Key Components to a Healthy Nest

Every mama bird takes great pride in her nest. She searches far and wide for the perfect pieces to form the first place her little baby birds will grow until they hatch, and spend the first many weeks of their life.

For human women, our womb is our baby's nest. From it, they have a safe home, receive nourishment, and get to know us for the first time in a way nobody else ever will. It's so special, if you stop and think about it.

Many of us think to fuel our bodies with prenatal vitamins to prepare for pregnancy, but there are several additional things that will help you build a nest you can be PROUD of!

Toxins

Toxins are anything that causes a chemical stress to your body. Most obviously, we can look in your cabinets and see what kinds of cleaning products you're using. However, we often overlook many of our beauty and hygiene products (anything from laundry detergents to our makeup, hair care products, and deodorant). Have you ever seen articles talking about chemicals in these products that have been known to cause cancer? Well...if they're linked to such a horrendous disease, there's probably a good chance it's not going to help the health of your nest!

And don’t forget about food!

"Every time you eat or drink you are either fighting disease or feeding it."
- Heather Morgan

Let that one sink in! I like to ask myself at the grocery store, "Is this food going to bless my body?" If it doesn't, I put it back on the shelf. We still treat ourselves sometimes, but sticking to a dietary habit that blesses your body at least 80% of the time sets you up for good health!

Traumas

Ever been in a car accident? Sports injury? Obviously both physical trauma to your body.

But what about if you sit for a long time at work? Or the polar opposite and are on your feet the whole day? Do you sit with your legs in one direction and your head always turned to the opposite side? Has it been an embarrassingly long time since you've worked out? Have you never been adjusted by a chiropractor?

All of these are very physically taxing on your body.

Thoughts

This is a biggie. We all know emotional stress is a very real part of pretty much everyone's life. But just about everyone I know also downplays the drastic effect that our emotional stress can have on our physical health. What kinds of things are you doing to take care of your emotional health? Manicures, bubble baths, and binge watching your favorite reality tv show are great, but when it comes to self care, it just doesn't cut it. Are you creating healthy boundaries for yourself and your partner? Are you finding a healthy outlet to relieve your stress such as therapy or journaling? Have you learned to say no? Self care is such an extensive topic with endless options, but it's so outrageously important!

Unfortunately, your body doesn't have one bucket for your thoughts, one bucket for your toxins, and one bucket for your traumas. No. It all goes into one big bucket. So if you are having A LOT of emotional stress with your bucket at 95% full (for example), it could take one simple fast food meal that puts you over the edge and creates an unhealthy environment in your body. Unhealthy could look different for everyone. Maybe you develop cysts. Perhaps anxiety or depression. Possibly even miscarriages or infertility. Most of these health challenges are multi-faceted, but one thing is true for all of them: if you minimize the stress that your body encounters on a day-to-day basis, the chances of struggling with them is significantly lower.

Healthy babies come from healthy pregnancies! Making your health a priority means you're making your future baby a priority!