DIY Belly Butter — QandA Living

This is so quick and easy to make!

And as soon as I’d posted this on Instagram, people were asking for the recipe, so here it is.

If you’ve not yet read the “Betsy Bosom Baby Book”, you’re missing out. That’s where I got this awesome recipe from. Everything from hormonal support (whether or not you’re trying to conceive), to pregnancy, post-partum, and oiling with kids (separated by age groups).

I tend to do denial when it comes to my pregnancies. When I was 40 weeks and 1 day pregnant with Hannah, I kept mentioning how “these Braxton Hicks” were getting really annoying now - of course it was actually the beginning of 43 hours of labor with her.

This pregnancy, my denial has been different. With the CoronaCoaster of things going on, I keep putting off preparation and such for this baby’s arrival. Also, after 2 previous miscarriages (more on that another time), it took me a while to allow myself to believe this was real, and staying, and viable.

But since I’m already past 31 weeks of pregnancy, and this is all happening, and the reality of our current surroundings doesn’t seem to be changing, I’ve realized I need to get my butt into gear. Including looking after my skin on this ever-growing belly of mine (and it’s growing much faster now). Oh, and also getting some stuff prepped for baby’s arrival (I finally ordered a car seat last week, you know, so we can actually leave the hospital once the baby is born - minor detail).

So this realization prompted me to search the Baby Book for a belly butter recipe… and it’s so easy!

Here are the ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup shea butter
1/2 cup sweet almond oil
essential oils (pregnancy/baby safe ones - I did 10 drops each of frankincense, lavender, and/or Gentle Baby, since they’re also known for their amazing skin-supporting properties).

That’s it.

The method is also simple:

Melt the coconut and shea butter (I did it in a mixing bowl over a pot of boiling water, like a double-boiler). Then I took it off the pot to cool. I added the almond oil, and the essential oils. At this point, I’d mixed it with a hand-held mixer, assuming the butter would form immediately. It didn’t. But I figured it out: I put it in the fridge for a little while (maybe 20 minutes), and it had solidified somewhat. At that stage, I whipped it with the handheld mixer for a few seconds, and it was gorgeous!

A little goes a long way with this stuff (and it’s staying solid, even though I’m not keeping it in the fridge (to be honest, it is cold here now, so I’ll update at a later stage if I still have some in warmer weather). I put mine in a glass jar (it makes more than what’s pictured above). And I’m sure it would be great for other growing parts of the torso too.

Which oils would you add?