Breastfeeding your baby is one of the best ways to ensure a strong nutritional foundation for your child. Babie's benefits from being nursed include these:

• Helps building a relationship with mom
• Supports a strong nutritional foundation
• Builds the immune system
• Supplies the healthy intestinal flora in the intestinal tract

And for mom:

• Tones the uterus
• Helps bonds with the baby
• Burns excess calories
• Can serve as relaxing experience

A mom can enhance her own breast milk using herbs that also give her baby good nourishment. Herbs taken during pregnancy should be continued during the nursing period to ensure proper nutrition for baby. Remember that all herbs, medications, and foods you take will be passed to your baby through your breast milk.

So continue to eat well, and avoid taking any medications (unless prescribed by your physician), harsh herbs, or very spicy foods because they can upset your baby's very small digestive system. Herbs you can add to enrich breast milk include nettle leaves, spirulina (rich in chlorophyll, amino acids, and enzymes), and alfalfa.

And, as my friend who has borne seven (count them, seven) children of her own and breasfed every one wanted me to let you know that a mom also needs lots of extra water (beyond the normal daily intake) because the requirement for water goes up when breastfeeding.

Although nursing your baby will help you burn up more calories and swing your baby back into shape more quickly, some moms still need a little quicker boost after baby is weaned. Herb to help get your baby back into shape will burners that increase thermogenesis.

Thermogenesis is the process or raising body temperature to speed up the body metabolism, which in turn helps your baby burn more calories. If your haven't had the opportunity to cleanse before you were pregnant and nursing, after you are done nursing is a great time to go on a good cleansing.

A good weight-loss program following a good cleanse is a way to give your body a jump-start−and you might just lose the extra weight only with a cleanse! Try Ivy's Colon Cleanse drink recipe ealier. After cleansing, herbs can be combined and used for weight loss. Some single herbs used for weight loss include chickweed, psyllium hulls, lecithin, and ma huang.

Chickweed acts as a mild appetite suppressant and is a natural source of lecithin; lecithin is a fat emulsier; and psyllium gabs the fat from your foods before your body has a chance to absorb it. This is especially effective if taken 15 to 20 minutes before meals. Try these hebs to shape up with after nursing:

• Psyllium hulls
• Lecithin
• Chickweed
• Ma huang
• White willow bark
• Licorice root

Ma huang, a Chinese herb that's also known as Chinese ephedra, is an herb that is best combined with white willow bark, which balance its effect for weight loss. Ma huang promotes thermogenesis and should never be taken with caffein−the intensified "upper" affect can push your body into overdrive.

People with sensitive systems, heart problems, or hypertension can have serious trouble with this mixture. Responsible companies who have a deep understanding of herbology will not combined ma huang and caffeine-containing herbs in their products.

You've made it full circle! Congratulations again! You look better now than before you were pregnant, really! And please don't forget to check out the following list of herbs to avoid during prenancy−just in case you plan to do this again. Happy parenting!