Checking in

Gee, where has that bazuzi guy been?

Well, since the twins came, I've had my hands full. If you're thinking that twins might be a more efficient way to grow your family, let me tell you right now: you're wrong. Have those babies one at a time.

The first couple weeks were the hardest. We were absolutely exhausted from the birth. With newborn twins, mom is pretty much nursing continously, and that doesn't leave much opportunity for her to sleep.

To make it worse, we were dealing with a C-section birth and milk-supply issues. Because the babies weren't gaining, we started supplementing with formula, which adds a bunch more work (washing bottles, preparing formulat, etc.)

The babies are now 3 months old, and I am sad to say that we're still supplementing with formula. Still, I'm proud that we didn't give up breastfeeding entirely, and that we can continue this plan until they start solid foods in a few more months. Also, I'm glad that we were able to pick a formula that is a healthy choice for our babies, and we haven't given a penny to the formula companies (we make it ourselves).

We had found a nice routine. During the day Mom nurses both babies continously, taking a break at some point to fill them up with a bottle & give her a break. At night Mom sleeps with one baby, while Dad gets the other. Every 90 minutes my baby wakes up and we swap.

However, at 12 weeks I went back to work (new job!), and now it has become much harder again. I'm not around during the day to keep filling water bottles & deliver plates of food to mom, change & walk babies, etc. The babies often wake up around 4am, which ends my sleep for the night.

They're probably going through a growth spurt, which I hope will settle down soon, so we can get a little more rest.

In other news, my oldest son is now in pre-school. I never wanted to put him in a school, but the combination of work+twins has made it attractive. There he gets a chance to play with other kids, do art, learn a bit of academic stuff, and play outside. It gives Mom a break, too.

To make things interesting, I bought a tandem attachment for my bicycle, and we ride to school together. After dropping him off, I ride to work, where I get an opportunity to actually shower!

He insists that he doesn't want to go to school, but every time we pick him up, he says he loved every minute.

I haven't been fermenting much, but I did start a new batch of mead / T'ej, made wild cottage cheese and raw cream cheese. (Yes, I started a google group on Wild Fermentation.)

Today the Azure Standard truck is supposed to be coming to the house, which means lots of families dropping by to pick up their food, and hopefully to help. (Yes, please help!)