Mac and I had two beautiful children, Vanessa and Rachel. Neither had been planned pregnancies, Vanessa was a diaphragm baby and Rachel was a result of the good old rhythm method! They were born during the infancy of the Pizzeria, and juggling the craziness of the restaurant with motherhood was not easy, especially during the busy season. The girls had a nanny named Arleus who took good care of them while I was at work, but I often felt that I was missing out on a large chunk of their childhood.
My work load became less hectic when we stopped serving breakfast at the Pizzeria, not having to make muffins and cinnamon buns each day enabled me to spend more time at home. Life at the new house was not exactly idle, home-schooling and Bequia Villa Rentals demanded my attention, but at least I was able to spend more time with Vanessa and Rachel. When Mrs. Wilson (a retired school teacher) took over my teaching duties during the busy season I spent a lot of time in the new and well-equipped kitchen, I preferred making soup stocks and daily specials for the Pizzeria in the comfort of my own home.
This more sedate pace of life led to a desire to have another child. Mac confessed he would like to have a son, he loved his girls dearly but a boy-child would be nice. Having learned pretty much right away that I was as “fertile as a turtle”, birth control pills had put a halt to any more unexpected pregnancies once Rachel had been weaned. I stopped taking them once we agreed to make a new baby, and Mac and I discussed in great detail the best way to ensure the birth of a boy.
Any true Bequian knows how to make a boy child, it’s really quite simple. You have to eat conch, lots and LOTS of conch, and you have to eat it with fresh lime. This recipe for success was, according to Mac, a scientific fact. I had some scientific input as well, and told Mac that male sperm is lazier than female sperm and swims at a more leisurely pace. Evidently if a couple abstains from sex for a while prior to “D” Day, the chances of male sperm beating female sperm to the mark are enhanced. Supposedly that waiting period gives the male sperm that extra “oomph” it needs to win the race.
And so it began. Mac ate a lot of conch with fresh lime while I watched the calendar and counted the days. Mac loved conch, so that part of the boy-making experiment was easy for him. Abstinence was NOT easy, and every time he disregarded the male-sperm-beating-the-female-sperm theory I chastised him. He had agreed that refraining from sex for those crucial days made sense, but was quick to disregard the theory when it inconvenienced him!
I got pregnant quickly, I had never had a problem in that department, but after three months I lost the baby. A few months later I got pregnant again and the same thing happened, I had another miscarriage. And then another. This was of course very disheartening, and my emotions went up and down as my hormones fought to adjust. I was more than three months pregnant when we took a cruise with Vanessa and Rachel on the Windstar, ending the trip in Barbados. While visiting with friends I began to miscarry, and my Doctor ordered complete bedrest. However, the baby was not to be, and as the pregnancy was more advanced than the others the miscarriage was even more traumatic and heart-rending.
Life is strange. I had conceived, carried and given birth to my two children while working like a maniac, lifting flour sacks and heavy equipment with ease. With a much easier work load I wasn’t able stay pregnant for more than a few months, it just didn’t make sense. Years later I would discover the reason for all those miscarriages, and realize that my two bundles of joy named Vanessa and Rachel were rare gifts, rare gifts indeed!