Postpartum Blues

If you just had a baby and find yourself feeling down, seemingly crying for no obvious reason or not quite yourself you are in good company.

Often times, with this new baby comes some emotional upheaval as mom and dad are getting used to their respective new roles as parents. That wave of emotions can come in the more mild and common form of baby blues or can progress into symptoms of a full blown postpartum depression or anxiety disorder.

Approximately 85% of women will experience some signs of the baby blues within the first couple of weeks of a baby’s life. The blues usually start within the first 2-3 days following your baby’s birth and can last for a couple of weeks.

Although it is normal and majority of women experience the blues, it is often confusing and unexpected for new moms.

After all, the expectation is that “I should be happy, I just had a baby.” Yes, having a baby is a joyous moment but it is also a magnanimous moment in a new family’s life and requires an emotional and physical adjustment.

Give yourself the time to adjust to your new role and your new bundle. The blues have been related to hormonal fluctuations that happen after the birth. As such, in many cases, symptoms will resolve on their own as mom’s hormonal levels return to their original pre-pregnancy levels.

No matter your experience, it is important to recognize that you did not choose to feel this way and that it is not your fault.

You and your body have just been through a lot; pregnancy, labor, delivery, and the transition to parenthood to name a few. As such, you and your body may need time to catch up to all these massive life altering experiences.

As mentioned above, while the baby blues will typically pass on its own, postpartum depression and anxiety really need the help and support of a professional in your area. So please reach out – you don’t have to go through this alone. Share with a friend or loved one how you are feeling, what you are thinking and what you may be needing. You will be glad you did.

Things that can help:
Nourishing yourself
Being Embraced
Seeking Professional Support

No matter your experience, it is important to recognize that you did not choose to feel this way and that it is not your fault. You and your body have just been through a lot; pregnancy, labor, delivery, and the transition to parenthood to name a few.

As such, you and your body may need time to catch up to all these massive life altering experiences. As mentioned above, while the baby blues will typically pass on its own, postpartum depression and anxiety really need the help and support of a professional in your area. So please reach out – you don’t have to go through this alone. Share with a friend or loved one how you are feeling, what you are thinking and what you may be needing. You will be glad you did.

Written by Alyssa Berlin

What is a Mother Roaster

Written by Master Mother Roaster Sara Harkness

A mother roaster holds delicate space for women post birth.

Mother Roasters are CAREGIVERS that nurture new mothers after BIRTH while supporting their RECOVERY + JOURNEY into motherhood; as EVERY women deserves to be welcomed into MOTHERHOOD through GENTLE + LOVING + CARE.

Crossing the threshold from maiden to mother is a massive undertaking that not only needs to be recognized and ceremonially honored, but deeply necessitates a healing touch that can welcome the new mama with open arms.

As a postpartum receiver, Mother Roasters are charged with holding space for women on the other side of birth, we are reverent with your service to her, and we are blessed to be her witness as she starts feeding her baby milk, heals her body, and begins to seal the rawness of her birth experience.

We are there to wrap her in a blanket of loving care, warm her insides, massage her, create herbal tinctures for her, feed her warm soups, and gift her with ceremony.

Find out more about all that we offer on our Services page.

Sacred Postpartum Defined

Written by Master Mother Roaster Sara Harkness

The definition of Postpartum Care is helping a woman regain both physical and emotional balance as she readjusts her post-birth body to a non-pregnant state of being.

The Art of truly caring for a postpartum mother lives in the delivery of the service. It's a delicate touch, a soft voice, a healing hand, and a listening ear, and its the way the brush strokes of each of these, paints a picture of the for a mama after she has crossed the threshold from maiden to mother.

This is a spiritual time that deserves reverence, humility, expert care, and warmth that enables the postpartum mama to truly heal and seal the birth process.

Those of us who choose to serve in this way proudly call ourselves Mother Roasters.

We offer a variety of services to help mama's make this transition one of beauty. To learn more about all that we offer take a look at our Services page.

Belly Binding

From Master Mother Roaster Sara Harkness

What is Bengkung Belly Binding?

Bengkung is a traditional Malaysian belly binding method. Essentially it is a practice of tying a long strip of cloth around the abdomen during the postpartum recovery period to ensure a strong support to our womb after childbirth.

During pregnancy a mama’s body retains water and air which causes her body to swell and expand, including the organs in the womb area such as the cervix and vagina. The water retained by cells supported the amniotic fluid and the purpose of the air was to cushion the baby, mama’s internal organs, and bones as her center of gravity shifted and her baby grew bigger and bigger. This is why a mama gets more and more swollen during the last months of pregnancy. When a baby is born, the excess water and air are no longer needed and the cells will naturally release and shrink back to their pre-pregnant size. However, the purpose of a post-pregnancy wrap is to speed up this process with constant pressure on the abdomen and torso area.

A post-pregnancy wrap provides a holistic support to all the abdominal and pelvic organs, including the muscles in the pelvic area. Support to the pelvic area is very important in the immediate weeks after birth as a mama’s cervix dilates 10 cm when active labor is reached, this is the equivalent to the size of an average bagel. Therefore the pressure of a longer wrap on the hip area helps the cervix shrink and allows the pelvic muscles to heal without being further stretched. 

