POWER. Love. Sound Mind.

During this last week, I am slowly realizing that as a pregnant woman, the mainstream media can overwhelm you with fear if you let them. People in the news, blogs, the experts, EVERYONE is always reporting on the extremes. It makes you not even want to read or look up anything because almost always you'll find your doing something "potentially risky." For me today it was flaxseed and canteloupe. First thing: Earlier this morning around 9AM, I was eating organic strawberry-flavored oatmeal with ground flaxseed from Sprouts. Delicious! And in my mind, I thought 'I wonder what are the benefits of flax for pregnancy because I know for a fact it's great for heart health and lowering risk of hypertension in non-pregnant adults. Sounds right, right? WRONG! Research is apparently inconclusive about the effects of flax in pregnant women.' Some blogs had countless stories of women who took flaxseed supplements before pregnancy and continued into pregnancy and their babies were just find. Then others said that inconclusive research was about flaxseed oil and its potential harmful effects not to be confused with ground flaxseed (which is what I was eating). Nevertheless, knowing myself, I will probably not be eating anymore of that oatmeal, just to be on the safe side. When ppl say "potentially" anything, it stirs up these emotions of fear and alarm. I mean NOBODY, ESP a pregnant person, wants to be on the wrong side of a potentially negative thing. You start thinking, what if Im in the 2% and not the 98%. Second thing: So I'm up late at 2:00AM MST, can't sleep (mainly bc Ive been sleep from 7P-1A) and I decide to have a glass of water and the rest of my canteloupe slices. Sounds safe right? WRONG! Lol. So I decide to look up the benefits of canteloupe for preggers folks. So apparently In the summer and fall of 2011, cantaloupes contaminated with listeria sickened 147 people in 28 states, killing 33 of them. That listeria outbreak -- the deadliest in a decade -- was unusual because listeria is rarely associated with fresh produce, according to a new report from the CDC. Although rare, listeria is an important public-health issue because of its severity, said report co-author Benjamin Silk, a CDC epidemiologist in the division of foodborne, waterborne and environmental diseases. "Nearly all people who have listeria infections diagnosed are hospitalized, and about one in five die," Silk said. Of the 147 people, 7 were pregnant and one miscarried. Immediately I started thinking, 'ONE! That damn 2%! Could that be me? Is this safe?' He's not even here yet and Im already poisoning him with flaxseed and now listeria. Putting this poor little baby in harms way! I just thank God for my relationship with Him bc I feel like I was going off the deep in...and fast! Lol. God reminded me that He has not given us a spirit of fear. But one of power, LOVE, and a sound mind. I don't have to drive myself crazy over every little thing. As Type A as I may be, there's gonna be a lot more "potentially dangerous" stuff once he's finally here. So chill and relax. Love normally, eat normally, and stay away from media. I now feel better, as I don't need to confirm that everything Im eating is helping him grow. It's food, it's helping. :) If you are feeling like I was, I hope this helps you too feel like you are going crazy. I'm slowly learning there's POWER in staying AWAY from the media.