Prepping for Baby - Part 1 - Birth Supplies

In preparation for a baby, so many first time moms spend tons and tons of energy preparing the nursery and making sure all the supplies are purchased.  I did this with my son too as I was sure it was the only way we would be "ready." In retrospect, many of the things we purchased didn't get used for months and months and some things were never used.  However, at the time, it gave me a sense of calm that I greatly needed as a first time mom.

This time around, there were two big things that were important for me to prepare for this baby's arrival.  First, we needed to have all of our supplies ready for our home birth.  The second thing that I needed to do for sanity was to stock our freezer with prepared meals for once the baby comes. This is particularly helpful right now as I am on light bed rest. I will write

The birth supply list was provided to us by our midwife.  We added a couple key items including:

1) Magnesium Oil -  This is great to assist with pain relief during labor.  We also use it since my blood pressure has been slightly elevated.  Magnesium is a successful treatment for elevated blood pressure. I also take it when I'm having trouble sleeping with Braxton Hicks contractions as it can lessen them enough to sleep through the contractions.

2) Topricin - This is a wonderful homeopathic cream recommended to me by my chiropractor.  It is safe to use during pregnancy.  I have used it for pelvis and hip pain since earl in my pregnancy and it works great for carpel tunnel syndrome and plantar faciaitis that can be common problems during pregnancy. 

3) Lavender Essential Oils - This is helpful for relaxation during labor.  I have been using the lavender throughout my relaxation practice sessions to help me associate the scent with a relaxed state of being.

4) Honey Sticks - This is a fabulous source of energy during labor.  It is in easy packets that won't make mess during labor.

5) Hot/Cold Heat Pack - This can be used hot or cold to relieve discomfort during labor and postpartum.  This one has a heavenly scent of lavender and camomile.

6) Raspberry Leaf Tea - This helps tone the uterus and can be taken throughout pregnancy.  I've taken it since my second trimester and increased it in my third.  It can be used during labor and with a little honey, it can be a wonderful way to keep hydrated.

7)  New Mama Bottom Spray - this is great for postpartum to ease the discomforts in the nether regions that get a lot of stretching and pulling during birth.  I've also used this a little prenatally to ease some earlier discomforts.

8)  After Ease Tincture - This is also for postpartum and should help reduce the postpartum labor pains that tend to get stronger with each pregnancy and birth.  I was able to use Tylenol and Advil with my son but I have heard amazing things about this tincture.

9) Homemade Chicken Soup - We made about a gallon of home made chicken soup that we have been gradually eating.  It freezes well and is incredibly nourishing.  It is also high in gelatin which is so good for you.  Our recipe is VERY easy.  We take a very large stock put and place two whole chickens (about 2 lbs each) into the pot sideways.  We fill it with at least onions, celery and carrots and we add as much as we want to fill the pot.  I think there can never be too many vegetables.  We also add whole peppercorns and a couple bay leaves. We then fill the pot as close to the top as we can to allow for initial boiling.  We put the pot on the stove and bring it to a light boil and turn it down to a low simmer for at least 4 hours or as long as overnight.  Don't let it boil that entire time or the soup will be very cloudy and the gelatin will break down.  Once the soup has cooled, pull out the bones (which will mostly fall out of the chicken) and the skin as well, if you wish.  I leave the chicken fat on the soup because we use grass fed pastured chickens and it is full of vitamins A and D. You can skim if you prefer.  We store in canning jars or in the freezer in freezer bags.

10) Nuts and Dried Fruit - These are great sources of energy during labor and postpartum.  We use organic nuts that we soak and dehydrate.  My personal favorite are almonds and cashews.  They are very high in good fats, vitamins and minerals.  We also have a mixture of dried fruit and some dark chocolate covered fruit and nuts as well. Also, we have yummy rolled dates with coconut which is also very good for labor and high in amazing minerals.

11) Coconut Water Powder and Fruit Juice - This is also wonderful hydration and much better for you than any commercial sports drinks on the market.  We usually mix half water, half juice with a tablespoon of the powder.  It is extremely helpful during early pregnancy during morning sickness periods.  This has excellent sources of minerals including magnesium and potassium. Sea Salt also works well if you don't have the coconut water powder.

12) We also have our Rebozo that we will be using prenatally, during labor and birth and postpartum.  My doula, midwives and birth assistant all have been trained to use the Rebozo to assist in labor and birth.   Here's a great e-book that can help if you cannot find a way to learn Rebozo from a class or doula. Also, check out the Spinning Babies website for additional descriptions of use of a Rebozo. I can't wait to experience this magic.

