TenaYisTilign!
I just give thanks every uprising for life, health, security and the provisions of JAH everyday in my life! Every day I wake up I am just joyful for the life of my household and our ability to hold firm and have what we need no matter how the times running. JAH is good to His people, those who take the Holy Word and Way seriously, who have love for the world and humanity, who bind the Truth and Right to their bosom - RasTafarI Livity! So keep your positive mind on always! rise with JAH sun and feel the blessings on your skin, watch JAH moon and give thanks for another day of life, love and learning.
I just wanted to share a little bit of what I have had to relearn the
second time around to those Sistren who are having their first baby. I talked with one or two SIstren who were expecting their first around the same
time that I was, and so in sharing with them I share with you.
I must say that being a mum the second time around, five years later showed me how much I forgot about it - certain little dos and donts Ive had to relearn, but I am also giving myself the chance to raise this baby with more natural products than the first and I am thankful to get a do-over in some ways even though this pregnancy was harder than the first, and my son is more of crier than his sister.
Having a newborn is rough - I would estimate the first two weeks after delivery to be the hardest of all! by one month, you should be into a routine and have your energy back, and be more healed up however. Through it all - the pregnancy, the labour and the after-care - remember it is all for a time, there is an end to the problem or the pain and you will have relief.
First of all, let's go back a little to the labour:
Make sure you are comfortable with the place you have chosen to deliver, that you have a doctor or midwife to represent you there, and that you carry everything you will need for yourself and baby according to what your facility and doctor state. It really lets you feel prepared and ready to focus on delivery when you have your birthing set and are comfortable with how things will be done.
WHen it is time to push - as you lay there pushing, when you feel like you have to BM or stool, that is actually where you need to direct all of your pushing energy. Push like you are going to the bathroom and that baby will be out in no time lol. and remember to BREATHE no matter what or how bad it feels! just breathe through everything. I took no drugs and that's how I made it through!
After labour make sure and get a lot of rest - sleep when baby sleeps if you have help. Sit in your salve water or sitz bath at least the first week twice a day to ensure you get no infections. be gentle with yourself. dont eat a lot of parsley and those herbs that cause bloodflow to increase. I had bleeding for a month.
But onto the newborn stuff.
First - I recommend that you dont rush to put baby in the rub right away - especially before the little navel stump comes off (nothing will happen if you do bathe baby though, just dry it well and be careful not to hurt it. I wiped it with a cotton swab with alcohol for eight days when it dropped off, and also after to clean the dead skin, but you can also use water alone ). Newborns really are good with a wipe and dry off daily rather than being put into the tub. But it's your choice either way. When they make very messy poops it is best to clean them up with water though!
Second- Make a really big stash of oil that you will use for a variety of things! in that oil you are combining coconut oil the most, some olive oil, almond or sweet almond oil, rosemary oil and vitamin e oil. Make sure your baby is not allergic to nuts!
This oil you can use as hair and body lotion - and if your baby gets cradle cap or baby dandruff, then soak their scalp in that oil or plain coconut oil after washing the hair once a day. THis oil will also help with the diaper area - first of all the diaper area chaffs, and all the creases in the pelvis where the diapers rub need to be oiled at every diaper change - at least this is what I have learned this time around in combatting the rash. you also need to oil baby's bottom where the rash occurs. with all the wiping and changing we do on their bottoms, and if it is not dried properly the skin becomes dry and vulnerable to rash. Also try different brands to rule out allergic reaction - my son cannot wear huggies it gives him a red rash! during diaper change I rub the oil everywhere and then I put the white zinc oxide, lanolin baby bottom ointment from the drugstore. but if baby gets a rash, the only way to properly treat it is to leave off the diaper while they sleep. During the day I put my son on his tummy and leave his butt exposed with the diaper underneath to catch his urine. No amount of diaper cream is going to fix a rash that is already there, and remember it hurts baby when he or she pees or poops so air out the area a few nap times for a few days, just pad with towels and the diaper mat from your baby bag if you have one. After that clears it up, always make sure you dry the area well with toilet paper or a towel or washcloth before applying oil n cream. use cotton balls dipped in water to also clean the area as wipes can burn diaper rashes.
Use the oil to also lubricate all the skin folds in baby's legs and arms as they will chaff also.
if there are cuts on the bottom apply vitamin e capsule oil directly when airing out the bottom.
Third - to help baby get rid of excess gas especially if baby suffers from gripe or colic, you can try putting baby in different positions and see which work. All of these positions work for my son in eliminating gas.
Prop up yourself and pull your knees up. put baby on your lap to face you. sitting like this will let baby use gravity to get that air out, it's like sittin on the toilet.
lie back but with yourself propped up a little and let baby lie on top of you on your tummy. let baby push up against you, move its feet and bottom up and down and the air will come out.
Burp baby a lot - in between and after feedings. Burping - put baby on shoulder, and combine patting rubbing. you can rub up and down, clockwise or anticlockwise and pat after - note which combination works for baby. I do all three but up-down quickly for a while and then pat for a while, really works.
Let baby lay flat on their back and the air will pass, to help them along move their legs back and forth for them and also up and down.
let baby sleep on your chest, and hold baby as long as you need to, to soothe him or her. crying is the only way they know how to express their pain! remember that being sympathetic will get you through the endless crying and thrashing.
Fourth - To clean nails try using an emery board and filing nails rather than trying to clip the nails. instead of clipping try the nail scissors. I dont like clipping those little nails at all!
