Many silly lotus birth questions!

[MommyJogger]

Hi!
Considering a lotus birth for the next baby. Waaaay ahead of myself, but I wanted to have all my decisions made before the fear of giving birth again actually hits me when I'm pregnant and past the point of no return.

1) I will have a ~2 year old at home and it took him several weeks (almost 5!!!) to lose his cord stump. I'm worried about having a grabby two year old around the placenta and cord. How delicate do you actually need to be with it?
2) And if keeping DS away from it gets to be too much, is getting it cut at a well baby visit a week (or weeks) after the birth an option? Will that affect new baby's health at all (make infection more likely, for example)?
3) Is protection from infection the only (or the main) benefit of a lotus birth over 30min delayed cord clamping? Any other health benefits?
4) Did anyone cosleep after a lotus birth? How faffy is it to roll a baby onto their side to feed at night when there's a cord attached? What about switching sides to feed from the other boob?
5) How annoying is it really to day-to-day life before it falls off? How do you load baby into a stretchy wrap, for example? Is that just a no-go until it falls off?
6) How do you travel in the carseat with it? Does it just go in their lap?
7) What does baby wear until it falls off? (I'm hoping for a late spring/early summer baby and we still get some pretty cold days.) Most of DS's hand-me-downs are onesies and zippered sleep suits.
8) Is there a placenta/cord treatment kit I can just buy to help dry it out? Or will I have to figure out which supermarket brand herbs to sprinkle on it, lol?
Thanks if you made it this far and for any of the questions you can answer/make suggestions for!

 

[TicToc]

Stalking

 

[MandaAnda]

There's a group on fb: https://www.facebook.com/groups/135998123254579/ and you can friend Lotus Birth Campaign, both very helpful. I've done some research and will try to answer a bit... I'm planning a partial lotus, so we will cut no longer than four hours after birth, as it's important to me to be able to encapsulate my placenta. You can still make placenta smoothies with a lotus birth, too, using bits you cut off soon after birth, usually asking baby's permission.

1) I will have a ~2 year old at home and it took him several weeks (almost 5!!!) to lose his cord stump. I'm worried about having a grabby two year old around the placenta and cord. How delicate do you actually need to be with it?
It should be treated gently, as you don't want tugging, etc. Some people have a bag made for it or zip it (with the cord coming out where the zip would fully close instead) in a picnic bag thing.

2) And if keeping DS away from it gets to be too much, is getting it cut at a well baby visit a week (or weeks) after the birth an option? Will that affect new baby's health at all (make infection more likely, for example)?
I doubt it'd be attached that long. Most lotus born babies let go of their cords quicker than other babies lose their cord stump. You can cut it at any point you decide. Many ask baby for permission first, as the benefits are mostly seen as a spiritual thing.

3) Is protection from infection the only (or the main) benefit of a lotus birth over 30min delayed cord clamping? Any other health benefits?
Some say babies are calmer. Infection prevention isn't actually something I've heard much about. It's more about baby letting go of the organ that nourished them for so long in their own time, honouring that connection.

4) Did anyone cosleep after a lotus birth? How faffy is it to roll a baby onto their side to feed at night when there's a cord attached? What about switching sides to feed from the other boob?
Again, the cord can be in another bag. You don't need to switch sides if you can figure out the top boob / bottom boob thing - just rolling towards your tummy more to get the upper boob lower for baby to feed.

5) How annoying is it really to day-to-day life before it falls off? How do you load baby into a stretchy wrap, for example? Is that just a no-go until it falls off?
It really is a few days, so I'd either carry it in a bag on my shoulder while on the move or use it as an excuse to stay home.

6) How do you travel in the carseat with it? Does it just go in their lap?
I'd probably put it, in its bag, on the seat by baby. Again, it separates in a few days usually, so I'd probably use it as a reason to stay home and be pampered.

7) What does baby wear until it falls off? (I'm hoping for a late spring/early summer baby and we still get some pretty cold days.) Most of DS's hand-me-downs are onesies and zippered sleep suits.
You can thread it out the bottom of a onesie. With a sleep suit, I'd probably go with the kind with snaps so you can thread it out near the tummy or further down the leg, as being threaded to the neck in a zippered suit probably wouldn't be practical.

