Her Story.

Decision to breastfeed:

Elizabeth started her journey on natural health a few years ago. She did not really want children until she reached 30 years old and then all of a sudden when she turned 30 – she wanted a baby right now. At this point, it was a being that she was into eating well, breastfeeding for her was definitely something she as going to do – it was a no brainer.

She admits to not really preparing much for it in the way of reading or watching videos or attending breastfeeding groups. She does have a trusted friend of hers, a local Arizona physician, who said to her – you have to see a lactation consultant. Elizabeth knew this suggestion came from a good source so she called up his referral, who happened to be, yours truly!

Thank goodness Elizabeth feels that she learned a lot of great information from our consult. She now recommends every new mother have a consult with and IBCLC. She planned a homebirth, however, transferred to the hospital. She was able to reap the benefits of having breastfeeding assistance from the hospital lactation consult. Early breastfeeding went fairly well for her, until she reached about 8 months when she started having recurring clogged ducts. She has had 6 clogged ducts at this point and while it has caused her a fair amount of stress, however, she tells us that she has been pretty successful in taking care of them.

Very early days of breastfeeding:

Elizabeth shares some details about the very early days of breastfeeding. Her first words of wisdom are to tell moms to not give up find a support group, see a lactation consultant, and just don’t give up. Her early challenges were the uncertainty of it all. She was quite overwhelmed with the birthing experience and was not too concerned with how he was breastfeeding. She remembers the videos that I showed her and she thought she was doing everything right – however, needed the assurance. Logically speaking, it looked okay, but she was just not sure.

She feels like noone could have really settled her uncertainty or anxiety and that she just had to get through the first few days/weeks herself. She does remember feeling anxiety when her milk came in, her baby boy went to sleep very heavily and this concerned her. She tried to wake him up and freaked out when he did not respond to her offer to feed him. I did learn that she was waking him up every 2 hours to feed him. If he was having great feedings and getting quite satiated and she was waking him up before he was ready, this would explain why he would not wake up – He clearly was not ready to feed.

Postpartum Sleep:

He never ate for a long period of time and this made her nervous. She did have some latch issues to work through the first few weeks. We did talk about sleep issues, which made Elizabeth laugh – Sleep? What’s that? She did say that she learned to just deal with it. She was originally taught to wake him up every 2 hours, which she did follow during the early days. Elizabeth tells us that after a while she was able to trust her instincts and was able to let go of any paranoia and began to let him sleep until he woke up on his own. She does acknowledge that this is a learning process that you have to get to in your own time.

She was tired all the time even though she had plenty of help from her mom and her partner. She knows this was a huge help and did allow her to deal with the fatigue better. She slept with her baby and made sure to take plenty of naps. Elizabeth knew this was very important to her pp healing and recovery. She was able to do this because of her helpers.

Bedshare:

Elizabeth slept with her baby from the very beginning. She does say that she purchased a crib, however, she rarely put him in it to sleep. She continues to enjoy sharing a bed with her baby. Her partner was nervous about it in the early days, however, they worked through that. She can’t imagine having to get up leave bed, and for bottle babies, first make a bottle and then be able to feed your baby.

One thing she loves about breastfeeding:

The closeness. The intimacy X10. She gets teary eyed when she things about how important breastfeeding has been for her. She never knew she could imagine loving someone was so much. She tells us she has a lot of friends who love to tell her what she needs to do as a mommy and breastfeeding. She also does have a few friends who support her mothering lifestyle and appreciates this. One of the things they talk about is where he naps. Most of the time he sleeps/naps on Elizabeth. She works from home and realizes that she can get more work done when he sleeps on her. She accepts the choices other people make and as also is strong enough in her own conviction to do what feels right to her.

Words of wisdom to the soon to be mother:

Don’t give up. Don’t get discouraged. If you need help, reach out for help because it is out there. We talked about that it is a sign of strength to ask for help and not a sign of weakness, which is how some mothers feel. She is a strong proponent of getting help from a lactation consultant feeling that it is worth the cost – Invest in your health!

