sometimes making a small change in the way we've done things before is enough to calm nerves and--praying and crossing my fingers--could even change whole situations.
i'm talking about labor. with hadley, my labor lasted ten hours, start to finish including pushing. it wasn't a horror story, it wasn't a walk in the park. however, i was induced and i still carry guilt with me for that. i had an epidural and i still carry guilt for that as well. i'll share a more detailed version of her birth soon, but in the meantime i wanted to share this recipe i've been working on.
laborade--what is it? think gatorade but for labor. because when you are about to push a human being out of a very, very small space, you need all the strength, energy, electrolytes you can get.
i've already mentioned i have been taking gentle birth formula since week thirty-five (which i would highly recommend, but of course, never take anything without first talking to your doctor or midwife), and drinking at least one cup of red raspberry leaf tea every day. both the tincture and the tea help to tone and strengthen the uterus, improve the effectiveness of contractions and reduce pain during labor and after birth. (since you are toning your muscles leading up to it, labor can be shorter and less painful!!) so as far as my laborade goes, red raspberry leaf tea had to be a main ingredient. you can read more on the benefits of red raspberry leaf tea here.
now onto the next main ingredient: coconut water. i have been drinking coconut water on a regular basis since the summer after i had hadley. so refreshing and so chalk-full of goodness. coconut water contains more potassium than sports drinks as well as more natural sources of sodium. and i would add that i definitely prefer its subtle sweetness to the artificial fruitiness that the sports drink companies try to conjure up.
ok ok, so now for the recipe!! i searched high and low for a recipe that was exactly what i was looking for and could. not. find one. so i combined a few and made some changes and voila!
here she goes! you will need:
- 18 red raspberry leaf tea bags
- 3 cups filtered water
- 2 cups coconut water
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/8 cup raw honey
bring the filtered water to a boil, then remove from heat and stick the tea bags in (yes all 18 of them, it's going to be a strong tea to really get your body moving and being consistent and efficient with those contractions). let the tea steep for at least 2 hours. after it's steeped and cooled, pour into a big 64 oz. or so water bottle (the one you will grab as your in labor). pour in the coconut water, sea salt, lemon juice and honey and shake really really well. i mean, your arms should be sore after shaking this. taste to see if the sweetness is to your likening, if not add another 1/8 cup of raw honey (but try not to overdue the sweetness). then, cool and store up to four days in the fridge until you are ready to use it!
i would suggest to either have all these ingredients on hand with someone to make it for you as soon as you start early labor or make sure you make this right around your due date so it doesn't go bad! it's just hard to know because what's a due date, right? (as i sit here, on day four of being "overdue.." it's ok, i'm ok, everything's ok)
please do let me know if you make this and if you add anything to it that you like let me know that as well :) happy labor!
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