I am participating in the 30 Day #EarthMama Challenge with Mamavation. I was sent these products and am being compensated for the campaign. All opinions and reviews expressed are that of my own.
I’ve always considered myself to be a very eco-aware individual. Teased by friends in school and called a hippie, I never minded going the extra mile to do what I felt was best for my body, my soul, the environment, and those around me. As I’ve grown older and gained more control over these decisions, I’ve loved doing the research and practicing what I feel is best for my family.
One of the easiest decisions I made occurred when I stumbled upon Earth Mama Angel Baby at a locally owned boutique catering to mothers and their babies. I’ll admit, the charming name and packaging drew my eye first, but once I read the ingredients I was hooked.
I’ve been selected as one of 15 bloggers taking part in a 30 day Earth Mama challenge, using their wonderful products and acting as an ambassador to tell you all about them. I’ve received the Pregnancy Essentials package, and over the next few weeks you’ll see me posting about each item I use on various social media platforms. I’m eternally grateful to Kim for letting me hijack so much of her incredible web presence so I can share this with you. Many of these products are also useful for individuals who are not currently expecting, so don’t feel left out if childbirth is not on your current to-do list. I’ll still post lots of details on how these products can benefit each member of your family, and I hope you’ll find it as fun and informative as I have learning about each possibility.
When I received my goody bag packed with essentials, the first items to catch my eye (and my sense of smell, even in the box the scents are intoxicatingly good) were the organic teas. I received four boxes of organic caffeine free tea, certified GMO free, perfect for every stage of pregnancy and also safe to use while postpartum and breastfeeding (as well as for every other member of the family)!
The Morning Wellness Tea is a very old and dear friend to me, I have relied on this miracle drink to get me through queasy days and nights through both of my pregnancies. I’ve also reached for it several times in between when I was feeling a bit under the weather. It amazed me how quickly my stomach settled and the thought of food was once again an option and not a punishment. Looking at the ingredients list you can see a very short and effective list of organic ingredients. Ginger root, spearmint leaf, chamomile flower, orange peel, lemon balm leaf, and peppermint leaf are blended together in a generously sized bag to create a rich and flavorful tea so good I don’t even add honey to it.
The Heartburn Tea is my secret weapon. I have never been one to take medications, and even the thought of something like Tums makes my stomach turn. My first pregnancy, I didn’t learn about Earth Mama’s organic heartburn tea until Harper was nearly due. I spent hours every sleepless night pacing circles around the living room furniture, chewing on bits of crushed ice, because nothing else helped and the pain was so severe. Everyone teased she was sure to be born with a full head of hair (and boy was she!) as I suffered through the fire in my throat. Once I discovered this soothing tea my world regained rhyme and reason. On top of the soothing lemon balm, chamomile, and spearmint, this tea also contains marshmallow (the plant, not the campfire essential) which coats everything it touches naturally and safely, and immediately calms the fire within me. It also has red raspberry leaf, which acts as an astringent to soothe my poor irritated throat. Anyone who suffers from heartburn should keep this in their pantry.
The Third Trimester Tea is perfect for preparing my body for childbirth. I’ve heard again and again of the benefits of organic red raspberry leaf tea for readying your body for labor, but this is by far the tastiest and most naturally enriched tea I’ve come across. I’ve been told red raspberry leaf helps strengthen the pelvic and uterine muscles so that once labor does start the muscles will be more efficient. Anything I can do to make natural labor easier and more likely to be successful sounds like a good plan to me. This tea also contains organic spearmint, stinging nettle leaf, oatstraw, chamomile, rosehips, and alfafa, perfect for fortifying your body with calcium, iron, and other essentials a growing mama-to-be needs. In my second trimester I started waking up with this terrible pain in the tops of my feet right where they meet my ankles, it would feel as though something had slipped out of place and the pain was unbearable. I would wrestle with myself, squeezing and kneading and shaking my poor legs and feet and trying not to cry out from the agony. I would try to stand or walk and my feet would nearly buckle below me. There was nothing to do but bear it and wait it out. Since I’ve started taking the third trimester tea I haven’t had a single incident of these horrific spasms and leg cramping. Some people say it’s because I’m staying hydrated more (it’s easy to drink your recommended fluids when they taste so good!) and others say it is related to a vitamin deficiency (though I take my prenatals daily already). Whatever the reason, I’m very thankful to have a line of defense against it. This tea is also delicious iced, perfect for this viciously hot Florida summer which is only made more brutal by that extra twenty or so pounds I’m carrying around (and no, I don’t mean Harper).
The Peaceful Mama tea is aptly named, but I don’t want you to think it shouldn’t also be called peaceful papa, or peaceful med school student, or peaceful retail-worker-on-Black-Friday. Because it is an amazing stress reliever. Taking a bit of the best from each of their teas, peaceful mama contains organic lemon balm leaf, chamomile flower, oatstraw, orange peel, and red raspberry leaf. I love this one piping hot with just a touch of tupelo honey, the ritual of it takes me far away from my troubles and allows my mind to drift in a near meditative state. If Harper is having a rough day and takes longer than usual to go down for her nap, or if worries about losing my income from my regular job while on maternity leave and struggling or perhaps not being as good a parent when I’m stretched to care for a newborn AND a two year old are weighing me down and my nerves are frayed, I can count on taking a few deep breaths, brewing a cup, and letting my cares slip away. This tea is a must-have for anyone who would like to escape every now and then while avoiding pills and caffeine.
I love having such amazing and effective teas to make my life much smoother and more comfortable, and I think you’ll like them a lot, too.
