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!
Julia says
Congrats on the beautiful addition to your family! You will love motherhood. It is the hardest and best job you will do. I love your idea of spreading kindness. The Internet can be such an evil place. Good for you! :)
Cheryl says
This is the best news ever! She is gorgeous, but what did I expect with such a hot mama and apparently very suave daddy? Nice work, lady. I can't read your blog anymore, though, because you make me feel bad about craving Lucky Charms and giving in to going out way too often. Seriously, though, I can't even imagine attacking you about anything! Like, what about your sweet little face says "ready for a fight!"?! Makes no sense. I'll beat them up for you, if you like. I've still got preggo rage subtly simmering beneath the surface at all times.
Whitney S says
If you learn nothing else about other new moms (or old moms) ... They have no idea what they are doing either. Trial and error is alive and well! Don't let anyone fool you!!!
Also, the best swaddle is the Wombie Houdiny. No lie. It looks ridiculous, but it is impossible to break out of (our child was pro). More sleep? Yes please.
Congratulations and well me to the mommyhood!
Krys says
She's beautiful. Congrats :)
Paula - bell'alimento says
I don't think she could be any cuter if she tried. Not surprising though with such aca-awesome gorgeous parents! Congrats y'all! xo
victoria says
Congratulations on the miracle of life! She is beautiful...you and your husband look proud and joyful!!
Mom to mom: you will find your way of what works. Just as each child is different, each mom is different! For me, it took a few months to get a groove of what worked---and I had six babies! Yeah to breast feeding! I wish I would have considered food to help milk production.
Perhaps the venom comments were from some who were jealous or envious? I look at each blog as being the bloggers "home". I may not always agree with a bloggers politics or beliefs, but I visit the blog for recipes. If truly offensive, then I will stop visiting their "home". If I commented to educate on the offensive politics/belief, it might be throwing pearls to swine....
God bless you and guide you...
Christina Lane says
Thanks so much for the kind words, Victoria :) Welcome to my home :)
Chrissy says
Congratulations of your new baby!
It must be hard to share a part of your life with people only to have them be nasty to you. They are not worth your time or energy! Poo-poo on them.
Have you made desserts with Fenugeeek seeds? There are many Arabic desserts that use them (like hilbeh) and they are traditionally given to new mothers for the lactation-boosting benefits. And they are so delicious you can make a whole tray and eat it all. No need to scale down ;)
joanna says
Just saw this post mommy! congrats again! I wrote you a few messages on instagram.. but you have so many followers i know i'm just one.. all i wanted to say is it was funny to see someone else had a chocolate milk addiction phase during pregnancy.. i thought that i was the only one.. i was addicted and i had no idea why!
hope all is well! our little one is 4 months soon and i will go back to blogging when my site redesign is done and i have time between nursing. cheers!
termet says
This little one is gorgeous! Congratulations! :)
Deanna says
You are loved and Camille is loved! Mean people suck. But the good news? In the end, love ALWAYS wins!