hi motherwytch

I agree sheryl...from what I have read and experienced I think fasting is not a good idea while b/f, unless your body really indicates it's needed... for example when I had mastitis I rested & fasted & it cleared up quickly. 

I have noticed that when my body is clearing out something adverse I have put into it that it comes thru in the milk & the child will develop a mild symptom such as runny nose or bottom rash or irritability.

I have spoken with some mums who had amalgams removed & their b/f children developed autistic issues....so be wary what you are detoxing!  But I think a balanced raw diet with lots of greens, fruits & fat is going to be fine, just a longer-term detox for the mum.

But only you know what you & they need and this changes!  I have always fasted if my body became ill and demands it, and continue to b/f if a child demands it lol! But in general I feel I need to eat and drink daily to keep up milk.

I get frequent massage & have done so for 4.5 years of b/f....haven't noticed any ill effects. May depend on the intensity of the kind of massage.

I did feel that fasting during EARLY pregnancy was best for me though... one pregnancy I dealt with nausea/junk food cravings by giving in to them (and miscarried), the next time I dealt with it via fasting & eating fruit no greens and felt great.  I felt the nausea was telling me to keep away from food!  Clearing out this body in prep for many months of baby making...that is just my experience though I don't know of any facts around this.  At 12 weeks my normal appetite & diet returned.

Our baby boy is 4.5 months now.  I seem to remember you have quite a few older ones too?  Is this your first raw b/f?  I'd love to hear about any differences you've noticed if so.

I think your gradual shift to raw eating this preg was a fine move...doing everything instantly isn't always necessarily better!

I relate about the massages...this preg & post birth I have been really good at making time for massage (receiving!), it takes effort but is so worth it.

we are tandem nursing too...and natural infant hygiene...  I totally agree about the natural instincts for picking up toilet signals being blocked by eating cooked!  I'd never thought of it before.  I am so much more in tune this time than with my first. (this is my second child). 

Today in the garden I lay him down for some time and he playing with plants & leaves as he does & was really into chewing on the celery & silverbeet.  Sucked & tore apart a whole stalk/leaf of each - first food he has tasted.  As you say, I too am looking forward to seeing what different food preferences he has.  My diet  & habits are quiet different now to last time.

congratulations to you too....wow yes it goes by even quicker the second time...I am in awe of you mums with 4!  I would so love to have lots more babies...

I just wanted to bump this thread with the question -  Motherwytch or anyone, what does natural infant hygiene include?   x

We've known quite a few people that have gone diaper free except in certain circumstances. It's seemed remarkably simple. I think the key is though that the baby must be with you way more than is considered "normal" in our society since you have to catch when the baby needs to go by looking at them!

Definitely something we'll be doing when the time comes!
Sheryl

WM that is so amazing. I love hearing stories like that first hand. I'm sure the drama of flushing the poos away and waving bye really adds to the energy and learning of EC too. How amazing is that! If you told the average person that there are COUNTRIES that do no use diapers they would be so confused. We are so trained that diapers are normal!!

Thank you for sharing your experiences here!
Sheryl

After these posts earlier this week I spent hours reading on EC. So interesting. When I first heard about it a couple of years ago it was such a strange idea. Now it seems normal. One of the articles on the link posted above was a story written about India, where literally everyone practices EC. They think diapers and prams are WEIRD! How is that!!

I was driving yesterday and Australia now has a shop called PRAM WORLD!