Stress can be defined as any type of change that causes physical, emotional, or psychological strain. Stress is your body's response to anything that requires attention or action.
When you're a mother, stress can show up in many different ways, and sometimes not always in the negative, however, it can cause your body to react in some not so favorable ways.
Many women experience the hormonal ups and downs after birth which can be compounded by stress and even cause an autoimmune to flare up or show up.
It's okay to admit that you get stressed sometimes! It's normal and you're not alone. I am a work from home mom with two jobs (my 9-5 and my own business!) with a baby; I totally get it. Being that I have an autoimmune as well, I've had to learn how to manage my stress level because it can really impact my body.
I have to be super mindful of daily stressors because it can trigger a negative response in my body. With that being said, whether or not you have an autoimmune preventing stress on the body is definitely favorable!
So here are a few tips that help me!
✨Laugh and Have Fun: The easiest way to do this, is to laugh with your baby! or I've definetly put on a comedian in the background while working- like Ali Woong who has two Netflix specials - a lot of which talk about motherhood! Sometimes you just need a good low-key laugh sesh to lighten your mood.
✨Stay Connected: Having friends with babies or children has been the absolute best helper for me and being able to chat with others who just 'get it' is so huge!
Stress is a part of life and it’s going to happen, but it’s important to not live in a constant state of stress and find ways that you can cope and overcome on the hard days!
Warm, spicy, and just sweet enough, this delicious drink can be made in large batches and kept for up to 2 weeks in your fridge. Perfect as a pick-me-up following long fall walks!
Ingredients:
- 10 organic large apples, quartered (strong flavored apples such as Granny Smith work best)
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 1 tablespoon all spice
- 3 drops Clove essential oil
- 3 drops Orange essential oil
- 3 drops Nutmeg essential oil
- 60 g organic coconut sugar
Instructions:
- In a large pot over medium heat, add your apples, cinnamon sticks, all spice, essential oils, and brown sugar.
- Cover with water by at least 2 inches. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 2 hours.
- After the two hours, use a potato masher or wooden spoon to mash the softened apples. Return to the hob and allow to simmer uncovered for 1 more hour.
- Strain the liquid through a fine mesh strainer, pressing on the solids with a wooden spoon to squeeze all the juices out. Discard solids.
- Serve warm.
When I first became pregnant and was learning about breastfeeding and the different decisions I had to make regarding that experience, I was a little overwhelmed! I quickly learned that all mothers have their opinions about what they think is best and I had to determine what I thought was best for myself and my baby.
I was torn about whether or not I was going to pump at all when my baby was born because I had spoken with my different mothers, each with different thoughts and stories. Bottom line, you have to do what feels right for your body, mind and your baby. It’s totally okay if this changes along your breastfeeding journey too!
A few things I've learned since breastfeeding that really helped:
✨ Have something to catch your letdown (in the boob not being feasted on), especially in the beginning before your supply levels out. This not only helps with mess but allows for extra milk to be frozen/given to baby as needed (I used the ladybug hakka)
✨ For me letting my baby guide me in how much he wants to eat and when, has been really helpful. Every baby is different of course, but they really do know more than we give them credit for! In the beginning this wasn’t always the case (as we were both new to breastfeeding!) so I did follow a bit of a schedule in terms of putting the feeding opportunity in front of him to see if he was open to eating every 3-4 hours. It definitely takes time, but you and baby will learn one another and get into a rhythm. You’ll be able to learn your baby’s hungers cues much easier!
✨ Get a breast pump that works for you (if you want!). The first one I got was a hand pump a few mornings after birth as I really needed boob relief and munchkin was not hungry! So we woke up and I had one sent via Instacart as we really weren’t leaving the house yet. The second one I got was (Name it here) during the middle of the night when my boobs just couldn’t take it anymore 😜
🚨 I could go on and on about this, or you could grab my new guide Breastfeeding 101 for New Moms here that is packed full of resources and tips!
There are so many different thoughts and feelings around the word autoimmune. Some define it as your immune system mistaking parts of your body as foreign and therefore attacking healthy cells by releasing proteins known as autoantibodies.
Others say, not so much. In fact, when we believe our own body is attacking us we not only hinder our healing process but often feel our body betrayed us and we become the scapegoat for this 'disease'. When the medical industry cannot seem to figure out what is causing symptoms like fatigue, inflammation, dizziness, aches & pains it gets labeled as an autoimmune condition.
I know that because of my autoimmune (and the fact that I breastfeed too!) my body needs some extra TLC and that's my focus. I take care of myself for my son and I ignore what anyone else thinks or says haha and you should do the same! The #1 concern as someone who has an autoimmune is to take the extra measures needed to take care of you.
Here's three ways I make sure to give my body some TLC:
✨FOOD
If you know anything about me, you know that food is my number one thing I go to when it comes to healing anything or simply feeling better. I truly believe that there is not one particular diet that literally works for everyone, however there are some overall ideas that typically help us all.
✨Oils
I never, ever, ever leave home without them. There are many uses for each one but some of the ones I carry with me for that extra TLC are lavender, believe blend, RC, lemon and white angelica.
✨Water
Hydration is super key for every single person. There is the balance of electrolytes when drinking water (I used LMNT) and you can drink too much water (yup this does happen), but for many people they're not getting enough. The general guideline for most is to take half your body weight, and drink that amount in ounces of water.
PS: these are things we can all benefit from; even if you don't have an autoimmune!
Breakfast is the one meal that I always get questions on from women and moms. They want to eat breakfast, but don’t know what to have or they currently don’t even eat breakfast at all! Believe it or not, the idea of breakfast foods is a fairly new invention when it comes to looking at human history.
Whether you look at one of its first mentions by the Tudors in Elizabethan England or more recent by Mr. Kellogg himself (that’s a dark one too)-it’s not necessary to have ‘breakfast foods’ as we’ve been taught to (think cereal which is usually loaded with things we may want to stay away from more often then not).
While that may be the case, as a breastfeeding mom, it's important that I nurture my body and having a healthy (key word) breakfast helps me start off on the right foot. My mood is so much better because I'm not running on an empty stomach and my blood sugar is balanced (which affects our mood!).
Here’s some that help us keep our blood sugar balanced and hormone levels rocking, which is especially important for moms out there! (although truly everyone):
- Chia seeds soaked in almond milk with organic fruit, nut butter (organic raw almond) and protein powder (I like @four sigmatic for it's ingredients)
- Sprouted oatmeal with added protein powder, organic fruit and cocoa powder if you like chocolate!
- Smoothie with 1/2 cup organic coconut yogurt, 1/2 an avocado, water or coconut milk and added protein powder
The main goal with breakfast is for it to be nourishing to your body and packed with good ingredients. Breakfast is the first meal of the day and you’re essentially coming off a “fast” from sleeping overnight. This means if you pump your body full of sugar first then it’s going to negatively affect your body because your stomach is empty. This is going to result in a crash and burn out situation, which we want to avoid!
