So here we are. Roughly 18 months since my last blog post. Maybe 18 months since I lost my Thermo-mojo.... My love for the Thermomix never wanes, but sometimes riding the waves of highs and lows throws me out and ya know, life gets in the way of course!
Many of you by now, know my original story of why I became a Thermomix consultant (and if you don't you can read all about it here:
https://www.mythermonourishedlife.com.au/news/2016/8/21/74ulbdhq8glecco08uk009z2loe92z
So last year I thought I'd dive back into the crazy world of parenting and added Baby #2 to our family. Well! What a delightful experience! After such a rough first time around, adding baby Liam to Team McDonnell has been amazing, healing, rewarding and joyous. Of course, the planets can never align for utter perfection and so as per most new parents with the first 6 months being the hardest - that's where we've been. Food always seems to be an issue in my family. Poor little bubba had such slow weight gain from birth onwards and we were referred on and admitted to the local hospital for failure to thrive. Born on the 50th percentile, he slid straight off the charts completely. Didn't matter what we did, we just could not put decent amounts of weight on this precious little thing. I was convinced it was food related as he suffered from the same reflux as Miss 7 did. So I cut out dairy and gluten and the reflux eased. But the weight didn't improve. We began mixed feeding with formula and the weight didn't improve. We went to weekly weight checks at the hospital and the weight didn't improve. We swapped to a dairy free, rice based formula and the weight didn't improve. What did happen is copious amounts of vomiting. Vomiting and a floppy baby incident and I refused to formula feed the rice formula anymore. Back into the hospital to tell them that I was convinced we were having a reaction to the rice based formula. But for some reason, in the absence of traditional allergies, medical professionals don't seem convinced that food could possibly be an issue. I forced the issue and we swapped to a prescription only allergy formula, removed rice and soy from my diet and hallelujah we had weight gain! I recommenced breastfeeding on a heavily restricted diet. Weight gain slowed a little. I cut egg out of the diet - and from there on Liam's weight has flourished. I'm currently mix-feeding on a gluten, dairy, soy, rice and egg free diet. I didn't think it was possible - ha! It is! With my Thermomix of course. And the support of a fabulous allergy group on Facebook. There has been talk of it potentially being FPIES, possibly to rice. However we cant know this for sure until we reintroduce these foods. We've not long started feeding solids and I must say I'm a lot more cautious and dubious this time around!
Anyway, its taken a lot of my free time...between GP & hospital appointments, child health appointments, dietetics appointments, and me trying to get as many second opinions as I possibly could. As so Thermomix took a back seat. Well not MY Thermomix of course, but my Thermomix business. I've been officially back on board for 2 months already and yet I wasn't quite convinced that my heart was still in it.
My Thermomix has been a steadfast tool throughout. Pre-baby, I had a massive cook-up...filling the freezer with delicious meals ready to be pulled out at a moments notice. Post-partum all my dreams came true when the doula I hired (not sure what a doula is? see here ) turned out to be an avid Thermomix user as well (Hi Kelly!) and I was so spoilt to have her come to my house and let me just enjoy snuggling my newborn while she looked after me and my family and cooked beautiful warming and nourishing foods to replenish my soul. 6 months on, my Thermomix and slow cooker combined have become kitchen staples again. Crying baby, dinner time and no chance of getting near the stove? - no worries - dinner on the table in 30! Guests coming over but no time to duck to the shops? - homemade 30 second biscuits it is! Allergy friendly eating? Certainly not tasteless - I'll just whip up some wholesome raw cakes and slices, filling meals and gluten free breads!
But life as a consultant. Hmmm where does this fit into my life again? I've been pondering this very question. Sure I love it! But is it still the right fit?
This month marks the 4 year anniversary of my joining Thermomix in Australia. 4 years! Never in a million years, when signing that contract, did I ever dream I would still be here sharing the Thermomix love. And it is love! It's never been about the sales for me, and I think this is where I struggle with the peaks and troughs of running your own business. To have downtimes and still wonder if you can continue past the other side... But what I realised this week is that its about passion. And my passion is Thermomix. And my passion is the food. And my passion is that other people come to understand what's in our food and how food affects our life, our well-being, our health, our mental status. Sure- eating good food isn't going to mend your broken bone, and its not going to cure a chronic disease....but will it ease things? Probably. Will you feel better? Most likely. Will you feel comforted and nurtured and taken care of? Most definitely!
I've just signed on to undertake some study...ask a busy woman to get things done, and most likely she will. I've decided to do a certification to become a post partum doula. It was something I had considered before after the birth of my first child, and something I felt inspired to after experiencing the joy of having Kelly come into my home to nurture me after Liam's birth. I see it going well with my Thermomix business. Mixing business with pleasure. Real life with hope. Nourishing Mums and families. Self care and care of others.
Because everyone deserves to be spoilt and looked after. Yes - even you! xx