New Mommy Love ~ Homemade Sitz Bath

Most of my readers are ladies and if you haven't been already, you may someday be blessed with a sweet, beautiful, new baby . . . or someone you know will have a baby.

Oh, those sweet little toes and fingers, they were just made for kissing. That precious little face with it's soft, pink lips and dainty little nose . . . well . . . they were just made for kissing, too.

Now . . . let me take you to a different part of bringing home those sweet little babies, and that it Mommy Care ~ mom's postpartum care. 

To be honest with you, there were A LOT of things that my mom never told me. Some of the things I had to find out the hard way, or from caring friends, were . . . 

~most likely, you will NOT go home in your skinny jeans; the best going-home clothes are anything you wore around your 5th month of pregnanacy
~after a certain point in labor, all those Lamaze tricks just won't work anymore. Sorry :-(
~if you plan to nurse, just be aware that the first few days will likely be painful . . . but you WILL get through it and it WILL be worth it!
~if you have a C-section, MAKE SURE the nurse takes ALL of your staples out before you leave the hospital (guess how I know) :-( 
~if you have a C-section, you may start to feel stronger quicker than your Dr told you that you would ~ DO NOT over-do it or your Dr will put you on bed rest or even back into the hospital

. . . And . . . 

~if you have a "natural" birth, your poor little "bottom" is going to be sore for a few days. Owie.

One of the best ways to relieve the pain and itch from the stretched and mending paraneal skin is to do two things: 1)  gently moisturize the area with extra virgin olive oil OR extra virgin/raw coconut oil, and 2) take a sitz bath at least once a day/night. 

You can use store-bought products and spend a small fortune and be using something with chemicals in it on a very private area (and risk an irritating reaction) or you can make your own before the baby is born, so you will have them ready when you get home. 

 I keep my herbs in glass jars with 

tight-fitting lids

It's easy to fill tea bags 

with herbs

You will need:

~1/2 c. sea salt (grey Celtic sea salt OR Dead Sea salt)
~1/4 c. witch hazel bark
~1/4 c. yarrow
~1/8 c. uva ursi tea
~small mixing bowl
~whisk
~jar with lid 
OR
~make-your-own tea bags
~sitz bath bowl (**optional**)

 Use drawstring bags

or 

heat-sealed bags

Directions:

1) whisk all ingredients to mix
2) store in jar with lid OR fill your tea bags and store in an air-tight container

To Use:
 
Just after your baby is born: while running medium/hot water in your tub, drop a tea bag or two into the water and let it steep until the water gets a full as you like it. Gently sit down in the tub, slightly recline if you can so that you are not sitting directly on your tender paraneum. Try to relax and let the healing herbs begin to relax and heal.

Once you have started to heal (3-5 days later): use other tea bags or sprinkle a heaping TB of the herbs directly into your water. Relax and enjoy.

And then, after you have had your warm, healing, relaxing bath, give your sweet little baby a kiss for me.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><