Baby Steps Become Giant Steps

               

*The following health and medical claims come from years of experience and if you will, experimenting to find what works for me. I am not a doctor and I do not play one on TV. 

Health and wellness is not a one size fits all. This is a lesson I have learned very intimately on my health journey of almost 2 decades. (Oof! That made me feel old! Lol) Just as every body is different, every health journey is also different. For instance, there are some people who have Lyme disease that the carnivore diet has worked wonders for! On the other hand, there are people like me who struggle to eat red meat due to alpha gal and mcas. If I were to eat pork or red meat, I would need an EpiPen ready at the go! My face and neck would blow up like a balloon. As fun as balloons are, I would prefer not to be one myself. 

Even the diets that have been perfected by the medical experts, they need to be tweaked to your own personal needs. That’s where the baby steps come in. With mcas, you can eat, let’s say avocados fine one day, and the next day it sends you into anaphylaxis. Even healthy foods you may have to consider with a grain of salt. Pun intended. 

We have to become our own advocates for our health. This is why self love and self care are detrimental to our health. We have to learn to listen to our body. Since our body is a temple, it will tell us what it needs if we’re listening. For some people like me, it takes baby steps because a lot of my nervous system, autonomic nervous system especially, is completely jacked. I don’t always know when I’m hungry or thirsty or when I need to use the restroom. Those signals are off for me. I could eat one bite of a baby carrot and just feel miserably full. This is why most of my diet has become liquid. Smoothies around 11 or noon, and soup around 5 or 6pm. 

I like to take diet or health plans and work them into one giant puzzle. This works for me from the Mediterranean diet, so I’ll add “that” to my lifestyle. This works for me from intermittent fasting, so I’ll add that to my lifestyle. This works from the antihistamine diet, and this works from the high polyphenol diet, and so on. It makes me think of how Jesus told us that “He works all things together for our good.”

It also works in the activity aspect of lifestyle. For instance, it took me a week to clean off my dresser top. I paid attention to how much activity my body could handle. I noticed the side of my face was getting puffy and starting to droop, so I stopped for the day. I have found a few exercise programs that I’m very excited to gradually increase my activity, until I’m doing the whole routine. Right now, I do two 30 sec. segments of the workout. However, if the next day I feel like I’m going to pass out from activity, I give my body a rest that day or couple of days. Having grace and realizing that you eat an elephant, one bite at a time, brings so much peace and ease into this journey. Don’t get me wrong, it’s hard as hell! Yet it is all worth it. 

So maybe you have found yourself on your own health journey that really just blindsided you. Know this. It will all be okay in the end, and if it’s not good then it’s not the end. Take it one day at a time. Remember, Jesus told us not to worry about tomorrow because tomorrow will worry about itself. Preach it Jesus! All that worry and shame do, is make things harder on you and your loved ones. It really doesn’t fix anything. So relax. Take a deep breath in and out. In and out, In and out. Don’t look at it all as a daunting task. Pick one piece of the puzzle. Example: I need to work on my digestive system, so I’m going to work on getting better rest. (Digestion also takes part while we’re sleeping, so if we’re not sleeping well that plays a role in how we’re digesting.) Try taking magnesium one hour before your desired bedtime.

Once you feel ready, pick another puzzle piece to solve. Baby step your way to victory! 

There are many sections to this puzzle. I believe it is key to talk to Jesus or to check in with yourself, then place your focus what needs your focus on a daily basis. He wants to free us from illusions and the lies that are at the foundation. No matter how loud not good enough/ too much tries to scream at you. Don’t worry, it’s got a big mouth but no bite. Unless we buy into it. A new song that has become a personal favorite of mine is: The Truth by Megan Woods. Knowing the truth, intimately is what will carry you to victory.

Sometimes Jesus will heal instantly and other times, it takes a journey. Whatever the outcome, it’s important that we know this. GOD DID NOT MAKE YOU SICK. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH YOU. HE IS NOT MAD AT YOU. I promise I’m not yelling at you. Just felt like I was supposed to all caps it! Haha 

Life can be really beautiful, if we want it to be. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the beholder is the one who is willing to fight and take hold of the life of their wildest dreams! 

So let’s go put in work! We’re worth it!

