I asked this over on my DDC, but no one knew. I'm hoping you wise women will have an answer for me!
How much RRL should I purchase in bulk to last my whole pg?
Also, do I have the correct infusion ratios?
Mountain Rose Herbs recommends 3-5 grams/cup. 5 grams= 0.18 ounces
If I drink 1 cup/day from now to wk 20, I need 350 grams (for 5 grams/cup for 10 weeks)
THEN, If I drink 4 cups/day from weeks 20-40, I need 2800 grams!
That makes basically 3200 grams...7 pounds!
That sounds like a lot of tea!
Even if I make the weaker version at 3 grams/cup, I need 4.25 lbs!
I have only ever heard that the stronger it's made, the better it is, but I have no personal experience.
Sorry emthewife, i cannot answer your question either.
I have not read all the posts.
I just want to say, that i am drinking my first cup of rasberry leaf tea, since giving birth in 2008. I am 26weeks,...or 27... now.
I found a whole lot in my cupboard. I hope its ok to drink, because it says '2006'on the tea sachet.
The taste is somewhat mild, so i am guessing some of its good properties are lost, and i really ought to go out and buy some new rasberry leaf tea.
I only drank the tea during my labor at home, and not during my pregnancy, mainly due to procrastination.
I made almost a gallon of it in the middle of the night when i started labor, and i really feel it made my contractions more efficient. I couldnt get enough of the the stuff, but by about 6-8 weeks post partum, i lost the taste for it.
Well, ill start a little earlier this time, and hope it does some good. :-)
Just wanted to say hi!!!
Thank you! I was totally shocked at how much RRL it came out to be. I think I will order the 7lbs, so that I can also have some left over for PP use.
Well, I'll update with my birth - super speedy 2 h labor that ended up as an accidental UC. (My first was 14 h, also uncomplicated but I did make it to the hospital with that one obviously.) I put the birth story in the Birth Stories forum (search for 'Zoicks!'). I'm not sure I can credit the RRL though because I basically only drank about 1 cup a day and I was using the TM bags. I should probably chalk this one up to genetics as my mom also had quite fast labors (and she says hers were basically painless - sadly I cannot say the same for mine).
Just wanted to update you all!
I started drinking RRL tea (Earth Mama Angel Baby Third Trimester Tea) at 34 weeks. I worked my way up to drinking at least 2 cups per day.
Due to potential complications (I had kidney problems and baby was not growing/measuring small) I was induced at 38 weeks 4 days.
The only thing they used to induce my labor was 2 applications of cervical ripening gel. It caused some mild, consistant contractions until my water suddenly broke on it's own -- 7 hours later, my daughter was born healthy and bigger than predicted :)
So, for a first labor, I gotta say, that was quick!
My goal was to go natural, but when they checked me and I was only a 3, I lost my mind because I was in so much pain already. 2 hours later the anesthesiologist came in to give me an epidural...I really wish they would have checked my progress before proceeding, because after the epidural was done and they checked me, I was 10cm! I went from 3cm to 10cm in 2 hours!
I do believe the RRL tea had something to do with my fast labor, especially when I was induced so early!
I just wanted to bump this thread because it's very helpful and I am starting the tea now!
I drank a bag of TM a day starting about 15 weeks, then at about 30 something weeks I began to drink an infusion of three bags of TM per day, also took 3 capsules and one suppository of EPO starting 36 weeks. I was one week 'overdue' (first time mom). I had one day of feeling crampy (like my period) and then woke up at 3:30 am with contractions. They continued for hours until my MW finally checked me at 2:15 pm and I was only 3 cm. She left and I felt very discouraged so laid down to rest. Started to feel more and more intense painful contractions, although they were only 5-6 min apart, less if I laid down.
I finally went to the bathroom and felt like I couldn't take it anymore, I thought I was only about 5 cm at that time. Suddenly I started pushing (thought I was going #2) and then realized my water was bulging out so called my DH. He called my MW and 911 (we were planning a homebirth but thought we'd have to go to the hospital as only one MW was available on that day) and our baby was born over an hour later.
As to whether the RRL tea helped, well I did have only 3.5 hrs of 'active' labour, including pushing for 1 h 15 min. My contractions never got closer than about 5 min apart and once I got off the toilet and into the bedroom I sort of lost the urge to push. My MW had to coach me as she couldn't get the babies heartbeat. (she came out a perfectly healthy 9 lbs, no jaundice or anything)
I had very little bleeding afterwards, my lochia was light but it did persist for almost 4 weeks. My uterus went down quickly and I was able to fit into my pre preg jeans at 2.5 wks postpartum.
I will definitely drink RRLT next time, but in the loose leaf form, and starting in the second tri. I didn't find it helped with the morning sickness at ALL (I had to choke the tea down) but I had really bad MS (more like Hypermesis Gravidarum).
