Our "Raw" Truth

The past couple of weeks have been a roller coster of emotions for me, as I have been debating on this Raw Milk thing. It's crazy, how decisions, beliefs, and concepts are put to the test when you have your own children. You think you have your mind made up and then... it's your own children at stake and suddenly you are rethinking EVERYTHING. When will my head stop spinning and is this normal? I hope that it's normal and common, for new parents, if it isn't, there are much bigger problems than rather or not to go Raw, or Pasteurized.

Goat Milk that is.

My girls were born very early and for those of you that don't know, the digestive system is one of the last things to fully develop. Long story short- they have been spitting up their entire life. I am not talking a little spit here and there, but massive amounts on a daily basis. Somedays are better than others, but nonetheless, our rugs and carpet are ruined.

I have taken them to the doctor about his issue, a few times, to hear nothing but "They are just spitting babies." Of course, they want to put them on Acid Reflux medicine and if you know me, you probably know it would be a cold day in h*ll, before I would knowingly and willingly place toxic chemicals/heavy metals into my infants. Especially, when they are thriving, aside from the spitting. Aside from meds, we tried many formula's (except soy- not a believer in soy as a healthy alternative) and nothing worked.

I had heard of infants being given raw goat milk, but to be honest, I was a little skeptical. I consider myself pretty informed, when it comes to nutrition and such, but I had never looked into raw milk. So, what did I do? Well, I was sick of seeing my babies puke all the time and worried that they may/may not be getting the nutrition they need for brain development/physical development (not that formula and the gross stuff they are made of is that nutritious anyway... but I didn't know of a better option), so I did what I always do and researched the heck out of it.

I learned the in's and out's of raw milk properties and how to get the good stuff. It basically comes down to what the goat's/cow's are fed (grass, leaves, weeds, and NO GMO's) , how the farmers do their jobs, packaging/handling, and most importantly- as close to organic as you can get.

In my research, I learned that raw goat milk is the next best thing to human milk, when it comes to digestion (20 mins to digest!)  and nutrition. I also learned that you have to add a few things to the raw milk, to make it comparable to the nutrition of breast milk/formula, for the first year.

Great recipe for raw goat milk formula:

https://to.www.westonaprice.org/childrens-health/319-recipes-for-homemade-baby-formula.html#vgmf



Here are some GREAT links on raw milk/ where to find it and what to look for when choosing your farm:
http://www.raw-milk-facts.com/
http://www.roseofsharonacres.com/raw_goat_milk_benefits (scroll down on this page to the chart that compares breast milk to goat milk, awesome!)

Where can you find raw milk? This website will tell you where to find it in your area, but ALWAYS research the farm/supplier for yourself.

http://www.realmilk.com/where2.html




Careful not to be mislead by uninformed people. Raw milk can be REALLY bad news, as with any pasteurized milk product. You can get very sick from raw milk, if the cow/goat is carrying an illness or bad bacteria that is not treated or acknowledged. With that said, cow's and goat's are not made to carry these illnesses, actually, their body's are made to NOT carry them. Learn and understand how/when the mass production of food/dairy created sick animals, therefore sick people.


Needless to say, the twins are thriving on raw goat milk. They are spitting up very little, almost not at all. It has made our life with them, so much more enjoyable.

As with anything I research, I never take anybody's word- I learn the facts myself. So, don't take my word for it either:) This blog is for informational and recreational purposes only;)

Yet again, listening to my gut feeling, questioning the doctors, researching the facts, and continuing to follow my own truth, has lead my family to a place of peace and wellness. I hope you too can enjoy the benefits of feeding your family, one of the most nutritional and healing foods on Earth. Raw Milk. 

"Mom! She took my face!"

Some fun facts about Monozygotic twins, A.K.A. Identical twins:


-The term "identical" does not describe how the twins look, but how they form in the womb. This is why they often don't look exactly alike.


-Identical twins have the exact same DNA, but their fingerprints are different!


-Because identical twining is caused by a single egg splitting, it is considered a "malfunction" of the reproductive process. Pretty darn cute malfunction!


-Identical twins are not hereditary. Although, we have 6 known sets of identical twins in our family's... all girls on my side... hmmmmm.


