Herbs And Pregnancy: My Top 3 Herbs

What you see below is an infusion of red raspberry leaf and nettle leaf herbs, and it's delicious.

I have become more interested and slightly more knowledgeable about herbs in the last year and decided that I wanted them to be a part of my pregnancy. I have said this before and I'm sure I'll say it again, but I am not a doctor of any sort. If you are interested in herbs and how to use them please read on and I will mention a few trusted herbalists who have books that might be of interest to you. As usual, if you are pregnant you should speak with your physician before starting anything new (though don't be surprised if he/she isn't on board with your ideas).

Here are the herbs I use on an almost daily basis. I change it up each day to make sure I get a balance of the nutrients and also keep the flavors interesting.

NETTLES - Ah-mazing. I wish I could cleverly explain just how great this herb is, but I'm afraid the following will have to do. Nettles are considered a tonic and can aid in the treatment of nearly any disease or discomfort due to it's high nutrient content and gentle action. This is the type of herb you could use every day and only see good effects (this is not true of all herbs considering that most have very strong actions and can take a toll on the systems of the body). Here's just a sampling of what this herb has to offer.

- Can be used as a tonic during pregnancy
- Has been historically used to enrich and aid in milk production of breast feeding mothers
- Contains a good amount of vitamin K which is particularly difficult to kind in the modern diet.
- According to Rosemary Gladstar in her book Herbal Healing For Women, "It is one of the best sources of digestible plant iron and is rich in calcium, vitamin A, and chlorophyll.
- Is an antihistamine and good for dealing with allergies (I learned of this trait too late to utilize it for my Husband's Spring allergies, but will definitely be using on my own when the Fall comes around).

This is a bare-bones list of the offerings of nettles, but you can learn a great more from Rosemary Gladstar and Susun Weed. These women have decades of experience not only studying these herbs, but using them in their homes and with their families and friends. There are so many herbalists I could recommend to you, but these two specifically speak and write about herbalism and women, so they might be of more direct use to you.

RED RASPBERRY LEAF - Also ah-mazing. This herb has some confusion floating around it, so make the decision to use it or not for yourself once you are fully aware of the information (which means doing more research than just reading this post).

- Used as a uterine tonic, this herb helps to tone the uterus and prime it for pre, during, and post- pregnancy.
- Rich in vitamins B, C, and E. Also rich in Calcium (one of the most easily assimilated forms of calcium), iron, potassium, and phosphorous.
- Useful in increasing milk flow

This is also a nutritive and tonic herb that does not build up in the system and is therefore non-toxic. Yes, you can have too much of a good thing so don't go crazy.

RED CLOVER - I think you've caught on by now... ah-mazing.
- When paired with raspberry leaf, this herb helps the body assimilate the goodness in it's partner herb (while also imparting it's own).
- Often used in the treatment of infertility

There is so much more to this herb that I just have not studied, so I would suggest reading into it further.


Well, those are my top three herbs. You might be interested to know that I had taken a liking to nettles long before I was pregnant or considering becoming pregnant. It just made sense to have an herb that would give me nutrients that I was probably missing in my daily diet (which is almost completely paleo, so very nutritious indeed). I began incorporating red raspberry and red clover once I learned about the calcium benefits and the fact that women begin to lose bone density around age 30...I'm only 3 years from that mark so I'm chugging the stuff like it's going out of style. I hope this helps, and as I mentioned before go check out Rosemary and Susun because they are a wealth of knowledge and so easy to read. Thanks for dropping by!

Awesome Sauce: Preggo Body Pillow

Oh man, you guys, this pillow is amazing. I started having hip pain not too long into this journey and thought I could manage without spending extra money...but wow, what a difference!

PROBLEM - I had extreme soreness in my right hip while laying down, sitting, and (you guessed it) standing. I'm normally a back and stomach sleeper and you aren't allowed to use either position while pregnant, just left (preferably) or right side. TORTURE! Absolute torture. Not only was my hip sore ALL. THE. TIME. but my hip joint was pinching some nerve that runs down my legs and caused me serious pain while doing pretty much anything. Add in the fact that my shoulders felt like they were being crunched and my neck was sore every morning and I had myself a real mess of a situation.

SOLUTION #1 - I tried using the extra pillows we had around the house to put between my knees and then another to have as back support (which also helped train me to stay on my side during the night). There were a few flaws with this setup, one is that the pillows are older and all went flat within minutes. Any relief I got was soon lost due to inferior stuffing. The second problem was that any time I moved I had to take the pillows with me. This made for a serious scene and woke me up to the point of no return and also woke my husband up which is no good either. Something needed to change.

RESEARCH - Typically before I buy anything, and I do mean anything, I research it to find the best one for the money and the best one all around. This time I decided to consult my other "mommy" and "mommy-to-be" friends on Facebook about what they used to help with this whole side sleeping problem. The responses I got included the following, massage and chiropractic alignment, one of those c-shaped snoogles, and two normal sized pillows joined at the long sides by fabric so that both your back and belly are supported. These are all valid options, but not what I was looking for. Them, one friend told me she had tried several pillows and finally broke down and bought the expensive one because the others just didn't cut it. That's when I realized that I could try cheaper options knowing I'd probably be disappointed, or I could just go for what I really wanted. So I did.

