Why I Made the Choice to Change (AKA: My Story)

River rock hand painted by Ingrid Dhyl at Artsen

This is the story of how I started out with holistic healing and healthy living.  Like most people, I was just going about my life thinking I was untouchable.  I hardly gave the food I put into my mouth a second thought, I used any cleaning products I could find on sale, and I applied skin creams that smelled like candy.  I didn't read labels, and I thought that tea was for wimps.

This was until I became pregnant.  Very early on in that first trimester, I felt nauseous when I prepared certain foods (such as meat), and I just could not stand the smell of the cleaning products.  I barely cooked (good excuse right?) and I'd wear a bandana over my nose/ mouth when cleaning.  It was pretty bad.

It was around that time that I started reading the popular books about the things I needed to know about being pregnant.   I remember reading somewhere that the reason we have such reactions to scents while pregnant is because our bodies are warning us of possible dangers to the development of the baby.

Well, that was all I needed to know.

I began looking for alternatives immediately. 

I was on a mission.

I learned to make my own cleaning products and I stopped cooking meat. I made sure to prepare the most nutritious meals using grains and pulses instead. 

 

For 9 months, I did everything right. I loved being pregnant and I just felt good about all of the new choices I was making.

And then my son was born.

We learned at birth that my son has a chromosomal disorder that will affect the rest of his life.  

As you can imagine, I was shocked.  I was sad.  I was scared.  I was confused.  But, how could this be?  I did everything right!  The doctor reassured us that it was a fluke and that it was nothing we had done or not done. 

But I didn't believe him.  I still don't.

I read everything I could get my hands on in terms of possible causes. Although nothing pointed in the direction of this particular diagnosis, I learned about all of the toxins that affect our health in one way or another.  While I was focusing on what I was putting into and onto my system during those nine months, I had never once thought about what I had been exposed to myself since birth.

With the encouragement of a beautiful friend of mine, who was already immersed in the holistic realm, I began exploring other methods of care for my son.  I wanted to make sure that he be given the best possible chance in life - to thrive, to grow, and to live fully.  

I did everything I could to avoid the excess toxins in his diet, in his skin care and in his home environment.  In addition to his regular medical appointments, I made sure he was also treated by some of the best alternative practitioners in Montreal.  I first started him off with an osteopath, and then, met a wonderful chiropractor (whom we still visit with - including mom (that's me!)- who has since experienced the benefits first hand!) 

My son began sipping herbal tea at about 2 months (when we thought he might be colicky), taking homeopathics at 3 months (at the first signs of teething), and probiotics at 4 months (when we learned that he had GERD).  His first foods were homemade organic veggie purées, and his first skin care products (a gift from my amazing friend), included all organic ingredients.  When he got sick, I resorted to natural homemade remedies including herbs and spices and homemade balms using essential oils.

I stopped making my own cleaning products once I found a cheaper and easier alternative (ie: Shaklee Get Clean) to ensure that his environment was non-toxic as well - including the dish soap I used to wash his teethers and spoons with!  His toothpaste was natural and did not contain fluoride.  His laundry detergent was purely non-toxic with no phthalates (ie: no baby powder scent) and his diapers were chlorine-free and biodegradable.  For a while, I even slipped him into cloth diapers... oh, yes people, I went there too!

And this is how I've landed here - a holistic health activist, a self-taught herbalist and self-proclaimed Green Clean Queen!

My son is 4 1/2 years old now, and very strong health-wise.  I am convinced that his overall good health has to do with what I do use with him, and also what I avoid.  Because we cannot completely avoid toxins in our world, I make sure to do what I can with what I can control in our home.  I continue to use a mix of conventional and alternative methods to care for my son- what is referred to as complementary medicine.  A little of this, a little of that.  Mostly organic.  Mostly natural.  Always aiming to be safe.

My mission is not to overwhelm you with green-talk.  My mission is to raise awareness - to help you learn what I wish I had learned long ago.  It's also to break the chain of chemical brainwashing - what our parents/ grandparents were led to believe by large corporations was better than their natural, homemade methods.  

Nothing will convince me otherwise that the excess daily toxins that both my husband and I were exposed to throughout our entire lives was a contributing factor to the so-called "fluke" at conception.  We need to ask ourselves why there are more and more situations where parents are faced with diagnoses that completely alter their lives - whether during pregnancy, at birth or at 2 or beyond.

Our health crisis is not a fluke. 

So, whether you are trying to conceive, are presently pregnant, dealing with a health issue or not, I wish for you to consider the fact that no one is untouchable.  If we stop living blindly and start  thinking about what we expose ourselves (and our families) to, we can start on the path to prevention.  

Don't ignore it.  

Don't roll your eyes at it.  

Don't wait for a crisis. 

Start now.  

And spread the word.

I hope to help you make one little change, one little step at a time.  Together, we must make a  difference in the lives of those who come after us.