Extra! Extra! Read All About It! Our Vegan Pregnancy Finally Updates Blog, Is Featured In Time Magazine!

Well, that last blog post sure was a long time ago!

 

"What's the deal?" you ask. "Where have you been?" you inquire. "Did you throw all logic and reason out the window and go Paleo and are now raising Astral and Defy as little anti-vegan cave persons?" you anxiously wonder to yourself...

 

Nah, we're still out here in the San Francisco Bay Area and we're still, and always, vegan. Astral and Defy are over five and a half years old now! I'm still their "stay-at-home", homeschooling Daddy and Mama still brings home the Phoney Baloney's coconut bacon. The boys and I do our lessons, read a shit-ton of library books, skateboard and bike together, attend homeschool meet ups and "field trips", go to karate and explore public parks during the weekdays. Mama's a "Silicon Valley" PR pro, and because she is a badass "level-5" vegan superstar, she also works on external communications for the directors of the ground-breaking documentary film, Cowspiracy.  

We still have a low digital media household. The weather out here allows us to be outside year-round, so on weekends and days off we hit up the beaches, redwood groves, mountains, national parks, museums, etc. as a family. We currently run the Bay Area Vegan Family meetup on Meetup.com, and although we have not been very active on there as of late, we plan to be in the near future and have thus far met some wonderful vegan families.

Astral and Defy continue to thrive as vegan kids. They still eat a mostly whole foods diet, but they do enjoy (mostly healthy) vegan sweets and treats as well. They are witty, adorable, strong, creative, and compassionate little critical thinkers who amaze us every day with their growing knowledge, artistic talent and ability to navigate their world. We are just so incredibly proud of them.



 

This week, we were featured in the cover story of the latest issue of Time magazine about millennial parenting. You can check it out here.

 

Thanks to Katy Steinmetz for interviewing us, taking us out to a vegan dinner on Time's dime, and for not shying away from dropping the "V-word" in her article!

 

Until next time...

So Far, So Good...

Teamwork...

I won’t even bother to make excuses for not posting, because there isn't a good one.  

So Astral Defiance and Defy Aster are 3 years and nearly 4 months old, folks! From the outset Lucas and I knew we would be scrutinized more than other parents because we are vegan, anti-consumerist, and very nontraditional. No, my kids don’t watch Sesame Street, eat goldfish crackers, or visit zoos or circuses, but they are happy (for moody, tantrum-throwing 3 year olds) and thriving, and it is undeniable.  Astral and Defy are STRONG and powered completely by plants. They have respect for all sentient beings, are super happy to be vegan and will question anything they consider to be unjust or unfair in a heartbeat.

The highlight of their big 3 year old appointment in March was peeing in a cup for the first time, and they did it expertly.  Astral weighed in at 37 lbs and Defy at 35.5lbs and almost 40 inches tall for both.  I am sure they are well over 40 inches and maybe even 40 lbs by now.  Astral has almost always been slightly bigger than Defy, and he has always eaten more. They both still drink their kale smoothies and eat well, although they now also enjoy the occasional sweet treat.

"Cows' Milk: Double Yuk!" -vegan kids say the darndest things...

freestylin'

I just love how stoked Daddy gets when he scores against a 3 year old in air hockey...

Daddy has been conducting his own version of pre-school by homeschooling the kids for as long as I can remember, and you can really see the results.  Recently, they have started learning how to read some 3 letter words and do some basic addition and subtraction. They also seem to have a better grasp on logic than some adults we know. I could go on to tell you how creative, articulate, smart, funny and super handsome these guys are, but I’ll spare you the bragging. We are just so proud of them.  Yes, these dudes are special, but daddy and I feel that every single being is special in their own way, and that’s something we will always try to impart to Astral and Defy. 

We continue on our quest to raise compassionate, critically thinking people who question everything and everyone. So far, so good…

In March the boys were finally able to build a snowman after waiting all season. Meet Hunter S(nowman) Thompson...