SOLUTION #2 - I bought a huge U-shaped body pillow that is as long as I am (I'm 5'6") and it is HEAVEN! After three nights my hip was no longer sore and even my shoulders were improving. That is the best $99 I have ever spent, seriously. I can't imagine the state I'd be in now if I had not addressed this problem early on. My husband calls it my "nest" which is not totally wrong. It is my own space that helped me reclaim my half of the bed and kept my skeleton from falling apart.

PHOTOS - Here's how the pillow arrived. So small!

And after. It looks like it takes over most of the bed, but once you are in it and have it tucked around you it really isn't a bed hog. Some people in the reviews for this pillow were complaining about how much room it takes up, but I don't find that it does. It's my sanctuary and I love it.

I've had this pillow for a few weeks now and I'm happy to report that the stuffing is holding up well. I am optimistic that it will last me past this pregnancy which is nice. You do have to fluff the pillow each day though, otherwise you will notice it all condensing. It's a small price to pay for something so useful. In case you are in the market, I got this one on Amazon and it's called the Comfort U MATERNITY Pillow. It is sold by a bunch of different companies on Amazon, so it's up to you to choose the one that's right for you.

There you have it, my two cents on maternity body pillows and a stellar recommendation. I hope this helps some of you make a decision about what you'd like to use. Sweet dreams!

Week 16

Hello There,

     Welcome to my new sanctuary! Below are a few things that are helpful to know about me if you plan to join me in this adventure.

1. I am a Lighting Designer/Technician/Production Manager living in Brooklyn, NY.

2. I am exactly 16 weeks pregnant.

3. I am fascinated by herbs (and not just the kind you add to your meals).

4. I am extremely health conscious. I have been this way for the last couple of years. It is not a new development because of my pregnancy.

5. I am an introvert who loves to take photos, explore new places, and buy produce from local farmer's markets.

It's important to know that I am much more than these five short notes, but it would be a very long post indeed if I tried to explain myself fully (and nobody has time for that).

Ok, with that out of the way we can begin.

HEADACHES - I have had them for the last week on and off. I think they are tension headaches, but I'm not a doctor. They say it's safe to take Tylenol, but I'm not a fan of that kind of thing, so I did some searching for more natural alternatives only to find that most of them suck. There's only so much time I can spend lying down in a dark room with a cold compress on my head before I start to lose it. Many people also talked about dehydration, but I drink between 80 and 90oz a day and pee a nice light straw color, so I'm sure this is not what's causing this hell. Another person mentioned that posture has a lot to do with it, so I have been trying to sit up a bit straighter these days...but again, still have headaches. So, I decided to specifically research herbal headache remedies for pregnant ladies (I'll have a rant on here at some point about the lack of options for anything just because no one has done the research. My new least favorite line is "better safe than sorry" what a cop-out). I found one herbalist who suggested a tea made of equal parts skullcap, lavender, chamomile, and some other herbs, but I decided to stick with the first three and add some red raspberry for good measure.

Herbalists generally maintain that these headaches can be brought on by a lack of calcium and magnesium, or just busy hormones. I thought about it and these headaches have come along after I stopped my daily infusions of nettles, red raspberry, and red clover that I rotate from day to day, so I'm wondering if that's where this began. Not to mention that I may be a bit stressed about the idea of being pregnant and having things change every day. It's easy to be overwhelmed by it all without realizing it, it creeps up on you like a nasty cold.

Regardless, I am currently sipping on a chilled nettle infusion and crossing my fingers that I will find relief in the coming days. Otherwise I think I'll just have to cut the top of my head off.

BELLY - Is huge! at least for me it is. My stomach is definitely protruding and causing my pants to be super tight when I sit (bring on the maternity jeans!). I'm really not that big, I'm just big by comparison to how I was before. I haven't been weighed since the end of April at my last midwife appointment, but I'm sure I've gained a pound or so. I've always been the type to keep my weight down, so this change is major for me and also adding some stress. Yes, I know this is a thing and that it is good and necessary, but it doesn't mean I like it. I was cool with my body before and now I barely have a day with this new one before it starts changing again! So silly, but still a concern.

EXCITEMENT LEVEL - A 10/10, no joke. I have a game plan for my headaches and activities planned tomorrow, so my excitement is at an all time high. I'm excited about the progress my kid is making (it's the size of an avocado!) and can't wait to find out if it's a she or a he. I'm also excited because my husband's sister is moving to the city for the summer to work and play! It's going to be a long, hot summer, but I think it's going to be a good one. My current outlook is positive and I'm hoping to keep it that way, but who knows where these hormones will take me?

That's it for tonight. I need to shower and get into bed because I have to be up at 5am with the husband to make sure he eats and has lunch. Bye for now!