Tag Archives: selfcare

Finding your Health Team with Dr. Leah Dukowitz



Dr. Leah is a mum of 3 boys, is passionate about health and wellness and runs a thriving chiropractic office Vitalize Family Chiropractic in Shiloh, IL.

When her oldest son started having seizures, she had to decide what the best course of treatment was. Navigating the medical world can be challenging for anybody. Listen in to Dr. Leah’s story and learn how she and her family dealt with this huge challenge.

Connect with Dr. Leah

Vitalize Family Chiropractic

Facebook

Instagram @dr_leah_dukowitz


My NZ Tribute… Kia Kaha



The massacre in New Zealand has touched me deeply. I felt compelled to share something regarding it, possibly for a cathartic effect, but hopefully it can do more than that. This is what I wrote in the minutes after hearing about it… the first thoughts that came to mind.

As I watch my son goo, gah and giggle while getting changed, I’m reminded that we are not born with hate in our heart.

That to hate is something that we learn as we grow.

And what can be learned can be unlearned.
What can be learned can override past learnings.

To drive out hate we must spread love. It’s the only way. Darkness cannot be overcome with more darkness or more anger, we need to bring light even when it seems there is not even a flicker.

It starts with me. And it starts with you. There is no longer a place on the sidelines. Apathy is complicit to those that have learned to hate so strongly that they explode.

My thoughts are with my brothers and sisters in NZ. I am sending love and light. ❤️

Kia Kaha is a Maori phrase used as an affirmation to Stay Strong.


Surprising lessons from the Motherhood Trench



I’m nearly 11 months into being a mother. Some would say, as soon as I got pregnant, I became a mother, but math isn’t my strong suit so let’s just say nearly 11 months. Reflecting back on what the almost last year has been like, I realized there are a couple of things that really stand out as surprising over this journey. I’m sure it’s different for everyone, but I wanted to share mine and hopefully you’ll feel motivated to share yours and we can come up with a whole laundry list of surprising and unexpected things about motherhood to share with the next generation. So here are my top three things that surprised me about motherhood.

  1. I miss my old life. The one where I could sleep in and nap whenever I liked. I could lie on the couch and watch tv uninterrupted. The one where I could drop everything and hit the slopes or trails. I worked out when I wanted and spent time working whenever I wanted. I did all the things I loved without the necessity for a plan. Before a new little human came into my life, I couldn’t fathom the way that would change my life. I had an inkling. This inkling was the catalyst for going through many years thinking I didn’t want kids, because it would change my life in a way I wasn’t prepared for. Eventually, I was ready to have kids, but I still wasn’t prepared for the change. I don’t think that you can be. And I miss what was.
  2. I’m not IN love with my child. When people talk about their kids they say they are so IN love. To me, I pictured this love to be very similar to the love I have for my husband. The love that when we first started dating was so all consuming and so intense. But it’s so different. It’s like a slow burn that fills the very essence of my soul. It’s a love that is reserved only for him, just like the love for my husband is solely his. I love my son fiercely but I’m not IN love with him. In my definition, that’d be weird.
  3. I didn’t know that I could get so frustrated at somebody. For those that know me personally, I’m pretty laid back. I roll with the punches for the most part and don’t get rattled very often. But in the last 11 months, I can honestly say it’s the most frequently I have been frustrated in my life. This little person with his own personality, temperament, and determination who wants to do things his way, right now with zero concern for anybody else. And if not, then he will let you know about it. I know this is how babies are, and if he wants only me at 3am, it’s because I’m his source of sustenance, but fuck, who actually can comprehend this before it actually happens? There are a lot factors that go into this, such as sleep deprivation and hormones, but it’s a whole different side of me that I’ve never seen before. To say that you grow as a human when you become a parent is an understatement. We do focus on the growth of the child, with good reason, but the growth of the parent is seemingly just as important. Each day I’m learning and growing to lead, to communicate and to teach, and that’s a pretty big fucking deal.

It goes without saying that I love my child. The words above are not to degrade this life changing event, but to bring enlightenment to it. To recognize that it’s ok to miss what was. To know it’s ok that giving love isn’t just one dimensional, and to understand that my own growth is just as important as my son’s. I know that each day, week, month and year is going to bring new surprises and lessons. It’s up to me to embrace the suck, the joy, the learning, the growth and the whole messiness of raising a family, because there is no other way to go through it. Love to hear your thoughts about this one! Drop em’ in the comments below.


