Red Raspberry Leaf Tea tribe - Page 83

[youngnhappymamma]

I HATE the taste of rrlt.....I take capsules of rr, but I'm not sure if I'm taking enough (I take 2 a day right now, at almost 33 weeks along)...any recomendations? And is there anyway to do the huge amount of rrlt at the onset of labor with the capsules?

[MeaganS]

OK, so I got to try my first cup last night. It was horrible! I didn't mind the taste so much, but every time I drank a little, a few seconds later I would get really nauseous. I almost threw up in the sink And I'm not nauseous at all during this stage of my pregnancy! So what's the deal? I really want to do this, so I'm trying a few different recipes and going to see if it was maybe just last night or what. I hope I can figure this out .

[AmyKT]

Originally Posted by MeaganS

OK, so I got to try my first cup last night. It was horrible! I didn't mind the taste so much, but every time I drank a little, a few seconds later I would get really nauseous. I almost threw up in the sink And I'm not nauseous at all during this stage of my pregnancy! So what's the deal? I really want to do this, so I'm trying a few different recipes and going to see if it was maybe just last night or what. I hope I can figure this out .

Aww, that stinks. How much did you use? I only use 1 tsp. And I don't let it steep more than 3-4 mins. If I do, it gets too strong for my taste. Also, you're supposed to get the water to boiling, but I find that makes it taste a little too "green" for me, so I either stop the water right before boiling or I let it cool down just a bit before I pour it.

I am actually not a huge fan of the taste, so I doctor mine with honey.

Also, it does sometimes get my bowels moving if it's strong, so I wonder if that's what was happening to you?

[Terrilein]

I don't care for the taste either but honey seemed to make it taste ickier for me. I just add a tea bag of something that tastes nice to help with the flavor.

[aikigypsy]

I had my first prenatal (for this pregnancy) today. The nurse was totally freaked out that I was drinking RRL tea, and said I shouldn't, but the midwife (CNM) didn't bat an eyelash and recommended that I up it in the 3rd trimester. Go figure.

I am drinking a combo of RRL, nettles, and mint, one 1-quart pot a day, most days.

[micah_mae_]

Hi ladies! I'm 5 weeks pregnant and ordered a pound of RRLT as soon as I found out, but no sooner had I ordered it then everyone started to tell me how it could cause a miscarriage! I've been extremely crampy with this pregnancy so far, so bad that a few times I've been convinced that I'm losing the baby...so I don't want to do anything that would hurt, but I've also heard that it can help prevent miscarriage so I don't know! What do y'all think?

[Terrilein]

Well, I'd say, if you're feeling adventurous then make a cup and see what happens. If you start feeling crampy again, then put it off until the second trimester and then try again.

[micah_mae_]

Originally Posted by Terrilein

Well, I'd say, if you're feeling adventurous then make a cup and see what happens. If you start feeling crampy again, then put it off until the second trimester and then try again.

Will do, I didn't know if 1-2 cups would hurt anything...

[Jelinifer]

Originally Posted by MeaganS

OK, so I got to try my first cup last night. It was horrible! I didn't mind the taste so much, but every time I drank a little, a few seconds later I would get really nauseous. I almost threw up in the sink And I'm not nauseous at all during this stage of my pregnancy! So what's the deal? I really want to do this, so I'm trying a few different recipes and going to see if it was maybe just last night or what. I hope I can figure this out .

I really don't care for the taste either (straight RRL I like, but the nettle, alfalfa, and oatstraw that I've added aren't too tasty to me.) I usually drink it cold- it's a little more bearable to me that way, with a straw stuck as far back into my mouth as I can so I can't taste it as much and just gulp it down to get it over with....

[MeaganS]

Well, yesterday I found a way to make it bearable for me. I made the tea with a little bit of nettle added in. Then I watered it down (from 8 oz to 16 oz) and chilled it. Then I added one of those drink mixes that you add to water bottles. This made it alright for me. I think if I can get used to the flavor hiding behind the drink mix, that I might eventually be able to drink the tea on its own. At least I'm still in the game!

[noralou]

Sorry if this has already been addressed, but:
Does anyone know if the tea is helpful for postpartum recovery too? Seems like it would be good, since it is supposed to condition the uterus.
I'm at 31 weeks with twins, and will have a lot of shrinking to do! How long do you continue taking RRL tea after birth?

[mataji4]

I only like it COLD! I steep it during day (infusion, concentrated), refrigerate overnite, then drink 1 cup a day til gone.

