MILK SWEAT AND TEARS
Let me begin by saying I am the mother of four beautiful lively and eccentric children. As a mother of four I can honestly and shamelessly say that I have been pregnant and exclusively breastfeeding the last seven years of my life so you can only imagine what that has put my body through. During these seven years of bringing forth new life I have found "small victories" or hacks that make the first six to twelve months of postnatal life easier. Some doctors tell you that postpartum is just the first six weeks after giving birth but any woman that has children knows that is just a fairy tale.
The first six months after having a baby are the most critical in recovery physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. It takes your body twelve months to internally "snap back" so imagine how hard our body over works when we push out Irish twins and have our babies close enough to forget how it feels to not be pregnant. (I know what your thinking and it's okay I got you covered I've learned some hacks along the way and I think they'll change the game for you😉) Hack number one: when your fresh out of the birthing center/hospital/at home birthing tub and your bum and breast are screaming a little coconut oil (or jojoba) and lavender will take the pain away, and as an added bonus lavender essential oil also helps to increase your milk supply (come through two for one special👏) hack number two: feeling like your milk needs a boost in supply add your favorite oil, three drops of lavendar and two drops of clary sage on your breast (excluding your nipples) and boom you'll be increasing your milk and calming both you and baby all at the same time (multitasking at its finest😁) hack number three: adding two drops of lavender to babies lotion and bath water can change your bedtime routine(rock-a-bye sweet baby)! hack number four is a oldie but goodie sleep when baby sleeps if you can the dishes can wait. If you have other children younger than three create "quiet moments whenever baby sleeps you can play soft music pull out some books and read softly to calm the atmosphere throw any of these essential oils in a diffuser or heating pot; Lavender, Mandarin or sweet orange, Vetiver, Chamomile, Frankincense, Cedarwood, or Ylang Ylang and create a relaxing atmosphere that will allow you and your other children some exclusive down time with you. If your lucky you all may just fall asleep (wouldn't that be a dream come true)?!😴 hack number five: getting the siblings who are not yet school ready on the same nap and bedtime pattern as baby. After you've gotten this down having date moments once a week is a non negotiable! Now before you roll your eyes and call me unreasonable hear me out thirty minutes with your beloved will make all the difference once a week. You'll begin to look forward to creating time where it doesn't exist. And don't be afraid to get very creative! The sky is the limit spontaneous lunch, cleaning the kitchen together, watching a show, video chatting on his or her lunch break... whatever you do works as long as you make it happen. (future you will thank present you for the effort I promise😜). Now this last hack number six is unrealistic as hell but works in parts and is so necessary it keeps the baby blues away in my opinion. Keeping a journal to write down the truth about how you really feel. Get a mirror and look into it daily and recite affirmations to yourself (coming up blank? check out the mommy affirmations page on this website). As if this hack wasn't long enough find one thing that makes you feel good about yourself and do it every time you feel sad, overwhelmed, or under stimulated. Get out of the house the fresh air helps so much and nap please nap all the time you need that extra strength. Hope this helps until next time milk sweat and tears it is🍼😅🤣
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So you just had a baby and your postnatal about four months life is starting to make sense again except your still constipated now what!?!? Not to worry constipation seems to get the best of us new mothers everytime. Good thing this is an easy fix with a couple of diet changes or supplements. Not every hospital sends you home with stool softeners and not every new mom can handle the stress and strain stool softeners put on the body after giving birth. Luckily there is a better way! Adding more Magnesium into your diet either by taking a supplement or with foods high in magnesium can be a quick fix to your backed up blues. Next time your shopping at your local market pick up some Greens (spinach 70mg/3 cups, kale 66mg/3 cups, and chard 75mg/ half cup cooked) try a variety of greens to get a variety of nutritional yum!
Nuts and Seeds that you have sprouted or soaked to make the nutrients inside available to your body( watermelon seeds 145 mg/ounce, pumpkin or squash seeds 150mg/ounce, Brazil nuts 50mg/half ounce, almonds 75mg/ounce, cashews 80mg/ounce). If you suffer from hormonal headaches due to having a baby increasing your magnesium intake will also take the edge off your headache or clear it up all together talk about a 2 for 1 special. Next on the list is Beans don't forget to soak them! (black beans 60mg/half cup, navy beans 52mg/ half cup, and mung beans 95mg/ half cup). On to Whole Grains don't forget to soak them it increases their nutritional value! (brown rice 88mg/cup, buckwheat 85mg/cup, and millet 77mg/cup). For the seafood lovers out there (salmon 26mg/3ounces and Mackerel 83mg/3 ounces). Lastly, Dark Chocolate above 70% cacao 64mg/ounce. Outside of adding more Magnesium you can also snack on dried fruit, increase how much water you drink, and add more fiber here and there and boom your back to your usual meet ups with the porcelain throne in no time 😉. I know we don't tell people we struggle with constipation after giving birth but we do and neglected it can become a painful bloody mess. Yeah I said it and nobody needs that after bringing life into the world, producing entire meals from our breast, and functioning on little to no sleep this is one less discomfort on our road to recovery. Here is to small victories!🍼🥤 Hope this helps until next time! I feel like the age old question as it pertains to breastfeeding and milk supply is do i make enough milk? Is my baby getting enough? It blows my mind that in 2018 breastfeeding is still deemed both taboo and unrealistic. Everything your baby needs to survive, thrive, and succeed is in you! If your baby is making more than six wet and poopy diapers a day as a newborn then I've got good news mom your making enough milk! I hear a lot of new mom's say either they've been told by non breastfeeding mothers they must not be producing enough milk if baby is still rooting or that they become unsure if baby is getting enough milk because of a constant need to feed. As a newborn everything that baby discovers is through comfort sucking it is the answer to woe and curiosity. Comfort, hunger, and discovery lies within the only way they can process it with their mouths. Unless you are pumping there is no actual way to tell how much milk your producing or how much baby extracts on the breast (and a pump will never give you real insight to the magic of just bottomless your milk supply really is). This is okay because the input will always equal the output so use soiled diapers as a guide to whether or not your baby is getting what he/she needs from your milk supply. Also check to see if baby is on track in the weight department. 9 out 10 times you're doing great baby believes in you and so do I so drink some water eat a meal and keep being a milk making machine.
I hope this helps! |
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