RRL Tea Drinkers - Page 2

[Gunter]

i put two tea bags in one cup almost every morning. it helped replace that "slow sipping coffee with computer time" in the morning. if i forget or am out the door too quickly, i try to have some later.

[Teenytoona]

I don't know how I missed this thread to begin with!! I've been drinking it since I saw that HUGE thread in "I'm Pregnant" and ordered myself some. There's a fairly local place here that sells herbs, and RRL tea (even organic) was amonst their offerings. Stony Mountain Botanicals is the website. I can't remember the prices, but it seemed even the organic was fairly reasonable, as was shipping, so I bought that (usually it's a bit out of my budget). I got a pretty sizeable bag, that will last me at least a year. Of course Mr Toona says it smells like "homegrown" but I think it's a good fresh smelling leaf. It tastes, to me, like a cross between green and oolong tea, so that makes me happy too!

I've been drinking it for a while. I started out off and on, but now I'm pretty consistently drinking it at work every day. I stuff some in my tea ball, and pour steaming hot water from the coffee brewing machines on top of it, and let it steep a good long while (15 -30 mins). I've yet to drink it on the weekends, because I can't seem to keep a teapot whole anymore, my sink likes to break glass! But I am glad to see that drinking it five times a week is good!

I've been drinking about 10 oz five days a week. I'm trying to bring that up to 2 10oz mugs, but I've not stepped that up yet.

I've read it's good to mix it with nettles and alfalfa and a few other things. I'm considering the alfalfa (should the budget allow), but I can't get past nettles. I've been stung so many times that I'm really turned off by comsuming them. I know it's not a stinging conconction, but I just can't wrap my mind around it. I'm quirktastic when it comes to mean plants.

[applecore]

I'm drinking local organic RRL with nettles, alfalfa, and red clover. I consider it my multivitamin!

[snozzberry]

Originally Posted by Teenytoona

I've yet to drink it on the weekends, because I can't seem to keep a teapot whole anymore, my sink likes to break glass!

How about a stainless steel tea kettle?

I've been drinking a cup a day since 3 months before I got pregnant, except I'm also not so good about remembering on the weekends. I think I'll increase to 2 cups a day once I hit 28 weeks.

I love my blend. It was recommended by my naturopath. It has RRL, hibiscus, nettles, and dandelion root. I go to a local herb shop and just have them mix up 1 oz of each, and it lasts a few weeks. The hibiscus gives a really nice flavor!

[FelixMom]

Here in Quebec we have a RRL blend by Clef des Champs that includes nettle, peppermint and red clover. For all my 3 pregnancies I've been chugging away. For my most recent pregnancy and this one, I boil 1 tbsp to 1L of water and drink it through out the day. Certainly, with DD's labour I was happy to be pushing for only 20 minutes instead of 5 hours for my first. But it's hard to say whether regular RRL was entirely responsible for this. Like a pp, I like to consider this brew my multi-vitamin.

[steph117]

I drink it too! About a month before TTC I added RRL to my daily nettle infusion - my herbalist told me to stop when I got pregnant & start up again week 14 (she's had clients spot/bleed with RRL, though obviously some people experience the opposite!). So throughout the first trimester, I had 2C of nettle a day. Starting in week 14, I made it a 1/2 nettle/1/2 RRL infusion & dfrink 2 cups of that, so I get 1 cup of each per day. I've recently also added a bit of oat tops, & a splash of separately-infused hibiscus/rose hips (like snozzberry).

I do separate infusions in quart jars, so it lasts me 4 days. I use appx 1/4 cup of whatever in the quart jar (adding some oat tops to one of them), pour boiling water over it, cap it, infuse overnight & strain in the morning. (I do a cold infusion of the hibiscus/rose hips since I've been told that preserves the vitamin C content.) So each day, I take to work: a Klean Kanteen (40 oz) containing 1C of nettle/oat, 1C of RRL, about 1/4C of hibiscus/rose hips, & some water - I drink it throughout the day. Yum! I'll probably start adding an additional cup of RRL in the latter weeks of the PG.

I love how nettles, infused on their own, create a dark dark green, almost black liquid. It's soooo earthy.