The Hives Saga!



If you have been following me at all – on this blog or on instagram, you would know that I’ve been dealing with hives. They come and they go and until now I have been completely at a loss for what could be causing them. Last night, I put all the pieces of the puzzle and think I have come up with the answer. Breastfeeding is triggering the hives.

How do I know this? Well, when I am in practice seeing clients my hives completely go away. This initially led me to believe it was an allergen in my house. We then took a trip and were away from the house for 5 days, but I had zero relief from my hives. The second piece of the puzzle was diet. Usually, I’m quite conscientious about what goes in my mouth. On my recent trip to Australia, I wasn’t as picky and pretty much went with the flow in regards to food. It wasn’t my intention to have it continue when I got home, but it did. Dairy was the top of my list because I was completely dairy free for many months after Coen was born. Gluten is always a culprit as I know that I have a sensitivity to it through testing. So I started the whole30. A couple of days in, there was no change to my hives outbreak. The third piece of the puzzle was that when they originally started, they would be worse when I woke up in the morning. Then a couple of weeks ago, they started getting better upon waking.

What changed? We moved Coen to his crib and I stopped feeding him at night. Coen doesn’t come to work with me and he takes a bottle while I’m gone, so most days I go 6 hours without feeding him. Then last night after feeding him for the second time since coming home from work, I felt the hives really kick in. After a quick google search, I found that it’s quite common during postpartum breastfeeding. Usually it happens early on in postpartum, but for me I had been under some stress since coming back from Australia and couple that with not eating well and BAM! Hives.

One thing to note here is that breastfeeding is not causing the hives. It is the trigger. That may seem like semantics, but bear with me here. For 10 months I breastfed without one single hive. If breastfeeding was causing the hives, then I would have had them all along. But I didn’t. What I have now is an immune system that is compromised from excess stress, both chemical and emotional. It’s up to me to rebuild my body through sound nutrition and self-care to allow myself the correct response to feeding Coen. I could choose to give up breastfeeding, and the hives may or may not go away. But, if I do that and they do go away, I have lost my feedback for whether I am on the right track nutritionally and emotionally.  Your body is always giving you signs and signals. Symptoms are the alarm that something is wrong. Suppressing them or avoiding them doesn’t make the issue less real, just less present.

So, I’m continuing on with the whole30. It’s a great way to reset the body. I’m going to do some reading about what I can focus on in my diet to help my system chill the fuck out, and I’m going to listen to and nurture my body and mind to make sure that I’m in a great place emotionally. Oh, and I’ll continue to get adjusted by my chiropractor once a week (or more) to make sure all my systems are getting the messages they need to function properly.

A head in the sand approach will never get you the outcome that you want, where are you doing this in your life? Know that you’re not alone and can reach out whenever you get stuck or just want someone to vent to.

Update 3/13/19: I have now been supplementing with cod liver oil, evening primrose oil, vitamin D, consistently taking my prenatal and continuing on with the whole30. As of yesterday, I am almost hive free. There was one spot on my leg when I woke up this morning but it was teeny tiny. Guys, listen to your body, seek out the answers and work diligently to implement. Results won’t be overnight, but consistent action will get you what you want!


Flying Solo… Tips & Tricks for Traveling with Your Little



I was anxious before leaving on our holiday to Australia. In general, I don’t like to make this trip on my own. It’s a long time by myself and I’m not super chatty with other travellers, so I spend a lot of time just not talking… which is kind of weird. This time heading home to Australia from Montana, I was not traveling alone per se, as my almost 9 month old was along for the ride. When I booked the flights, Coen was about 3 months old and just a blob. I couldn’t imagine that he would be very mobile and very curious about everything. The unknown of how he was going to respond was giving me anxiety. We had flown before, a quick trip to the midwest, at around 6 months. He did great! But, the flight was at least 4 times shorter than the one we were about to take and he was barely mobile. Looking back I had nothing to be worried about. I did, however, utilize some tips and tricks that I’m certain helped make the trip a piece of cake. These are what I want to share with you today!

