Post Partum

It's been 7 days now since little Brooklyn came into our lives. What a joy it is having a new little baby around the house. Even though I thoroughly enjoy this stage, It does take some adjusting. Figuring out a new schedule, finding time to sleep, getting quality time with each child as well as still finding time to do some things I like to do, like blogging :) Also, I'm already feeling the urge to start working out. I know I need to take it slow, but to be honest, I'm feeling pretty good. Why wouldn't I, look at this cute belly Brooklyn left me with :)

Haha, yah, that's a joke. I'm afraid to go out in public in case I got one of those dreadful comments, "when are you due"? in which I'll have to respond with, um, I'm not pregnant, but thanks for asking.

I just wanted to share this picture because I'm trying to embrace every part of pregnancy this time around, post baby belly and all. So now instead of sharing pictures of my belly growing, I'll share pictures of my belly shrinking :) I gained about 45 lbs with this pregnancy, I don't know, it could have been more. I actually was less worried about my weight this time and hardly ever weighed myself (midwives don't check your weight at appointments either, so that helps). The last time I weighed I was about 36 weeks and I had gained 40 lbs at that point. So I weighed myself last night, and yay I'm down to 140. My goal is 110 since that's where I started out at.

I pumped my first bottle of milk for Lily and Sean to get the chance to feed baby. Lily thought that was pretty awesome.

So, feeling pretty good. Walking up the stairs is not so hard anymore, sleeping is luxurious, bending over to put my shoes on is no longer a chore. Back pain, heartburn, leg cramps... all gone. Feels so nice not to be pregnant anymore.

I did have one day, I think it was day 4, where I felt a little depressed. Not even sure why, but I just felt like crying. So I did... and afterwards I felt much better. Cabin fever was probably part of it, so I decided to get out of the house and spent a little time just walking around KMart. It was so nice.

One thing I always worry about at this point is postpartum depression. I don't think I've had it that bad in the past, but I do remember feeling those baby blues soon after giving birth both times. Hormones can sure do a number on us women. So I'm always looking into ways to prevent it. Getting enough sleep, exercising, eating nutritious food, ect. Recently I learned about a new method. Well, I guess it's not really new, it's actually very common in other parts of the world. What I'm about to say may gross you out a bit, but hear me out okay...

Eating the placenta...

I know I know, sounds totally gross right? Well, lately I've been open to all sorts of new ideas. So when my midwife told me about placenta encapsulation, I have to say I was a little intrigued by the idea. There is absolutely no way I'd ever actually EAT the placenta, but I sure don't mind swallowing it in pill form, especially considering all the benefits.

So anyway, studies have shown that eating the placenta can prevent postpartum depression, replenish nutrients, increase milk production, balance hormones and slow postpartum bleeding.

"The placenta contains high levels of various vitamins, such as B6, which can help curb postpartum depression. Eating the placenta enables the mother to "reclaim" these vitamins and put them to use in her own body. Human placenta is rich in various essential nutrients such as iron and protein. Placentophagia can help replenish these nutrients, which are often depleted during childbirth due to blood loss. This benefit of placentophagia may be especially important for vegetarian or vegan mothers, who may have slightly lower blood iron levels to begin with. (Many animals also practice placentophagia, presumably for this reason.)"

Information from Yahoo Voices

With my last pregnancy, after delivery I noticed my hair becoming so thin and breaking off. I also ended up getting mastitis, a UTI, and even lost my milk completely after only 3 months. I was a complete mess and so sad about not being able to nurse Oliver longer. So when they talk about replenishing the nutrients lost giving birth, it totally made sense to me.

I decided to go for it. We sent my placenta off to the specialist and received the capsules in less than two days. I've been taking them for a few days now and I think it's really working. I'm feeling great, energy is up, bleeding is very minimal, my skin is clear and I feel happy and healthy.

Here it is... my placenta...

Here's the umbilical cord dried into a heart shape :)

I hope that wasn't too much for you to handle. But hey, desperate times calles for desperate measures. I'm willing to do pretty much anything to avoid depression, low energy, and loss of my milk which I like to call liquid gold. I want my baby getting as much of that as possible.

If you're here locally and would like to look into placenta encapsulation then you can contact Tiffany at tiffanyom@yahoo.com