Mothers Day Roundup

Herbal care package ideas for a new mom and baby

Mother’s Day is around the corner, and my sister is just weeks away from becoming a mom. I live five hours away from her, so I won’t be nearby when the baby comes to drop off meals, run errands, or make her tea. I also wanted to do something to celebrate her first Mother’s Day, so I put together a little care package for her (Erin, if you’re reading this, stop here!) Here’s what I made for her, plus a few extra ideas if you know a pregnant person who isn't quite as close to giving birth. 

I’ve packed up soup mix, soothing salve, herbal tea, and a cookie mix to help her enter motherhood with nourishment and a little extra ease. 

• Lentil soup mix

  • Just lentils and dehydrated vegetables, for her to simmer in broth and have a nourishing, easy meal. 

• Calendula salve

  • I grew this calendula in my garden, harvested and dried it before infusing it in oil, and then gently heated it with local beeswax to transform it into a skin-nourishing, silky balm.

  • Calendula is incredibly versatile, and is safe and gentle for everyone, even babies. Calendula can help with stretch marks, sore nipples, diaper rash, and more (I personally use it as lotion on my face with great results!)

• Raspberry leaf and nettle leaf tea

  • Both of these plants are incredibly nutrient and mineral dense. They are incredibly nourishing, like taking a multivitamin, while being safe enough for pregnant and breastfeeding folx. 

  • Raspberry leaf has a long history of helping childbearing people tonify and strengthen their uterus, and can help the uterus contract back to its original size. 

• Lactation cookie mix

  • Alongside the normal cookie ingredients like brown sugar, baking powder, and chocolate chips, these cookies feature three star ingredients commonly thought to improve lactation: oats, brewers yeast, and flax seeds. All she’ll have to do is add water, coconut oil and bake to have a treat that is both delicious and functional. 

Here are a few other ideas for a pregnant or breastfeeding person:

• Dates 

  • Dates are commonly thought to soften the cervix and prepare the body for an easier labor. For those of you who need peer-reviewed research to believe something, we have plenty - check here and here. It’s also backed up by the countless women who have passed this knowledge down over millennia, as well as the thousands+ people who experience positive outcomes with this practice today. 

  • A few notes about dates: if you or your loved one doesn’t like them, perhaps they are eating cheaper, drier, pitted dates like the deglet noor variety. If you haven’t already, please try medjool dates! They are soft and creamy like caramel. 

  • A really fun way to turn them into a decadent treat is to remove the pit, fill them with a nut butter, and dip in chocolate, or make the same thing as a bark - smoosh the dates flat, cover in nut butter and then chocolate, and freeze them. 

• Galactagogues are plants that encourage lactation (they won’t make you lactate if you aren’t supposed to - but they will help someone who just gave birth get things moving!) Common, safe, nourishing ones include fennel, hops, red clover, and raspberry leaf. 

Let me know if you have other ideas, or if you would have liked to receive something else!