For a Mother
Spring is just around the corner, and with it a crop of sweet babies. Everyone will be bringing diapers, cute clothes, and other gifts for the little one, but please don’t forget the mother. The following products have been selected for the comfort, support, encouragement, and learning of the new mother, whether she has had her first or her tenth.
Find a beautiful tea cup or mug to accompany this herbal tea blend that will promote healthy lactation. You could also include a breastfeeding manual such as The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding by La Leche League.
This is the most beautiful and uplifting collection of songs for women that I have ever heard. Wives and mothers will be upheld and encouraged by this reminder of their value in Christ. There is one song (“El Shaddai”) in which the singers seem to be taxing their voices. We always skip that one track.
This collection of piano pieces is tranquil but not dull. It includes old favorites (“Greensleeves,” “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”) and beautiful original works by pianist David Nevue (“The Gift” is my favorite). There are few recordings so immediately soothing, and it will be well appreciated by the mother during the sometimes stressful first days and nights of parenting.
The best time to learn about treating illness at home is to learn about the remedies beforehand. This essential book details home treatments for a wide variety of health issues, using nutritional and botanical remedies. Learn how to evaluate your family’s health, make simple herb remedies in your own kitchen, and recognize when it is appropriate to seek professional health.
Mother and grandmother Nancy Campbell has prepared a beautiful and encouraging book in celebration of Biblical motherhood. Mrs. Campbell reminds women that child-bearing and nursing are a gift from the Lord, not to be rejected or looked-down upon but recognized as the blessed estate it was designed to be. She outlines the various tasks of a mother (feeding, nurturing, teaching, keeping home, praying, etc.) with a thorough evaluation of each one's importance and eternal impact.
Candle Diffuser with Lavender Essential Oil
The flicker of bright flame wakes the fresh and sweet aroma of lavender. Lavender is well-known for its relaxant properties; a deep breath, and stress may be (literally) forgotten. The beautiful soapstone diffuser pictured at the left is available from Rose Mountain Herbs (as are pure beeswax votive candles and organic lavender essential oil). Peacocks spread luminous feathers over the walls and ceiling. My sisters and I enjoy using it in our bedroom at night. The bewitching dance of firelight above our heads is as soothing as the scent of lavender.
Mother-Roasting Basket
That subtitle likely perked your interest; you might have even read it twice. No, this is not a barbecue where Mother is la pièce de résistance. This perhaps unfortunate name refers to the ancient and universal practice of keeping a mother very warm during the postpartum period. Different cultures use warm food and drink as well as warmed sand, stones, oil, herbs, compresses, and wraps to promote healing and restore energy. Read this article by midwife Shannon Staloch for ideas on preparing a gift of deeply nourishing, warming things: massage oil, nursing tea herbs, sitz bath herbs, and a maternal belly wrap. Be sure to include a note that lets the mother know how to use these.
Luxury Basket
You can create your own customized gift basket filled with items especially for the mother’s relaxation and enjoyment. These could include anything listed above as well as fluffy slippers, natural massage oils or butters, natural bath salts, nursing pads (always appreciated!), and a favorite (uplifting) novel or poetry volume.
Yourself
Perhaps the best (and best-appreciated) gift you can offer a new mother is yourself. It is a costly gift, because it requires more than money—it requires time, service, humility. Let the mother know when you are available to help her care for other children, care for pets, clean the house, run errands, lend experienced counsel. Perhaps you (mothers, older daughters) can even commit to an entire day or several days when you can be fully at this mother’s beck and call. Your job will be to mother the mother, not the baby. Perhaps you can help the mother by providing nutritious, tasty food during a time when take-out might be the only other option. Read my article Blessing a New Mother for helpful guidelines in bringing meals that will be enjoyed by the mother and her family.
Coming Soon!
Speaking of spring and babies, I am looking forward to seeing this new series by herbalist Shoshanna Easling of the Bulk Herbs Store. Making Babies is a three-DVD documentary in which Shoshanna—with doctors, nutritionists, midwives, and lactation consultants—discusses conception, postpartum, and everything in between. Follow Shoshanna through her own pregnancy and gentle home-birth.
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ANONYMOUS said...
Don’t forget lanolin, a non-perfumed moisturizer, and a pretty nursing gown. Fresh flowers and a nice pitcher/ glass for hydration would probably be welcomed too. :-)
Tuesday, March 15, 2011 09:47 PM
Tuesday, March 15, 2011