey, fruit, and starchy veggies such as potatoes.

March: I will do the same as January and February but experiment with fasting and windows of eating. For instance, I will eat from 11am-6pm.


My menu will look something like this:

Breakfast: Omelet OR protein shake with Garden of Life RAW protein, Grass Lakes Gelatin powder, and raw eggs.

Lunch: Awesome grain free soup full of bone broth OR salad

Dinner: Meat and veggies

Snacks: Fruit, veggies and dip, or yogurt. 

Drinks: Tea, water, and raw milk

From the farm to our table........

In our quest of living healthier, we have researched and explored many places to buy our foods. We like to know where it comes from and ideally, the people who grow it. I get asked often about where we buy our food so here it goes:

Meat-

Beef- we order a 1/4 beef from Roseland farms (Roslandorganicfarms.com) They are certified organic, completely grassfed, and antibiotic and hormone free. If we need to supplement, we buy from Moonique Dairy Farm (more about them to come).
Chicken- we have been ordering pastured chickens from an amazing Amish farm in Colon, mi. Myback  up is Moonique Dairy Farm or the Farmer's Market.
Turkey- my hubby shot a wild one in the backyard. You are only allowed one turkey per year per person.
Pork- we eat very little pork but we get it from Moonique Dairy Farm or the Farmers Market
Fish- WILD CAUGHT  salmon or other WILD CAUGHT fish from Meijer and occasionally the health food store.
Venison- sometimes we get gifted with venison and my hubby hunts.
Hotdogs- we occasionally get hotdogs but only Organic Grassfed (Applegate brand  from Meijer).

Dairy-

Milk- we get 2 gallons RAW grassfed milk weekly from Moonique Dairy Farm. (Mooniquedairy.com) They are an amazing couple fromVandalia, Mi. They have drop offs in town just a few miles from our house.
Yogurt(raw)- I make it from the raw milk or we get it from Moonique Dairy (when we go to pick up our milk they have a trailer that has quality meat, yogurt, cheese, honey, etc. )
Cheese (raw)- I get it from the same Amish couple that sells us chickens
Butter- I wish I could find raw butter. It is illegal to sell in Michigan and I guess they can't find away around it like they can cheese, yogurt and milk. I do make it from the milk we get from time to time or I buy organic butter. Kerrygold is made from pastured milk. While it is pasturized, it still has more nutrients and we try to buy it as often as we can.

Produce-
We get our produce from a co-op in Gobles, Meijer, Farmer's Market, or my garden. Apples, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, etc we seek out organic gardens/orchards when in season, buy in bulk and freeze or can. Apples were amazingly priced (20$ a bushel for nearly organic) so we canned tons of applesauce. I can as many tomatoes and much as we can. I ferment some veggies especially sauerkraut. I also freeze veggies. We LOVE to bake with winter squash and pumpkins so I cook and freeze loads of squash.

Sugars
We use primarily honey (MOOnique dairy farm) and maple syrup (Moonique Dairy and Gobbles co-op)
We also use sucanant which I purchase through E&H in Shispshewanna, In
On rare occasions we use organic cane sugar.

Grains
We buy most grains, rices, beans, nuts, etc at E&H, the local health food store, or Gobles co-op. I also buy almond flour from Amazon and coconut flour from tropical traditions.

Fats
We use coconut oil from vitacost.com
Olive oil from where ever I can find it cheapest hopefully organic
We also used tallo, lard, and Oranic palm oil on occasion.


We get to know the farmers that supply most of our food. The items listed are the least expensive and highest quality foods we have  found. We buy in bulk and stock up if we find a good deal. We have certain venders we buy from at the Farmer's Market (they sell in the winter too!!!). We have gotten to know them and their growing process. We also make almost everything from scratch.

Emmaline Grace's Birth Story

Emmy's birth was an amazing experience.

Wednesday, I woke up having mild contractions. They were steady and timeable but not painful. Historically, my contractions have not been painful until the last hour or two of labor. I also labor very fast so I felt that I needed to call the midwife. I let her know what was going on and she was at another birth. I asked her if I should go to my chiropractor apt and she said I should. I went and got adjusted. I continued to feel contractions until early afternoon when they fizzled. I was in contact with the midwife on and off throughout the day. I decided to nap with the kids and the contractions stopped. I talked with the midwife about the position of the baby and I thought the baby was still high and on the right side. Optimal position is on the left side! My baby was on the right. . She came out and did an exam. I was 4cm and she showed me some simple positions to get the baby on the left side. She left and I thought I would go into labor soon.

Two more times throughout the week I had similar experiences with contractions that fizzled. I did not call the midwife because they eventually stopped. I did not want another false alarm.

On Labor Day, I woke up like any normal day. We did not have big plans because of the impending birth so we decided to go to a local park and walk. My husband, Ben, and I walked while my son rode his bike and my daughter enjoyed a ride in the stroller. After the walk, we decided to go out to Logan's for lunch. I ate chili which seems spicy at Logan's. =) I came home and took a nap. After the nap, I started having contractions. I walked and walked. I did not want them to stop this time. Around 6ish, they started to get more intense but I wanted to wait until I knew for sure before calling the midwife. Around 6:30, I called my parents and told them this was the real thing and they needed to come to watch the kids. I then called the midwife who said she would be there in about 30 minutes. I started getting the room ready and we put in a movie for the kids so Ben could blow up the pool.

The midwife arrived a little after 7. I met her at the door and she joked that I looked good for being in labor. I just hoped it wasn't a false alarm. She checked my progress after she got situated and I was a 7cm. My husband began filling up the pool. I think it took about an hour to fill up the pool. The contractions were close to 2 minutes apart and starting to get more painful around 8. They weren't long just more intense. I was still walking around helping get the kids situated with my parents-they had arrived a little after the midwife.

