Beautiful Babies: Nutrition for Fertility, Pregnancy, Breast-feeding, and Baby's First Foods

Eating along the lines of what this book teaches has been important in my family for the last 5 years, shortly before we had kids. I'm continually looking at this subject of nourishing foods, and this book even for me was very helpful to reexamine some choices we've made for convenience off and on, when I've been tired or busy. I especially appreciated the discussion about genetic momentum as it's something I've considered often in the last few years. Each generation is less healthy than the last, and we're running out of the nutritional physical benefits that our ancestors have had. What can I do to build a strong physical foundation for my children? A lot! I'm currently pregnant with our third child, and reading in the book how crucial nutrition is in pregnancy has helped me make some immediate better choices for the benefit of my child. Having milk kefir daily, homemade broth daily, buying grass fed gelatin and having it daily, having cod liver oil daily,having liver weekly. Since I'll admit, I'm just not going to be cooking and eating liver and organs, I'm satisfied in buying Dr. Ron's Organ Delight capsules, a blend of 8 organs from grass fed animals. Now, I fail on a lot of those but I'm happy if I get all that 3-4 times a week though my goal is daily. I definitely have raw milk daily, and am a firm believer in its benefits over risks. In addition to the above items that are important to have in my diet, there are other things I am being careful about AVOIDING. I haven't bought vegetable oil for years and will not be doing that again, but I am watching more closely for additives that I've overlooked before that contain MSG (her chart was helpful in that regard). Also, it was new information for me to have it so clearly laid out the nutritional differences between commercial meat and grass fed meat. While we can't always afford to buy premium meat, I believe buying more during pregnancy will serve myself and my baby well. I was amazed at the ratio difference in omega 6 to omega 3 that she laid out. I will never be able to completely avoid grocery store meat, but adding in grass fed where I can is doable. If you feel overwhelmed reading this book yet are compelled to change what you eat or what you feed your family, take it slow and do what you can one step at a time. Her descriptions of the different tiers of what you might be able to afford or have available to you with regard to dairy, meat, etc would be a helpful guide. Our whole approach these last few years has been to prioritize where we put our resources when it comes to food, both regarding time and money, and forget the rest and don't stress. I don't see myself ever making homemade sourdough while I have small children, but I do find myself able to put time into broth, kombucha, kefir, yogurt and occasional fermented vegetables, in addition to making much of our food from scratch. There are other things I could do or should do that just can't happen, and I'm ok with that. I started putting the time and money needed to provide these food items one at a time, when I felt ready and able to put my energy into it. Start with what you need to take out, what garbage food you should literally throw away. Then look at a couple things you can buy differently, and where to find it. Consider an item or two you could start making at home, and master that and move on to something else. In the end, this was an excellent book worth reading, buying, referring to, passing around, loaning out and giving as gifts. It broaches the subject of nutrition, traditional food and modern food in a very readable format. I don't think it would be too complicated for the average person to understand and mull over, and it's a well researched topic. Overall, this isn't new information that author is presenting, but she's putting it together in an understandable way, for a particular audience, on specialized topics that concern many mothers. This information has been available to us for decades, but many do not realize that our food has changed so significantly over the years that this topic should be examined. This is a badly needed book, and I'm so glad it's here. We can ultimately thank Dr. Weston A. Price for his valiant research, and we can thank Kristen and many others for keeping this research alive and at our fingertips.

After miscarrying my first pregnancy I was told I had a hormonal imbalance that was possibly PCOS (though I don't fit the standard profile) and it would be necessary for me to use fertility drugs to have a "strong" ovulation. After 8 months of following the recommended low-fat, calorie counting diet that many physicians adhere to, 3 rounds of fertility drugs and 2 failed IUIs, my husband and I were feeling hopeless and helpless (not to mention broke as we had spent some of our house savings for fertility treatments). At the end of February I pre-ordered this book and took your online "Beautiful Babies" course. I started the course right away and made several immediate changes, most importantly adding in more good fats to my diet as I learned about the important role of cholesterol in hormone production. My TSH(thyroid) levels equalized after 5 months of being elevated and I felt much better. My other hormone levels began to equalize as well (all confirmed by blood test). I ovulated on cycle day 15, whereas I previously ovulated around day 21. My progesterone levels after ovulation on unmedicated cycles used to be around 7 (too low) and this time was 22! Today, April 7, I got a positive pregnancy test! And this was an unmedicated cycle as we had decided to take a break from fertility treatments. My husband and I are ecstatic and excited to continue making changes in our diet and lifestyle, because they are creating very positive changes! Though I am now pregnant, this book will continue to be important during the next 9 months and especially after baby arrives as there is valuable information on breastfeeding and baby's first foods. As a first time mom, I will definitely be needing some references for these next steps! *Disclaimer: I just want to make clear that I do not believe that diet alone may be a fertility treatment for everyone, as there can be many factors that cause infertility. I understand the role that fertility treatments play (as does the author of this book) but I think that for those that do need to undergo fertility treatments that this book can be a wonderful supplement that could increase the likelihood of pregnancy.

The book came promptly and in very good condition. The content of the book is superb and just what I need.

Es una lectura ligera pero provee suficientes datos y consejos bien referenciados; está bien documentado y es aplicable y entendible para mamás y esposas que buscan cuidar de su familia, si te interesa la salud más allá del status quo este libro puede expandir tus horizontes sobre cómo cuidarte a ti misma y a tu familia, de forma autodidacta (como la autora), mas allá de lo que dicen los médicos y las instituciones imperantes. Los únicos dos aspectos del libro que no disfruté es que por un lado la autora escribe para un público lector estadounidense, se siente al leer como si no hubiera considerado que pudiera ser leída por personas de otros países y todas sus recomendaciones están basadas en Estados Unidos, pero más allá de eso no hace alusión en su texto de ninguna manera a que se restringe a proveedores o fuentes estadounidenses ni a que no está considerando a otros países. Si lo hubiera al menos mencionado no me hubiera incomodado, pero al no hacerlo queda la incómoda sensación que se tiene cuando se interactúa con alguien que piensa que Estados Unidos es el comienzo y el fin del mundo. Por el otro lado su tono al escribir es bastante agresivo, al principio del libro ella misma hace referencia a las críticas que ha recibido de gente que no conoce realmente de nutrición tradicional (densa en nutrientes), pero lo incómodo es que pareciera que a estas personas les está escribiendo o como si gente de paradigma institucional fuera su público, cuando es natural asumir que es al contrario; otros que pensamos como ella somos quienes consumimos su libro y es un poco cansino como lector sentirse atacado constantemente por la forma en que la autora manifiesta sus opiniones. Fuera de eso sus datos y recomendaciones están bien y vale la pena leerla.

If you have kids or plan on having them, you need to read this. Every mother wants the best for their children. But as a culture, we've forgotten how much our diet influences their health - and, believe it or not, the health of your daughters' children, because the eggs that will become your grandchildren are formed while that baby girl is inside you. You can do something to change their future.

Great book with lots of good information that’s easy to read. A must have for anyone who cares about their health and especially for moms and moms-to-be.

livro muito bom, dá as dicas de como ter uma dieta equilibrada de verdade, sem comer um monte de porcaria light com adoçante.... Parte dos estudos do Dr. Weston Price feitos em comunidades tradicionais por todo o mundo, e lança a reflexão de "não coma nada que sua (bis)avó não reconheceria como comida".... Leitura importante para todas as futuras mães que estão tentando ter o primeiro, segundo, décimo filho...