simplifying

Life has been challenging me to find balance. Is that not always the challenge? Perhaps for those who are not so insane, your balance just comes to you. That is not so with me. I have to work hard to find it, and then when I do find it, I have to check and recheck that I have indeed found it.

Since we're pregnant again, my diet has become the thing nagging at the back of my mind. When we met with our midwives frequently, they were sure to enquire about our eating habits. Since we aren't using a midwife this time (not by choice, but because we are attempting a VBAC and don't want to use an unlicensed midwife. (State regulations and rules about midwifery might be a viable option for a later post.)), I haven't been as diligent about making wise food choices. I say we don't have a midwife, but we do have the "spirit" of one. We are going to use a sweet friend named Mariah White to act as our monitrice/birthcoach/doula. She is currently apprenticing with the midwife from Abe's birth, Jennifer Creel, and will be a full-on licensed midwife in about 6 months (I think). While I find it hard to hold myself accountable (lame, I know, but I love a cherry vanilla coke from Sonic, McDonalds french fries and various other forms of junk), Mariah asks about my eating habits.

She joined me for my prenatal (19 weeks) last week and gave me a few great suggestions. The simplest was to buy a bag of frozen fruit...make it fun. Sam's has massive bags, as does WalMart, of strawberries, peaches, pineapple and mango. She also suggested, making and eating my own granola. After Abe was born, I LOVED making my own granola. But have since gotten lazy. It tastes so much better than anything store bought, and I can put blackstrap molasses in it to help boost my iron. This week we are implementing those two things. Once things become habits, I find it so much easier to be the person I intend to be, to find that ever-sought-after balance I need.