a hippie with a minivan

Placental Encapsulation…

I decided this pregnancy that I would encapsulate the placenta… In the world of Natural birth and parenting it is becoming more and more a common thing to do and even in the mainstream world it is getting to be known…. it is rich in Iron and protein and other vitamins and minerals, and full of hormones such as Oxytocin and Estrogen… all that make it a great way to help the Uterus go back to normal, boost milk supply, prevent anaemia and regulate hormones after birth which helps fight off post-partum depression. From those who have done it I have not heard a bad comment, only praise…

I looked at websites once in a while and thought about the process somewhat but I didn’t act on anything until about two weeks ago when I woke up and realized that I needed capsules… So I enquired around and found out that I could only buy large quantities so I hesitated on ordering… then one of the local health food stores called me soon after asking if I wanted to buy some leftovers from someone else’s order… it was perfect…

When I went to pick them up, the owner of the store enquired about what I was going to be doing them and was intrigued when I told her… she asked about the process, and when it came to drying, she asked about how I was going to do that. I told her that I would most likely be using the oven since I don’t have a dehydrator and then she offered to lend me her Excalibur dehydrator… I said yes right away… especially since I have been wanting to buy one for a long time now and it is a great way to try it out first…

So, when Wilhelmina was born I called the store and my mom picked it up for me…

So the Process started…

Here is the Placenta in all of its glory…

After I trimmed the membrane and cord I cut it up and put it in the blender…

then spread it out on the drying sheet and dehydrated it for about 6 hours until it was brittle… (I forgot to take pics) but this is what it looked like after coming out…

Wilhelmina was born with a true knot in her cord, so I thought it would be a good keepsake to make a heart with her cord using the knot as the middle…

The dried placenta then went into the food processor to grind up as much as it could…

then onto the mortar and pestle to do the rest….

Then it was time to encapsulate…

In all I got 129 capsules from it…

Last night I took two and soon after I passed a large blood clot and my after pains started to subside… though it could be coincidence, because of the presence of oxytocin in placenta, I feel that it was directly related…

I took two this morning and I have felt a large boot of energy today also… I have never felt like this so soon after birth before…

The process itself was very easy and I am so glad that I did it…

First days…

Wow… I am in love…

Not only do I love my new little girl, but seeing her brothers love just makes my heart melt. The boys are completely amazed and enamored by her… they want to kiss her, hold her, touch her…

Xavier spent at least an hour holding her hand and looking at her while she slept the day she was born..

Colin had to come kiss her at least once every 15 min..

Khéna is just in awe and wants to stay close and always wants to hold her…

Khéna is also adapting to being a big brother amazingly well… I have to admit that I was a bit nervous about how he was going to take not being the baby of the family anymore… having to share mama with someone who needs her more, losing his coveted place in the family bed in front of mama… having to share his “Maju”… but he showing me that I was wrong to be nervous… he is taking it better than I would have hoped for, he is so proud to be a big brother!

My mom came by today to bring me a chicken she cooked this morning so we can make some sandwiches with and she left with Colin and Xavier and brought them to where she is saying near the cabin for two nights… the boys wer excited to go and honestly having the house be a bit more quiet will be nice… Khéna would have wanted to go also but it isn’t the best time, so instead he is doing special things with Daddy alone which he thinks is a great alternative…

As for life with baby… she is amazing… her first night was a bit rough until she had a big poop at around 2am and then finally she relaxed and slept… nursing about every 3 hours or so until morning and then throughout the day… she reminds me so much of Colin as a baby.. she looks like him also, the resemblance is quite amazing..

It was because of Colin that I tried EC for the first time.. he hated being wet, even for a second and would get worked up inconsolably… so letting him potty somewhere else than a diaper was exactly what he wanted and needed…

With Khéna we started when he was 4 days old…when the meconium poos were finished… this time I was hesitating on doing the same, but after seeing her reaction to having a BM and being in it for a few minutes, it reminded me so much of Colin that I decided to try right away… and she has been dry all day… she gives a clear signal that she needs to go and the within a few seconds of putting her over the potty bowl she eliminates… she does cry for a few seconds before going but once she lets go, she stops crying immediately and is quiet and content again… though I have seen it before, it is amazing to see how natural it comes…

I have also fell in love with the prefold belt that I bought… and I am going to be sewing up some of my own very soon… it is such a simple concept but makes things so much easier and it looks so much more comfortable than any newborn diaper cover or diaper that I have tried on my babies…

