Home Brewed Smittle: The Rest of the Story

Did you and/or your parents ever listen to Paul Harvey on the radio? I remember sitting in the truck with my family listening to Paul Harvey stories. I used to love when he'd say, "and now you know the rest of the story." So, I'd like to share "the rest of the story" about our homebirth with you. Now, I've been holding off telling you about it mostly because I was both skeptical and a little afraid of what some of my readers would think. However, I promised to share my entire homebirth story with you, so here you go.
When we had our first homebirth I was a bit uneducated about most things "birthy." I simply wanted to do a homebirth because we'd had several rough goes at delivery in the hospital, and I wanted to be in charge of the way my delivery went. Mia's birth was fantastic, but there was a lot that we didn't know about the first time around. Including placenta encapsulation.
After Mia was born we got the question I was not prepared for, "What do you want us to do with your placenta?" My response was simple, "Uhh. Throw it away!" Scotty was completely disgusted with the thought of a little piece of me being in the trash with yesterday's junk mail. I remember thinking what in the world else was there to do with that "medical waste" besides chunk it! I gave it no more thought until about half way through my pregnancy with Eli.
At one of my prenatal visits, Kim asked me if I had ever heard of placenta encapsulation. After I gave her a funny look she gave me a book and told me I might want to at least read about the benefits of ingesting my own placenta. Still at odds with the thought, the book sat on my bedside table(covered with the latest eddition of Martha Stewart Living) for weeks before I even cracked the cover. Meanwhile, I entered a birth photo contest with our local birth expert. The prize? 50% off a birth service. In my mind, I intended to use the prize(if I won) to get child birth classes. We had never attended classes, and I thought it would be fun to do classes for our last time around.
Well, I WON! I was so excited! When it came time to go to the classes there was just NO WAY we could make it work with Scotty's current work schedule and having to find a sitter for several weeks. SO, we didn't go and I was really bummed thinking my prize was going to go to waste. That's when Nicolle asked if I'd ever considered encapsulation. Ha! I thought to myself, "OH! I need to get that book back to KIM!" But what happened next would change a lot of things in the future! I picked up the book and READ IT!
After that I started to do a lot of research on encapsulation. All I could find were story after story on what great things came from encapsulation. I sat in my room reading about how encapsulation helped with PPD, milk production, and energy levels. When I looked for the BAD effects of encapsulation I found NOTHING.
Now, I should stop here to say that did not change the thought in my mind of it being completely disgusting to ingest part of myself. I know there are lots of people out there who are able to do it without a second thought, but for me it was imposible to think about grinding up a body part and serving it in my latest recipe. I COULD, however, think about taking it like I would any other supplement-in a capsule.
So, I asked Nicolle to encapsulate my placenta! After Eli was born, and the placenta was delivered, Mary(the midwife who assisted Kim) prepared it for Nicolle to come and get it. She placed it in a ziplock bag, and Nicolle came to our house and picked it up. 48 hours later she brought me this cute little jar of capsules that looked like vitamins.

Picture by birth by designs

I simply placed the container in the freezer, where it can literally keep for years if I wanted. Nicolle gave me loose directions to try, but told me to simply play it by ear and take as many as I felt like I needed. When I took the first few capsules I have to admit it was a little strange, but I saw the immediate benefits with a much calmer mood, great milk supply, and a much more even energy level. It would usually take only about a half hour to start feeling the benefits of the capsules. I called them my "placenta pills," but Scotty refers to them as my "chill pills!" Hysterical because they are indeed cold(from being in the freezer), and make me feel "chill." Ha! He said he didn't know what he'd do if I hadn't had them.
I've been using them lately to help with my milk supply while on my cycle. I've always really had a hard time producing milk while on my cycle. The capsules really help keep my milk supply up. I've also really noticed a difference in my hormone levels when I take them. If I start feeling like I'm getting a little nutso I'll just take one or two and in a few minutes I'll start to feel better.
I highly recommend encapsulation to all my friends and family. I know most of you reading this will think it's a little strange, but I promise the benefits will totally outweigh the stigma of giving it a try. I'm happy to try to answer any questions you might have about placenta encapsulation or anything else birthy. I know it may seem really strange.

I'm so thankful for Nicolle and her willingness to educate the community on not just placenta encapsulation, but all things birth related. I'd love for you to contact her with any questions. She's there to help!
And that, my friends, is the REST of the story.
In my best Paul Harvey voice, "Leslie Smittle.....Good day!"