"Flower Power"

Today my parents sent me flowers and it got me thinking... I love flowers. I love to watch them bloom in the spring and enjoy their wonderful fragrances. I love to see the trees bloom and sing "Pop corn popping on the apricot tree" with my kids. I enjoy hiking in the mountains smelling the earthy woods and fresh pine scent, especially after a rain storm when everything is crisp and clean. I like to see the aspen trees "quaking and shivering" in the breeze. Oh I can't wait until spring to enjoy the beauties of the outdoor world! In the winter when it is gloomy and gray I can't pass up the urge to occasionally buy a mix of fresh flowers to add some color and beauty to our home for even a short time. Sometimes my sweetheart will bring them home to me :) I also recognize that there is more to my love of flowers than just their prettiness. Flowers and plants have healing properties. From biblical times until today plants have been used for healing. I know that when I spend time with Heavenly Father's creations I feel better. Just being in the great outdoors improves my health both physically and emotionally and I feel more grounded and connected to my Heavenly Father ~ my spirituality is on better ground.

I also love flower essences. In the early 1800's there was an English doctor by the name of Edward Bach. Dr Bach had a general practice, he was a surgeon, a pathologist, a bacteriologist and he studied vaccines and homeopathy. He was very successful with his medical practice but he was unhappy with the medical model of treating disease and ignoring the patients with the disease. So he left his practice and went in search of a better system which he believed existed in nature. His belief was that if you could treat an individual's feelings and personality and bring them into balance then it freed up the bodies own ability to heal itself and happiness and health would be restored in the body. He spent years studying plants and their effects on human emotions. Isolating which plant essence did what. In the end he came up with 38 plants that he believed could balance emotions and created the original flower essences . (There are more now as more research has been done but Dr Bach believed that these 38 addresses all emotional states) and promote healing and well being.

My first experience with flower essences took place many years ago. At the time I had never even heard of them. I was consulting with my local homeopath and he recommended that I take the flower essence of mustard. Just a few drops in my water. Wow did it make a difference! Here is the indications for mustard: "Those who are liable to times of gloom or even despair, as though a cold dark cloud overshadowed them and hid the light and the joy of life. It may not be possible to give any reason or explanation for such attacks. Under these conditions it is almost impossible to appear happy or cheerful." - Dr. Edward Bach I felt like I had came out of the gloom into the sunshine and there was happiness in the world again. Impressed by how effective a few drops of a flower preparation could have on me I started studying flower essences. I took Dr Bach's course and learned a great deal about the flower's and their properties. Here are a few examples of flowers and when they would be indicated:

Apen is taken when "Vague unknown fears, for which there can be given no explanation, no reason. It is a terror that something awful is going to happen even though it is unclear what exactly. These vague inexplicable fears may haunt by night or day. Sufferers may often be afraid to tell their trouble to others." - Dr. Edward Bach Think of an apen tree how the leaves kind of look like they are shaking and quivering in the breeze...

Mimulus also for fear but distinctly different is taken for "Fear of worldly things, illness, pain, accidents, poverty, of dark, of being alone, of misfortune. The fears of everyday life. These people quietly and secretly bear their dread; they do not freely speak of it to others." - Dr. Edward Bach The fear is of something very specific like the dog next door is going to attack them. To read about the 38 original Bach Flowers and how to use them go to http://www.bachflower.com/38_Essences.htm the official Bach site and look around. There is also a North American Flower Society with flowers indigenous to this part of the world. I am excited to share flower essences. They can be helpful in so many ways as we journey through this life. They are safe, non toxic, do not react with medications and can be taken by pregnant and nursing women and by children I even give them to my pets as I humanize them and see imbalances in them. I am grateful for the world Heavenly Father created for us and for the hidden helps all around us if we just look for them!

Here's the Scoop

picture from milkinmamas.org

OK Momma's here's the scoop. When I decided to donate milk I did two things. First I asked my good friend google about it. It is a great resource and usually leads me to good information. The other thing I did was call the NICU at a local hospital. I talked to the lactation specialist and she gave me the phone number for the milk bank that supplies their precious little ones with donor milk.

There are several different labs across the country you can donate to. The Mother's Milk Bank is in Colorado. They are the ones that supply the local hospital here (at least IMC) I contacted them. They take milk that has been frozen for less than 5 months and they retire their donors when mommy's baby turns one. I wanted to donate to them because they help my local community. To get more information on them and what their guidelines to donate are go to http://www.rockymountainhospitalforchildren.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=68&Itemid=114

I also had a lot of milk stored (triple bagged at the bottom of my deep freezer, which is ideal) from before the 5 month mark. When I had my last baby I would pump and freeze my extra milk just in case my milk supply did not last so my baby would have a reserve. He is approaching the one year mark and will not need all this stored milk. With the first labs cut off date I did not want to just through this milk out so I found Milkin Mama's. They are located in California. They take milk up to a year old and will continue to take milk as long as you are nursing your own child. Their web address is http://milkinmamas.org/

Both labs have very similar guidelines; they both require doctor certification of your health & the baby you are nursing. They both have health forms to fill out & blood draws to be done. At first this seemed like a lot but it really only took a few minutes of my time and a trip to the lab for a blood draw. Milkin Mamas will actually send a phlebotomist to your house. They send you a cooler to ship the milk in and you overnight it to their lab frozen. I really like that they are thorough with their donor screening. If I had a sick baby who needed milk I would want to know that all precautions possible were taken to insure the safety of the milk they would receive.

The milk given to both of these labs goes to preemies & sick babies. As I googled I learned that there are also other uses for mommy milk. They are finding that liver transplant patients recover & heal better when given breast milk. I didn't look to far into it because I wanted my milk to go to the precious little babies who are in the greatest need. There are also websites where you can donate to individuals in need. You can look into it. I felt these were the best choices for me. Now is also a great time to donate because the labs are experiencing a shortage in part because of the flu season and the added strain of H1N1. Hope this helps...

Can You Say Moo?

I can and I am "udderly" excited (please pardon the pun) for my new stint at giving of myself. I recently learned of the need of milk donors for human milk banks. Sometimes babies are born too early, so early that their little bodies can not tolerate anything but mommy's milk. Other babies are allergic to formula and are in need of breast milk. Breast milk contains antibodies to protect babies immature immune systems and other goodness that science has yet to mimic. Ideally mommy supplies their babies with this precious life sustain elixir but what happens when mommy is unable. That is where donation helps. Milk banks exist to save tiny lives.

So health survey's, medical release forms to allow my doctor & pediatrician to attest to the health of myself & the infant I am nursing and a few vials of blood later (must be sure they are giving good milk to these fragile babies) I am officially now a donor! I am so excited to be helping these tiny babies. The Bank I chose to donate to supplies local NICU's and my milk will go to preemies.

The biggest reason I am posting this post is not too brag or put a spotlight on myself. For that purpose I would rather not say anything at all. It is to spotlight a great need. I know I have lots of Milking Mommy friends out there most probably aren't even aware that this is a possibility. With my other babies I ended up "dumping" expressed milk. What a waste when it could have been saving lives! If it is something you want to look into let me know and I will get you the information on what is required.