If there was one word to describe (a very heavily pregnant) Rachael Finch, it would be iridescent; not only does the model-slash-TV-presenter’s skin literally radiate, but it’s those brightly lit eyes that show just how much her high-shine glow really does shine from the inside, out.
While Rachael has been busy training to be a health coach, working on her PT certification, writing and publishing a book and kicking off her Body Of Dance fitness program (phew!), this is one 28-year-old who strives to balance a busy lifestyle with a healthy one.
“Health and wellness is my absolute world. I love getting out of bed and feeling amazing,” she explains. “I want to know what’s going to make me feel even better the next day or the next hour.”
With her second baby – a sibling for her sweet three-year-old Violet – due in just three weeks, Rachael lets us in on her best-kept pregnancy health hacks that are just as much about fuelling the body as they are the mind.
Feed your body only the best (and, yes, that includes ice-cream)
While Rachael attributes that energetic pep in her step to plenty of sleep and fresh, filtered water, it’s good-quality ingredients (“organic food, where possible”) that she says helps her to keep active during pregnancy.
“My rule with organic is if you’re consuming the skin, buy organic,” she says.
“If you’re going to remove the skin, you can probably afford to not buy organic, but obviously organic is best; there’s no pesticides, herbicides or toxins going into your body.”
But just because she prefers to eat organic produce, doesn’t mean she is impartial to a sweet treat.
“I love a big bowl of ice-cream with chocolate sauce drizzled all over the top with wafers stuck out of it. I still have treats, but they are very far and few in between because I know how it makes me feel.”
Know that you’re birthing plan may fly out the window
Birthing room essentials? Nope, Rachael doesn’t have any; she had tried that in the past, but says that her first birth was, understandably, unpredictable.
“I went into the birth of Violet with all these things in mind; I was going to stretch, I had a medicine ball, I had all these things plans – but it doesn’t happen,” she says, laughing.
“I found myself in the bath at one point, at the end of the bed at another, standing up… you just do whatever feels right for you. And whatever is going to get you through those painful moments.”
Rachael stresses that it’s vital you listen to your body at all times.
“Your breath is a big thing. Through contractions, the more you’re taking in air and breathing, the better you’re going to handle those intense contractions.”
Rachael Finch and her partner Michael Miziner still don’t know if their having a boy or a girl!
Trust your gut instinct
According to Rachael, always listening to your intuition is the key to navigating through parenthood.
“Trust that your opinion is right because you’re the mum and you gave birth to the baby and you know your child, and listen to your own body.”
“That’s the biggest thing I have come to learn is that there will be so many opinions, you’ll read so much information, but at the end of the day, take in and absorb that information and trust your gut.”
Rachael Finch’s Body Of Dance program launched this week – to learn more about it, visit BodyofDance.com.