  1. Have a game plan with your luggage. Checking your bags all the way through to your destination is not always an option with international travel, That means you have to pick them up and recheck them at some point. With only one set of hands, it can be hard to manage while toting a baby around. Ideally you will be able to get someone to help, but knowing how you are going to get them from the bag carousel to recheck them will keep you moving towards your destination.
  2. Know exactly where you packed everything. Because you only have one set of hands, you probably won’t have the usual diaper bag/handbag combo that you are used to. This may throw off your rhythm come diaper changing time or when you’re checking in. Use a bag that can keep everything in one place, so you don’t need multiple bags to carry on.
  3. Have a change of clothes for yourself. Obviously, you’ll have multiple changes for your little but you just never know when a poop explosion is going to seep on to your clothes. If you have 20+ hours ahead of you, it’s nice not to have to do it in poopy clothes or clothes covered in spit-up.
  4. Take your breastfeeding pillow on the plane. When your little one falls asleep, it’ll make it more comfortable for him as well as for you. You’ll be able to have both hands free and his head will be resting comfortably, instead of being smooshed on the arm rest. It is one more thing to carry with you, but it is literally one of your greatest assets!
  5. Request a bassinet seat ahead of time (if you can). This will have you seated at the bulkhead of the plane, giving you a little more room to maneuver when she is sleeping and awake. On the return visit from Australia, I couldn’t use the bassinet because it would of blocked my fellow aisle mates from getting out of their seats. But, it did give me a little more room to put Coen on the seat and I could kneel in front of him to keep him occupied while he was awake.
  6. Speaking of the bulkhead seat, use your wheelie carry on bag as a footrest. This made a huge difference for me going down to Australia. Qantas had an amazing bassinet for Coen (which he slept beautifully in), so I was able to get some good sleep, baby free. By using my carry on bag as a footrest, it was almost like being able to lie down… almost, but not.
  7. Gate check your stroller AND have an option to baby wear. By having both of these with me while I was traversing the airport, I was able to utilize what was best for getting us from A to B depending on the circumstances. Putting him in the stroller the majority of the time, kept him contained with both of my hands free. I was able to wear him through security which kept both of my hands free, to get all the things through the x-ray machine. When we landed in L.A and had to make our connections, I had to collect all my luggage and change terminals. I was able to utilize the stroller as a way to carry some of the luggage, wear Coen and pull the big suitcase. This point obviously goes hand in hand with number 1… have a game plan.
  8. Limit the number of toys you take with you. I don’t know about you, but my little loves to play with everything but his actual toys. Instead of taking a ton of different things to keep him occupied, I made do with random objects we found along the way.
  9. Board the plane as close to last as possible. I know they always ask for parents traveling with kids to board first for extra time, but when you’re the first one on it means that you have to hold your kid in the seat for the longest period of time. By boarding last, they can continue playing and spend as little time as possible cooped up in your seat.

I hope this helps ease some of your anxiety when traveling solo with your little. While the trip was still hard… it was 28 hours of travel!… it was pretty much smooth sailing the whole way. While I can’t guarantee that if you follow these steps it’ll be easy for you (or for me the next time we go!), hopefully they will ease some stress that goes with traveling with a little one. If you have done anything else to ease the burden of travel with your little one, I’d love to know what you did. Drop it below in the comments!


Just Start



It’s been a struggling getting up to full speed after coming back from holiday. Yes, there is the excuse of jet lag for myself and for Coen, but it shouldn’t take three weeks to get back to feeling ready to tackle my life and to start kicking ass again. This is so indicative of what happens in our life. We get thrown off course, for whatever reason – sickness, our kids, our spouse, our work, our extended family, holiday – and the getting back on track takes WAYYYY too long. I have a theory for why this is, keep reading if you’re curious about what it is.

Our insecurities kick in. That voice in our head that says, ‘You shouldn’t be doing this, you’re not good enough, smart enough, interesting enough… {insert insecurity here}.’ I’ve been back for 3 weeks and I’m yet to record a podcast. It’s easy to blame time or tiredness or my family. But, if I’m 100% honest, it’s because I’ve reverted back to thinking that I’m not good enough and I have nothing to say. Even though I know exactly what my first 2 or 3 episodes are going to be about! We push aside the things that scare us for the things that we know and then rationalize that we need to get other things done, like laundry. Nobody ever fucking regretted not doing laundry, but you will regret putting off that book you want to write.

So how do you push past those insecurities? You just start. Start with something that you know you can do. It’s all about the little wins, the base hits, that you can get without even having to flex your decision making muscle. Maybe you want to get back to exercising after falling into the holiday pit of parties, stress and extra family time. Start by getting outside with your kids. Play with them, take them for walks and just move your body. It’s not officially exercise, but moving daily is way better than sitting and watching them play on the floor. Then you can get a little more dedicated – go back to the gym once per week, or do squats/lunges while your doing the laundry. There is so many ways to incorporate extra movement into your day that literally requires no extra thought, time or planning on your behalf.

