Baby Love

Italy was amazing! Sorry I didn't send postcards! Cavorting with local fisherpeople, drinking rose, hanging by the sea in one of those sassy Norma Kamali bathing suits I posted a while back.....All of this in my head anyway:) I promise that when I do figure out how to teleport I will be sure to tell you.

And big shout-out thank you to those of you who posted or emailed me your post-it notes---it means a lot to me when I hear from you:)

I think it's time for a baby update! I feel like it's been a while since I talked at all about actual physical progress and what I've learned.....And some of it isn't just baby-focused--some of it is just good women's health tips.

The biggest excitement of the week is that I had my hormone levels checked and they're all NORMAL!!! Woohoo!! They were all over the place before, mostly low. So in 4 months through acupuncture, herbs, and changing my food and exercise, my body IS actually changing and healing. If mine can do it, yours can do it. I mean that. Sometimes I hear of or read of or see another's success and I think "She can do it but not me". That is absolutely the worst thinking out there. If another's success can be inspiration not defeat everybody wins. This is VERY HARD for me sometimes---I can get really freaked out and scared I'm getting left behind. I was scared to get the levels checked; scared everything I've been doing would be working for everyone but me. There's that saying Feel the Fear but Do It Anyway. YES. There really is enough health, wealth, creativity, romance out there for all of us. K, there's my rant on that.

So the the big discoveries of late.....

1) The Pill:

Thanks to Alisa and Laughing Sage I have learned a lot more about this drug that celebrated its 50th anniversary lately. Did you know our brains aren't finished developing til we're 21? That means if we're going in there and tinkering with its functions before that we can actually get in the way of it developing?! I went on the Pill at 17 for PCOS. That means 4 years before it was finished developing I put parts of it to sleep. And I wonder why it hasn't wanted to wake up. It literally never had a chance to function as an adult woman's. Thankfully our brains are amazing and it's learning now. Tell your little sisters or nieces or whomever to seriously consider not touching the Pill til after 21. And as for after that, it's a personal decision if you want to use it ever or use it for years. I wish someone had told me about the long-term effects of using it: difficulty in cycling naturally again being high among them, but also just the effects of not having hormones in balance and how, like any intricate art piece, every little part affects all the others. The Laughing Sage ladies know waaaaaay more than I do about all of this; give 'em a call if you want.

2) Rest, Recharge:

Like so many Americans, my adrenals were semi-tapped. And I've been getting enough sleep for years (after I fell asleep behind the wheel one night and ran my car off the road--that was literally a wake-up call from the Universe). But I'm busy, I drank caffeine, even if it was only tea in the morning, and my brain was on overdrive a lot of the time. Most hormonal issues start in the adrenals. It's why acupuncturists have so many patients with "low kidney/spleen chi" and "overactive/angry livers". The adrenals are tapped and the liver is overworking. In addition to getting sleep, cutting out as much caffeine as you can (I've had none for several months and it's fine--I've only craved it maybe three times), there are some great herbal supports you can take. Ashwaganda is a tincture you can get at a health food store that supports adrenal function; also many herb companies make Adrenal Support formulas. Alisa gave me Jarro brand, and I've been taking it every day for almost 2 months. If you have adrenal burn-out, there are lots and lots and lots of ways to deal with it.

3) Get Your Mind On Something Else:

I'm working on an amazing play. So there's something that requires a whole lotta focus while being a source of incredible happiness and creativity. I was ready to spend the whole summer meditating on a baby, and I am still doing that, but it's not taking up every waking thought. Which I think is helping. A watched pot.....you know.

4) What I'm eating:

Meals that prevent blood-sugar crashes throughout the day. Alisa helped me find a template that works for me; all of us are a little different. The general idea being that it's hard for the endocrine system to function properly if there are crazy blood-sugar highs and lows all day. So eating in a way that supports regular blood sugar is super-helpful. I eat a LOT more protein than I did, no refined sugar, not nearly as many grains as I used to eat, and barrels of veggies. What I did, with Alisa's help, was pay attention to what I ate and how I felt: if I was starving 2 hours later it wasn't a great sign; if my stomach freaked out, also not a good sign. It's intuitive, but sometimes we need help hearing our intuition.

So that's what I got for today.

After the post-it post, Juliana found this for me online at this etsy shop. How cute???!