Welcome to Deliciously Dr. Dudley

I've been a pediatrician since graduating from my residency in 2012.  

That was a tough year, maybe one of my hardest... maybe not.  

I was pregnant with our first baby, Co-Chief Resident, job and home searching, all while working 60-100 hours a week in a front-loaded schedule so that I had the "easy" rotations while I was the most pregnant.  Oh, and I was completing my senior research project on my "free time".  The last several weeks of my pregnancy I would make afternoon rounds on the pediatric floor while an intern or medical student pushed me through the halls on a desk chair.  

My feet were so swollen I had to go up a 1/2 size in shoes.  

It wasn't easy.  

I ate pretty much whatever I could get my hands on, but tried my best to stomach some vegetables and fruit.  My attempt at exercise was little more than a slow walk around the neighborhood with my husband maybe once a week.  

Our beautiful daughter was born and 8 weeks later we moved across the state, into a new house and new jobs.  Thankfully, close to my family for support.  

Fast forward two years, and I worked in the clinic seeing patients right up until I walked myself into the hospital to deliver our 2nd baby.  He was so sweet he didn't even cry, he was just happy to be there.  Shortly after delivery, I exclaimed, "I feel so good, maybe I'll go home and cook dinner!"  The back pain I had during pregnancy was relieved and of course I was hungry! Ha!

Yet another 2 years later and I was put on bedrest for 10 weeks while pregnant with our twins due to preterm labor.   I'm happy to report, I was able to "keep them cooking" until they were full term and 6 pounds/6.5 pounds each!  Nearly 15 pounds of baby!  Phew!

If you're keeping track, that was 4 babies in just 4 years.  Our eldest was 4 years, 1 month, when the twins (babies #3 and #4) were born.  

My husband and I tried our best to be great parents while being great physicians but we barely scratched the surface at being good patients ourselves.  We ate a pretty balanced omnivorous diet, heavy on whole fat milk "for the kids".  We cooked a lot at home and that was good enough for the time being.  We love getting exercise by going outside and that was even more important with 4 little ones running around.  

In the fall of 2017, I was working in the clinic one day and a mother asked me about feeding her child a whole-food plant-based diet.  She wanted to know if there was any reason it wouldn't be healthy for her child.  I had NO idea what she was talking about.  Sure, I knew what plant foods were, but she didn't say that.  She said whole-food plant-based.  Huh?!  I asked her what she meant.  She couldn't really describe it to me other than that she was trying it out as a new diet with a friend and that she didn't identify as vegan.  I told her if she's getting a variety of foods and still breastfeeding her babe (who was under 1 year at the time), I didn't think it would be a problem but I'd have to look into it.

I literally thought she may have meant that she was only buying food at Whole Foods.  I didn't know what WFPB was.  I couldn't find a lot of information on it, certainly nothing in the pediatric "world" of medicine.  But I gathered that it basically WAS a vegan diet, just without processed foods and oil.

Ok, sounds reasonable.  In fact, it sounded great.

I researched everything I could find about this WFPB diet and what it meant.  How it could work for a family and for children.  I watched documentaries, read articles, went to the library for books, and asked my medical friends.  

2 weeks later my family went fully plant-based.  

I donated our remaining freezer stash of meats, used up our eggs and milk, and gave away the "good cheese".  

We sort of "crashed" onto the plant-based lifestyle with 4 kids 5 years old and under (the twins were just 15 months), we had little to no help in finding our way, and of course many critics and nay-sayers, including my physicican partners and some of our family... but I'm happy to report that we're still plant based now, over 5 years later.  

No, we're not 100% WFPB.  But we're definitely plant-based and doing our best.

6 1/2 years after the twins were born- just over 1 year ago, we welcomed baby #5! Little man is our first fully plant-based baby, product of a 100% plant-based pregnancy.  

I'm now trained in Culinary and Lifestyle medicine, hoping to open a Lifestyle Medicine clinic this year... all while keeping my family's well-being and the health of my community- top priorities.

I hope to walk alongside you, both literally and figuratively, as we journey together toward our optimal wellness.  

It won't always be easy.  But I'm here to help, and hopefully pass some things I've learned along the way.  

Each step in the right direction is progress.  And there are countless paths you can take.  

Start with one step.  Let's go!