Here is an assortment of Valentine’s Day hairstyles. They are all so cute! I am hoping to get my daughter to let me try one on her hair. She’s not a super girly girl so probably not. Maybe we can at least do it on her Felicity doll. I seriously wish I had known about all these cute hairstyles back when I had longer, thicker, hair, decades ago.
Then here’s one for older females, from twistmepretty.com. This one over here is also more grown-up looking.
The ACE the ACT Boot Camp is coming to Davis County, Utah this March. My two older kids attended this five years ago and loved it. It totally helped them increase their score by several points. This helped them both get academic scholarships to college as homeschoolers. If you live in northern Utah, and have a college-bound student age 14 and up, I highly recommend you have that student attend this class!
Go here to get all the information about the exact dates in March, the location, and the cost.
If your student is a resident of Davis County, he or she can get a scholarship through the 4-H program and get $100 off. Last I heard, only 8 spots are left. Go here to get the details on that. Once again, the scholarship is just for Davis County residents.
Here are some testimonials:
Thank you for all your help with Zach in his ACT prep. His 32 score has done so much for Sterling Scholar and scholarships. It is amazing how many doors are open (or closed) because of that test score. Thanks again,Dale S., Morgan, UT
Iwas always scared about testing, especially the ACT. After I attended your class, I knew I could do it. I went home and set up a schedule like you showed us and stuck to it. I got my scores today and I got a 27. I couldn’t have done it without your program. Ashley M, Highland, UT
I am so impressed with Ann’s knowledge of how to ‘ace the ACT.’ She has not only uncovered all the secrets, she has put them all into a very palatable package for teens. I sat in on the class and wished I could have taken it when I was that young. With her humor, lots of visuals and handouts, and comic and inspiring videos, she has come up with the ultimate ACT test prep class.Celestia S., Kaysville, UT
I just wanted to thank you immensely for the help. I got a 27 and going from a 22 that’s not half bad! You really helped me open a lot of doors for myself.Hunter B. Eagle Mountain, UT
How come they don’t teach us this in school? Wow, thanks for helping me “get” the ACT. I know now that a scholarship is something within my reach. Jenna J, West Valley City, UT
I GOT A 25!!!!!!!! Happy Day. I can qualify for the scholarship offered through my dad’s work now. I didn’t know how I was going to pay for college. Now I do. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. Candice L, North Ogden, UT
Shannon Hale, one of my very favorite authors, is coming to the Bountiful branch of the Davis Public Library! Here are all the details:
The south branch library is located at 725 S. Main St. Bountiful UT. Come early to get a seat, and call 801-295-8732 if you have any questions.
I have loved Shannon’s books. My favorite is Princess Academy, and the Goose Girl is a close second. It was nine years ago about this time that Shannon found out that PA won the Newbery Honor Award. It’s a beautiful book about courage and friendship. I have fond memories of that book, we listened to it on our way to Lake Tahoe and back for a family vacation. It’s based on the Grimm Brother’s fairy tale of the same title. Shannon has an amazing way of taking a simple story and turning it into a novel. Her use of imagery and metaphor is superb. She is also generous with teaching others the craft of writing. Every year she organizes a Writing for Charity event where people pay to have their writing critiqued by professional writers, including Shannon. All the money goes to charity. One of my sisters loves to go to it and is looking forward to it again this year. As a bonus, it’s held at the Provo Library, so you get to bask in all of that building’s loveliness. If you want to learn more about Shannon, you can catch her on her blog here.
The picture below shows my sister, on the right, and her sister-in-law at a previous Writing for Charity event with Shannon in the middle. I just love Shannon’s top with the swirly ruffle!
For FHE last night, my 16 y.o. son was on the lesson. He picked three Mormon Messages for the lesson. I loved them all! The one above has a cute song to sing the in the morning, “Make it a Good Day!” Here are the lyrics:
Make it a good day Make this one glow Fill it with learning There’s much to know Make it a good day Look in your heart Build on your heritage And do your part
This video is part of a new series from the Mormon Channel, called Happy Families. Every month the LDS Church will feature a new family on the channel and the corresponding blog. Here’s the blog post for the Kenny family featured in the video, along with free printable “tags” (mentioned in the video) to remind kids to do their chores in the morning.
If you live in the Utah area and want a boost for your homeschool inspiration, I hope you come to the Winter Homeschool Conference, organized by my dear friend Tammy Ward. It’s a week from today, Sat. Jan. 31 in Ogden UT and promises to be loads of fun and education! Over 850 people are already registered! I will be speaking about Homeschooling Hacks. Go over here to register and I will see you there!
