By the time I had my daughter two years later, I had trained as a midwife and I knew a LOT more about my options! She was a planned unassisted home birth- no midwife, just me! Her father was present to catch, and my study partner was there to keep him calm and help me if I needed her. (Bless you, Trillium!) I read about Lotus birth and decided to do it, even though her father thought it was gross and tried to talk me out of it.
I spent the summer of my pregnancy growing and working an herb and vegetable garden. I squatted while weeding to strengthen and stretch my thigh muscles, and I ate fresh tomatoes, strawberries, borage flowers, and rosemary every morning. In early autumn, I picked and dried bundles of rosemary and white sage. I powdered them and mixed them with Celtic sea salt.
My daughter was born in the wee hours of the morning in the middle of November. I had told Trillium beforehand that I would take angelica tincture if the placenta hadn't come on it's own in an hour. I ended up taking the angelica. (Just a note- a fruit juice chaser takes the bitterness out of the mouth.)
I put the placenta in a colander, which was set in a bowl. This was set on a table next to my bed. I covered it with a dish towel and let it drain for twenty-four hours. (Her father chose to sleep on the couch so he wouldn't ly tug on the cord or knock the bowl over- his choice.)
When I was satisfied with the drainage, I stripped the membranes off. The membranes are the sac the baby lived inside in the womb. Then, I picked off all the clots. They're easier to get off if you dig underneath them a little and twist. Just drop them into the bowl with the ! (Hence, my nickname of clotflinger.)
The next step is to coat the placenta with a heavy layer of sea salt- I used the mixture with the dried herbs from my garden. Place the salted placenta in a cloth diaper or a few dishtowels. I put mine in a diaper and wrapped a towel around that!
Add more salt at least once a day. In wet weather, add salt twice a day.
The cord will fall off at the navel within eight days.
Happy Birthing!
