The Birth Song Botanicals Blog

Herb Spotlight: Calendula Benefits

Herb Spotlight: Calendula Benefits

I combined calendula with other herbs in our postpartum herb bath to help aid in rapid perineal recovery and soothe hemorrhoids after giving birth. Calendula is also in our Nipple Salve, Diaper Salve and Healing Salve because it helps repair sore nipples, inflamed skin caused by diaper rash and it works as first aid skin care.  Calendula is why our Wound Recovery Spray cools a burn and Cesarean Recovery Spray leaves your incision feeling fresh and clean as your body heals.

Let me tell you a little more about this delightful plant and why you might want to grow some yourself...

 

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How to Heal Sore Nipples from Breastfeeding

How to Heal Sore Nipples from Breastfeeding

If you have sore, cracked nipples from breastfeeding, you know how bad nursing your baby can hurt! This might sound like an exaggeration to say it's one of the worst (physical) sensation a mom has to endure. You cringe every time baby latches, bracing for the sharp, radiating pain. You hold your breath as baby sleeps, knowing that her waking up means another painful nursing session. Even the most dedicated breastfeeding mom has had the fleeting thought that it's too hard. 

 

Today's post is about what is causing your nipple pain and how to treat it so you can keep breastfeeding like the rock star that you are!

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The Relationship Between Breastfeeding and Menstruation

The Relationship Between Breastfeeding and Menstruation

The intricacies of the human body are almost magical, with no one system or function working entirely on its own. Within a mother’s body, the processes that lead to menstruation, pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding are all interconnected. Just a handful of hormones can dictate each of these functions, with different organs and actions responding in their own way. A fascinating and, sometimes, bewildering example of this is the relationship between menstruation and breastfeeding.

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Treating Nipple Thrush Naturally

Treating Nipple Thrush Naturally
Have you struggled with repeated bouts of thrush on your nipples and in your babies mouth? Is yeast causing your nipples to crack and bleed? Do you find it keeps coming back after conventional treatment? A whole body approach may seem overwhelming at first, but food and herbs are good medicine for yeast and thrush.  The candida diet for breastfeeding moms is a must.  Read on to learn more! Continue reading

Prepare Yourself for your Postpartum Recovery and Life with a Newborn

Prepare Yourself for your Postpartum Recovery and Life with a Newborn

As a first time mama, I was so focused on preparing for birth. This life changing event was one I would approach with total preparation. I read all that I could, and did all that I could to prepare.

While preparing extensively for birth is a wonderful idea, I made the mistake of overlooking the crucial postpartum recovery period and what the first days and weeks with a newborn is really like.

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How to Use Leftover Birth Song Products

How to Use Leftover Birth Song Products

During your pregnancy, you enjoyed Lady in Waiting tea to nourish your body and prepare your uterus. Afterward, you soothed your body and hormones with Nourished Mother and gave your body what it needed to make milk with Let There Be Milk and Nursing Nectar. You might have even used Fertile Ground to help encourage fertility to become pregnant in the first place! Your baby was wrapped in herbal goodness from his first Postpartum Herb Bath to the Cord Care Powder and Diaper Salve that helped protect and heal his body as it adjusted to the new world. But now he’s getting bigger, his cord long gone, your uterus is back to normal and your milk supply has regulated...and you’ve got a stash of products just sitting around. Now what?

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Breastfeeding with Flat or Inverted Nipples

Breastfeeding with Flat or Inverted Nipples
Everybody is unique and beautiful. No two people are exactly alike. Yet, many of us share similarities. When we notice a physical trait in our bodies that isn’t considered “normal,” we feel alone. Too many mamas with inverted nipples feel alone and are worried that this problem means they are somehow broken and unable to breastfeed. In truth, inverted and flat nipples are relatively common. And you will most likely be able to breastfeed. There are solutions, and your breastfeeding support team has helped other mamas overcome this same problem, and they will help you too! Continue reading

Pumping Breast Milk to Return to Work

Pumping Breast Milk to Return to Work

The postpartum phase is such a time of mixed emotions, from the bliss of getting to know your new little one to the struggles of learning to care for them. When you add the impending return to work, all of those emotions and stresses seem to be amplified. Don’t let a fear of pumping keep you from continuing your nursing relationship. It can feel like a lot of work, but you can do it. Yes, you really can do it!

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