Steady, pressured support on the hips allows the body to “close” more easily than if just left in its expanded state. The Bengkung style of binding is known to help heal diastasis recti with the constant supportive pressure on the abdomen area.

What makes a Bengkung different from western postpartum girdles like Belly Bandit?

A Bengkung Belly Bind is a long wrap that covers from under the chest all the way down to below the hips. This way, it doesn’t just work on the waist, but also helps the ribcage and the hips go back to their former dimensions. It also stays put when you move, and so it doesn’t press on the abdomen.

Wrapping the belly is an effective and important part of a mama’s recovery in the postpartum stage of her journey. It aids the body to shrink and recover in shorter period of time, normally six to eight weeks. A Bengkung belly wrap provides a mama’s postpartum body with complete support to assist abdominal wall muscle retraction, improve posture, stabilize loosened ligaments, and provide support to the torso while vital organs return to their pre-pregnancy size and position.

For Best Results 

Begin tummy binding as soon as you can after giving birth, ideally around day 5, and continue to wear each day for at least 40 days and even long if you feel you need to.

The wrap should stay on as about 10-12 hours per day, especially in the very beginning if possible.

C-Section mom's should wait at least 6 week before beginning to wear a belly bind.

Adapted from Valerie Lynn, Author of The Mommy Plan

My Vow

About Us

About Sacred Living Northern Colorado:

Sacred Living Northern Colorado is a sister of the national Sacred Living Movement, founded by Anni Daulter. The Sacred Living Movement is all about inhaling the beauty of life and recognizing that all aspects of our life journey need to be  honored, marked, and seen as sacred.

Sacred Living Northern Colorado is managed by Sarah Josey a Clinical Herbalist & Nutritionist and owner of Golden Poppy Herbal Apothecary.

The Sacred Living Northern Colorado blog and newsletter will be filled with up-to-date educational information and inspiring topics related to fertility, pregnancy, birth, parenthood, nourishing foods, and all things relating to bringing the sacred back in to our everyday lives.

About Sarah Josey

Sarah began her journey as a healer when studying biochemistry at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. Part way through the program she felt a need to find a healing method that was closer to the rhythms of nature; one that worked with a person’s body and the wisdom innate in us all. Shortly thereafter she began attending the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism in Boulder, CO where she completed their two year program to become a Clinical Herbalist and Clinical Nutritionist.

Her love of working with clients, as well as being in an environment where people could come to learn about natural health options, inspired her to open the Golden Poppy in Fort Collins.
A few years later she discovered the Sacred Living Movement and again felt a desire to bring this to those in her community by offering Sacred Fertility, Sacred Birth Journey, and Sacred Postpartum rites and programs to those who are seeking a deeper connection to themselves.

Sarah’s practice combines a blend of traditional herbalism and wisdom as well as the latest research and knowledge on herbs and nutrition. In this way she has the ability to use what has worked for centuries by traditional healers as well as the many advancements that the modern health field has to offer, creating a blend that is as adaptable and personalized as each of her clients.

Sacred Fertility Program

The Sacred Fertility Program is an 8 week program designed to support couples on the fertility path, or to give you as a fertile woman, a deep grounding and knowing of your own fertility.

Sacred Fertility aims to change the conversation around fertility.

This isn’t just about having a baby or trying to conceive. It is about our legacy as human beings on this planet. It is supporting women to find their soul path and what they truly have to offer the world- be it a baby human or a creative life of service or something else. Sacred Fertility explores the ways we become ‘mother’ consciously and with intention.

This program is for anyone currently trying to have a baby or thinking about having one in the future. It's about preparing your mind, body, and soul for the arrival of a new life.

The program will cover the following areas of fertility over the four month period of time, meeting every other week in a small group setting for two hours at a time:

* The Physical Body:

Basal Body Temperature (BBT) charting and how that can be a powerful tool for all women & self care massage techniques.

* Nourishing:

Fertility super foods and Real Foods such as bone broth, fermented veggies, and other nutrient dense foods.

* Cleansing:

Detoxification of self, vaginal steams, sacred bathing, body brushing, identifying areas in your life that need cleansing & practical tools.

* The Emotional Body:

Witnessing Emotions, Listening & Processing Loss, Creating a Safe Container, The Mother Wound, Communication, Trust.

* The Spiritual Body:

Exploring Soul Contracts, Sacred Space, Intuition and Your Soul Path, Sealing & Honoring.

* The Nature Body:

Meeting guides and friends to support fertility from nature, lunar conception.

* Sleep & Dream:

Tips on improving sleep and how it affects our hormones, mood and health: addressing adrenal fatigue, dream work and the first spark of creation.

* Ritual and Ceremony:
For creating a life that is full, nourished and pro-creative.

At the moment this program is tentatively scheduled to begin October 29th, 2016 in Fort Collins, CO.
Sign Up here

To be kept up to date on when this program sign up for our email newsletters

If you are interested in taking the fertility journey on a more personal basis and not in a group format, please send an email to Sarah: SarahJosey@GoldenPoppyHerbs.com

Sign up to work with Sarah one-on-one