It's a good time to go out and see what wild herbs are ready for harvesting. Deirdre's kids (minus her littlest, who was posing for a work of her dad's — he uses his babies for inspiration all the time!) came over yesterday morning, and we ambled down the lane to gather wild lettuce and goldenrod.
One grandson spotted a positively gargantuan stalk of the former, and one granddaughter plunged into the brush to secure it! There is so much greenery and such bright sunshine that I'm not sure you can see it here, but it is a hefty supply of that herb unto itself! (I put a red bar on the top of the stalk so you could be impressed!) Wild lettuce is an analgesic, but I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to preserve it. Any thoughts?
Previously this week, I had harvested and dried plantain. A pesky weed in the lawn, this herb is very good for urinary health (see my “UTI protocol” here — I need to add plantain to it) and for coughs and constipation. It's also anti-bacterial.
I first knew about it for bee stings. Early this season the Chief got stung — before it had started growing!
So I decided to lay in a supply for such eventualities. If it's out there, you can pick some, chew it a bit, and apply it to the site of the sting. It relieves the pain right away. If it's not growing yet, well, I hope you have some on hand in dried form (you can make a compress by wetting it) or as a salve (I have some steeping in olive oil now, and will make it into a salve when I have the means AKA a kitchen!).
I quickly realized that buying all these herbs is super expensive. If I can collect the kinds that are growing wild around me, my frugal heart is happier! Plus, I know exactly what I have, how old it is, and so on.
It's pretty easy, and even a yard-sale low-rent dehydrator works just fine (lowest setting for herbs).
bits & pieces
A few weeks ago, I posted on Facebook about how kissing babies changes your breastmilk content:
Kissing your baby changes your breast milk. Did you know that the undeniable urge to cover your baby in kisses serves a biological purpose? When a mother kisses her baby, she samples the pathogens on baby’s face, which then travel to mom’s lymphatic system. Mom’s body then creates antibodies to fight those pathogens, which baby receives through breast milk. What?! Amazing, right? (The credit for this wording is to this account, but I have read this before.)
My remark was that babies' well-being depends on our conviction that men and women are different! Contrary to current gender ideology, it really matters where the infant's milk comes from, and we are designed by our Creator so that even our kisses are beneficial!
This led to some comments wondering where to know more, and I collected a bunch of good links from my friend Kelly Cole. Then I couldn't access the links on my app for a bit! But I recovered them, and now I am posting them here, as I said I would.
- Do Mothers Make Different Breastmilk For Boys And Girls?
- Biochemical Differences in Human Breast Milk Contents According to Infant's Gender
- Here's How Your Baby's Sex Influences The Composition Of Your Breast Milk
Other links I wanted to share:
- An interview with Stella Morabito, in which she discusses her book, The Weaponization of Loneliness — very important! Especially at minute 39-40… Note that there is a transcript on there as well. The book is here (affiliate link). Everyone needs a copy of the book and it should be kept in the bathroom so that everyone gets a look at it. “Propaganda ends where simple dialogue begins.”
- The election of Rutherford B. Hayes was strongly contested, as was the procedure to resolve it. This article, Disputed Election of 1876, offers a good look into the electoral process (integrally important, I would argue, to our superior form of government with its checks and balances). I wonder what our readers who may be conversant with the history of the time make of the conclusions drawn by the author?
from the archives
- A basic tip for your sandwich bread to make its texture extra good — how to braid it evenly
- What does postpartum mean?
- Whining Whiners and how to cure them!
living liturgically
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Caitlin says
Hi Leila. I look forward to “catching up” with you every Saturday, although I usually don’t have a chance to comment.
The breastmilk articles are so good…. my IBCLC friend also told me that this is why little babies want so much to put things into their mouth. It seems contrary to their benefit (choking risk, etc) but actually it’s immune-building. They get little samples of whatever is in their very own surroundings and transfer it, via saliva, to Mom. (The nipple can pull baby’s saliva in through the vacuum that occurs between ‘sips’ of milk.)
I pre-ordered Morabito’s book on your recommendation, although I need another copy. I’ve been leaving some good reading in the “little free libraries” in my area 😉
Sarah says
We did that too! After some abysmal reading in the local beach box books, we’ve added some Narnia books and others. Duplicate books from our house now have a home to go to!
