Well, I thought I should update this thread, as I had my baby on july 9th........
So, my placenta came out after the baby and this is what I did with it----->
put it in the fridge as soon as the baby's cord was cut.
I didn't get around to looking at it much till about 2 days later, when I made myself "deal" with it (NO PROCRASTINATION).
I rinsed it off in the sink (which I later read that You don't have to do) and cut off the umbilical cord (to save for my DD)
I then placed the placenta inside of it's membranes (amniotic sac) and put it in a steamer with as little water as possible, a few peices of ginger, hot pepper, and lemon ( as advised in the directions I posted earlier)
steamed in on each side for 15 minutes (you might want to open the windows and turn on the kitchen fan if you don't want to smell it)
Then I left it in the fridge overnight to cool down. Once it was cool, I cut it into as thin as possible strips, stuffed it into the dehydrator, and left it over night in a room that isn't used much with the window open with the dehydrator sitting next to the window
So, I had my dried placenta, and I put it in the freezer in it's unground form in a glass jar (safe, and I didn't have to deal with it any more). I took it out a few weeks later, ground it easily in the coffee grinder, and encapsulated two vegicaps with it.
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things I learned from this experience ... don't leave the placenta in the dehydrator overnight, it gets kind of burnt. Check on it often. Something I knew before I did this, do it as soon as possible after everything is settled.
I find that I don't feel the need for the placenta now that I've done it all. When I took the two "placenta caps", I kept burping up the flavor and it seemed like it was quite hard for my body to digest. But that could be because my placenta looked kind of unhealthy. It was hard for me to eat well in this pregnany as I had a rambuncious nursing toddler, and little cash to buy good food.
I also had an unassisted birth, so I felt quite empowered after the baby was born, rather than drained. I think that was a big part of why I was depressed after my first DD was born.
So I have perfectly ground dried placenta in my freezer. I'm thinking I will keep it forever. I've read recently that it's good for menopausal women, so I might use it then. And I also read that it can be good for when the baby has her first "night away" from mommy. I'm just not depressed, so I don't feel the need to fix something that ain't broken KWIM?
I really hope more women give special attention to their placentas, as they are so magikal... wheather you dry it, bury it, or whatever, it was a part of you and can really help you if you are feeling blue.