Love Always,

Nanny Nicole

Grace Is A Powerful Weapon

 Have you noticed that everyone has an opinion on parenting on the socials now, and everyone thinks their parenting tip is the right way to parent? I’m hoping that what you read will be like a breath of fresh air, and will bring peace, where there has been stress, pressure and shame.

There is no cookie cutter way to parenting. Every family, every child, every parent is different and wonderful in their own unique way. The Bible absolutely has it right when it says to, “Raise a child in the way THEY should go.” (Prov. 22:6) This verse reminds me of an episode on Bluey, where Mum encourages Bluey to run her own race. There is no perfect timing for a child to reach a certain milestone. They will reach whatever milestone, they’re “supposed to” reach in their own timing. 

I believe that it is time for us to forgive and release ourselves from the pressure and the shame that we have felt to stay within the norms of society. Let’s mind and steward our own parenthood. I believe so many norms have been deeply rooted in shame and it has become detrimental to our families and to our physical, mental and emotional health. 

Whether your parenting lines up with gentle parenting or the more assertive type of parenting. All that matters is that you are parenting the best way for your family. This is why I say that grace is a powerful weapon. It destroys the works of shame. I’m not sure when it happened, but there has been a mission or an assignment that has been placed on this new generation of parents. Your assignment: You must undo every generational parenting mistake ever done. EVER! Whew! I’m exhausted just typing it! 

I have one question. Who said so? Shame. Shame said so. Shame loves nothing more than to belittle and devalue you and everyone around you. 

I know that this can be a touchy subject because some backgrounds are truly traumatizing and are full of experiences that no child should have to go through or experience. I am truly sorry if this is the truth for you. It was not your fault and you did not deserve it. I pray you find healing or continue to heal as you parent with the intention of love and kindness. 

*This next statement does not include traumatic experiences.*

Shame looks upon everything with destruction in mind. It leaves you in a mess of toil and pain, but the truth will set you free. What is the truth? Your parents and their parents before them, and their parents before them. They were only ever, doing the best they knew how. If their intention was love and to help you grow into who you are, Today? Then that’s all that matters. This does not disvalue the pain the mistakes caused, but it does make a path for forgiveness, grace and connection.

When we surrender our graven images of parenting to God, then we can release others and ourselves from the bondage of our disappointment. We are then able to have the perspective we need to celebrate others and our own victories! We are able to free the people in our world of the expectations that we have placed on them and on ourselves. We are able to let go of the lie that we’re powerful enough to break a child because of our mistakes, and embrace the truth that God is more than able to hold our families in his strong hands! We can trust God with our families. We can trust God with ourselves. We can trust in God’s relationship with others. We can trust in others and our relationship with God. He’s really big and really good! 

For my family personally, we are praying and fighting for perspective on the daily. Our parenting doesn’t look like anything we thought it would. Corey is the full time everything right now. We are the absolute best parents for Ty because he was given to us. He adores his dad. He wants to do everything DaDa does. My time with Ty looks like cuddling in bed and watching shows or parts of a movie on the “iTop”. That means if we applied the social norms to our current situation, “we’re failing” our son because of too much screen time. If I applied that standard to our lives, then I wouldn’t have any time with my son. Instead I trust myself, Corey and Ty to know that we are loving on Ty the best we can right now. I talk to Jesus and check in with myself and Corey. Corey is really killing it at parenting! Their bond is beautiful, and Ty is constantly growing and learning every day! We are very proud of the smart, kind, funny and sweet boy that he keeps growing and growing into! Our big boy is learning how to use the potty. He loves to say, well really sing his ABCs and 123s! He often calls me “Baby”, “Honey” and even “CoCo”. Sometimes he even calls me “Nicole” Lol, we’ve learned that’s why couples call each other “DaDa and Mama!”

So I invite you to step into the love, hope, joy and freedom that grace and forgiveness provides! I also invite you to remember that every sin, every curse, every work of darkness, death, hell and the grave was completely defeated by Christ! From the foundations of the world! (Rev. 13:8)

That means ABSOLUTE and TOTAL FREEDOM! Once and for ALL! Now go parent and love on your babies! The best way THEY should go.

Love Always,

Nanny Nicole