Fifth - if your baby has a hernia, don't worry. It looks awful but once it is not red, hot, hard and cant go back into the navel, and once baby isnt crying and vomiting or has fever, then nothing is wrong. try icing the navel area if the hernia is red and warm. but if baby has these symptoms of vomitting and the icing doesnt work to make it go back in, take him to hospital immediately.
Sixth - When nursing, if you have a strong milk flow, and which flows very hard when baby starts to nurse, baby will have issues latching on and staying on. You need to express some milk off first if your breasts are really full, and then feed. If you find baby's stools are more green than orange, try expressing your milk off for a few minutes before nursing. Baby needs more of the hind milk than the let-down milk which is more watery and causes fussiness and green stools. If you have engorgement, don't be too rough in massaging your breasts - you could hurt your milk ducts! Don't wear anything that is too tight or it will make your breasts hurt even more. If your bras wont fit then wear a tight vest and stick your pads in there - works for me! I use a size small vest instead of a medium. If you have pain, ice your breasts. to stimulate milk use a warm compress, but don't use heat if u are not expressing unless u follow it with cold compress. Nurse for ten minutes on the breast and then burp and put on second breast if baby needs it. After ten minutes the breast is empty and baby will start to gulp air. I had to read up and speak to the doctor about the info in this particular point as I had a rough time with these issues. for a time there I thought I wasn't going to heal but after two weeks my engorgement was gone. Do google this topic so you are well informed on what to expect with breastfeeding and engorgement.
Seventh - Don't let it all get to you, accept that it is what it is - you WILL change many diapers back to back. Don't even bother with it don't think "but I just changed you" because it is a waste of time. Don't be phased by the amount of puke and diapers you will have to put up with! Babies will have you smelly and sticky and just feeling run down! Don't let the crying get to you! In Trinidad people have been killing crying babies - don't fall into that trap! Babies cry for a long time sometimes, you just have to learn your child's cries and make sure you check them over and access every possible problem until they calm down. Sometimes just speaking a little loudly to my son over his crying gets his attention and he calms down long enough to catch his breath. I then talk to him in his ear quietly and tell him what he should do to calm down (he likes to cry to sleep - some babies are just like that!) sometimes it works. Sometimes when he cries too much I just rest him down on the bed for a few minutes - he might stop, go to sleep on his own or cry harder, but by that time I have had five minutes to regroup myself, this is usually in the late night morning hours when I'm the only one up with him. I also try wiping off, or taking outside for cool air once it is before 7 pm. Every evening from 5 - 8pm he is fussy with gas like most little boys also. Tummy to tummy sleeping works, and if baby is not sleeping well, take some time out to do nothing and let them get a good rest on your tummy or let dad do it, Im sure he will be willing!
The same goes for breastfeeding every hour to two hours, and getting up often from sleep at night to tend to the baby or check that he is okay (and you WILL be highly paranoid especially the first month or so until baby starts to gain more weight and breathe a little sounder) - though it is overwhelming, it's all a part of being a new mom and having a newborn, so keep your cool and have something that calms and soothes you. have a zen-place to go to when it gets rough. for me I say a mantra or affirmation a few times and feel positive that it is true and will manifest, also it's definitely taking a small burn, or reading scripture, giving Ises or just looking outside at the trees for a while in deep thought about Rastafari and JAH, taking a shower or eating something or napping. all these help me to refresh myself. I also recommend some kind of regular vitamin c as this also helps with energy and feeling more boosted.
Eighth - continue to take vitamins or eat lots of raw food daily, or you will lose your hair, nails and teeth and strong bones!!!
Ninth - If you are a second time mom, you are a new mom too because you have never had two to take care of at once. It is going to be difficult and you will find you never have much time for yourself until late at night when you are too tired to care. But you just have to decide from early that you will do whatever you must to balance and handle both children every day. establish rules and routines to help you out. be more mindful of them and what they are doing to avoid accidents happening. get enough rest so that you will have energy to deal with them and wont be cranky. Try to keep your first child in the picture, let them embrace the new baby's arrival as well. Just always pay attention to what your children are showing you in their natural way, and try to meet their needs at the different levels, and find a way to merge them. It is all within you!
Tenth - Give Ises or pray, every day. Thank JAH continuously for your child and their safe journey into this life. be confident that you will deliver and raise your baby with strength and health. you can do it. thousands of women do it, millions even, so can you. everything is on the internet for you to google and read up upon, advice from mothers is there. you are not alone in this. Just pray on everything and be confident that JAH will deliver, guide, protect and nourish. JAH will secure your family and give you living waters to care for your creation.
These are just some offerings I have been keeping in my heart, nothing new to the world of child-raising but I felt it necessary to share with the Dawtas as I now re-learn my own strengths and weaknesses in being a mother the second time around. This is what being a Goddess is all about, creation and tending of the seed! It is challenging, but it is rewarding and it is most of all the most important thing to me on earth! As RasTafari Dawtas I and I have to believe that the Queen Omega Goddess Energy is real, and is there waiting for I n I to tap into Her. The Wisdom of the Goddess Mother, Wife and Daughter is everliving and everpresent in the world, you just have to tap into your internal knowledge. listen to your body, see how it is in tune with your children, and nurture that connection daily with knowledge, good food, rest, exercise, acts of love and positive word sound and vibrations.
RasTafari Teach I Everything!
Sis Ila