Samantha Clark says
You can make a tincture with the fresh wild lettuce leaves! Chop and put into glass jar, cover with vodka plus another inch or two. Let sit in a dark place for 6 weeks, shaking occasionally, then strain and you can put into glass bottles with droppers. Herbalists say to “dose intuitively,” whatever that means. I like to give tinctures in juice.
Leila says
I was wondering if a tincture would work to extract the milky fluid!
Thanks!
Anna says
I only recently learned how many of the medicines and supplements we rely on our stores to provide us are actually something we can aquire ourselves from nature. I think this is a wonderful skill to develop for a greater freedom and security.
Also, breastmilk changing by kissing babies is such a beautiful design. Ah! My heart is overjoyed!
Mrs. T says
I appreciate the post partum link. Just had my ninth baby two weeks ago and it is a good reminder!
Whitney says
As someone with a long medical history of things that cause problems breastfeeding, something that helped motivate me and keep my spirits up was to remember that some is better than none. It’s not “exclusive breastfeeding or you might as well quit”!
I was able to get to producing about 75 percent of last baby’s intake, despite thyroid disease, type 1 diabetes, emergency c section, NICU, tongue tie, delayed pumping, and breast surgery. The most important thing was truly shifting from “I get to make her this much” rather than “I can only make her this much”
Melisa says
You had so many obstacles to overcome! Yes, any amount of breastmilk is wonderful for baby. With my last 3 babies, I had supply problems and between nursing, pumping, feeding pumped milk, feeding formula, washing pump parts and bottles and starting all over again, I was exhausted. I was worried that the supplementing with bottles would be death to our breastfeeding relationship; but my last 2 babies went on to nurse the longest of all my 8 babies. Similar situation here, in that I had a diagnosis of LADA (latent auto-immune diabetes adult-onset), thyroid issues and (last 2) babies were born via c/sec.
Any amount of breastmilk that babies can get is wonderful and it’s good to remember that. (This is coming from someone who was able to exclusively breastfeed her 3rd baby for 10 months, so it was hard to get my mind in a place where I could accept the reality of low milk supply.) We all have different situations and can only do the best we can with what we’re given.
Blessings!
Melisa
Leila says
So true!
You really did so much to overcome all those challenges!
And of course, as I say over and over, the most important thing is to hold the baby and really take the time to sit down to feed him. Even a bottle-feeding mother can — and should — do this! It’s SO important, even more important than any physical advantages breastmilk has, as many as there are!
Leila says
That’s such a good way to think about it!
You are my hero!
L says
Aw thanks for this reply comment, Leila. I’ve been thinking of you and your breastfeeding advice the past few weeks as I struggle to feed my three month old twins. These are children numbers five and six and all their older siblings were breastfed with minimal effort for a year each, including a 34 week premie. But I just cannot get these two consistently gaining weight despite my conviction that twins can be ebf. My conviction is not matching reality in this particular case. I am just going to keep on providing as much breast milk as I can though supplementation has been unavoidable.
Leila says
Oh, what a challenge!
I will say that moms with lots of kids just often do have lower supply — a combination of being a bit older and having so stinkin much to do.
Add twins…
If you can rest and eat just a little more… I found with Bridget I just had to make myself look like a complete lazy bum. I got good at telling others what to fetch, clean, find, and generally handle without me.
And certainly, if supplementing has to happen, it has to happen!
xoxo
MargoB says
Auntie Leila, (apropos of nothing above), here’s an exciting link for your “Living Liturgically” corner!
https://www.simchafisher.com/2023/09/06/through-the-year-with-tomie-depaola-giveaway/
Hope you enjoy it! 😊
Mama Chi says
Hi Leila!
Thank you for all of your wonderful articles! They always give me a boost when I need it!
Here is a link for you concerning the wild lettuce. I have read a few of this woman’s articles and she seems to know what she is talking about, though everyone should remember that she is “not a doctor” (and neither am I!). What I found most helpful was actually the comments that her readers wrote for this one. She was focused on saving the sap, but the majority of the comments suggested that you could just dry the leaves and use them as tea! So much simpler! It sounded like the tea would not cause as strong of an effect, but you could always use the tea for lighter pain and have a smaller amount of tincture on hand for the bigger problems. I am still trying to figure this one out myself. Having a homemade pain reliever would really help me to round out my supply of herbal remedies!
https://practicalselfreliance.com/wild-lettuce-pain-relief/
May God Bless You!
Britni
Leila says
Thank you!