Astral And Defy Are 12 Weeks Old...

11 weeks old

10 weeks old

8 weeks old

7 weeks old

4 weeks old

7 days old

Wow!! Time has flown by!!! Our sweet little babies are 12 weeks old today. Without a doubt, the past 12 weeks have been the BEST time in our lives. The boys are absolutely amazing and super healthy. At 10 weeks old Astral weighed 13 lbs 4 oz and Defy weighed 12 lbs 13 oz. They have met all of their milestones and are holding their heads up, smiling, cooing, rolling half way over, etc. Every day they are discovering something new in the world around them and it is just absolutely beautiful to watch. They now notice their reflections in the mirror and are acknowledging the presence of the other more and more each day. They are always reaching out and touching the other, interlocking arms and legs, and holding hands. It is super sweet and cute. We love watching them connect and grow closer and closer.

They haven't been sick or even had a rash since they were born. Though they might be allergic to soy, which I have completely taken out of my diet just in case. When they were 3 weeks old we noticed a pink tint in their poopy diapers and rushed them to the ER to find out the deal. They did a bunch of tests and said the boys were fine and that it may be a soy or dairy allergy, but it couldn't be determined for certain. Since I don't ever and would never consume dairy I have cut off my consumption of soy and quit supplementing my breast milk with Farley's Soya Formula (now discontinued, but that is a story for another post) just in case. I thought it would be a big deal to cut the soy, but it really hasn't been at all. There are so many other delicious vegan choices. The pediatrician said I could slowly reintroduce soy back in my diet at around 6 months. They also said that most babies outgrow their allergies.

Although they are identical twins they have little differences that have helped us tell them apart since birth. As they get older and closer in weight it is getting harder and harder to tell them apart.

I had my first day back at the office on Monday. It was really hard to leave the boys and of course I cried a lot, but thankfully Lucas is staying at home with them and I don't have to hand them off to strangers. Ugh...the thought is unbearable. I had been working from the hospital until the day before my cesarean when I officially went on maternity leave. I am grateful that I was able to spend 12 weeks bonding and just being a full-time mommy. I miss them so much during the day, but papa keeps me posted and texts me the cutest pics of the boys.

It took a long time to recover from the cesaren, but just as long to recover from being confined to a bed for 4 months. It was a very painful recovery and I would not have been able to do it without the help of my husband. Just going upstairs to my bedroom was a struggle.

We didn't sleep much during the first 3 weeks of their lives and while chaotic at times, I miss those early days already. Now the boys only wake up during the night for one feeding around 430am, but usually sleep all night before that and usually sleep for a couple more hours after.

Tonight will be the 5th night they have slept in their nursery. They slept in their bassinets next to our bed since they were about 2 weeks old, before that they refused to sleep anywhere except in our arms or in their cradle swings. We both slept on the floor of the nursery for the first 2 nights we put them in their cribs (even though we have a video monitor) and for the last 2 nights Lucas has slept in there after their 430am feeding. Tonight will be the night when they finally sleep alone all night. They are perfectly fine with sleeping in their cribs even when we aren't in the room with them, but we have first time parents syndrome and worry constantly about them. They are growing up so fast.

In the beginning they were too small to fit the organic all-in-one cloth diapers that we purchased so we used 7th Generation and Earth's Best disposables, but thankfully they've grown so much and for the past few weeks we have been cloth diapering. It isn't nearly as bad as people say. I feel really good about it and it is so worth the initial expense.

Sunny and Star love the boys and are very protective. Star (the female and younger of our two companions) is sometimes a little jealous, but she has been the baby for years so we expected nothing less. Astral and Defy are noticing the doggies a lot more and smile and stare at them often.

Everyone always asks "how we do it" or "if it is hard raising twins". Honestly, we don't know anything else, so it doesn't seem extra hard to us since we've only ever had two babies at once. As far as it being more difficult, I think the problem lies with typical gender roles and mothers being the primary and sometimes only care-givers (whether it is one baby, two or three). We tag team this whole parenting thing and it makes it soooo much easier.

There is so much to say and I'm trying to cram it all in to one post since we haven't posted in forever, but we totally plan on posting more and answering any specific questions you might have about being a pregnant vegan or raising vegan kids. Thank you for your comments and inspiring me to get back to blogging!