It Used to Take a Village!

Let's go back to when our Grandmothers were little girls. They grew up in a home, with usually several other siblings. They would help their mother with chores around the house, were taught how to make beautiful meals, how to keep the floor clean, how to wash clothing (by hand) hang them to dry, starch them and iron. They may have missed out on some childhood, but children, usually only went to school until they were about 15 years old, then they worked or stayed home with Mom to help her with the younger siblings. Then you would get married and start a home of their own, and the transition wasn't a huge deal, because of the knowledge that had been passed from Mother to Daughter, and the help of female family members while she settled into her new life.

Now, most Moms still teach their children how to do those things, but here is where the difference comes into play. While the Father was at work, it was very common for Sisters, Aunts, Mother, Grandmothers, and your female neighbours to come over and help you with your chores, especially if you had a new baby in the home. They would do your dishes or help with laundry, and bring you a meal.

When you had a baby (even though the medicine surrounding obstetrics at the time was barbaric) you were in the hospital (if that is where you birthed) for 10 days afterward. In that time a nurse taught you how breastfeed your baby, how to change her, dress him, bathe her, and care for yourself. Then when you got home, you would find that someone had taken care of your other children, made sure they were cleaned, fed, dressed and attended school, and someone had prepared some meals for you.

I am not saying that is the greatest life, but at least the transition into becoming a wife and a mother was a little easier.

Lets take a look at today.

Today, we are in school for years and years. And, yes education is very important and I am by no means saying to leave school early. I was born in the late 1980's and in school I was taught and had it hammered into me that getting a career was the most important thing. I was taught math, science, history, politics, literature, writing, art, and other things. But I was never taught how to run a home, budget for bills and food, what it is like to have a child, how to stay organised, how to shop for a home, and many other things that make up living a normal life in Western Society.

When you get married now, you have to learn your role. I had no idea what it meant to be a wife, and I still don't and am learning everday. I was never taught or spoken too about how to live with another adult, how to budget together, and mesh our lives together. I was just expected to figure out how to do it on my own, when my grandmothers had been taught and given the tools for being a homemaker throughout their lives.

When you have a baby nowadays, most women do go to the hospital (I am not one of those women) and they are sent home with little knowledge of how to change a diaper, bathe a baby or how to breastfeed successfully. They are usually sent home after 12 to 36 hours, longer if needed for medical reasons. I personally wouldn't want to spend 10 days at the hospital but I would like to go home feeling confident and I don't think most women do. You go home and are expected to just rest a few days and then find a "normal" and do everything on your own.

Some family may come and stay with you, but mostly to see the baby. Some families are great and will do all your chores, and let you rest with your baby but those families are becoming far and few. If you want good help you will likely have to pay for it, a Postpartum Doula will do all the things that a village or family used to do after a new baby arrives.

All in all, I think we put a lot of pressure on ourselves as mothers to have a clean house, presentable children, and have dinner made for our husbands or partners the minute they walk through the door. But without the help of a village anymore this seemingly simple task, becomes nearly impossible.

So I am asking, if you know someone who has just had a baby, or seems tired and is missing sleep because of a sick, teething or cranky child. Offer some help, it may seem like a small task to fold a basket of laundry, or make her a frozen meal but for her it could really help relieve some stress from her life and give her a few minutes to spend relaxing or tending to her child.

It still takes a village, we just need to remember to help out.

Much Love
Marissa

DIY Placenta Encapsulation

How to Dehydrate and Encapsulate a Placenta

Things you will need:

• Tongs
• A spray bottle
• A veggie steaming basket
• cutting board
• knife (needs to be sharp)
• a bucket (an ice cream bucket works well)
• gloves (make sure no one has a latex allergy, I used gloves for handling food)
• wash rags
• soap
• garbage bags
• capsules
• foil or parchment paper
• something to grind the placenta
• 1 lemon
• 1 piece of ginger (about an inch)
• 1 hot pepper
  
• A dehydrator is handy but if you don't have one put the slices of placenta on a foil covered baking sheet in the oven on the lowest possible setting.
  
