This mother has had two beautiful unassisted lotus births (husband in attendance). All seemed healthy and well, "good" natural food mostly vegetarian diet with generous use of soy in tofu and soy milk, avoiding dairy milk because of mucous formation, eating some cheddar cheese, very little oils or fats except olive oil, stopped garlic and onions due to gas with baby, similarly cauliflower. Enjoying ample apples, bananas, zuchhini, carrots, potatoes, some chicken, and very generous use of western herbal brews, often 1/2 gallon daily of raspberry leaf dominant with other cooling, demulcents and other mild healing herbs. The winter weather is beginning to dominate the days at her altitude and location. Baby is very uncomfortable, cries and struggles a lot to have a bowel movement, chronically only every 3-5 days. The texture is still rather soft, like breast fed babies' should be reports the doula/neighbor.
We advise removing the soy as soon as possible, balancing the cooling astringent influences in her diet and in the astringent/bitter herbs in her brews with chai type and other warming spices, exploring correct use of easier to digest dairy, and adding more diversity and quantity of good fats including EFA3s taken with soft cheeses or yoghurt, and ample clarified butter for saturated hormone supportive fats. Also until baby's tummy is more comfortable, to prepare apple quarters speared with a whole clove and stewed (adding iron rich dried fruits to the stew) first thing in am, instead of raw. Her concern about weight gain (she is about normal weight now) was discussed in terms of the higher risk for gain from the high carb focus (rice and pasta favored) in her diet, which will serve her best with ample fats and spices, alongside a protein and good vegetables. Here is the letter sent today following up a phone consulation:
Dear ;
Here are a couple more things I wanted to share. Please see www.sacredwindow.com/articles for the milk discussion how to avoid mucuous, as well as the next one which looks at foods to favor and avoid, and any other topic that interests. The recommendations for early postpartum foods are still appropriate for you in my opinion, given the combination of history and seasonal changes.
REgarding minimizing mucuous, the hard/cheddar cheese may be ok midday on occasion but can also slow things down; till Baby's bowels are working better I would favor instead the softer and easier to digest cheeses for yourself such as cottage, ricotta, homemade panir, or even goat cheese. Note that your best use of flax oil is with these, such as recipe attached. tHE second recipe may be easiest to digest w/o mucuous of any milk recipe; it is used by Dr. Lad even for breast and lung cancer clients to boost immunity while soothing/grounding and nourishing.
Your referring douls shared her concern for all the changes in your life recently, with emotional stressors. For sure this complicates, and makes the dietary and correct herbal pieces more valuable. If you wish, I can work with you for a more valuable herbal formula for your situation. When you have a little time to talk again, let me know and I'm happy to continue the conversation.
I'd like to suggest a hot milk tonic at night - if not something like the recipe on that article, with fresh almond milk, spiced and a teaspoon of ghee and sweetened to taste and served hot. I do not see it putting weight on, to the contrary helping balance hormones, metabolism, emotions and even appetite for carbs a little. Lots of experience with this when I say this. Enjoy! Made with cow's milk it is particulary supportive of emotional and hormonal ease, being naturally serotoninergic. Note in the article, the value of bringing to boil 3 times to simplify the protein digestion.
Remember your caloric needs while nursing are also very high. If you are stocked up with soy right now, reduce your use and season and oil it well, boiling the tofu for about 1 hour with herbs/spices including a little turmeric and ginger, and let the rest of the family help more to use it up if you can. Baby will do well ingesting a little clarified butter on your nipple or even castor oil drop or 2 off finger before nursing until bowels are really moving regularly. There is often benefit to wipe or massage anus with warm oil; animal babies won't poop or pee till licked and human babies respond with good reflex with warm oily or moist application. Sometimes the anus is a little immature and does well with oil massage or like mentioned, a simple sesame oil enema of small amount.
Drinking your adapted tea or almond milk etc recipes warm not even room temp now, leaning into the warm for drinks and foods more, will also help both of you to deal with the stressors in your life both seasonal and personal, supporting the bowels and rest of the bodies to function with more comfort and effetiveness.
See a few other recipes attached. Enjoy!
Warmly;
Ysha
6 attachments = recipes sent
FOODS; FLAXED CHEESE-YOv2.doc
FOODS; Garlic Milk.doc
NitaDsOjasDrink-yov2.txt
BarleySeedandRiceHorchatas.txt (cooked)
SoyNews.doc
AzukiSweetnSourSoup.txt
