Placenta Encapsulation

Yes, I did this.  Some of you may know what this is, some of you may not.  For those of you who don't, it's basically exactly what it sounds like.  You take your placenta and encapsulate it.  Well, not me directly.  I had someone do it for me.  Here's my story.

When I had Lila, I was so excited and determined to breastfeed.  I thought it was going to be pretty easy...and it was, physically.  Psychologically, not so much.  I very soon fell into that category of women who thought I wasn't making enough milk for my baby.  This was mainly caused by a doctor that we saw when she was 4 days old and still down from her birth weight.  A COMPLETELY normal situation.  My milk hadn't really come in yet, but I was actually not even concerned at all until we went to the doctor for a check up.  As soon as we left, I started freaking out.  "If she hasn't gained by next week, we may need to start supplementing."  WHAT???  Already?  This was the furthest thing from my mind.  I couldn't believe it.  I went home with those words in the back of my head.

Now any first time mom would tell you that they were uncertain about things.  The next day, I got my pump out and started pumping.  (Keep in mind that Lila was only 5 days old at this time.)  I was only pumping like 2 oz, which is totally normal for a 5 day old belly.  But there it went.  It was a numbers game from there.  I ran off to Walmart later that afternoon and got a can of formula.  Of course she sucked it down when I gave it to her, but THAT, my friends was the beginning of the end of my supply with Lila.  5 days into it.  I continued to pump for 12 weeks supplementing a bottle or two a day until I called it quits completely.  At that point, I was so stressed about it and not pumping as many times a day as I now know I should've been, that I was making almost no milk at all.  I was mentally drained with the breast milk situation.  Lila went to straight formula after that.

I want to note that there is absolutely nothing wrong with formula, it's simply a mother's preference on which one they choose to give to their baby.  It has been scientifically stated, that breast milk is the perfect food for babies, that's why God gave mother's the ability to produce it.  Anyway, this is only the first part of my story.

Part two begins when I'm about 4 months pregnant with my second baby.  I had read of placenta encapsulation when Lila was a baby, but never before that so it wasn't an option in my mind with her.  A girl I went to grade school with, Emily Stockdale, posted a piece on Facebook that she was going to do this.  I immediately remembered that she also had problems with her first baby and milk supply.  I read what she wrote and thought, "boy, I would really like to do that too".  When she had her second baby, I asked her about the process and her experience with it.  She was ecstatic about it all.  She was making milk and actually storing some extra.  So, I really wanted to do it then.  She lives on the west coast and I wasn't sure how popular this process was in the Midwest, let alone small town Southern Illinois.  Well low and behold, Emily found a woman in Carbondale who did it.  I emailed her and we ended up talking extensively about it.  I was sold.  Now...selling it to Neil, that's another thing.

It was easier than I thought.  He knew the struggles I had, both physically and emotionally with breastfeeding Lila and totally sided with me on this.  After all, for $250, you can have someone take your placenta and turn it into pills that will not only help your milk come in faster, but can also assist in postpartum healing, physically and emotionally, as well as help your energy level.  Thinking about that number by a dollar sign may seem a little steep, but when you calculate the cost of formula over the course of a year (or even 6 months) it definitely outweighs the $250.

Carolyn was so helpful in educating me on the placenta during pregnancy, during birth, after birth...there are a million things I didn't know.  Humans and a few species sea creatures are the only mammals on the planet who do not consume their placenta in some way.  I like to say that that's because humans are the only ones smart enough to know that it's kinda weird (hee hee), but seriously, there is a reason all mammals do it. Why not try it out?  What could it hurt?

Fast forward to April 27 and Neil has taken the placenta into custody.  LOL  He had to bring it home for her.  Carolyn came to our house and did the whole process.  It took about 24 hours.  She was done and gone before I even got home from the hospital.  AND my kitchen was cleaner than it had been since we moved into the house.  HAHA

I got started on the pills, which pretty much just looked like multivitamins in capsule form, as soon as I walked through the door.  My milk came in on the next morning.  I was in shock!  Last time I never felt it come in and even when it was here, it didn't seem like what everyone said would happen, was happening.  This time it was like magic.  I honestly could not believe it.  By the next day, I even had to cut back on the pills because they were doing their job so well!  I can say that this time has been just amazing.  I can't say that I still didn't freak out and wonder if she was gaining weight, but I trusted my instincts a little better this time.  I didn't let a doctor (from who we have since switched) freak me out into giving formula and essentially tanking my supply within days of birth.  I had great resources and great support from my husband.  All in all, I'd say that breastfeeding this time has been a huge success! I'm getting ready to go back to work and will be starting my pumping routine, but I have hopes that this is all going to work out fine!

If anyone in the Southern Illinois area would like the name and number of the woman who did my placenta encapsulation, feel free to email me!  I'll happy to pass this information on, I just didn't know if she would want me to publish her information here publicly.