-Identical twinning is not usually the result of fertility enhanced drugs or in vitro. Therefore, the birth rate of identical twins has remained the same over the years, all over the world, despite race, or maternal age.


- The odds of having "natural" identical twins is about 3 in 1,000, whereas the odds of all twinning is about 32 in 1,000. 


Needless to say, we feel very blessed to have these two! Eight months have passed and I still have to do a double take, when I see these little babies rolling around on the floor.


The most common question lately is "Are their personalities similar?". Well, you would think that would be the case, as they have the exact same genetic make-up, but I would have to say "Nope. Not this week!".


Miss Everlynn is a little character. At about 21 pounds now, she is all smiles, belly laughs, and noises we could never mimic. When it's time to eat, she has little patience, but is constantly distracted and plays with her food (yes, she was the one in the video eating the avocado and doing the hand jive). She is a pro at the "Army crawl", rolling, and scootin' everywhere. She is on all fours, rocking away... God help us! Her tongue is the craziest thing I have ever seen. I swear she doesn't stop moving, rolling, and folding that thing!

Everlynn little buddy, the Robot from Mama's and Papa's! 

Our little Vivian may be the same weight as her sister, but is pretty much the opposite when it comes to personality! Don't get me wrong- she is ALL smiles and silly expressions, but we don't hear as much from her. We call them "silent smiles". I sometimes wonder, if she hears Ever and thinks it's herself making the noises. She is a little more serious, her voice is a higher pitch (sweeter sounding), and she is much more patient at meal time. Overall, a little more emotional and maybe a bit more sensitive:) She chooses to hang out and watch her sister do all the scootin'. She is in no hurry and that is FINE by us:)

Vivian loves her Mama's and Papa's stuffed duck! 

We are loving are solid feedings this month, as we have moved on to our proteins. I am still making the twins food from scratch and continuing to use all organic. I am not afraid of food allergies, as I have studied them and learned that they either have them... or they don't. So, I won't be waiting to introduce fish, eggs, nuts, etc.


Some of their new favorite "num num" include:
- brown rice, chicken, and apple
- Cod with carrots and broccoli
- mild pot roast with potatoes and carrots
-Apple, banana, and mango puree

Tonight, they gummed on rice cakes and celery, while Kyle and I enjoyed the first half of the Super Bowl... or should I say "The Big Game";) at Buffalo Wild Wings. They were little angels at the restaurant, sitting in the big girl high chairs!


I have also starting supplementing with Fish Oil, Vitamin C, D, and Probiotics. I put these in their meals and/or bottles throughout the day. I am supplementing to support their immune systems, since I am no longer breast feeding:( and of course, the Omega's for brain development.

We are dedicated to helping the girls find their own identity and individuality, although it's interesting with identical twins, because you're able to compare certain habits that you would not compare, with fraternal twins. Lately, we have been observing their sleep habits, as we separated them into different rooms. The crazy thing is, they are still waking up at the exact same time during naps. For instance, one will sleep 25 minutes and the next thing you know, the other is waking up in the other room at the same moment. If one naps for 45 minutes, the other does too. We use white noise, so it's not possible for them to hear the other in another room. Granted, I have them on the same sleep schedule, the duration of the nap cannot be controlled.


I guess they really are naturally "tuned in" with each other... at least with their naps:) I'll take that! More quiet time for mama and "Dada"( that's Ever's new word:)


What I know for sure this month- this twin thing isn't, "Going to get easier." At this point, Kyle is baby proofing on the weekends and we are nervous for these two becoming mobile! Thankfully, the girls are still virgins to a cold, flu, or ear infection. They are sleeping 12 beautiful, uninterrupted hours! We are pretty well rested these days and with SLEEP, anything is possible... including 3 play dates a week, as I joined 5 mommy groups! Thoughts of summer are hard to avoid...  itty bitty baby bikini's and floppy hats by the pool... MARGARITAS and more margaritas! Salt please. A girl can dream...

Our Experience: Breast Feeding Super Preemies

 I had always planned on breast feeding my babies, but had not planned on twins! It was a huge surprise to my husband and I, that is for sure! Although, this did not change my plans for nursing them. How was I going to do it? I had no clue...


