It helps your stress levels and your wallet

I get email from people sharing with me that they are trying to cut back and save money while they adopt. While this is good, there are some areas where it's just too important not to skimp. Your nutrition is one of those areas.

Good nutritious food and a healthy diet can keep you going during the ups and downs of adopting. The process of adoption can be stressful, and you need to be in top shape to perform and respond well. Often, women who have experienced infertility have hormonal problems - I speak from experience here - and if we don't eat properly we can get, well, cranky to say the least.

Many birth mothers call in a panic, and say their lives feel out of control. I often ask them if they have eaten and, 99% of the time, they have not eaten or they have only eaten junk food. Healthy food is good fuel and is a must-have when you are stressed. I am not speaking of chocolate - although quality chocolate can help after having a healthy meal. (Smile)

Some couples share that they can only "afford" cheap foods like boxed macaroni and cheese, and on-sale hot dogs. They feel that buying fresh produce and healthier foods is too expensive. Yet healthy food is affordable when you cut out or cut down on the junk food in your life, and then add or replace it with healthy food.

Next time you are at the grocery store, just add up what it costs for chips, cookies, and sodas. Now compare that to fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and grains. You will see just how much farther your dollars go when you invest in real and nutritious food. And you will feel better and live longer. What's really unaffordable is a rotten diet. Garbage in, garbage out - and you'll reap what you sow. Consider your health as an asset in your adoption that deserves care and attention.

In my adoption, I was very healthy and active, but my husband and I were overweight. I had one young prospective birth mother tell me that she wanted to place her unborn baby with a healthy and thin couple only. While not all birth mothers share this view, they do want someone who will be around long enough to parent their child and be a good role model in a healthy environment.

You'd never put low-grade fuel in your car, so how can you justify low-grade fuel for your family? Healthy is wealthy. Start now by making these changes so your child will have a healthy parent, and you will have healthy children with a long life to live together.

~ Mardie Caldwell, COAP