8) Is there a placenta/cord treatment kit I can just buy to help dry it out? Or will I have to figure out which supermarket brand herbs to sprinkle on it, lol?
Just google lotus birth herbs. I'm sure there are sellers that make it already mixed up.

 

[MommyJogger]

(...)

Holy cow thank you so much! You've given me a lot of information to consider. And it's good to hear it might fall off before my son's did. That was an incredibly annoying month with him. Thought it would never happen.

 

[Sam Pearson]

None of your questions are silly. There is a Baby and Bump Lotus Birth Support Thread here:

https://babyandbump.momtastic.com/home-natural-birthing/865993-lotus-birth-support-thread.html

1) I will have a ~2 year old at home and it took him several weeks (almost 5!!!) to lose his cord stump. I'm worried about having a grabby two year old around the placenta and cord. How delicate do you actually need to be with it?

I had a boisterous 3yo when we Lotus Birthed our third child. She learned to clamber about me and baby while still being careful of the placenta. I was anxious a few times but she never once even bumped it and seemed to be able to keep it in her sights and keep clear of it easily. Plus, even if she had it would not have hurt the new baby.

2) And if keeping DS away from it gets to be too much, is getting it cut at a well baby visit a week (or weeks) after the birth an option? Will that affect new baby's health at all (make infection more likely, for example)?

Cutting it on day 7 won't increase the risk of infection or affect your baby in any way. Most Lotus Births go for 3-7 days but some take longer. The longest I have known of is 12 days but I have read about 14 days.

3) Is protection from infection the only (or the main) benefit of a lotus birth over 30min delayed cord clamping? Any other health benefits?

I found the benefits to be that baby and I were quieter, moved around less, were together almost all the time (my partner and two children had cuddles only when I showered or used the loo), baby and I had constant skin-on-skin for the whole 4 days, we had no visitors until the LB was complete making it a very special family only bonding time. Baby was definitely more peaceful while transitioning.

4) Did anyone cosleep after a lotus birth? How faffy is it to roll a baby onto their side to feed at night when there's a cord attached? What about switching sides to feed from the other boob?

Yes, I coslept with my 3yo and the new baby. My partner slept with our other child in order to give me enough space. Feeding was no different to usual only instead of switching the baby from one side to the other I myself moved to the other side of the baby and left her in the middle of the bed so as not to have to move the placenta also. We were also practicing ECing so there was that added motivation not to move her off her EC padding.

5) How annoying is it really to day-to-day life before it falls off? How do you load baby into a stretchy wrap, for example? Is that just a no-go until it falls off?

My baby was naked. We had the room well heated. I was topless. We ECed so no nappy required. However you can have baby dressed how you like. It is less convenient maneuvering about with an intact placenta which forces you to stay more still which new babies appreciate. By day 2 I was so used to the placenta that I found it second nature to simply scoop up the placenta as I stood up and carry baby and placenta together seemed normal. I used a bag made of velvet and when I sat down I simply placed it beside me on the couch or bed and because of the grippy nature of the placenta bag fabric it wasn't in danger of slipping off to the floor. My Dad came to visit on day 3 as he was due to fly out to return to the UK (I'm in Australia). He was our only visitor and when he had a cuddle I passed him the baby and the placenta in it's bag and he didn't even notice at all. We had a giggle about that as he is quite old fashioned and I'm sure he would have been surprised to know what he was holding along with the baby.

6) How do you travel in the carseat with it? Does it just go in their lap?

We didn't take baby out that young. We keep them home for a while. But there is no reason you can't simply place the placenta on their tummy.

7) What does baby wear until it falls off? (I'm hoping for a late spring/early summer baby and we still get some pretty cold days.) Most of DS's hand-me-downs are onesies and zippered sleep suits.

I've seen all different clothing options for LB. You can simply keep a few of the clasps open at the navel or have a separate top and bottom. We kept the room super warm so we didn't need to worry about clothing. Baby and I were completely comfortable. Everybody else was sweltering though.

8) Is there a placenta/cord treatment kit I can just buy to help dry it out? Or will I have to figure out which supermarket brand herbs to sprinkle on it, lol?

You can get pre made placenta bags, herbs and full Lotus Birth Kits
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/LotusBorn