Ever & Viv stayed in the NICU for four weeks and had no major health or development issues... they didn't even need a breathing tube! 


I began pumping while still in the hospital, recovering from my C-Section. I had a torn placenta that formed infected blood clots, and was still very sick from this. Despite this, my milk came in when the twins were a day old. From that day on, my milk was given to them through their feeding tubes. 


At about 33.5 weeks gestation, I became adamant about letting my babies start to practice nursing. The nurses finally allowed me to start "breast feeding" them in the NICU. I love the NICU nurses and will be forever thankful to them, but I will say, some of them were not very supportive of this. The majority of the nurses said things like "They are too young, so don't expect much." " Don't become discouraged, when they don't latch on." " They probably will not be able to suck at this gestational age." 


I guess, I just ignored them, for the most part. I was aware that they would probably not latch or suck, but wanted to try, despite the odds against them. After all, they had already beaten most odds- being born so early and in perfect health!






One of the nurses showed me how to do the "Football" hold. She gave me the shields and said preemies do much better with them ( I continued to use these until they were 12 weeks old). I remember the first time they latched onto my nipple, It was so amazing to see these TINY babies, doing exactly what nature intended. 


The nurses were shocked and started calling the twins "Super Preemies"! Even the doctors were talking about how amazing it was, that they were nursing at such an early gestational age.


The twins were not allowed to suck very long at this point, in fear that they would burn too many calories and loose weight. As the days went by, I continued to "practice nurse" at least once a day. 


 When the twins were about 35 weeks gestation, the nursing became part of their feedings and they were consuming anywhere from half an ounce to a full ounce, on a good feeding. The amount they nursed, depended on how tired they became, usually falling asleep quickly and taking the rest of their milk through the feeding tube. 


When I left the hospital, I continued to pump every three hours and was traveling to the hospital 2-3 times a day to nurse the twins, followed by pumping. After the twins came home, I continued to tandem nurse them, using the nipple shields and a Boppy pillow. This pillow worked for us, because they were still under 6 pounds for a long time. I believe I switched to a My Breast Friend when they were around 13 weeks. Personally, the twin feeding pillows did not work for me. I am petite and short waisted. They would not stay on and were so big and bulky. 


I would say, the hardest part of my nursing experience was when they were very young ( about 33 weeks gestation - 13 weeks old). The babies were constantly falling off the nipple, falling asleep, and/or just not consistent with anything!  I was also still having to pump after nursing, as they were not taking all of my milk and I wanted to keep up my production. It was so frustrating and extremely tiring. They were on a 1.5-2 hour feeding schedule to gain weight and that included the night time feedings too.  Since I was nursing, my husband wasn't much help. Although, he and my brother took turns "preping" the babies for their feedings at night, and then placing them on my feeding pillow to nurse. Occasionally, I would take a break from the feedings,  and they were given a bottle, but usually I choose to nurse them. I am so glad they were introduced to the bottle early on. Bottle feeding is crucial with twins, because it's very difficult to tandem feed in public. I would never even attempt that!


So, basically, all I did for the first 4 months was change diapers, nurse, burp, put babies to sleep, pump, wash pumping parts, and start all over again. 


My biggest problem while nursing came around 5 months when I was back to work (around 3 months).  The challenge for me, was not having the time to consume enough calories or pump often enough at work, to keep up my production and keep the milk caloric. 


I was/am about 110 pounds and I barely had time for one meal, let alone, consume the amount of food it took to keep my milk fatty.  I was having to eat over 3,000 calories a day! My milk began to look like water, literally translucent, and the twins continued to spit it up and/or need a bottle of formula after nursing. I tried supplements for milk production, and it helped with the production amount, but not the quality of the milk. At one point, my family would joke about the feeding following my Cheeseburger, because it would be the best milk of the day! 


At about 5-6 months, My weight continued to drop and I was still struggling on not having enough quality milk for both babies and I began nursing one/bottle feeding the other and switching back and forth with every feeding. Of course, this made the milk problem even worse and I couldn't do this when I was away from them at work 3 days a week.


The "watery milk" and low production never got better. This inevitably, became the reason for me weaning the twins at 7 months. 


