Do y'all wanna see photos of my little future kitchen helper? I sure hope so.
So, CAMILLE. She came out of me. I can't believe it, but she did. I am not sharing my birth story, because this is a food blog. If you're anxious about child birth, and want to hear my happy, positive experience, email me and I will share everything with you.
I am weirdly proud of her stats. Out of my tiny body, I had a big, healthy 7-pound 10-ounce babe. She was 20" long, and her feet are so big, they barely fit on the paper for stamping. Now I know why I always felt her foot in my rib cage.
I do want to share about the foods I ate to put me into labor, and the foods I'm eating now. Because: food blog. You know. So, I was 39 weeks and 2 days, and feeling great. I was starting to feel some aches and pains from the excess weight, but otherwise totally fine. And then bam! This little doubt crept into my mind that my body could not start labor on its own. I know most first babes are late, but I was anxious.
I asked Dr. Google about foods that cause uterine contractions. It turns out, foods that cause inflammation in your body can cause contractions. These foods are normally absent from my diet, since we mainly follow the Mediterranean diet that is sometimes called the 'anti-inflammation diet.' So, I told my husband 'we are going out for cheeseburgers, fries and fried cheese curds tonight. And pick me up a box of real licorice.'
We went to dinner at 8pm. Things started happening 7 minutes past midnight. Oh yeah. Greasy, fried food and licorice put me into labor, I believe. It's probably not true, but those types of foods are a real shock to my system, since I tried to eat healthfully my entire pregnancy. I mean, I did go through an intense chocolate milk phase and ate SO many desserts at the end, but overall, I was healthy. Almost everything I ate during pregnancy was homemade. I'm such a believe in that. Even if I'm going to eat chocolate cake, I'm going to make it from scratch.
What am I eating now? I'm such a believer in healing foods. I read somewhere that strawberries have natural aspirin in them, and I could use a little pain relief right now. I bought that GIANT box of strawberries at Costco. You know the one. You walked by it and said 'there's no way I could eat that whole box before it goes bad.' Um, I did. I'm also eating tons of yogurt. I had a teensy tiny little fever during labor and they gave me a dose of antibiotics. I swear, I didn't really have a fever. I dealt with the pain of contractions by placing a blanket over my head, and I think it just made me hot. But, anyway, I want to build my immune system back up, so serious yogurt sessions right now.
BREAKFAST: I stocked our freezer with homemade bread loaves, and eat two slices every morning with nut butter. On the side: yogurt + strawberries. I've always been a huge milk drinker, and I usually guzzle my first glass in the morning. I'm finally allowing myself a little caffeine again in the form of green tea. I've never been a coffee drinker, but you know this.
LUNCH: My lactation coach told me that oatmeal helps with milk production, so I usually eat oatmeal for lunch. My favorite flavor combo is prunes + lemon zest + hazelnuts. But, dried figs + orange zest + chia seeds is another great one. Sometimes, I get lazy and just stir peanut butter, cocoa powder, and brown rice syrup into the bowl. I usually add a big glop of applesauce on top, too. Does that sound disgusting? Sorry.
SNACKS: I always have an afternoon snack. Well, snackS, really. I've been into my Kerrygold cheese stash, crackers, popcorn, and more fruit. Oh, and a glass of milk or calcium-fortified orange juice. Melons are so, so great for a dehydrated nursing Mama.
DINNER: Dinner is one of the many meals my sweet, sweet Mom packed in our freezer. She stocked us with Southern comfort casseroles (like my Chicken Spaghetti recipe), and they feel so good in my belly. I love them. (Warning: Velveeta alert. She puts in her casseroles, and I love it! It's my food cheat forever and ever, Amen).
I have strong urges to cook again. And I have. The second night home, I made breakfast tacos and fried potatoes for dinner. We ate it at 9pm, but I'm still counting it as 'I cooked dinner.' I took the next night off from cooking, but managed to make Marcella Hazan's 3-ingredient tomato sauce to slather on meatballs from the freezer.I stuffed them into rolls to make meatball subs, and I also ate them spooned over polenta, too.
So, I'm up in the middle of the night at least twice for feedings. And I get HUNGRY. I also get cookie crumbs on Camille's sweet little head. I stocked my freezer with Mel's Quinoa Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Granola cookies. Again, with the oatmeal.
It's so, so good to be home. Hospital food was terrible. I subsisted on fruit plates and bags of pretzels. I ordered a breakfast bagel with scrambled egg whites and Swiss chard one morning. What I got was a white bagel with burned egg whites and 2 (TWO) leaves of baby spinach. BABY spinach. My husband went out to get me Panera the next night. I'm happiest when I'm eating well, and taking care of myself with food is the only way I'm surviving on 4-hour bursts of sleep.
I'm not sure if I'm doing this the right way, but the way I've been feeding Camille is to wake her every 2-3 hours during the day. At night, I try to get one or two 4-hour stretches out of her. It's been hard, but last night, I think we found the answer. We put her in one of those swaddle sleepers plus we swaddle her in a muslin blanket on top. Two swaddles = two extra hours of sleep. It's glorious.
