Alexa's Testimonial

The following is a testimonial from one of our most recent clients. Thanks, Alexa!

"Tamara’s knowledge, experience and compassion are incredible!

It was my dream to have a natural, drug-free childbirth with as few interventions as possible. But since this was my first pregnancy, I felt uncertainty and wonder about what might be achievable. Since my husband shared both my dream and the concerns about what labor and delivery would entail, we enlisted Tamara and the Nurtured Mother team as another source of support.

My husband and I benefitted greatly from the in-depth, personalized childbirth classes with Tamara and her partner, Kristin. Their recommended exercises, relaxation techniques and nutritional suggestions helped my body get a healthy jumpstart on dilation and effacement. Meanwhile Tamara’s partner, Billie, helped me achieve peace and relaxation with prenatal massage.

Then, when it came time for my labor and our daughter’s birth, Tamara was an indispensable asset who helped both me and my husband focus on our strengths as we used all of the resources available to us and within us—mentally, physically and spiritually.

We achieved our goal of a natural, drug-free childbirth with minimal interventions (the routine buff cap [no IV fluids or drugs pushed]), a fetal monitor for my child since meconium was present when my water broke and an episiotomy). Our daughter had very high Apgar scores, immediately bonded with Mom and Dad and took to breastfeeding like a pro. I have no doubt that our success and wellness has been impacted by the care Tamara and the Nurtured Mother doulas provided.

The team at Nurtured Mother has touched our lives. We will be working with Tamara, Kristin and Billie again when it comes time to have another child."

Detox: Day 1

Well, we survived our first day. I really like how this plan eases you into the actual detox. Other plans were cold turkey on all things "toxic," which can really make it difficult to keep going.

I had planned blueberry oatmeal for breakfast, but due to the "prowler" yesterday I never made it to the store for blueberries.

So, whole wheat pancakes and eggs. *gasp* I can hear you Detox Junkies now screaming--Eggs?! Wheat?! Sugar?! Let me again remind you that this plan EASES you into the detox. So, today was no meat, no caffeine, no carbonated beverages, no alcohol, replace white sugar with sugar substitutes. We did have 1/4 cup of sugar in the pancakes, but I'm not going for a gold medal in detox here.

Lunch was delayed due to childbirth classes. When I had a break I gulped down some Naked Green Juice, southwest black bean and corn soup, and an AMAZING salad--Strawberry, Orange, and Fennel Salad--that we found on wholeliving.com. That was delicious! Dinner was also delayed. We had church tonight, which meant trying to avoid the large table of goodies set out to tempt people into conversing. So, we came a couple minutes late, and left as quickly as possible. We came home to rice, beans, peas, more salad, and a hot cup of tea.

Matt also made a fantastic sweet potato hummus that made me all kinds of happy. It will be the best snack throughout the week. (Recipe is also on wholeliving.com)

My biggest accomplishment today (food wise): No chocolate. I'm multi-tasking this detox to also focus my cravings inward and into prayer. Sort of like a fast. I'm seeking out God, His wisdom, His comfort, His desires for my life during this time of cleansing. So, around 3 ish, when I always crave chocolate, you'll find me in prayer instead.

Challenges

1. When we looked over our grocery list we realized it was going to be expensive. Our limited budget meant we needed to get creative. We cut a lot of the recipes we found online, and decided that we'd make beans, vegetables, and rice into an art form.
2. One of our other goals for 2010 is still live more sustainably, eating local, in-season & from our own garden. Obviously, being that it's the middle of winter our garden isn't producing, and most vegetables and fruits at the store are being shipped from other places. This was disheartening for both of us, and we almost rescheduled the detox. I knew that if we rescheduled we may not ever really get moving on our goals. So, we did yet another revision of the list to somehow make it work--definitely had to make compromises on both sides (palatable detox recipes and finding foods that are more sustainable). I'm happy though that we're doing this now, not just for momentum's sake, but also to prepare us to eat what we can grow or get locally later this year.
3. The kids aren't technically detoxing with us, but we want them to try the various new foods we're eating. The hummus was definitely not a hit with them. However, they are thrilled with the "simple" dinner we enjoyed. Eden gobbled up every bite and asked for more. I did include grilled chicken on their plates.
4. Tiredness. Oy. As if I wasn't tired already. I can tell that I'm going to be zonked this week. By 8:30 p.m. I was falling asleep on the couch.

That's pretty much it for today. Matt complained of terrible heart burn, but a papaya enzyme seemed to clear that up. We've both have lots of gas--thanks to all the extra fiber, but that's to be expected. (TMI?)

Tomorrow includes more foods to eliminate, but we're already finding new recipes. We're also planning a family trip to the natural and organic grocery stores.

2010: Project 1

Detox. We're doing it.

I spent the afternoon planning out a week's worth of meals for a detox/cleanse I've adapted from wholeliving.com.

We've done a detox before, but it included drinking a nasty supplement and 2 months worth of eliminating foods we love.

This is quick, and relatively easy. I'm focusing on the "quick" part. The first 3 days we'll ease into eliminating foods that build up in our system. Days 4-7 we'll be on a mostly liquid diet--consuming a solid, protein-filled lunch each day. If you're interested in the "plan," I'm happy to send you my excel spreadsheet with our meals, what to eliminate, include, or replace.

This detox is part of our family's 2010 "Plan" (I'm working on a cooler title.) With 32 hours in a car over the course of 4 days, Matt and I had the opportunity to discuss the changes and goals we want to make this year, and for the future. We're still establishing strategies and tactics, but we're going to initiate some ideas while we finish the master plan. Doing this detox is part of the health & wellness portion of the plan.

Our 2010 "Plan" includes areas such as: Faith, Finances, Friends, Family, Health & Wellness (ran out of F's), Personal Growth, and Education. There might be more, but that's what I've got so far. I'm sure a spreadsheet will be created soon. SimpleMom.net has an awesome worksheet that we're using. (She's got a lot of other awesome stuff too, so check her out.)