We counted three years into our marriage before our son came. One thing my husband and I were set on right from the time we learned we were pregnant was to start right as we parent our child. This is why I have tried to be at my best health ever even from gestation. I made sure there were no missed appointments and we completed our preparation for childbirth classes for Lamaze/Bradley. We even enrolled ourselves in child care classes. There was no way we were leaving parenting to chance. Needless to say, we were really thrilled to welcome our son when he arrived in May 2005.
Even before I gave birth, I was keen on exclusively breastfeeding him and then later have him on a brown rice diet, aside from making sure we don’t miss immunization appointments. These were the least that we could do to make sure our son stays healthy.
with our days old son, Jed
When our son was ready for semi-solid foods, I made a mistake of introducing instant baby foods to him at first. The convenience is there, true. But I can only be grateful enough that we were able to shift to brown rice which I dutifully grind first before cooking until he was ready for solids. I bought a grinder especially for this purpose. Our son easily adjusted to the taste of naturally cooked brown rice, vegetables and fruits. No need for instant cereals or what nots.
Why brown rice, you might ask. Polished rice means that a major percentage of B vitamins are destroyed and that includes 80% of Vitamin B1, 67% of Vitamin B3, 90% of B6, 50% Manganese, 50% Phosphorus, 60% Iron, aside from the benefits of fiber that can only be found in unpolished rice. Although it was a tad more tedious to prepare than giving the regular instant baby cereal, there was no way I’m withholding my son the benefit of eating brown rice. Brown rice has to be soaked in the water it will be boiled in for at least 30 minutes. Nothing instant, I tell you.
cooked unpolished brown rice
It wasn’t until 2008 that my little guy contracted primary complex. There was really no way that my love alone and dedication would keep him safe from acquiring diseases in our environment. This includes the free radicals in our environment that seem to be multipling by the second. I have got to make sure that he has solid immunity. I completely took for granted to supplement Vitamin C in his diet. It was then that I introduced Ceelin chewables and he loved it instantly.
Jeff and our healthy 4 year old lil guy
As healthy as unpolished brown rice is, it contains no Vitamin C and this I had to make sure is properly supplemented to keep my son’s immunity in its tip top shape from then on. Motherhood has allowed me to venture into things that I never thought that the shift from my sassy life as a single person would give me. There is not one thing that I regret from having to leave the corporate world to working from home while being the primary influencer of my son. There were trials and errors along the way. But mostly, I am glad that I had the privilege to tread this path that not everyone is privileged to enjoy thoroughly. Finding out what’s best and being able to act upon it, never leaving things to chance and seeing our son thriving to be a young and healthy individual, can be the most fulfilling career of all time. 🙂
