First Birthdays are a big deal!
They’re a huge celebration of love, and life, and the fact that you made it.
As many of you know, we chose to wait until our Daughters First Birthday to feed her foods. She was strictly breastfed for the first year and so for us, the addition of solid foods was a huge Right of Passage and a gigantic milestone.
I waited for this day with both angst and anticipation.
“My little Baby Girl won’t need me as much because she’ll have foods to eat”, I thought. Then again, “I can share foods with her, which will be so much fun”!
I reflected a lot about how much she’s grown and how proud of her I am and, to be honest, I was incredibly emotional! Looking back at photos of her and just reminiscing about the past year brings me so much joy that I can’t even contain it.
(My Daughter and me when she was 11 days old)
Of course, I’m still breastfeeding on demand and intend to do so for the next few years, but the thought of introducing foods to her is just such a monumental thing, especially after so long.
What will her reaction be?
What will she like?
How will I know?
We chose to spend the day with close friends who have watched and encouraged her physical, spiritual, and emotional growth this year. People who have supported her health and our mission to strictly breastfeed her and people who have been just as excited as us with every new skill she’s learned throughout this year. Everyone was so eager to watch her eat and anticipated this day just as much as we did.
It wasn't about inviting other kids to come play with our Daughter and entertaining them with food, games, and toys. She's only One and won't remember this Birthday as much as she'll remember those in the future. We do have some close friends with babies her age though and they came and all the children played. It was so nice to watch them get along and laugh! Mostly everyone was vegan (even the babies!) and we all look to the future with hope as we raise conscious children.
(Playing with her friends)
The only people invited into our home are those with pure intentions who love our Baby just as we do. This meant everyone was carefully selected when invited. I think a lot of people feel pressure to invite certain individuals to gatherings like this and ultimately it ends up stressing the parents out and creating an imbalanced and chaotic atmosphere. For us, there were no paper invitations, no larger than life extravaganza, and no extra people to invite "just because". Her gathering was cozy, chill, and peaceful.
What I’m especially grateful for is that this particular group of people also recognizes that it's my Birthday, too. Last year, on this day I became a Mother. It is the single most transformative process I have ever undergone and it happened so seamlessly.
I gave Birth to a new life, so it’s my Birth-Day. My daughter was born, so it’s her Born Day. She came Earth side, so it’s her Earth Day. Words are powerful and we’re a mindful group of people who really grasp this concept. I was brought flowers and congratulated on my First Year of Motherhood and I felt proud and supported.
(Flowers brought to me by friends)
The Celebration
My husband and I take a really relaxed approach to most things and our Daughters Birthday was no different. We just wanted to vibe and chill on her special day and it turned out perfectly. I knew I definitely wanted the house to look festive so I ordered 30 colorful balloons to scatter around and I hung a Happy Birthday sign across the main room we’d all congregate in. After reading any birthday cards she received, I taped the cards to the windows of the room we were all in. I also made sure to play some reggae music in the background to set the tone.
(The simple decorations)
Attire
After much deliberation about what my Daughter should wear, I decided on plaid shorts with a white shirt. I knew she would get dirty when it was cake time, but I also wanted her to look bright in her photos. I also wore a white dress so that I could match her. Later on, when she had her cake, we both got so messy! There was purple and pink berry cake all over both our white tops, but I didnt mind it one bit. I changed into something more comfortable afterwards.
(My Daughter and I after our outfit change)
Food
Since it’s late October and pretty cold outside, we made a huge pot of lentil and mixed root vegetable soup for everyone. We also had pineapples, dates, and a huge veggie platter with purple carrots, yellow and orange bell peppers, cucumbers, and lots of hummus.
(My Daughters birthday cake, dates, and pineapple)
(Veggie platter)
For sweets we ordered 40 allergen free chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with a date cacao icing from a local company called My Gammies. Everyone really loved the moist texture and how balanced the flavor was, especially alongside freshly steeped chamomile and bilberry tea.
(Chocolate and vanilla cupcakes)
Her birthday cake was more than we could've imagined too! We had been discussing cakes for her for a few weeks because I really wanted her to have one, but we knew she couldn’t have the typical ones made of flour and sugar. Even though we’d be introducing foods to her, we choose to slowly ease her into eating so she stays aligned with what Nature intends for her. For us, this means she will only be eating raw fruits for now as she transitions into eating solids. I thought she could have a raw vegan cake and that we would just allow the usual cashew filling that it's made with to slide, but it just wasn't sitting right with us.
5 days before her birthday, we ended up going out for an alkaline quinoa and amaranth porridge that we get from a place in Brixton Hill. When we got there the employees were all eating a cake that one of the employees had made. We asked what it was and we were told it was a raw cake and we were offered some. So we tried it all while asking questions about how it was made. Lauren told us it was 100% fruit!
Again, since I knew that raw cakes were typically made with cashews and other nuts, I was blown away! This cake had a coconut cream filling and the base was made of coconut and dates. The taste was great, the texture was great-it was perfect for our Daughters First Birthday cake! We asked Lauren if she would be interested in making our Baby Girls birthday cake and she happily agreed. After some discussion, we decided to make an organic raw vegan mixed berry coconut cake. The synchronicity of the Universe is always perfect!
(First Birthday cake)
Her Reaction to Her Cake
We sang Happy Birthday to her and helped her blow out her candle and then I told her she could have some cake. She looked at me skeptically with a sly smile as I encouraged her to stick her hand in it. Everyone was taking pictures and laughing and we were all so happy in that moment. Eventually, I put my finger in a small piece of the cake so I could give her a taste. It was so sweet to watch her open her mouth for me and smile as she finally ate something with so much flavor! Her reaction was everything I could've hoped for. She just kept smiling and opening her mouth for more until she decided to try to feed herself and got the both of us filthy and covered in cake!
(Feeding my Daughter cake)
(My Daughter feeding herself cake)
All in all, My Sweet Little Girls Earth Day celebration was everything I wanted for her and more. The food was good, the people were good, and the vibes were high. It took nearly no planning at all and was a relaxed atmosphere with good food and our lovely friends. It was exactly what I wanted for her and when she gets older I'll always remember her very First Birthday to share with her.
I can't believe I have a One-year-old!