All About Mothering Membership site:

Elizabeth has provided a video for the site where she talks about good foods to eat for the conception/pregnancy/breastfeeding super foods that are good for this stage of a womens life.

What Elizabeth learned about nutrition and her eating habits during her pregnancy –

She felt she was pretty healthy and almost felt like she was immune. Before she was pregnant, she had smoothies and salads and when she got pregnant, she was quite surprised when she realized that she could not finish a smoothie. All she wanted was breads and pasta’s. This was very difficult and it took an emotional and professional toll on her.

She shares with us an article she read about this very topic and she learned that it was okay if she did not eat perfectly. Her baby would be fine. As a pregnant mom, you might not feel the best, but your baby will be okay if you don’t eat perfectly. So, she learned to accept this and adapt. She gave in to so me of her food cravings and at the same time tried to make better choices. She would put greens in her sandwiches. She would try and find the best organic dairy free ice cream. She would us a healthier spread, something like hummus on her sandwiches. Elizabeth did eat pasta, however, she load it up with good foods like nuts and greens.

Elizabeth found a way to make peace with her eating habits during her pregnancy. However, shortly after her baby was 3 months old, she split with her partner. She stopped caring about what she was eating. She gave in to sugar cravings. She ate a lost of pasta. Elizabeth was soon diagnosed with hypoglycemia. This concerned her and sought out to correct her diet and do better nutritionally. She was familiar with Dr. Gabriel Cousens who has had much success working with people with diabetes and his raw foods diet has helped them reverse this illness.

Elizabeth was familiar with raw foods and really wanted to follow Gabriel’s recommendations, however, was told by her physicians that she could not go raw because if she detoxed, all the toxins would go to her breastmilk and get to her baby. Out of concern for her baby, she tried her best to manage her condition with a balanced cooked food diet. This was not working for her. It was stressfull and emotional and very hard. She even debated weaning her baby so that she could change her diet.

Elizabeth did her own research and found studies that measured the levels of toxins in breastmilk in different situations. The results of these studies convinced her that it would be safe for her to go on a raw foods diet. She was careful to keep any eye on her supply, how she was feeling any behavioral changes in her baby, any weight loss, anything that would signal a problem. Everything was fine. She began to feel better, her blood sugar levels are normal now and she is now hungry. For months she would only feel sick when it was time to eat. Now she feels hungry. Elizabeth believes this was a success for her.

What has she learned about pregnancy, lactation and breastfeeding:

Our bodies have all these amazing protective qualities to it. It is protecting the baby.The breast is an organ and acts as an amazing filter which reduces the amount of toxins that get into the breastmilk.

To reduce the judgments that she has about the eating habits of other people and with the clients that she works with. You have to meet people where they are at. She was there once. At 25 years, she was doing drugs, drinking and eating at Jack In the Box. When I changed my ways, I became super judgey, but I have since learned how to work with people, I have matured and I am not perfect. Elizabeth acknowledge she she is continuing to learn. She continues to evolve and make dietary changes according to what she learns along the way.

What is Elizabeth currently work on. What is she passionate about?

Colon Hydrotherapy. Nutrition and supplements and use essential oils with her cients. Sugar Detox that has become her new passion. Elizabeth also teaches cooking classes. If you get a group together she will come to your home and give a class. Elizabeth also is a personal chef who does house calls. She helps with meal planning and phone coaching. You can check out her site for details on all the programs she offers.

Moms should not be afraid to make subtle changes during pre-conception, pregnancy and while breastfeeding.

If you are feeling overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, I encourage you to call Elizabeth for a free phone consult.

Links
email address: elizabeth@bemoreraw.com
cell phone #: 623.205.4214
social media contact info:
facebook.com/bemoreraw
instagram.com/bemoreraw
twitter: @bemoreraw