With Boo I never saw my placenta. I was too busy rubbernecking at my son who was being weighed and measured and tested across the room. It was unceremoniously thrown away. Now I regret dismissing this piece of our birth so carelessly, but at the time I didn't know any better. With Alex, I wanted things to be different.
If you had issues with Post partum depression or milk supply then this is what you need to improve your post partum experience. I had a little bit of both. The depression wasn't horrible for me but definitely was a huge burden feeling so blue all the time for no reason. Not to mention the crying for no reason. I would sit at home and cry just by staring at my baby. I just felt emotional all the time, sometimes not even sad but just emotional.
There are a few ways to approach consuming the placenta, you can eat it (ewwww), encapsulate it yourself by purchasing a kit, hire a specialist (the best choice), or make it into smoothies (ewwww again). Even though this is hard to stomach the fact is its so beneficial for you and your baby that its worth it. The problem with not encapsulating it is it will only last a few days, and when it is in pill form it lasts 6 weeks. Let's face it, 6 weeks of feeling awesome is much better then a few days. I chose to hire a specialist and felt it was the easiest and best decision to make.
Tricia Hayes, was my specialist, and she was AMAZING! More then accommodating. If you are wondering how this all works, let me break it down for you. You birth the placenta, sign a medical release form for it, it is then put into a red bio hazard bag, and it is your responsibility to put it into a cooler and bring it home. The faster you get it home, the better. The idea is to have your pills ready for you once you leave the hospital. You must encapsulate within 72 hours. Your specialist brings all the equipment to your home, and makes your pills for you in the comfort of your home. It takes 2 days to do. 8 Hours of dehydrating it, then encapsulating it by grinding it and putting into capsules. I had mine ready for me once I left the hospital (after one day). Tricia kicked butt and made sure I had them by day 2. She also dehydrated the cord and it surprisingly was beautiful! It was shaped into a heart and had a nice little keepsake bag it came in. My pills came in a beautiful blue jar, and had instructions that came along with it for the dosage. You can either consume all the pills or freeze the remainder for menopause or any other time in your life where hormones are raging and changing.
My experience was overall AWESOME!!!! I really needed these pills. There was no way I would've been able to be up and running the day after I gave birth with my 2 year old without these pills. Coming home to a toddler is a whole other ball game. A lot of work, and no rest, so these pills helped me get through this time. It gave me energy, and made me feel "happy" every time I took them. I honestly was fearful of them running out because of how great they made me feel. I had a great milk supply no depression at all, and healed so quickly it shocked me. I couldn't believe I had just had a baby. I was able to keep up with my 2 year old, and feel good! It was nice to come home and be able to jump back into things and make the transition for my son so easy and smooth.
I attribute there being no jealousy towards the baby due to the fact that I was able to give him attention, and had the energy to still play and make it seem as if I hadn't just had a baby.
So, yes I LOVED doing this, and will do it again for our next baby. I couldnt go back knowing how awesome it made my experience.