Now, if you excuse me, I'm off to buy every single swaddle sleeper I can find at Babies R Us.
Thanks for spreading kindness, friends!
Susan says
A precious and perfect tiny human. I love your food blog and also LOVE your new book. Thanks also for your positive outlook and sense of humour. I've been following dessertsfortwo for a couple of years and it's so nice to see the evolution.
You cannot control the "haters". You can only control your reaction.
Keep up the fabulous work and stay strong!
Brandon @ Kitchen Konfidence says
Eeeeeee, congratulations. She's adorable :)!! And don't let the haters get to you. They're just not important. There are so many other things to focus on: salted caramel, pretzel buns, cocktails (now that you can), waffles, etc. Oh, and Camille of course :)
Sheila says
We are far, far from a society that “loves their neighbor as they love themselves.” The ones that hurl hatred are usually the unloved ones that have experienced this kind of abuse, hurt and pain their whole lives. They are broken and hurting and have learned to hate. Sadly we have more and more of these types within our society. “Children who live with criticism will learn to condemn.” Be thankful you endured this experience so in wisdom you can prepare your beautiful child so she will not be blind sighted when she comes upon this type of dysfunctional person and will know how to compassionately move on in pity without being a wounded duck. Focus upon this adorable little disruption pouring kindness, love, a giving heart, and a “work hard” ethnic into her life and you will single handedly do a wonderful job of making the world a much better place to live. You have the ability to mold this little life but “those” others are shattered and are destroying themselves being eaten alive with hatred and focused solely upon harming others.
Abby says
Little Camille is so beautiful. She already looks so much like you!
I'm the first born in my family, and actually came out a few weeks before my due date naturally. It affected my name, too - I was due Pearl Harbor Day, so my parents had the name Eleanor (Elly) picked out. But I popped out two days before Thanksgiving, so Abigail it was. :)
I'm so, so sorry that people lashed out at you, Christina. You're one of the kindest, most genuine people I've ever come across online, and truly don't deserve harsh treatment. I've been trying to be more positive lately, too. I've noticed that some people have twitter accounts or blogs where nearly every other sentence or tweet is a negative one. At times, it can be disheartening and change your perspective from positive to downright pessimistic. So! I'm doing my best to only put happy thoughts and words out into the world. <3
I'm happy to hear that Camille's birth went well (I love her name, by the way), and hope to see more of her cuteness soon!
xoxo!
Toni Jordan says
Thank you so much for sharing the gorgeous pictures of Camille! I especially loved the one of all three of you, with Camille's precious head cradled in Brian's hands. She is sheer perfection.
As far as the meanies - Brian is right! I just heard the same advice on the radio this morning. Overcome evil with good! You usually don't know what the meanies are going through and what their story is. My mother was not a nice person. She was raised in orphanages and repeatedly abused as a child. She never wanted anyone to know her past because she was trying to pretend it never happened. I found out when I was 21 and it helped me so much to understand that there was bad cycle going on in my family. I did what you are doing! With God's help, I decided to stop the cycle and become a person who uses words to promote hope and healing.
Samantha says
She is absolutely beautiful! Congratulations.
I buy all my fruit at Costco. You would think I'm a fruitarian. I go through the container of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries every week. And I'm in my happy time right now because they have cherries (which BTW are supposed to be great for pain as well!).
Rachel says
Kindness forever, my friend. People come from very hurt places and hurt others and it's just cruel. I want to punch them in the face for you. Oh wait, that's not nice, is it? Okay, well I hope they come to their senses and stop saying mean words. In WAY BETTER news, Camille is just a sweet little angel. Swaddles win forever! :) I hope you gets lots of yummy food and sleep. I'm so proud for you. Being a mommy is the best!!! xo
Stefanie says
Cami is just beautiful!!!! Yeah the mom hate is real. I don't get it. We are all trying to do the same thing (raise our kids) so why can't we all just get along?!? Ok so BF'ing... It's great and all but it's work. Don't let these people fool you into thinking its this magical journey. Just sayin. The first three months with the 3 hour feedings are rough but once you get through that it's a piece of cake! Time flies, enjoy every snuggle! Don't rush her off to the crib, up to 4 months they can sleep in your arms with no lasting damages or sleep issue.
Erin R. says
God bless you, Stefanie, for being honest without being a doomsayer. I laughed right out loud about the "magical journey." (snerk)
Colette says
Your baby is the cutest little thing and she shares her name with my older sister. I can't believe anyone would have a mean thing to say about you or to you. You have a heart of gold. Haters are going to hate. Please continues taking the high road and do not stoop to their level.
anupriya says
Congratulations...she is so cute..I also dont understnd why people can be so mean when actualy they should be happy in your happiness.Being a mother of 20 month old baby,i too faced a lot of awful things when my son was born.Initially i was upset and like you i also cried a lot but then now things have chaanged and i am very fierce when it comes to comments on my parenting skills..I am a learner but cannot tolerate any nonsense.Some people cannot see other people happy.Short of it,if you ever get disturbed by all these negative thoughts just look at your baby and everything else will mean nothing to you.Take care of yourself and your precious litte angel.