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A Mother Just Knows...
By Eva Zemlya
A mother just knows what it`s right for her baby. Instinctively. However, after so many years of disconnection with Nature, we have lost that sense, that inner feeling that tells us exactly how to raise our babies. We have lost it somewhere between so many rules proclaimed in books, advice read online, traditions from our grandmothers, patterns created by doctors and psychologists.
The truth is that no book in the world can give you instructions on how to raise your baby. Only you know how, deeply within. So I`m not here to teach you anything, just to remind you what you already know and to share my motherhood experience with you.
I remember that feeling of safety and bliss when I was holding my baby in my arms, especially when breastfeeding. The feeling that there are just the two of us in the world, that nobody can harm us, that we`re going to be fine no matter what.
A mother just knows to breastfeed her baby whenever he wants to, because he is hungry, or because he needs to be comforted, or because he wants to fall asleep. This doesn`t mean he is spoiled.
A baby doesn’t know how to emotionally manipulate you; he hasn’t learned it yet. He is too little, too pure. He just came into this world. He just feels. All that he knows is that he feels safe, nurtured, and warm at your breast, hearing your heartbeat, smelling your scent. Don`t deny him that. It will just lead to emotional insecurities later on. Breastfeeding creates a relationship of trust and an exceptional bonding between mother and son or daughter.
A mother just knows when to sleep with her baby and knows she is not going to suffocate her overnight. A mother always sleeps with one eye open, and always knows where her baby is, even in her sleep.
A mother just knows how to bathe her baby gently, without fearing she is not holding her right, or that the water might be too cold or too hot. She tests it with a delicate part of her own skin. She doesn`t need those fancy thermometers. Or those fancy shampoos, which, even if they are for babies, still contain chemicals.
To wash my baby’s hair I used an egg yolk mixed with a teaspoon of apple vinegar. Rub gently the baby’s scalp, rinse, and then delicately massage with a herbal oil, for the crusts which often appear on babies’ scalps. I made my herbal oil using 500 ml of olive oil + 2 teaspoons of dried salve (Salvia Officinalis) + 2 teaspoons of dried basil (Ocinum Basilicum). You put the herbs into the oil, in a dark bottle, and leave it for two weeks. Then strain the oil and keep it refrigerated. Please warm it up when massaging the baby and remember: Never use essential oils on babies, as their skin is too delicate. For washing the delicate parts, I used chamomile and marigold tea.
A mother just knows that her baby is curious about the world. So she lets him experiment with life, to feel and touch grass, dirt, water. She knows he already has a strong immune system from being breastfed, and she knows that this way will make it even stronger. She lets the sunshine caress him, just the right amount so his little body can naturally produce Vitamin D, instead of taking it from a bottle.
A mother just knows when to introduce her baby to new foods. Knowing that there is no hurry, knowing that her milk still provides the baby with everything she needs.
When my baby was six months old, I slowly started to introduce him to banana and avocado mashes, baked broccoli and cauliflower, spinach, carrot and tomato soup, and various fruits. Here is one of my favorite vegan, gluten-free recipe for diversification: Green Puree.
You will need:
Put the peas in a pot with water and let it boil for half an hour. Wash the spinach leaves thoroughly and add to pot. Let it boil for fifteen more minutes. Cut the broccoli into little trees, heat the oven at 250 C and place the broccoli inside, on a tray with baking parchment. Leave it to bake for ten minutes. When the peas and the spinach are boiled, strain the water, then add the olive oil, the avocado, and the spirulina, and mix with a blender. Then decorate the mash with the little baked broccoli trees :). Enjoy !
As a final thought, I hope that our souls will regain that ancient wisdom of motherhood and that each day we will take a few steps forward towards a more organic, healthy lifestyle.
Eva Zemlya has experience in many fields such us permaculture/gardening, pets, healthy nutrition, alternative parenting, and Yin Yoga. She lives in a traditional and picturesque area of Romania with a dog shelter, a garden and orchard, and two children. She has invented and tested many vegetarian, raw vegan, and macrobiotic recipes, for mother, kids, and even pets.
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