I use solar-dried organic bulk leaves from Healing Spirits Herb Farm - a bit pricey but incredible quality; they're a mom/pop farm in NY who organically grow/wildcraft & solar-dry everything themselves. Teenytoona, you'd hate the nettle - it's so fresh it'll actually sting you a little if you touch it with your bare hands.

[sarahn4639]

I love that there are other drinkers out there! I can't wait to hear how our births go. I also add nettle to mine and I have alfalfa I was going to add in the last few weeks to help up my/babies Vit K. I don't have any idea how much I should be adding. I just stuff some RRL and nettle in my tea ball and steep 20-30 min in probably 10-12oz water. I have no idea how much I'm actually even using. I got mine from Mountain Rose Herbs and am happy with the quality. I used my own harvested from my yard for a while and don't notice a whole lot of difference so it must be pretty fresh!

What sort of ratios are you all using? Does it matter much? I also read, I think on Susan Weed's website, that they are more effective if brewed separately. Any feelings on that? I always drop in a bag of pepermint into mine because I am not a big fan of the flavor but I like pepermint tea and it covers the taste wonderfully! It is also helpful if I have heartburn.

[smokeylo]

I drink it daily, but not as much as I probably should!

[nolonger]

I'm up to a quart of infusion a day. My recipe:

Boil 1 Tbsp oat straw in about a pint of water for 20 minutes. Pour over 1 Tbsp nettles, 1 Tbsp alfalfa, and four Tbsp RRL. Add enough additional water to make a quart. Steep for about 23 hours.

All of a sudden there's an enormous shortage of RRL in my town! I used to have no trouble waiting until the last minute to replenish my stock and now there's none to be found in any of the stores. Fortunately, I have friends who grow raspberries and was not beyond begging.

Now the nettle shortage is going to get me, so I really apprciate the links for where I can get herbs online.

Babies do tend to come in crops, so I'm not surprised, but I wish I KNEW some of these IRL mommies! My IRL friends are all either childless kids in their 20s/early 30s or parents of MUCH older children.

[Teenytoona]

Originally Posted by steph117

snippity snip

I use solar-dried organic bulk leaves from Healing Spirits Herb Farm - a bit pricey but incredible quality; they're a mom/pop farm in NY who organically grow/wildcraft & solar-dry everything themselves. Teenytoona, you'd hate the nettle - it's so fresh it'll actually sting you a little if you touch it with your bare hands.

Oh My word, you are a braver soul than I! I can't imagine handling it voluntarily! ha! But, I know they're supposed to be really good for you, I just can't bring myself to bear to drink it!!

[mom2tillie]

I didn't know about RRL tea for my last pregnancy, but I started drinking it regularly at the start of my second trimester this time. 2-3 cups per day, which I am still doing. I have been using the traditional medicinals type but I order other herbs from Mountain Rose so I think I'll go ahead a purchase some leaf from them and start making a stronger brew. I always drink it very hot, usually with honey, sometimes with Splenda and I sprinkle a little dried dandelion root and nettle into my first cup. I take the dandelion root for overall immune health. I also take Soveriegn Silver, Milk Thistle, DHA, and chlorophyll daily in addition to my prenatal vitamin and drink about 2 gallons of water (and a healthy diet).

Sounds like we have a lot of VBAC moms due in Feb... I am doing all I can to be successful... sitting on the birth ball, reading success stories, researching, praying, sucking down the RRL, etc... good luck to all of us!

-Iris

[Greeneyes0506]

I drink two strong cups daily.

[sunkist33]

Thanks for posting this! I had forgotten that I had red rasp. leaf tea in the pantry. I think I'll start w/ 2 teabags/ day and go up as the big day approaches.
The tea I have is "Yogi." Does anyone know if this is strong enough or should I look into purchasing the actual leaves?
Thanks,
Stacy

[NamastePlatypus]

I drink the Blessed Beginnings Pregnacy tea, it has RRL but other stuff too. My aunt drank it with her first, had a easy four hour labor, didn't with the second and had a 19 hour labor similiar to mine with e. I am drinking about 3 cups a day, it is our unoffical experiment.