I saw a meme somewhere along the way (that I naturally can’t find now) that was something along the lines of “Moms worry even when their eyes are closed” and it struck a nerve.

Maybe I’m still a rookie mom and I don’t know enough to worry. Maybe I’ve managed to actually live my mantra- if it doesn’t bother Alice, it doesn’t bother me. Maybe this whole “you should worry all the time if you want to be a good mom” thing is a bunch of hooey.

There are things outside of our control. Those are things I do my best to let go. Is Alice learning to speak/walk/eat on schedule? Is she growing well? Probably. There’s not much I can do about it other than continue to speak to her, ask her questions, take her on walks and feed her when she seems hungry. Worrying about it isn’t going to make a lick of difference.

There are few things I worry about. I worry about making careless decisions that could affect her long term health. I was horrified to learn that there have been no updates to the laws regulating the cosmetics and personal care industries since 1938. I was upset to find out the average newborn has about 200 industrial chemicals in her cord blood at birth. It angers me to know there are companies that make products that meet the EU’s higher standards (over 1400 chemicals banned in the EU compared to 11 in the US) and change the formulas to make more money in the US.

I’m in full control of what I bring in to our home (for now at least…she’s not a teen yet!) and I can choose to avoid chemicals that could potentially harm Alice as she grows, and likely affect my own health, the health of my husband and the health of any future siblings Alice may have. Beautycounter’s Never List has over 1500 chemicals on it that will never be in any of our products. I can confidently buy personal care products for Alice and myself  without worry.

As a mom, all I can do is my best. Beating myself up with worry isn’t going to help. I put my trust in the experts at Beautycounter and get on with making sure Alice doesn’t fall down the stairs…

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