It all started by accident

Here I am with my daughter on the day she was born. 

For the past five years or so I have become more and more interested in leading an all natural, eco friendly lifestyle. I've made changes here and there that I feel contribute to the conservation of mother earth, even if its on a small scale. Of course there is much more I can do and improve on, but I hope that this blog will provide others with the information they need to be more "green."

I believe, first and foremost, we must put great care into what we put in and on our bodies. We all know that a good diet and exercise will help us achieve overall wellness, but yet we don't do it. Instead we try to treat our ailments individually as they come, taking all sorts of over the counter medicines and suffering from their side effects. Wouldn't it be better to simply consume the right combination of foods and beverages to prevent the illness in the first place? 

I learned this lesson in the most beautiful way: Childbirth. 

I was very young when I had my little girl and I knew very little and cared even less about treating my body right. After all, I was still in that stage where I could eat whatever I pleased and not gain an ounce. But I was pregnant and had to make decisions about my pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum care  though I knew very little about it. Luckily, the internet was chock full of information that became invaluable to me. I read everything I could get my hands on, reading intently when I got to the parts about active labor. And I was torn. Epidural...no epidural? Its possibly the most controversial topic on any pregnancy message board.

Now I'm going to take a break from the story right here because I'm sure you know where this is going. Long story short, I went all natural. But don't stop reading; I'm not going to get on my soap box and lecture you on natural childbirth being better than any other childbirth. Its just not true, because no matter how they come, every childbirth is beautifully poetic.

I will say that when I walked into the maternity ward at the hospital that day, I was fully convinced of my decision to get an epidural. But I feel I made that decision because I was pressured and misinformed. For most of my pregnancy, I wanted to go all natural, based on the well known side effects (some which can be life long) and increased risk of a c section with an epidural or other pain relievers. But when I told my doctor this, he was firmly opposed. "But you will be so tired, you won't be able to push the baby out, and we would have to put you under for a c section."

It terrified me. Not to mention, I had watched every episode of a baby story where most of the mothers get epidurals and c sections, and Hollywood also did their part in scaring me into believing that I wouldn't be able to handle the pain. Its kind of funny when i think about it. Why did I ever believe that my body couldn't handle what it was made by nature to do?

I went all natural on accident. I just couldn't make it to the hospital in time to get an epidural and my daughter was born a mere hour and a half after arriving. But my body responded exactly like all the books and internet articles said it would, and when I had her in my arms, I was hit by a wave of hormones that sent me to the moon. That would have never happened had I taken any pain relievers.

I was lied to. I was told I needed something that I clearly didn't and it led me to question the other lies big companies tell the consumer. It led me to realize how horrible our food, bath products, medicines, and other consumables really are. So it was through this accident that I developed an interest for being as natural as possible, and hopefully this story will inspire you to do the same.

My daughter with my son, my second all natural hospital birth