• Make sure all of your equipment is sanitized, this can easily be done using a water/bleach solution. To sanitize your equipment, wash in hot soapy water, then rinse thoroughly in warm clean water, then submerge in a sink with water that has a capful or two of bleach added to it for 30secs. Also fill your spray bottle with clean water and add half a capful of bleach and use to spray down and santize any surfaces where the placenta may touch or has already touched.
  
  

Once you have done all that, it is time to start.

Fetal Side

1. Take the placenta and put it in a bucket and rinse it off. You want to remove as much excess blood as you can and remove all blood clots. You can put them down the sink, it will be sanitized after you are done.

2. Cut off the umbilical cord and the amniotic sac. Do this on your cutting board. Throw out the amniotic sac, but save the cord as a keepsake (you will see what i mean)

3. Use a pot that the mother has (or you can get your own, up to you) and put some water in the bottom and the steaming basket in. You are going to steam it the same way you would some vegetables. With the placenta in the pot, put in half a lemon(sliced), your piece of ginger (sliced), and the pepper. It will be steamed for 15 minutes on each side. Watch it closely so that it doesn't boil over, I put the lid on the pot and simmered the water on very low setting, it is a bit messy when it boils over, trust me.

Steamed Placenta (smells like ground beef)

4. Once it is steamed, toss the lemon, ginger and pepper. Take the placenta out and put it on the cutting board (that you have washed sinced cutting off the cord) and slice into 1/8 inch thick slices. Try and slice it has thinnly as possible so it dehydrate faster.

5.a) For the dehydrator, cover with your parchment paper and put your slices on. Do the same if using the oven, just cover a baking sheet with foil and put on the lowest setting. It can take a long time, so check it at 5 hours, then every hour or so after ward.

Ready for dehydration process

b)Take the umbilical cord and if it is long enough find the center, double it up and twist it together. Then place on sheet or tray and shape it like a heart. Of course if it isn't long enough, just make a single heart. (this the keepsake)

Dehydrated and ready to be ground up. See the heart keepsake

6. Once dehydrated, take out and grind it with your blender, coffee grinder or by hand with a Mortar and Pestle (that will take a long time, but some people prefer it) until it looks like coffee grinds. Then encasulate it by hand or with a machine. I did it by hand and it didn't take very long. You will get about 60-150 capsules(caps size '00')

7. Put your filled capsules in a ziploc or jar, then pop in the freezer. The mother can take it immediately as long as she has no fever, or sign of illness. The properties of the placenta can make an infection go deeper. She can take 2 capsules 3x a day, or just as she feels is needed.

**Please note, this is informational only, consume your placenta at your own risk.

Much love,

Marissa

ps. Send me any questions you need answered, i loved doing this for my friend. I will post information soon on the benefits of Placental consumption.

My New Pink Button!

This is a pretty interesting topic, if I do say so myself. My New Pink Button, is a new product for women but you will never guess what it is for. Ok, I will tell you! It is dye for your labia, that is right, your labia!

I never thought much about the colour of my labia, I know it is darker since pregnancy and looks different since birth but never really thought about it in a negative way. It is just different now, like the rest of my body. But, aparently some women are concerned with the appearance of their labia so someone thought to make a dye for this "issue".

I checked out the website for "My New Pink Button"http://www.mynewpinkbutton.com/category/29754061681/1/Beauty-Product.htm and all the ingredients are FDA approved "individually" not as a whole. There is also no indication as to whether it is safe for long term use, safe during pregnancy or breastfeeding (since it can be used on nipples aswell). Also can be used on penises, but whether it is safe to enter the vagina also isn't mentioned on the site.

I am quite sad that someone is preying on the insecurities of women but it does make for good profit.

All in all, this is the most hilarious, and ridiculous product I have ever heard of. And I can only imagine the awfully painful, "rip-roaring", infections women and men are going to experience.

Much Love,
Marissa

JUST WOW!

I have to share this article. It really is written so well, please read it.

http://womanuncensored.blogspot.com/2009/12/just-let-her-cry.html

Much Love
Marissa