Seaweed Soup and Traditional Postpartum Practices

Seaweed soup with rice and a few side dishes

There's a Korean postpartum practice for the mother (or other family members) of the new mother to help them recover from birth for about a month while the new mother is pretty much on bed rest. When I heard about this before I got pregnant, I was resistant to the suggestion to stay at my mom's house while she cooks for me and helps take care of the baby as well as not showering, staying indoors - essentially being home bound for a month. I was a modern woman and didn't need to follow these silly traditions that seem to restrict me from my freedom!  

The new mother is also supposed to eat Korean seaweed soup (mee-yuk gook) as most of her diet for the entire month. Seaweed soup is attributed to helping to nourish and heal the new mother's body, help create new blood cells, stimulate milk production - pretty much everything you would want after the trauma of having a baby. Eating the same thing everyday did not seem appealing after pregnancy when all I thought I'd want is to eat everything I couldn't - gulp down a large iced coffee, gobble up some sushi and have a regular ham and cheese sandwich!

Funny how perspectives change once you have a baby, no? My mom and I made a compromise, where yes, she can help me and make me the soup but I stay in my own apartment. I know it doesn't sound much like a compromise for my mom to travel in from Queens to the city to cook and take care of me and the baby.  But she was insistent so we made this arrangement.

My mom came to my LES apartment every day (except weekends) for about three week and ate seaweed soup since the day I came home. Strangely enough as though my body needed it, I wasn't sick or bored of it for the three weeks I ate it. It was also great for digestion since it was easy on the stomach and I think the fluids and nutrients in the soup really did help my milk production.

Despite having a C-section M latched on right away after delivery and my milk came in on the fourth day - pretty much when it was supposed to and I haven't had a problem with my milk supply to this day.

There are other interesting traditional practices of postpartum care that seem to have the common thread of "mothering the mother." Here's an interesting article uncovering some of the most ancient practices.

My mom ended up following the same diet as me eating seaweed soup everyday from the large vat she made everyday.  It helped that it was her favorite dish.

Did any new moms out there have any special dishes or traditions they followed postpartum? If so, I'd love to hear about them.

Photoville

This past weekend we went to Photoville a photo exhibit "destination" in Brooklyn. Our attitude about the whole parenting thing is to not let a baby stop you from having as close to your normal life as possible, so we decided to take little M with us on the train (one stop!) into DUMBO in his stroller.  As most NYC parents can relate, taking a baby on the stroller is a feat for the most fit of parents.  There are a limited number of subway stops with elevators so traveling around the city with an infant has to be carefully planned or done with another person if a stroller is involved (which is what I like to do). 

Overall, the experience was saved by the beautiful Brooklyn Bridge Park which you have to walk through to get to the exhibit located at Pier 3 - which is quite a trek when you're pushing a stroller along gravel and cobble stone. Plus, it was almost 100 degrees out and I felt so bad for M stuck in the stroller, which I was convinced was trapping the heat. 

When we finally arrived, it was underwhelming. For a photo show, the setup wasn't exactly pleasing to the eye (so much so I that I realized I didn't take pictures!). Each photographer had their own shipping container for the exhibit. I get the whole industrial-cool look they were going for, but it was just not very attractive and  uncomfortable inside because of the heat. The exhibit felt like it was in a parking lot nowhere and didn't take advantage of the beautiful water views.  

As for the photography itself, I wasn't able to see much since I had M in the stoller and obviously, I couldn't bring him inside or else no one else would be able to fit. So my husband and I took turns. Despite the marketing, Photoville didn't live up to the hype.  For example, I was disappointed with the dog park that was described so alluringly but it turned out to be a space on the concrete they "fenced in" with some wire - sad.  

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy myself and made the best of it. The best part was the journey there -  along the walk there is a photo exhibit displayed along a fence. 

I suppose it's not easy taking an infant around so my experience of the exhibit is a bit skewed. For everyone else, I say check it out - at the very least you get a spectacular view of the Brooklyn Bridge.   

Today on "Today"

This morning on "The Today Show" a group of moms were featured for fearlessly taking photos of their postpartum bodies to help encourage other moms and protest the oftentimes unrealistic figures of celebrity moms.  How refreshing! 

I have a petite frame to begin with and never had a weight issue (except during freshman year of college - who didn't?!) and I will admit that I welcomed the newfound curves of pregnancy and embraced it. But after having my son and not being able to fit into any of my pre-pregnancy clothes and wearing leggings everyday - size large no less, I realized that a post-pregnancy body can really have a toll on your self-esteem and mood. Plus seeing pictures of celebrities bouncing back with a blink of an eye adds salt to the wound. I will note one celebrity that does not make me envious is Jessica Simpson.  


On top of that, the body warping back into its pre-pregnancy state creates more ailments  than I remember from pregnancy. 


Our culture focuses so much on the pregnant body and glorifies it, which is wonderful and ought to be recognized as a miracle. However when it comes to the postpartum period of a woman's life it's all about the baby, sometimes leaving the mom neglected. But what we might forget in all the new baby excitement is that the post-baby period is one of the most life altering moments of a woman's life both emotionally and physically. If we look at traditional cultures there is much to learn from their support system of women taking care of the mother as much as the newborn baby. The structure of today's family and society makes it difficult to follow traditional practices, but I think a shift in mindset will help. 

One of the most thoughtful gifts I received was a pair of comfy pajamas in my new size (LARGE!). It was touching because I had run out of comfy things to wear especially because nothing fit me post-baby. Another friend came over and folded my laundry. I was so exhausted from lack of sleep and not to mention crashing on adrenaline that seemed to spike everytime I breastfed (every two hours), the simple act of folding my laundry was heaven-sent.  I remember thinking, "this is what I need not another onesie!" 


My advice to friends and family of new moms is to celebrate the newborn with her and take on a mothering the mother attitude. 


Following traditional Korean practice, my mother actually came over to my apartment in Manhattan from Queens everyday to help me out for almost a month. More on that on another post.  


Here's an interesting article in the NYT about traditional Chinese postpartum care, which is similar to Korean practice that my mom tried to follow. 

(Photo: ctworkingmoms.com)

Chipping Away

When you have an infant at home, seldom do you have more than 2 hours (at best) to spend time for yourself and maybe get to a few things you've had on your list. Right now, my husband is away on a business trip and my three month old son is in bed. Now that the house is quiet my mind is racing with things I want/need to do that I didn't have time for   during the day - give myself a mani pedi... paint the bookcase... vacum... organize the closet... call my friends... 

I know, all of these things take a back seat when you're at home with a baby. But it's hard to let it go. I'm a major multi-tasker which is probably why I'm not feeling productive. The latest scientific research shows that multi-tasking actually reduces productivity.  

I'm also on maternity leave now, so I'm trying to squeeze in all those projects I've been meaning to complete before I go back to work. 


I'll have to chip away at it one day at a time and will keep you posted.