When the pool was filled and at the right temp, I hopped in. The contractions were intense and painful at this point. The pool helped. I talked with the midwife about knowing when to push. With my previous 2 deliveries I was checked for progress multiple times and told when to push. The midwife's advice to trust my body empowered me to concentrate more on what my body was doing. Toward the end of labor, the contractions lessened in intensity and I seemed to feel the baby slipping down. At 9:08 my water broke which surprised me. My water was broken the past 2 births and I forgot that my water may break. What was even more shocking was what came next. My daughter! Yep, my water broke and she was born in the same minute!! I didn't even have to push. My body did it for me.

The baby was beautiful! I was in love. I stayed in the tub with the babe.

Step away from the sugar!

Last year, at 12:01 I tipped my glass filled with ( non-alcoholic) eggnog and drank the sugary sweet beverage. Strange choice you might think, especially after a year without sugar, but I love the stuff. While it tasted great I felt horrible after consuming it. Sugar is addicting and I'd gone a whole year but what would a little hurt? Well, for me, consuming a little leads to a little more and a little more and a little more...... As I reflect bck on the year, I realize I felt a lot worse and I'm not talking about my 20 weeks of morning sickness! I have had numerous colds and even the flu! Stupid sugar.

Yep, I blame the sugar. It lowers your immunity for 8 hours after consumption! And the weight gain. Oh! The weight gain. Well,maybe that was the pregnancy, but not entirely.

This year as I look to 2012, and my goals for 2012, I am including sugar free (again)!!! Oh, and that includes NO artificial sweeteners! I won't get started on artificial sweeteners. I will save that for another blog.

At11:59 pm on December 31st, 2011, I will set down my glass of eggnog and step away from sugar for another year (or longer). Believe it or no, I cannot wait! Of course, I will be blogging!

Breast feeding

Some ramblings about breast feeding that I have learned:

1. It is all about the latch. It really is! With the first 2 kiddos I was so sore for the first few weeks. With number 3, I was NEVER sore. I mentioned this to my midwife and she said what I already knew, " it is all about the latch. If it is sore unlatch the babe and start again." The beauty was I never had the need with this baby.

2. There is no need to supplement. I did with the first 2and way more with my first. With this baby, I was determined not to supplement at all. It was not easy. She had her days and nights mixed up which resulted in nursing hours on end at night. I mean ALL night! But, the pay off was sweet! My milk came in a full 2days earlier and she was a different baby! And, I was never engorged.

3. Throw your schedule away. Babies do not operate on schedules. This article says it better than I can http://www.ivillage.com/should-you-schedule-babys-feeds/6-n-137351. No two days alike. Naturally, when kids are growing they eat more and some days they just aren't as hungry. We, as adults alter our schedule to fit our needs and wants, so do babies.

4. Breast feeding takes time. And, way more time in the beginning. I have learned to make my baby my priority for the first month or two. I sit my bottom in a chair and feed whenever my baby shows any sign of needing me. I feed hours on end. My housework lags and my social life dwindles but the bonding and feeding time is priceless. No regrets. Ever. I feed on demand until the breast feeding relationship is over but it is way less demanding as time goes on.

5. Immunity is past to your baby. You have the sniffles? Your breast milk is already passing the immunity to your baby! Wow! Our Creator thought of everything, didn't He?

6. Dont give up! Leche League and Kellymom.com are amazing resources. Kellymom.com has information on everything from latch to poop. Go to ilca.org and type I your zip code. Find a breastfeeding consultant. Don't give up! Most regret it!

7. Your baby usually is getting enough! If they aren't, you can usually correct the problem. I know there are times when I feel I am not making enough. Drinking more water and feeding more frequently are just 2 of the many ways to increase your supply. But, chances are, you are making more than you think.

8. Breastfeeding is way more than nutrition. It is also bonding! I have a 3 month old. She eats unlatches, smiles at me, eats, unlatches, and coos, eats, unlatches, smiles etcs. Does it take more time? Yes! And I heart EVERY moment.

9. Breastfeed in public! What!?!? Yep, I have learned how to breastfeed in public. People feed babies bottles in public, why can't I breastfeed my baby, too? I used to leave to feed or pump and bottle feed. I simply don't want the hassle. Babies 2&3 wouldn't take bottles anyway. I do use a cover or try to use one. This is not for my benefit, it is for the comfort of others.

10. Breast feeding prevents diseases and obesity later in life. It also has been linked to higher intelligence. Google it!

Trial run

I am planning on going sugar AND gluten free in 2012. I feel so much better when I leave these items out of my diet. I am going to do a trial run in November with the exception of the holiday weekend. This will be no small feat as I am hungry all the time and crave carbs while breast feeding. I just read that if you crave something but feel horrible after consuming it you probably have a sensitivity to it. That is me with carbs! Not to mention, I need to lose the rest of this baby weight! It has been7 weeks and I am at a stand still with weight loss.

Turn Baby Turn

A week and a half ago I learned that my baby was resting her head on the left side of my pubic bone with her body on my right side. Baby may have been comfortable in that position but it is not a good position for delivery. My midwife mentioned having my chiro do the Webster Technique and gave me a few posture suggestions to help baby move.
My chiro does not do the Webster Technique so I was referred to a chiro in the community who specializes in the technique. After just one adjustment, the baby moved differently. At my midwife visit the next day, she checked the position of the baby and head is down! The baby' s head is high and on the right side (left side is optimal). I am so excited head is down. I have one more adjustment this afternoon and I am hoping baby will move the rest of the way. My "due date" is in 22 days so head down is very important now!! =)