I am going to see if I can track better what books we read for our homeschooling journey this year. With three kids who have graduated from the Thomas Jefferson Youth Certification program, as well as other LEMI classes, I have seen my kids reading amazing books. I wish I had captured all of that when it happened, but alas, all I can do is more forward and change from now on. So here’s a go with this month’s current crop of books. Some of these books we have finished, and for those I have included a rating.
The above book is what 13 yos and I are reading for his Hero Project homeschooling class. He’s further ahead than I am. The title is Under the Wings of the Almighty by Walter Rohloff. It’s the biography of a man who is alive today and lived through Nazi Germany as a member of the LDS Church. So far it is wonderful!
I am reading Schoolroom in the Parlor by Rebecca Caudill to the little ones at bedtime. It’s perfect for January because it’s about a family who starts their own homeschool in the parlor in January, with the oldest sister as the teacher. I love old-fashioned books like this about wholesome family togetherness in work and play. I love that this book mentions God and His creative power. I love that it shows great respect and love between siblings. The best part of the book is the first chapter where the family has a Great Thoughts contest with a prize. I’ve announced to my kids that we are going to do the same thing, using the booklet from LaDawn Jacob here. I am excited to read all of these author’s books to my kids. This is what makes me happy about wintertime. I love having it dark and cold outside so my kids are not distracted by the outside at night so they are more interested in me reading inspiring books to them!
This is one of those books that is hard to read all at once, because it has so many visual details to pore over and lots of words to go with the pictures. It’s basically a tour of the world’s greatest architecture as told and viewed from a pigeon’s perspective. Fun! Another cozy bedtime book for the littles.
16 yos is reading the above book. This book transformed one of my girlfriend’s lives. At many a Veggie Gal meeting I have heard Jonell talk about this book, so I was thrilled to hear that my 16 yos wanted to read it. Now that he’s into it he says that it’s more about the author’s life than how molecules work. He’s studying biology this year so I guess he thought it would be more about biology. It’s still on my “to-read” list but I don’t know when I will get to it.
I read this book aloud to the kids during their “clean up the dishes after breakfast” time. It wasn’t amazing, in the way of revealing anything new to me about the Pilgrims, but it was amazing for the fact that it was the first book about the Pilgrims that I’ve read to them that they actually clamored for. We’ve started many a Pilgrim book and not finished. We actually finished this one. Well, they did. 19 yod read the ending to them when I was gone one night and she was home babysitting. So I still have to finish it. I think they loved it so much because of the talking horse, his silly jokes, and the time-travel aspect. This Pilgrim book is the first one I’ve read to them where I actually knew we that we are descended from some of the Pilgrims (William Bradford is my 10th great-grand-father on my dad’s side and John Howland is my 10th ggfather on my mom’s), so I could tell them that while I was reading. So they were learning family history while I was reading, minus the talking horse and time travel of course!
Dh and I started Pioneer Woman’s love story on our way home from Idaho after dropping the two older kids off for college in Rexburg for winter semester. It was such a fun way to spark up a drive home in the dark. It’s definitely a page-turner. I wish she would leave out the taking of the Lord’s name in vain. I did like it though that the romance was clean. It’s a fun story, a light-hearted read, probably just brain candy. But you need those every once in a while I guess. It made me want to go live on a ranch! 3 out of 5 stars.
So after finding the Pioneer Woman’s first book, her love story, I had to read her blog and cookbooks. They make me so happy that I can eat and actually get to plan and cook meals. 9 yod has been reading the cookbooks, they are that fun and visually appealing. If you need motivation to cook, these cookbooks are for you. Of course we won’t be using any of the recipes involving alcohol, and lots of these are high-carb, but these recipes definitely look good. I love the step-by-step color photos. We tried the Spreads recipe (bar cookies with melted chocolate on top) and they were so yummy. We will be making them again, especially whenever asked to bring cookies to a party. I just substitute sucanat for the sugar. They are basically chocolate chip cookies but so much easier because you spread out the dough and then sprinkle out the chips on top, bake, and then spread the melted chips. So easy! I am going to experiment with the recipe and see if I can make a no-grain version using almond or arrowroot flour.
I’ve always been a fan of Ezra Taft Benson. He was the prophet of my youth and early adulthood. I received a lot of comfort and blessings by following his teachings. So I am so thrilled that the manual containing his teachings is the course of study for the LDS Church’s Relief Society and Melchizedek priesthood quorum meetings this year. I teach Primary so I don’t get to hear the lessons on Sunday. I am listening to the lessons on my own, throughout the day, during dressing and grooming and cooking, using the Gospel Library app on my phone. So far I am on Chapter 4. This book has some amazing gems.
My 9 yod read this for her Girls’ Club at our weekly commonwealth homeschool group. It’s about Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female to go to medical school, and it wasn’t too feminist-sounding. 5 out of 5 stars.
