"Baby" was the word my husband ended with.
What a sentence, hey...
He asked me this about three hours after we found out we were pregnant with number two. I didn't know if I should hit him or respond. Being the chilled cucumber I often I am, I responded with, ”What?”
He explained it this way and you know what, the man made sense.
He said...
“If you had to put a dollar amount on a healthy baby, you couldn't, could you? How could you put a dollar amount on holding a screaming baby with lungs that work, arms that move and that you don't have to watch being rolled away in a humidity crib like we did with our first?”
Of course, the answer is NO, you can’t.
He said, “I don't want you to fear doing things that benefit your health. You see, if you stop thinking of things in terms of it being $X for this service and $X for that service and start looking at it as it's $X to invest in the babe’s health, then the barrier is lifted.”
The conversation continued and we discussed what we could cut back on to ensure that we were paying as much as we could for a healthy babe. On reflection, I don’t think I prioritised the right things throughout my first pregnancy and it was a stressful outcome for me and the babe. So we grabbed a piece of paper, our credit card statement and looked at things we could cut back on to ensure we had the money for what we felt would benefit the babe. Buying my daily juice fix at the cafe changed to making it at home, the husband’s daily lunch out changed to just once a week and we chose not to go away for our holidays this year.
Have you thought of things this way?
If you knew you were going to have diabetes in 10 years, what would you do now to change it? What about constant bloating or headaches? Would you change your diet tomorrow to ensure that day never comes?
Here's what I did to support my health (and therefore my babe’s health) this pregnancy:
1) I had a pregnancy massage/reiki session every three weeks - Not only did it relieve the stress on my body, it was brilliant for my mind.
2) I shopped and ate differently – I love eating clean, organic food but I often struggle with the price /connivence of it, especially when eating out. I got rid of all that guilt and thought about the babe – this is a human I'm building and it deserves the best.
3) I cleared toxic relationships – We all have them around us and the relationship could be with a friend or even a family member. I made a conscious decision not to invest in or take on board any of the toxicity. Why? I know that the way I feel is felt exactly how the baby feels – it is a product of who I am.
4) I did things I loved – One of my biggest joys is yoga but having a high risk pregnancy and being a yoga addict, my doctor recommend I put it on hold. I agreed but found other things that made me happy. Cooking and going to the park each day with the babe makes me happy, so I did that.
5) I got lots of sleep – Every health practitioner will tell you about the benefits of sleep, so I'm not going to preach that to you. What I am going to say is DO IT! I lay down every day when my babe goes to sleep. For the majority of the pregnancy he has been on two sleeps, so I'd work during his first sleep and sleep during his second. At this point in the pregnancy, I lay down for the majority of his only sleep. Sometimes I rest, other times I don't. Point is, I'm on my back with my feet up and that's what my body needs.
So, has this worked? Well in a few short weeks we'll know for sure but what I can tell you is I'm 37+ weeks and my babe appears healthy – so healthy in fact, they think it could be a 9 pounder! For me, this news is amazing. I've had some horrendous situations thrown at me this pregnancy – I’ve lost a brother-in-law to cancer and currently I have a close friend going through chemo. It's hard and I'm not Superwoman but all of these techniques have helped me to cope with the things I cannot change.
So tell me, what would you pay for good health? If you had the chance, what would you change?
Stace x
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