13) Birth Ball - We are using a birth ball to assist us during prenatal practice, labor and maybe birth.  This helps balance the pelvis when seated on the ball.  Hip circles on the ball feel amazing and can strengthen the core and help reduce discomfort in the hips before the baby comes.  They can also be done during labor to help the baby move down and work with contractions.  Also, pelvic tilts on the birth ball are sometimes more comfortable than on all fours.  Some people find this helpful during actual delivery as well.  I like to do my birth affirmations while swaying or leaning on the birth ball to encourage good positioning of the baby and provide some physical relaxation to the body while on the ball.

14) AquaDoula Tub - We rented our tub from our birth assistant.  It is huge and will allow my husband and I to get into the tub during labor and birth.  There are many benefits to water birth and I won't go into them here.  However, the main reason we chose this is that it is very helpful in reducing discomfort during labor and birth and reduce the risk of tearing during pushing and birth.

15) iPod Mini - I have my birth affirmations and relaxation techniques saved on the ipod.  It can clip to my sports bra even in the tub and allow me to go to my own peaceful place during labor and birth.  We may add other music later but for now, that's all we have on it.

16) Birth Empowerment Space- This is something I learned from the Sacred Pregnancy movement.  Mine includes my belly cast, a birth painting I painted, birth affirmations, lots of candles, my flower crown and birthing necklace from my blessingway.  It is a physical reminder of the support I have with me physically and spirituallly for birth.

17) Jewish Books - I have two books of prayers to read during labor and right after birth.  This was very powerful for me with my first birth.   I also have some chants that my friend provided me.

I hope you find this helpful.  Do you think I'm missing anything?  Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Who is the Buxom Balabusta?

Hey Everyone!  Welcome to my blog!! I am so excited to share with you all of the exciting things I do with my family in my home to live a conscious Jewish life.  We strive to live consciously in that we try and make each choice we do throughout the day to be one with meaning and thought.  For example, we keep a kosher home.  We do this partly because it is halacha.  But we also do this because it is something that makes us conscious of our Jewish life each time we sit down to have a meal.  We also try and focus on selecting organic, locally-grown, fresh foods for most of our food choices.  Of course, Kosher meat in Northern Virginia can be a challenge.  We have found a couple stores that sell organic Kosher meat (sometimes even grass-fed or free-range/pastured) and there are great resources online.  We also have found that making a lot of our food from scratch has been hugely helpful when keeping Kosher while simultaneously saving us a lot of time and money. These choices are done to support local organic farmers.  It is also to promote a healthier lifestyle for us and teaches our children where food comes from.  We also try and select products for our home that are good for us and good for the environment.  This is always a work in progress and we are certainly not perfect.  It takes some trial and error and finding what things work for us. 

A little more specifics about me. I am currently a working mom of a 2.5 year old son and married to a wonderful man.  We live in the Northern Virginia area and are conservative Jews.  I converted to Judaism 6 years ago (today! on the last day of Hanukkah).  I married my husband a little less than a year later and welcomed our first son just shy of 3 years after that.  I am currently 38 weeks and 2 days pregnant with our next child (is it a girl? is it a boy? we shall see!).  We live in a small two bedroom condo and are a one car family.  We live a life full of so many wonderful things that we hope to share with you through this blog.

Why did I choose the name Buxom Balabusta?  Well, my lovely Aunt Sandy came over one year for Sukkot just after I was married and told me that I was a real balabusta.  Being that my grasp of Yiddish is very little, she had to explain to me what a Balabusta was. She explained to me that she is the homemaker who is able to do just about everything.  She cooks, she cleans, she raises the children and keeps the household running smoothly.  In our day in age, she often does this wile keeping a full time job and commitments to the community at large.  I was beyond flattered. Over the years, I have longed to start a blog and I knew I wanted the title to have Balabusta in it.  I chose buxom as the adjective because it describes both my physique but also a playfulness that I hope I will convey to you all as we get to know each other.


Over the next few days and weeks, I imagine a good many of my blog posts will be about my pregnancy, birth and children.  However, my hope is that this blog will focus on much more than this.  I hope to talk about living a Jewish life, raising Jewish children, and learning along with them as I did not have a Jewish childhood.  I also hope to share with you some of our favorite recipes, cooking techniques, meal planning, etc.  I also want to share with you tips on minimalism in living more with less.  And I'd love to share with you some of the ways we have lowered our toxic load in our home and lifestyle.  I hope that we will be able to foster a community through my blogs.  I'd love suggestions and questions so please feel free to contact me in the comments or by email at buxombalabusta (at) gmail (dot) com.

I look forward to getting to know you all!