Discovering A Non-Vegan World…

Exactly 1 week before Astral & Defy turn 3! (2/24/13)

It sure has been a while, but we're back for another post! We refuse to give up this amazing platform that allows us the ability to share our experiences with veganism, raising vegan children and vegan pregnancy. Our analytics show that even though post frequency has declined, more people than ever are searching for vegan information and finding Our Vegan Pregnancy. We want to continue to be an example of how veganism is healthy and manageable during all stages of life. Astral and Defy are almost 3 years (plus gestation) of living proof!

Since my last post at the end of October the boys have been progressing rapidly per usual. I find it just too annoying to rehash every single milestone of their lives at this point. Every day something new and amazing happens (in our minds). So instead of the same old stuff, I’m just going to post a ridiculous amount of cute photos (of which there is no shortage) and hand it over to my absolute favorite vegan daddy to see what he has to say about Astral and Defy’s recent developments as vegan toddlers:

Astral and Defy are increasingly becoming aware of how non-vegan the world currently is outside of our "vegan bubble". They get that most of the items in grocery stores are derived from animals, but don't seem to have a problem with wanting any of them, even with all the bright, colorful packaging emblazoned with likable (by-design) cartoon characters. We just tell them that the items contain animal products and that's that, end of story. Like most kids their age (and probably most adults) they understand that it's wrong to intentionally harm animals when it's unnecessary to do so. They just have a different understanding of what necessity is because they know they don't need to eat animal bodies or animal secretions (or otherwise consume animal products) to be healthy and happy. 

This understanding of what's wrong with exploiting animals for "food", with the ubiquity of animal-derived "food", and with the non-necessity of consuming animal products has led to some interesting situations for us as vegan parents. Sometimes I take the boys into a coffee shop during the day. This coffee shop has a big picture of some milky liquid being poured into a coffee-like liquid, and every time the boys see it they loudly go on and on about how it's not vegan, it's cows' milk and it's for the baby cows, "they hurt the cows for that", it's "just not right", etc. Honestly, I love having the opportunity of openly agreeing with them (probably to the surprise of anyone listening). "Yea, I agree, fellas. It's not right. Cows' milk is for baby cows, not for us". I can assure you that if you're ever in this situation, you will draw plenty of attention from bystanders.

Then there are situations with relatives. Earlier this month while visiting grandparents and other relatives in the Midwest, Astral and Defy became suspicious of certain things they saw at grandma and grandpa's home and kept asking us which relatives eat animal products. For the first time we had to explain to them that nobody there is vegan, and DnA seemed a little confused and saddened by this idea. Unlike DnA, Kenya and I weren't always vegans, and we remember that at one time we too had no clue about the realities of animal use. We don't in any way want to condone any animal exploitation, but we also don't want the boys to think less of their otherwise incredibly thoughtful, kind, supportive, and loving family members. We told the boys that not everyone understands that animals are exploited and inevitably "hurt" to obtain animal products. This lack of understanding might be true in some cases, but it felt somewhat dishonest, and none of us seemed satisfied with that response. We just didn't know what else to say when put on the spot.

Although grandma ate vegan and made many delicious vegan meals throughout our entire stay (including a veganized version of a 100 year-old family pretzel recipe), not everyone else did. One morning grandpa was sitting at the dining room table, eating his very non-vegan breakfast and washing it down with a tall glass of cows' milk. Astral and Defy noticed, and one of them asked him if he was, in fact, drinking cows' milk. Grandpa said "yes", thinking nothing of it. The boys then began complaining and ultimately refused to sit at the table with him. Again, we didn't quite know how to deal with that kind of situation, so we just used the dining room table when he was finished. Grandpa sort of laughed it off and tried to tell the boys that he was simply drinking milk, just like them. Astral made a face, crossed his arms, said "no!" and he and D walked away. Fortunately, Astral and Defy still enjoyed spending time with grandpa after that, just not so much during meal time...

Please feel free to contact us at ourveganpregnancy@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter @VeganTwins.