Pre&Post

PREGNANCY:
When I was pregnant, like most, I had a terrible time sleeping during the last trimester.  Fortunately, my bed was comfy, but those freaking hormones, and my nerves, got the best of me.

Credit: Kim Bajorek Photography

There are 4 things that helped me get to sleep:

* A bath before bed

* A pillow between my legs

* Having my hubs roll a calf roller (that runners use) on my hips.  The Tiger Tail 22" can be found on Amazon.  The roller really helped all the tightness in my glutes and hips.

* Lavender Essential Oils under my nose/on my upper lip and at my temples.  I use the Young Living Essential Oils and swear by them.  I use many different Young Living Essential Oils for all sorts of things that come up. Janine Rivera is a distributor.  You can email her to learn more info about these amazing essential oils: janine@birthfromlove.com

During both my singleton and twin pregnancies I felt great. Yes, I was exhausted and super uncomfortable at the end, but I think my energy levels were still up, and I felt good because of yoga, walking and my morning smoothie.  My smoothie recipe may sound gross, but I swear it tastes yummy and, of course, if you don't like it you can add or subtract whatever you want, BUT keep the protein powder in!!  I use all organic ingredients and still drink this almost every day.  My toddler loves it too!

Magical Mama Smoothie:
1.5 scoops Garden of Life Raw Protein Powder - I like Vanilla Flavored (best price is on amazon.com)
2 cups frozen or fresh mixed berries - strawberries, blackberries, blueberries
1 tablespoon Chia Seeds (also can be found on amazon.com)
1/2 banana
2 cups kale
1 beet
2 cups of almond milk
1 cup water

For fitness, with my singleton, I walked 45 min 4 x's a week followed by 20 min of yoga.  While pregnant with the twins, after the first trimester, I was so incredibly exhausted between carrying two babies and my then 16 month old that I really didn't do much.  I just focused on eating super healthy, drinking a ton of water (90 oz a day) and resting as much as possible. I remember being so hot and uncomfortable!  Woo-weeee! If you are one of those twin mamas that was able to workout until the end you are a rock star!!  If you're like me...don't worry too much.  Everything will be okay!  My singleton was 9.1 lbs at birth and my twins were 7.8 lbs and 7 lbs.




POSTPARTUM:

Credit: Kim Bajorek Photography

First and foremost, be gentle with yourself.  After my first daughter was born I wanted to get back to my old self and body ASAP.  As I'm sure you've heard before, it takes time.  For me though, it was about slowing down, and trusting that I would become a new and better version of my old self.  My hormones were all over the place, along with my moods, for about 9 months after she was born.  My body was recovering from an unplanned c-section (after I labored for almost 36 hours, 24 of those hours were natural with horrible back labor), sleep deprivation (which is, by the way, in my humble opinion, the hardest part about being a new mom...I had NO idea that sleep deprivation could be pure torture), pressure I put on myself to be the perfect new mom along with the fear that I was going to totally mess everything up.  I was so overwhelmed and out of sorts for months and months and months...and then by 10 months postpartum I was pregnant again with our twins... You can imagine the hormonal madness going on up in here! Ha! Be free to feel any and all emotions that come up.  If you're snappy or rude apologize.  If you are thinking of hurting yourself or your baby get help!  You are not alone.

BREASTFEEDING/PUMPING/FORMULA:


I completely support breast feeding and have the utmost respect for mother's that choose to breast feed for any length of time.  I also have the utmost respect for mother's that choose to formula feed from birth for whatever reason.  We all must do what is best for our families. There are soooo many different perspectives, feelings, ideas, realities, etc... about breastfeeding so I will share what worked for me and you can figure out what works best for you and your family!

With my first born I wanted more than anything to breast feed for a year without formula.  I pumped after breast feeding, I used supplements, I ate and drank a ton, but my breasts just wouldn't produce enough milk to keep my hungry little one fed, so I had to supplement.  We used Earth's Best Organic and she thrived with it.  After 4 months of breast feeding  and supplementing I got mastitis.  It was awful.  Ended up going to the ER to get meds and had to use a hot wash cloth (and I mean HOT) on my breast and then pump to help get rid of the blockage.  After that, breast feeding went down hill and by 6 months I dried up and she was no longer interested.  With the twins I wanted to exclusively breastfeed for at least 6 months.  This time around I hired a lactation consultant and, with her help, was able to accomplish my goal.  The twins received only breast milk for the first 6 months.  Rather than at the breast, I chose to give them expressed/pumped milk in a bottle. This proved to be easier for me with my 18 month old running around and going back to work 4 months postpartum.  I am happy they received breast milk exclusively and we had no problem with the transition to formula.  I produced so much milk, with the twins, that I was able to donate milk to a friend and still have over 500 ounces frozen in my freezer.

Here are tips that the lactation consultant gave me:
Lots of water and food
Fenugreek
Breast feed and then pump immediately following for 20 minutes, if you need to get your supply up.
If you chose to exclusively pump, be sure to pump for at least 20 minutes.  After about 15-20 minutes you will stop producing milk for a minute and then you will have another let down of milk.  This was key for me.  I would literally produce 6-8 ounces, per breast, every time I pumped because I would continue until the second let down was completely done.
Use warm compresses to help the milk flow easier.  I used booby tubes Earth Mama Booby Tubes I would heat them up in the microwave for about 20 seconds and then place them in my hands free pump bra wrapped around my breasts.

This is all I can remember right now.  I highly recommend Robin Kaplan if you are in the San Diego area.  She is kind, supportive, makes you feel comfortable and very reliable.
Here is her website: www.sdbfc.com