Placenta.

[Faliciagayle]

I really want to encapsulate my placenta with this birth. I found a woman who will do this for about $300. I am an avid DIYer and I know I could save a truck full of money by doing this myself, but I am afraid I won't have the energy to do it properly while caring for the NB and my toddler. Dh is already a bit queazy about the prospect of driving the placenta to the woman who could do it for me

Has anyone BTDT - done the encapsulation themselves while dealing with the PP emotions, exhaustion, NB/toddler craziness?

We don't make ends meet as it is so any expense is an extra expense, but I was so thrown for a loop last time that I feel strongly that I should do this for this birth.

Yes, I realize the cheapest thing to do is to blend a bit in a smoothie, but I'm not sure I"m ready for that.

[Mrs.aLifeofReilly]

Do you have a friend or relative that would be willing to come over and help you DIY?

As far as smoothies, I did those too and I could not tell the difference between a non-placenta one and the placenta ones (we tested). DH made them for me every morning with frozen strawberries, OJ and sugar.

[1babysmom]

I did it all myself, for about $6 total (the cost of the capsules). I had a 27 month old as well as the new baby. However, I hadn't intended on encapsulating at first (just hadn't really thought about it) so it was about 4 weeks after the birth or something like that before I did it, so it wasn't like I had JUST had the baby (though I felt really great after, I probably could have...I plan on doing it that way this next time).

I just dehydrated it in my oven, it took about 4.5 hours, then I ground it up really fine and filled the capsules with straws. It sounds time consuming but wasn't bad, and hey, it was free! I got about 130 caps total (probably could have got more but I was happy with that amount).

[Faliciagayle]

Mrs.a - about how much placenta did you grind into each smoothie?
I talked to my mom about this last night and she's willing to help either way - by paying the professional or helping me DIY. I'm undecided.

1babysmom - It only took 4.5 hours to dry?? wow. At what temperature did it dry? Did you need special trays (like broiler trays) or regular baking sheets?

thanks for the replies

[Mrs.aLifeofReilly]

-blend one piece (I think mine were 1 - 1.5 inch pieces) of placenta in a bit of OJ until completely blended

- add a boatload of frozen strawberries and blend well

- add 1/4 cup sugar - or to taste and blend

It varies a bit each time since we didn't measure things out - but depending on how many strawberries it fills either one of our large glasses or extra large glasses

[1babysmom]

Originally Posted by Faliciagayle

1babysmom - It only took 4.5 hours to dry?? wow. At what temperature did it dry? Did you need special trays (like broiler trays) or regular baking sheets?

thanks for the replies

I just did it on a cookie sheet at 200 degrees, and that's how long it took until it was dry enough to "snap". I did it in strips, though (because I followed the steam and cut directions...that felt slightly cannibalistic ). Next time I'm just going to blend it up and pour it on the sheet.