My 16 yos read this on his own with his friend and they got together to talk about it. He totally loved it. It’s one of those books where I have heard about it so much that I think I’ve read it, but I don’t think I actually ever have. Definitely on my “to read” list, even though it might be in the Millennium when I get to it!
Chicken pox prevented Angelina Jolie from attending the premiere of the movie based on the above book. That’s what I think of when I hear about it, because I haven’t read it yet and and learned anything else about it. Hopefully that will change. My 16 yos is reading it and loving it. My sister read the book and saw the movie and says the book is much better as usual. Another for my “to read” list.
To continue with the WWII theme, here’s a great picture book about three children who skate a long distance to test their courage and endurance as they follow the path of a hero. I give it 4 out of 5 stars, just because it gets a bit wordy sometimes. Another great bedtime story we’ve been reading.
The Water of Life is a beautiful fairy tale by the Grimm Brothers. I check this book out about once every two years or so and read it to my kids. Trina Schart Hyman is one of my favorite illustrators of all time. When I grow up I want to draw like she does! I checked it out again to read it aloud for the Ten Boom class (core phase kids, that is, under 8 year olds) at Liber Academy, our once a week homeschool group/Commonwealth School. It has many beautiful symbols to ponder on: living water that comes from a fountain, an enchanted castle, three brothers, even an iron rod!
I got the above book for my reluctant reader, my 10 yos. He said it was boring so I thought he wouldn’t read it anymore but he did. My husband read the first chapter and said it was gross, so I checked into the first chapter and agree. It’s a sad story about a group of men who get shipwrecked and then sold as slaves and abused. You might want to skip the first chapter with the gruesome details about abuse of the slaves. All of the stories are true and appeal to boys who like adventure.
Of course, I am also reading the New Testament for the Gospel Doctrine course of study this year, and I am reading from it every weekday morning when I do my Power Action using the Sunday School study guide. Then on weekend mornings I read from the Ezra Taft Benson manual, reading what I listened to over the week to help cement it in my brain. I like using the questions at the end of the chapter for my journal writing.
Last but not least, I reading from the Wisdom of the Hebrew Alphabet pictured below to help me teach the Hebrew class I am teaching online. It’s fascinating!
For the new year, here’s a great way to make your own planner. Years ago, I made my own planner pages to fit in my Franklin planner binder. I wish I had known about this idea, it would have saved a lot of time cutting and hole punching! This video from a homeschooling mom of 15, who explains how to expand on this idea and make a homeschool planner right here. I love all of her ideas over at largefamilymothering.com.
Many of you probably have financial goals for the new year. The above budgeting and tracking technique from Jordan Page of funcheaporfree.com is the best one I’ve seen yet for busy moms. She ought to know, she has four kids four and under! It allows you to keep track of you what you spend on the spot after purchases, so you don’t go over budget, without carrying around a ton of envelopes. It makes so much sense! Thanks Jordan!
Jordan has another great idea about how to manage the family finances: have seven, yes, seven accounts! She explains it all over here. I think it all sounds great, but I do have a question that might stump her. What do you do when your husband is a business owner and his income fluctuates wildly. You have no idea how much he is going to earn. It’s hard to budget when there’s not a certain X amount to count on.
I first heard of Curlformers about four years ago when my daughter, who was then about 15, told me about them because she had heard about them from a friend.She also saw them on babesinhairland.com. She told me they were a new way to curl hair. She asked for some for her birthday when she turned 16, I think, and I obliged, although I have to admit, I had a hard time forking over $30 (maybe it was $40? $50?) for curlers at my local Sally Beauty Supply store. What happened to good old sponge curlers? Well the main problem with them is that it is hard to get the whole lock of hair to show a curl if the hair is very long, as my daughter explained to me. Just the last few inches or so end up being curled. Look at this tutorial by Erin Bates, who uses spongies, and you will see what I mean. They are still pretty, they just aren’t those gorgeous spiral corkscrew curls which are the stuff of glamour princess dreams. I think I knew that from my sponge curler days (through my teenage years, way before kids) but I had just decided to be satisfied with the volume of curls that happens when you pull the hair around the ears up in a barrette. (I call that style “high school hair” because that was the popular style in the late 80s “bangs to heaven” days.) I “graduated” from spongies to sophisticated hot rollers when I was in high school, and you basically have the same problem with those as well, if your hair is very long, which mine was in high school and college. I also have naturally wavy hair, which can be coaxed into natural curls. Translation: I’ve had to deal with dry, frizzy hair that has a mind of its own, ever since puberty when the natural wavy/curliness set in. I eventually hope to do a review of the curly girl products over at My Devacurl, founded by the woman who wrote the book for curly girls.
