Hormones: the Great Seesaw Act
If you are a mom, have you ever had a person shake their head at you and exclaim, “I don’t know how you do it!” Maybe they are referring to the van full of kids you just appeared with, or maybe it is how dedicated you are at work and at home, or how you patiently you home-school your children, or how much you pour into their after-school activities. I’ve heard this comment many times myself (often from my own mother). We really do empty ourselves out into our families. While this is very self-less and beautiful, it can take a toll on our health and our hormones.
So today, I would like to talk to you about how our hormones want to be balanced. But first I’m going to Nurture you will a little story from when I was a new mom. I’m also giving something away today! In advance of my Hormone Reset class starting next month— check out the Nourishing Hormone Reset Meal Map at the end of this blog.
My first baby was a healthy 7lb 3 oz little boy, born in Port Arthur, Texas in 1995. My husband was active duty Coast Guard, and back then they did not get paternity leave. Fortunately my mother came to stay with me for a whole month. When she left I was both overwhelmed and bored. I did not know what to do with myself. So one day I decided to go to the shopping mall…by myself… with the baby. When I arrived at the mall, I got the baby out of the car seat and then realized I would have to get the stroller out of the trunk. I had no idea how to do that while I was holding the baby. I really did not even know how to unfold and unlock the stroller without the baby in my arms. And of course, there was no way I would consider leaving the baby in the car by himself if I was not with him. So I put him back in the car and drove home. I needed my mom or my husband or a friend— anyone with extra hands.
Fast forward 8 years. My 4th baby was 3 months old and we were moving from Astoria, Oregon to Washington, DC— by way of Southern California, before turning east into Arizona to see my family. By now, I had gotten rather adept at getting strollers out of the car. I could even get a double stroller in and out, with a backpack on my back and a baby on my hip!
My husband was driving the 3 older kids in his Bronco-the cooler ride-with a 13-inch video cassette player tv, bungie-corded to the center console. The kids could watch movies we brought with us like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or Swiss Family Robinson for hours.
I was driving the van with the baby and a few CDs: Latin chant, the Rosary, The Music Man (made for tv edition with Matthew Broderick), Sleep Baby Sleep (Irish Lullabies by Nicolette Larson), and Raffi’s Baby Beluga. How do I remember all this? Well, it was a very long drive, especially that part between El Paso and Houston, and it was before XM radio! Lastly, I was equipped with the handy walkie-talkie that I used to tell my husband when the baby started screaming so we could stop the caravan and nurse. Ahhh… life before cell phones!
One morning of this trip, we were at a hotel and my husband had to take a work call. I decided to take the 4 kids to breakfast by myself. Not a big deal. I had done a lot on my own with the kids over the past few years while my husband was at sea on Coast Guard patrols, often for months at a time. That morning, I remember walking into the breakfast area with my crew, helping the three older ones get their breakfast before putting the baby on my hip and getting my own breakfast. Then I noticed a new mom with a little baby staring at me. She and her husband were taking turns holding the baby so she could get her breakfast and eat it. And here I was, by myself, casually partaking in the waffle bar with 4 hungry kiddos, who were anxious to check out of the hotel and begin a fun day in San Diego. I was relieved that my little tribe was well behaved that morning as I patted myself on the back for being a pro at this motherhood stuff... Don’t ask me about the light saber fight later that day as we were leaving the Lego Land gift shop.
All of life is a balancing act. I could see this very clearly whenever I had another baby. Adjusting to their schedules seemed to be a daily activity I had very little control over. Not that there weren’t times when I tried to force naps and schedules on them, but as soon as I would have one nailed down, they seemed to outgrow needing that assigned nap time. This kind of felt like sitting across the seesaw from an older, bigger sister who was mad that you took the last cookie.
Your life can easily revolve around nap time— unless it revolves around soccer practice, piano lessons and karate class. Then the nap gets squeezed in on the road to/from activities. This is a very busy time in life where our cortisol and stress levels can quickly become unbalanced, and we may experience an upset in the rhythm of our menstrual cycles. For instance, we might have longer or shorter cycles with periods of infertility.
The balancing act continues through high school and beyond… like when you have teenagers who come home with a nebulous schedule that never seems to appear on the family calendar, so you rarely know who is coming or going. Or perhaps you are caring for an aging loved one and managing doctor appointments and other activities. At this stage of life our hormones might decide enough is enough! And they don’t want to support us like they used to.
Our hormones are mirroring on the inside whatever is going on on the outside. They need to be balanced, but are in a constant state of flux! As a woman this happens all month long as our sex hormones of estrogen and progesterone are doing a dance. Sometimes this is a slow graceful waltz, but more often it is more like a jazzy swing dance. If you are peri-menopausal it might be more like the cha-cha with a little disco thrown in. And if you are menopausal… well, we will discuss that in another blog post.
Regardless of where you are on this continuum, you also have to balance melatonin and cortisol so that you are sleeping well at night and have energy during the day. If that gets reversed, then we have issues that can easily cascade into more troubling problems.
Another one to be mindful of balancing are your blood sugar and insulin levels.
One way we can support this balancing act is through nutrition. What you eat has the potential— for better or worse to have a huge impact on your energy levels, mood, sleep, digestion, weight and much more.
There are also many lifestyle factors and a several great supplements that can support your hormones.
If you want to learn more about your ever-shifting hormones and what they are trying to tell you, join the Nurture and Nourish community for our Hormone Reset, starting February 3rd!
Want a sneak peak into what we will be discussing… click on this image to download my 3-day Hormone Reset Meal Map.
This is a great reference if your body is begging for a change and you don’t know where to begin.
And if you want to get in on the Hormone Reset, check out my website for all the details.
I hope to see you there!
Many Blessings to you!
Elizabeth
PS: Are you a busy mom in need of some new, easy, and nutritious recipes that you can put on the table in 30 minutes or less?
If you subscribe to my free blog, you will get a welcome email with a beautiful collection of 10 delicious and quick dinner recipes! (If you don’t see it, be sure to check your promotions folder). You will also get my newsletter which comes out when I’m publishing my blog about once a month, or when I’m offering a new program. I’d love to have you!
Medical Disclaimer: This information is being provided to you for educational and informational purposes only. It is being provided to educate you about how to take care of your body and as a self-help tool for your own use so that you can reach your own health goals. It is not intended to treat or cure any specific illness and is not to replace the guidance provided by your own medical practitioner. This information is to be used at your own risk based on your own judgment. If you suspect you have a medical problem, we urge you to take appropriate action by seeking medical attention.
