Betty Crocker Turns 3!

I’m in the kitchen tonight getting ready for Deia’s 3rd birthday party tomorrow. Pregnant, yet again. Licking the batter from a Betty Crocker Confetti Cake Mix. Eww? Yum? I don’t really know at this point. The truth is, you can’t judge unless you’ve been pregnant with a baby that rocked your world. Let me tell you a little story about Deia Soleil and the journey she took me on (I am still on it, I believe).

The story actually begins with my pregnancy with Gavin. I was eating broccoli, pumpkin seeds, spirulina smoothies, and not eating anything processed or sugary. I sipped on fresh pipa water from the coconut trees in our back yard, went on early morning beach walks, did yoga, took healthy little naps, talked sweetly to my husband, rubbed my belly, and felt the glow. When I birthed him, it was painless, serene, calm, beautiful, relatively quick, and I sipped on pipa water and ate strawberries dipped in local honey. I looked into my husband’s eyes. I held hands with my midwives and smiled the whole time.  His arrival did surprise us because he came 3 weeks early….and that’s a story in itself, but I was always calm and at peace within  http://buenviajes.wordpress.com/2009/03/29/gavins-arrival-and-first-week/

My experience with Gavin inspired me to get certified in childbirth education and prenatal yoga. So I did that and began working with pregnant girls. My parenting with Gavin came easy and natural. Feeding Gavin came easy and natural. I steamed broccoli and blended it with pumpkin seeds and put it on top of whole wheat pasta.

When Gavin was almost 2, I woke up throwing up and nauseous and couldn’t get out of bed for two days. I watched movies and cried. I took a pregnancy test and yep- I was pregnant with my 2nd child. For almost 9 months, the only thing I ate was bagels with butter, lemonade, cheerios, Trits (a Costa Rican ice cream sandwich), Snicker Bars, and Cheeze-its. AND Betty Crocker blueberry muffins. Note: I was living in a small town in Costa Rica and my choices were limited. But they had BEtty Crocker mixes and my heart and stomach wanted those muffins. About once a month, I would walk my way to the mini-super, pushing Gavin in the stroller and buy myself that mix. I would make it, and eat the ENTIRE batch with lots of butter. This baby wanted those muffins with those little fake blueberries.

My pregnancy with Deia was like that. And I didn’t want to do yoga, I couldn’t stand broccoli, I had to leave the house when Spencer cooked for himself and/or Gavin, I didn’t want to walk on the beach, I was cranky (Spencer might use different words), and I wanted long long naps. Like all day naps.

I went into labor with Deia on September 30th at about 7 AM. My contractions were very light but close together. This little lady wanted to take me on a journey though. She wanted to be in control and she wanted me to be humbled and surrender and let go. I thought I had done that after 9 months of a trying pregnancy. But she knew I needed to let go some more. Long story short, I didn’t get into the birthing pool until 11:30 that night. From around 6 to 11 PM, I was humbled. I was in PAIN. I was PISSED. I was talking mean to my husband. I was glaring at my midwives. I was having dialogues within my head telling everyone to F off and to go get me to a hospital where I could have drugs. And I was passing  on the soup and salad and yelling for someone to get me a snicker bar. I ate two snickers while in labor with her that day and night. And then after she was born, I ate another one! For more on her birth:)…….. http://buenviajes.wordpress.com/2011/10/18/the-birth-of-deia-soleil-10-1-11/

The first few months with Deia, challenged me even more. She was highly intolerant to many things and would projectile vomit after breastfeeding if I ate pretty much anything. SO for 3 months, I had to eat just 12 things so that she wouldn’t vomit : rice, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, carrots, zucchini, eggs, chayote (A local vegetable), papaya and I put dill and fennel and cardamom on everything. If I ate anything else she would throw up. So no more gluten, no more sugar. No more Betty Crocker and Snickers. She had had too much.

Parenting with Deia did NOT come naturally. Spencer and I felt like we were starting all over and doing things completely different. Which we were. What worked with Gavin, did not work with Deia. And when we set limits and boundaries for her, she screamed and got us kicked out of stores.  For more on that…… http://buenviajes.wordpress.com/2012/08/21/she-loud-she-funny-you-leave/

But Deia, oh Sweet Vibrant Deia, you give us so much. You keep our family light on our toes, you keep us laughing, you humble us, and of course you are our sunshine, Ms. Soleil! Keep being you. I made you Betty Crocker confetti cupcakes for your 3rd birthday which is in just 2 hours. But actually they were for me because  your new little brother or sister wanted them. Happy BIRTHday to both of us.