bought my UC herbs!

[Serenyd]

I decided on:

Starwest Botanicals Organic Red Raspberry Leaf Cut & Sifted -- 1 lb - to prepare my uterus for labor

Arnica tablets to prevent/treat perineal swelling

Witch Hazel Leaf -- 1 oz tincture for bleeding before the placenta is out

Bach Flower Remedies Essences Rescue Remedy Spray for calming during/after labor and delivery

Already had Shepherd's purse tincture (for bleeding after the placenta is out) and Angelicia tincture (to expel the placenta)

I ordered everything from Vitacost.com ... they had all the stuff I needed in one place and the prices are really good. Plus I have ordered things from them before and have had a good experience.

I'm not planning on using any of the tinctures unless I feel like I really need them - I'm not going to take them as preventatives in other words.

Found some good info here:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...64&postcount=2

Just thought I'd share!

[BroodyWoodsgal]

Ooooooh, the list of what you bought looks almost identical to the list of things I'd like to have.....

Anyone else have a good recommendation for vitacost?? I have been debating back and forth as to whether I feel okay with buying my herbs online....I would normally get these types of things from my MW...but I don't want to see her right now because I don't want to have to talk about my birth plans, etc.....

Thanks so much for posting Serenyd....you totally reminded me that I need to get on top of this and get them ordered, etc before to long here...!

[akind1]

I don't have a local source for herbs (well, someone sells RRL at the farmer's market, but that's it), so I buy all mine from mountainroseherbs.com I've had great experiences with them, though I'm wondering if it is any better to have the tinctures on hand than the herbs themselves for tea? just a thought.

-Katrina

[Serenyd]

Originally Posted by akind1

I don't have a local source for herbs (well, someone sells RRL at the farmer's market, but that's it), so I buy all mine from mountainroseherbs.com I've had great experiences with them, though I'm wondering if it is any better to have the tinctures on hand than the herbs themselves for tea? just a thought.

-Katrina

That's what I've been told, because it is a concentrated form in a small amount of liquid it will work quickly and is potent ... however you can make your own tinctures, there are instructions on the internet on how to do this, but I'm just too lazy!

[Ila]

Vitacost.com = not good!

Dear Serenyd:

I had been buying a lot of things from vitacost.com, including Rainbow Light. One day I noticed a $19.95 charge on my credit card that said 'Shopping Essentials.com". Then I went back to my previous month's statement and saw that I had also been charged the same amount then. I had paid the bill without noticing the recurring charge.

I called up Shopping Essentials and they told me that they got my credit card info from vitacost.com. They told me that I had agreed to become a member of their site when I clicked on an email pop-up from vitacost. I never fall for free stuff that way and used to be very careful. I had never agreed to become a member of this other "website."

I googled vitacost and found out that they had a lot of complaints like this.

Luckily, my credit card charges were less than 60 days old and AMEX got them canceled. Meanwhile, I also "canceled" my "membership" with Shopping Essentials and they did that immediately.

I wrote to vitacost but never received a reply. Now I toss out their catalog in the trash right away. Just be careful, don't open any emails from them and look out for your credit card charges!

[Serenyd]

Thanks for the heads up. I saw that pop-up ... a lot of sites are pushing services like that I've learned to ignore them. Never click on pop-ups to close ... do control-alt-del and end task on it.

eta: I'd rather buy from a smaller supplier, I just got frustrated trying to find all the stuff I need at a good price. Looks like inhishands.com has a pretty good supply of stuff at pretty reasonable prices ... wish I'd gone there first!

Originally Posted by Ila

Dear Serenyd:

I had been buying a lot of things from vitacost.com, including Rainbow Light. One day I noticed a $19.95 charge on my credit card that said 'Shopping Essentials.com". Then I went back to my previous month's statement and saw that I had also been charged the same amount then. I had paid the bill without noticing the recurring charge.

I called up Shopping Essentials and they told me that they got my credit card info from vitacost.com. They told me that I had agreed to become a member of their site when I clicked on an email pop-up from vitacost. I never fall for free stuff that way and used to be very careful. I had never agreed to become a member of this other "website."

I googled vitacost and found out that they had a lot of complaints like this.

Luckily, my credit card charges were less than 60 days old and AMEX got them canceled. Meanwhile, I also "canceled" my "membership" with Shopping Essentials and they did that immediately.

I wrote to vitacost but never received a reply. Now I toss out their catalog in the trash right away. Just be careful, don't open any emails from them and look out for your credit card charges!

[GinnyMama]

Oh my goodness... I am SO glad I read this thread. Apparently my research abilities are not so good. The only herb I have on hand for the birth is Shepherd's Purse tincture. And somewhere I got the impression that it was OKAY TO TAKE BEFORE THE PLACENTA WAS OUT!!! Which it obviously is not! Eeeeeek! Oh man... scary to think about what could have happened.

[EmmaWoodhouse]

lol I am glad that you found that out early. Also, (I am mentioning this after learning the hard way) make sure the whole placenta is out before taking shepherds purse. I knew that, but neglected to inspect the placenta before taking it.
I would also recommend preciousarrows.com as a good place to order. They are located in NC and have gone above and beyond with their customer service in my dealings with them.

Julie

[fyrebloom]

cascade medical supplies is quite good as well. I've not had any trouble with them and their prices are compeditive... maybe even a little better then preciousarrows and inhishands.