Thanks for sharing your story! Very cool. That is an incredibly short labor for a ftm! I'm "due" in about a week so I'll update this too. My firstborns labor started out slow (I was 3 cm earlier the day before at my checkup) @2 am and was a nice gradual build and I delivered her at 11:30 pm. So it was long (but do-able) and I didn't drink any RRL or anything. I'm hoping for at least 12 hours or under from start to finish with this one. I've been having TONS of prodromal labor since last Tuesday, lots of cramping, hours of "real" contractions that never get stronger, longer or more intense. So I'm hoping thats making some cervical changes happen and I'll have less "work" on the real day. My midwife will check me next week for dilation, she's fairly hands off which I prefer anyway. But she's hoping/guessing that she'll hear from me sooner based on all the labor warm-up I've been having. I'm drinking about 2-3 cups of strong infusion a day. And yeah...at this point I sort of have to choke it down too. Its loose-leaf form and tastes SO strong with the infusion I make (1 cup loose leaf to 4 cups water infused for 4-8 hours). But hopefully it will do some good!
Hello, mamas! I'm joining this group, too. :) I've read through pretty much the entire thread (still rereading a few pages I only scanned) and am happy to start adding RRL tea back into my regiment. I was drinking it for my periods (I had really harsh cramps unless I took CalMag and drank RRL) but stopped when I got my BFP.
I remembered RRL when I saw this thread a couple days ago. A dear friend of mine alternated between RRL and coconut water during her labor and said it went very smoothly. So, I figure I'll join in! I'm at 20w5d and I'm just using a Yogi RRL teabag once a day, I let it brew in hot water for 15-20 min and then drink it down.
One of the mamas several pages back (page 91 or 92, I think?) recommended this Etsy seller, so I'm talking to her about a large order of this tea blend: http://www.etsy.com/listing/64313289/organic-pregnancy-blend-for-pregnant?name_notice=1&show_panel=true
Lovely to be joining y'all! :)
- E
UPDATE: I had my little girl on November 13th. Did the red raspberry leaf tea help?? I think it did. Compare the two births I've had.
My first labor was long, not unusual for a ftm. It was about 21 hours from feeling the first contractions to finish. When I got to the hospital I was 6.5-7 cm and DD was born about 4-5 hours later. I pushed for about 30 minutes.
This time, it was about 10 hours start to finish. I expected that. The difference was that I was barely feeling contractions for the first 8 hours. They were light and manageable, making me think I wasn't making any progress. They apparently were effective though. So from 5 pm to about 1 am, I was able to talk, laugh, watch movies and just be myself during contractions. But they were inconsistent. Some would be 10 min apart, lasting 30 seconds and others 4 min apart lasting under a minute as well. Around 1 am, they shifted gear and became much harder to work with. I started having to hum and close my eyes and sway my hips back and forth. In just 15 min, I started feeling nauseous, very hot and kept wanting to sit on toilet. I wouldn't leave the bathroom. At 1:20 I told my husband I wanted to leave soon. We got to the hospital around 1:50 - had to go thru ER, get transported upstairs, answer questions, blah blah blah - and when I was checked at 2:15, the nurse said I was 6 cm. I was a little disappointed because I thought I was further along based on how I was feeling. 45 minutes later, I felt like I had to poop. When my midwife checked me, she said I was complete. Baby was at zero station and she guessed that the next couple cntx would move her down and then I could try pushing. That was at 3:00. The next cntx, I felt a knotting pressure in my back & I tried pushing a little to see how it felt. The contraction after that, I found my body suddenly pushing uncontrollably. I pushed 3 times in that one contraction. First push - I felt her head go in the birth canal, second push - her head came out. I felt her body quickly rotate and the third push - she came flying out. It was 3:06 am. So I do think the tea worked based on the quick transition phase- 6 cm to 10 cm in 45 minutes, the fast pushing phase - like 30 seconds??, AND I'm currently 5 days postpartum and I am barely bleeding anymore. I'm just wearing cloth pantyliners and they're not even getting blood on them, there's just some when I wipe now.
I was drinking the tea from about 28 weeks. About 1-2 cups a day. At 36 weeks, I started doing strong infusions - 1 cup loose leaf tea infused in 4 cups water for at least 4 hours, usually 8 hours but I would drink it over the course of 2 days. I also started drinking it when labor started and drank it until I left for the hospital.
Can't wait to hear the rest of your stories!
Thanks for the update FaithF, and congratulations!!!
Congrats! And thank you very much for updating us! I had a 3 minute or less pushing stage with my previous birth, so with red raspberry it might be 15 seconds! The doctor didnt have one glove on and the baby was coming out!
Wow, the bleeding is down that much, the red raspberry must really be helping.
So, I haven't been a regular RRL tea drinker in my first pregnancy or this one, my second. I accidentally made a really strong batch of RRL tea the other day at 36wks and my uterus went crazy! I had many many somewhat painful contractions after I drank it, the effect was most pronounced for about 8 hours afterwards, but lingered into the next day. Rest, fluids, and Cal/Mag helped calm things down.
Has anyone else experienced this? I want the toning effects of RRL, but I'm not wanting to kick myself into labor quite yet!
I am really tempted by some of these stories. My first labor was fast and I feel like my second is going to be super fast, so I don't want to go too nutty.
I have a history of precipitous labor, and finally got to ask a midwife about RRL tea. She said, "Oh no, not for you." :)
I'm drinking it anyway, but lightly.
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