Wilhelmina is also an amazing nurser… her latch was perfect from the start and she is efficient and just so easy to nurse… my milk is coming in also and it amazing to hear her gulp and drink and be content…

As for me, I lost a little more blood than I would have liked yesterday but I am feeling better today… still a little weak, but better… I am also in pain all over my body… my SPD is better but labour was rough and my body is definately feeling the consequences of that… All I can tell myself is that everything will be better soon…

And Simon… well he is still tired from the night I laboured and is doing so much for everyone and is being an amazing husband and father… I think he is feeling a bit overwhelmed and stretched out but he is taking it in stride… I think that having the older boys with my mom for the two nights will make things easier for him also.. he is also happy to be starting his paternity leave which gives him until August before returning to work…

So, yes, we are all in love and enjoying life with a newborn… It is amazing… she is amazing…

Introducing Wilhelmina Anne…

Our fourth child… first daughter…

Born this morning, unassisted in the water weighing in at 8lbs, 8oz

Just born…

First Nurse…

4 hours old…

Discovering the world…

10 hours old…

41 weeks…

and I am not pregnant anymore…

This morning, Jan 27th at 5:08am, I gave birth to a beautiful little girl…I can’t believe it! a Girl!!!

I am resting now but I will of course be adding more details and pics very soon…

In Limbo…

Seriously, this is what life feels like at the moment… everything is standing still awaiting the arrival of the new babe…

I am 40 weeks now, and 2 weeks ago I was having tons of contractions, going for hours on end and then stopping, the baby was placed pretty well and I seriously thought things would starts sooner rather than later… silly, delusional me…

Everything stopped, the baby started flipping from side to side with the head leaning on my right hip. My pelvis has been out of alignment for a long time, the knee problems that I had as a child can attest to that. When I started going to the Chiro about 4-5 years ago I saw quite difference… I also have a tilted Uterus that is always to the right, even when it is fully extended with a full term baby. My first two babies were posterior, stuck on that right hip and I had long and hard labours with them… but after visiting the Chiro last pregnancy and realizing what the problem was, I had a normal and beautiful birth (of course having a UC also made it a lot less stressful, which was a great help also)… anyway, now I am quite aware on position and I am quite obsessed at getting baby in the right position to make things easier for both of us… So for the last week or so, I have been trying to get baby back into the right place but it wasn’t working…

On Monday I decided to go for my first ever acupuncture appt. I was a bit sceptical but I was quite impressed… though it didn’t help anything along (maybe it would have if baby was in the right position though) she also worked on my lower back pain and that night I slept like I hadn’t slept in weeks and the pain has been reduced by at least half… Yesterday morning the baby was still on that right hip and still flipping, so I did a bit of inversion, on my knees with my butt in the air for a while and then when I felt the back slip towards my front I laid down on my left side until gravity brought the back that way… then I got up and tried to bring the baby down… walking, on the birth ball , sitting straight up and leaning forward etc… and all day the feet were right were they were supposed to be and when I went to the Chiro last night she confirmed that the baby is now back to a great position and the head is pretty much engaged (I can’t palpitate my lower abdomen anymore… so it was good to hear from someone else)… I also started having contractions again, which is annoying but it at least it means that something is happening again…

So, yes… Limbo… besides being obsessed with the babe’s position, things have been just in waiting… it feels like life is just at a standstill… Simon is going to work but doesn’t have much work to do anymore, or is rushing to get what he has to do done so that he can leave at anytime… I haven’t brought the boys out in longer than I wish to think of… they play outside in the yard but I just don’t have the energy to go somewhere with them especially because that would mean driving the car for a while and the last times I have done that have been quite painful for me and it has taken a few days to recover… so we are all going a bit stir crazy here…

Everything is ready for baby, so maintaining housework is all that is left to do… I would like to sew but I have no inspiration at the moment of what to make…

The boys are waiting also… “soon” seems to no longer be specific enough… they want to know when the baby is coming (and Colin instists it will be a girl and tears come to his eyes when we mention that it might be another boy)

We are all just waiting… waiting for labour, waiting for birth, waiting for the unknown, waiting for Simon to be on Parental leave and home with us… just waiting… as I heard someone say… the last few weeks of pregnancy should be considered as a trimester all to itself…

So to keep us all waiting… do you have any predicitions?

When this baby will come? What will it be? weight? height? please entertain me a bit 🙂