I miss breast feeding my babies and I feel guilty in the fact that they are not getting the best source of nutrition, but I am also very proud for having nursed twins for 7 months. 


They are healthy, happy, and loved beyond measure and that is what matters at the end of the day.


I have always said "Breast feeding is not only the best gift you can give your baby. It is a birthright." Do what you can and breast feed as long as you can. There are countless options available for practically every problem you could have, when breast feeding. It's not easy, but it can be done. 


A special thanks to my husband and my brother for the support, for that which making my breast feeding possible. 

That Question

In this rare moment, I get a small glimpse of what it's like to have one baby. It's 6 A.M. (Everlynn's new wake-up time) and Vivian is still snoozing. Sitting here, watching the morning news and sipping coffee, I'm pondering the answer to the on-going question "How do you manage it with twins?".  


The difference? 


Possibly "Down time"is the answer. Down time is something a mom of twins- just does not have. I may get a moment or two to shove food down and/or post some photos to FB, but simple things are even hard to accomplish during the day, when the twins are awake- which is most of the time, considering they take three naps that are less than 30 minutes each. 


So, is having one baby, really this easy? That is MY question. 


The fact is, in this moment, I feel like I could do anything, go anywhere, carry on with my life as if ONE baby is not even remotely effecting what I want to do. You always hear how difficult it is to be a new mom- the sleep deprivation- the constant care of your infant-no time to shower. Every parent in the world can't be that bad at time management?!


Or, do you simply adapt to what you have as an experience? That makes much more sense to me. 


The things I know for sure regarding twins vs. single:


-Mom's (parent's) of multiples don't sleep in the beginning. It's not a 3-4 hour sleep rotation, like most circumstances with a single. The twins were on a 2 hour sleep/feeding schedule at night, to gain weight, which is common for multiples.  By the time you feed, burp, change, put babies back to sleep, and get yourself back to bed- you're lucky to get 45 minutes. I remember praying for a solid hour of sleep- and that was rare. Sometimes going DAYS without more than 3-4 hours of sleep, combined, my sleep deprivation became so extreme, that I had to drink a coffee mug of wine to force my body to shut down on a somewhat regular basis. This went on for the first 3 months of their life. It's gradually got better. I think we had a month stretch of both babies sleeping through the night,  but I am still up at least twice a night with one or both babies. 


-Getting babies to sleep/eat on the same schedule is a never ending battle in itself. 


-Twins cost double. Period. Thanks Kyle:)


-It's hard to take two babies out by yourself. I do it all the time and Kyle attempts it on the occasion, but it's physically A LOT to manage. 


-Nursing twins is very difficult. It's hard to produce for two babies... at least it is for me. Tandem feeding was a struggle for the first 4 months, that I managed it. I physically can't hold two babies and nurse them anymore.  I nursed for 7 months total. 


So, with all of that said,  I don't think it's fair to say that parents of twins have it much more difficult, than a parent of a single baby. We all give our 110% to our babies- period. We all spend our days playing on the floor, changing diapers, feeding our babies, trying to get them to nap/sleep, researching/reading what we can do better,  and giving everything we have to that child (hopefully), whether or not we have one or six babies.

"How do you manage it with twins?" Well, it's very simple. It's all we know, so we just DO IT.  Just as you do it with a singleton... or quads! It's still a daily challenge. I feel exhausted, blessed, defeated, humbled,  clueless, but ever so thankful... and I think it's fair to say "Double the love and laughter.".

7 Months and 20 Toes!

 Their favorite new position:)

7 Months and 20 Toes!

 The girls are starting to "fight" over toys... in this case a paci

 Vivian takes it from Everlynn... she is obviously not happy about this!

The tables turn!

Uncle Jamie 5 Weeks-6 Months

Uncle Jamie, A.K.A. The Baby Guy NYC, was a life savor for our family. He came to stay with us when the twins were 5 weeks old, until they were 6 months old. He was a great help with the twins and brought a light-hearted sense of humor to some very stressful moments! Not to mention- he is an expert in the baby gear department and his companies sent us amazing products for the twins-everything from diaper bags to double strollers! We are truly blessed. Thanks Uncle Jamie! We miss you!