Mangnoona Mama

Crazy, chaotic tales of motherhood.

[magnoonamama]

If you stink and you know it, raise your hands, anyway!

Let’s face it. Natural deodorants just don’t work for most of us. I’ve tried dozens of brands over the years. I’ve even given them a breaking-in period (apparently, your body is supposed to detox for a week or two before it really starts working). At best, they work for a few hours and then you need to reapply (read: layering more stink ontop of your stank). 

But, I’ve yet to find a better solution to laying on the chemicals. Aluminum might associated with cancer or alzheimer’s and while it hasn’t been definitively proven to be a cause, I’d rather not take a chance while pregnant or lactating. Hell, maybe by the time I’m done breastfeeding I’ll be so used to my own stench I might even continue eau de’ naturale.

These are the ones I’ve found to be the least problematic:

Primal Pit Paste - they have a sample pack with free shipping

Schmidt’s Natural Deodorant - this one has baking soda in it which can be a bit tougher on sensitive skin. I pair mine with Primal Pit Primer which eases the redness and helps it glide on smoothly.

[magnoonamama]

The Freecycle Network is a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills.

Freecycle, it’s for the people by the people. Win, win: Save stuff from going to landfill, score free stuff for you. Even better, with used clothing a lot of the chemicals have washed off and you won’t mind them getting dirty and having “too much” fun rolling around in them.

* Doorway jumper * Exersaucer * Bumbo * Entire wardrobe Newborn - 2T * Carseat * Infant Swing * Walkers * Giant Teddy Bear * Stroller * Bottles * Open boxes of diapers (kids grow so fast, even seemingly while changing diapers)

It can be kind of hard to find exactly what you’re looking for that’s free so I still shelled out some $ for hard-to-find things but I felt good about it--they were things I truly wanted and will always treasure.

[magnoonamama]

Baby’s first flu

Fever of 103, liquid erupting out of both ends, hiyati too weak to roll over when she fell over on her face in bed. It’s so hard on the parents, way more than on the baby. But, it’s bound to happen. I keep telling myself that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. It’s moments like this that I realize why parents have multiples (and most of the time I second-guess their decision to do so). But, what if the unthinkable happened to your offspring? There would never be any replacing them but if there was another sister from the same mister maybe it would make it a little more bearable to know you wouldn’t die without any other. 

[magnoonamama]

Let’s talk about eating placenta postpartum. Some forward-thinkers talk about it but nobody dares look at it. Well, here it is. It’s not so scary. I will never be able to thank my friend enough for taking on the placenta cooking duties. She happily volunteered to cook and then encapsulate for me. It smelled really bad like...well...afterbirth. But, she added garlic and lemon and once dried and cooked was definitely edible.

I was lucky to have given birth at a modern hospital who supported my decision to try the placenta. The doctors and midwives weren’t completely convinced it would do anything but they also didn’t think it would hurt to try. So, they packaged it up in ice and sent it home with my husband. Unfortunately, it sat in our freezer for a few weeks until my friend made me the most meaningful meal of my life. 

I know it’s anectdotal but I never got postpartum blues, postpartum depression and I was at risk for it. I also never had postpartum contraction pains and felt very energized (my family kept telling me I had to take it easy since I’d be on my feet all day and at risk of having a rupture). Would I do it again? For sure, but sooner and next time I’d save some in a