Pura Vida Journey

Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, we are focusing on ways we can reduce exposure to cancer causing toxins. Reading labels can be pretty overwhelming so we're breaking it down by going over some of the most commonly used offenders.  What are phthalates? It's a group of chemicals used as solvents or stabilizers in products. They're also used to  soften and improve the flexibility and durability of plastics.  Why should phthalates be avoided? They are known to be endocrine disruptors affecting the estrogen and androgen hormone systems, and exposure to phthalates has been linked breast cancer, asthma, obesity, decreased fertility, diabetes and developmental issues. Some examples in studies are decreased fertility in men and women, early development of breasts in young girls, tumor formation, increase in growth of breast cancer cells, exacerbation of asthma and  physical abnormalities in male offspring of exposed mothers, such as undescended testes...

The Continuation... Pregnancy was great! I was working at the time so my days were busy keeping up with daily tasks while evenings were spent relaxing and planning. Needless to say, I usually came home pretty wiped out so suppers were convenience foods. Think hamburger helper, freezer pizza, tube biscuits, etc. I laugh now looking back at those days but hey, it was a part of our journey. And gratefully I can say we've moved on from that. Our first son was born in a pretty traumatic c-section that took months for me to come back from. Fortunately, we were surrounded with a massive and amazing support system of friends and family that really carried us through that time. We were so blessed as we settled into our new 'normal'. The Transition Life was full and beautiful with my little boy. But we were definitely wanting to expand the family. We thought, hey, we got pregnant once. Second time should be a breeze!! Within a year we were pregnant and rejoicing only to find o...