[maddymama]

Hey Noralou,
I'm not an expert, but I *think* you should only drink it in moderation for about a week after delivery.... after that it might impact your ability to produce milk if you are going to breastfeed.
Hopefully other wise mamas will help you out on this,
~maddymama

[engineer_mom]

I only drink it cold also. I made a strong brew and add cranberry juice. When I take it out of the fridge, I like to put in ice cubes to dilute the tea and keep it cold. The cranberry juice adds enough sugar and taste to distract me from the RRL.
My kids love it and even my husband drinks it.

[3girls+1]

I make my RRL into a sweet tea, basically using this recipe, but reducing the sugar to just a little over 1/2 cup for the big pitcher. It is sooo yummy, tastes exactly like the sweet tea they sell at McDonalds.

I'm 20 weeks now, and drink about 2 cups a day. I did the same with my last pregnancy, and increased a little bit more in the 3rd trimester. I forgot how good the stuff tastes. It goes down so quickly though, I have to be sure to ration it.

[MoonStarFalling]

Originally Posted by noralou

Sorry if this has already been addressed, but:
Does anyone know if the tea is helpful for postpartum recovery too? Seems like it would be good, since it is supposed to condition the uterus.
I'm at 31 weeks with twins, and will have a lot of shrinking to do! How long do you continue taking RRL tea after birth?

RRLT really helped me post partum for my last two births. My bleeding was very significantly lessened. After my last birth I only spotted for 2.5 days. I drink it all the time and have a great increase in breastmilk production.

[crickets&tadpoles]

RRLT worked for me!

I found out about RRLT with my 3rd pregnancy, so I started taking it around 20 wks. a cup a day, then increased it gradually and by the end I was drinking several cups a day (loved the stuff). I ended up delivering 11 days early, with labor (from the very first cramp until delivery) lasting 7 hrs. the hard contractions lasted maybe 1-2 hrs at the most. And I pushed about 3 times to get our baby out. Bleeding afterwards was also considerably less than the first 2 babies! And recovery was sooo much quicker. I really am sold on the effectiveness of it.
My first two labors lasted about 18 hours each, with painful contractions most of the time, and pushing for an hour with each one. So, just wanted to encourage those of you who are taking it, or considering taking it. I definitely do believe it worked with my situation!

[GolfAddict]

I have the RRL in the bags from Trad Medicinals, I believe. I tried the blended version prior to pg and it gave me cramps. So I haven't started drinking the new version I got with only RRL. I thought I would try again in the next couple weeks in 2nd trimester.

Anyway...is there a difference in the prepackaged tea bags versus the loose tea? Which do you prefer and why?

If you buy loose RRL tea, where do you get it from? I don't remember seeing any loose tea at any of the local health food stores.

[Jelinifer]

Originally Posted by GolfAddict

I have the RRL in the bags from Trad Medicinals, I believe. I tried the blended version prior to pg and it gave me cramps. So I haven't started drinking the new version I got with only RRL. I thought I would try again in the next couple weeks in 2nd trimester.

Anyway...is there a difference in the prepackaged tea bags versus the loose tea? Which do you prefer and why?

If you buy loose RRL tea, where do you get it from? I don't remember seeing any loose tea at any of the local health food stores.

I get mine off of the Frontier Co-op website...

[happymom26]

I wanted to share my story. I am 36 1/2 weeks with my 8th child. With my 6th, I took red raspberry leaf tea (not every day towards the end of my pregnancy) and also took Country Life Prenatals which have RRL in them. My contractions started around 2 that afternoon and we went to the hospital around 5. He was born at 9:17 that evening. I did ask for demoral right before he was born, but everything was quite manageable. The nurse put my feet in the stirrups, walked to the side; my water broke and the baby flew out and hit the floor. I really didn't even push. It was pretty traumatic, but the baby was fine. With my 7th child, I didn't do RRL tea or the CL vitamins and my labor and delivery was horrible. I had to push for 45 minutes and I didn't think I was going to live through the delivery. This time, it occured to me that maybe the difference between the two labors was the RRL tea and vitamins. So, I have been taking the vitamins and started drinking the tea tonight. My midwife told me to wait to drink the tea ( I started drinking the tea a few weeks ago and started having contractions) until I was closer to term. So, I don't know if the RRL made the difference, but I am thinking that it did. We will see this time around. I will let you know how it goes. I go tomorrow and she will check me. Also, I hope I posted this in the right place.