Ok one more example. You have falling off the wagon of starting the business you were super fired up about. Take 2 minutes out of your day and find 1 or 2 things that you can do that will reignite the fire. Maybe it’s committing to writing daily for your blog, or it’s spending 10 minutes recording content. It doesn’t have to be perfect, fuck it doesn’t even have to be good! I was reading or listening to Seth Godin (I can’t remember which), and he said there is no such thing as writer’s block. ‘Interesting…’ I thought. He went on to say, you can always write something. Not everything you do will be good, to be frank, most of will be crap. But, getting into the daily habit of performing a task is going to move you towards the targets you have.

While I’m sharing this blog post to you, I’m mostly talking to myself. I see this hesitancy, this insecurity in me on a daily basis, and I just need to start. So let’s start together. Let’s put the laundry, the dishes and whatever mindless, endless household task that you’re doing that is taking priority, aside, and start working on the things that really light us up and bring us joy!

 


Coffee & Mindset with Dr. Adana Vargas



Today I speak with Dr. Adana Vargas. This is one rad lady who is doing great things! She has one daughter Amaya who is 2 and a half, and with her husband Chris own Innate Family Chiropractic in Pasadena, CA. She hasn’t stopped there! This year she launched a coaching business called Coffee & Mindset, two of her fav things as well as creating and designing affirmation cards called I am Me.

It was my absolute pleasure to chat with her about all her upcoming ventures and challenges that goes along with diversifying and stepping outside our comfort zones.

To connect with Adana find her on all the social medias

Facebook: Coffee and Mindset

Instagram: @coffeeandmindset

Website: www.dradanavargas.com


For the Daddies with Dr. Nick Fanning



In today’s episode I interview my first Dad! Dr. Nick Fanning gets real, raw and authentic about his experience as a father of 5. He really drops some truth and some awesome tips for all parents out there.

Dr. Nick Fanning is a full time dad and husband that shares his passion of parenting, life, and chiropractic in his home clinic in Ogallala, NE and his podcast, “The SuperParent Syndrome”

He has FIVE strong, independent, high-energy kids.  Hayden (8), Saffron (6), Deagan (6), Madelyn (4), and our newborn Gaia.  Along with three cats, his house is BUSY!

His wife of four years, Alisha helps him celebrate life with passions of yoga, foodie life, and all things “crunchy”.  She specializes in teaching kids yoga and organizing their crazy life.

Nick’s hobbies include: folding laundry, changing diapers, debating with children, date nights with the wife, meditation, and watching movies.

Follow him on Facebook

Instagram @drnickfanning

Listen on your fav listening device The SuperParent Syndrome


Understanding the Pelvic Floor with Dr. Erica Boland



Today, I speak with an amazing women who I truly look up to. Dr. Erica Boland is a passion driven woman with four beautiful boys. She works as a Chiropractor alongside her husband, Kyle, in Southwest Wisconsin, is a BIRTHFIT Regional Director and the BIRTHFIT Professional Director, a doula, and a core and pelvic floor enthusiast. A gypsy soul with a wild heart, rooted in love, it is her mission to educate and empower women through transformation of current standards and bring light to the responsibility society has to better support women and families.

Dr. Erica Boland is absolutely crushing it and it was so fun chatting with her about all her passions – BIRTHFIT, movement, her boys, pelvic floor, and empowering women! Check it out and let me know what you think.

Get social with Dr. Erica at multiple places!

For consultations head to the BIRTHFIT website

Facebook: Erica Boland and BIRTHFIT Wisconsin

Instagram:

@birthfitwisconsin

@emomdc

@birthfit


Finding Balance with Dr. Janna Doni Taback



In today’s episode we chat with Dr. Janna Doni Taback about finding balance. Dr. Janna works with her husband and we learn her secrets of having a successful working relationship while maintaining her personal life. We also chat about returning to work and the challenges that she faced after having her son Cruz.

Dr. Janna is a Chiropractor in Sudbury, Ontario and she runs a multi-discipline practice as well as working side by side with her husband who manages the Sudbury Kettlebell Club that is also onsite. She is passionate about wellness in all aspects and strives to always practice what she preaches. If you are located in Sudbury and want to get in contact with her and her team you can find her at www.vitachiropractic.ca