For now, though, I am focusing on Curlformers. When you first buy these babies you have to also buy this thing that looks like a giant crochet hook, so you can pull the hair through the Curlformers. I had the hardest time using the whole system at first, on her head, because you have to thread the hook through the Curlformer and then attach the hair to the hook and then pull it through. I felt like I was either hurting her by pulling on her head or hurting me by contorting my hands. It seemed more awkward than learning how to play tennis or the violin! I was never impressed with how her hair turned out with them. I think I tried them on her head twice and then she did them on herself a few times. Then we both forgot about them and she stashed them in her closet. Then she grew a few more years, did her hair all the time, never asked me to help anymore. Then she cut her hair super short, after she left for college a year ago. Fast forward to now, and I finally took the time last month after Christmas to watch this tutorial above on how to properly use Curlformers. I’m sure this video was around on the Babes in Hairland blog back then but I just never watched it. Oh how I wish I had. It’s important to make sure the hair is wet before you put the Curlformers in, preferably from washing the hair. Then it’s equally important to let the hair completely air dry. When we used them on my daughter’s hair, she got impatient and took them out too soon. Then they would be limp and flat and unimpressible.
Fast forward to last fall. With my youngest child at age 5, I finally felt like I had time to do something with my hair every day besides pull it in a ponytail. (I admire women who can “do” hair every day on themselves and their daughters when they have babies and toddlers underfoot.) For about two years I had actually been doing something with it on Sunday with a curling wand and now it was time to graduate and do something with it every day. So then I remembered my daughter’s stash of Curlformers and asked, when she came home for Thanksgiving weekend, if I could use them. Imagine my surprise when she told me they were no longer buried in her bedroom somewhere but that they were back in her college apartment at BYU-I! “What?! But you have short hair now, so why did you take them?” She said it was because she thought she might use them on her friends. So I asked her to bring them home for Christmas break, so I could try them out in between her time playing beauty parlor with her college roommates.
The last day of Christmas break before we drove her and her older R.M. brother up to Idaho (because she talked him into giving up his acceptance at BYU-Provo and going up to Rexburg with her) I woke up saying to myself, “This is the day! I have to try those Curlformers out on my hair before she takes them back for her friends and they are out of my reach for another 4 months!” So I tried them out for the first time on my own hair and was pleasantly surprised. For the first time in my life my curls were even, all over my head, and the curls formed all the way up to my scalp. In my experience, that just isn’t possible with spongies or hot rollers if you have hair that goes past your shoulders. So I highly recommend these to anyone who wants perfect curls all the way to the scalp, including you, not just your daughters! I did eventually get the hang of using the hook with the Curlformers. So if I can do it, anyone can.
Here are some tips for DIY (do it on yourself) Curlformers curls.
1. Watch the top two videos above, the Curlformers Tutorial #1 and #2, and do what Becky shows, curling the hair when it’s completely wet, and applying mousse on each section.
2. Section the hair like she does, so you clip the top layer up and work on the bottom first. Then do the top layer. Don’t try to put too much hair in at a time.
3. When you thread each Curlformer, make sure that the bottom ring at the end of the Curlformer isn’t caught on the textured end of the hook. Then it’s a lot easier to pull the hook through with the hair attached.
4. Twist the hair right at the scalp, before you snag the hook around it, then have the gap in the hook facing upwards.
5. Pull sideways or upwards, rather than down, to get the leverage you need to pull the hook through to get the Curlformer all the way to the scalp. This is a good time to practice your natural childbirth breathing techniques and your faith that things like babies, hair, and hooks, can get through tight spaces. (Just remember Ina May Gaskin’s theory about the cervix’s marvelous capacity to expand.)
6. Sleep on the curlers, so that they have time to completely air dry. I found I was able to sleep on them. They are not as soft as spongies but at least they are not those bristle curls I remember my mom having. Resist the temptation to peek too early!
Because the Curlformers are meant to be used on wet hair with the curls air drying, you don’t have to worry about damaging your hair from applying heat. They are rather expensive, so you might have to wait and save or get them for a birthday or Christmas, but they are totally worth it. You can find cheap imitation knock-offs on ebay or all over the Internet, but I can’t vouch for them. I don’t know if the material is as high quality, which could mean they won’t last as long. It could be easier to poke holes in them with the hook. They are probably copyright infringers as well so I say buy from the original inventors. You can get the real thing over here on amazon.com, at curlformers.com, or at your local Sally Beauty Supply. Right now at the link I just referenced you can get a whole kit, the Glam Up Kit, for $35 which includes 20 curlers and the hook in a pretty organza bag. I wish that had been around for my daughter’s birthday gift, we paid quite a bit more to buy a bunch of packs and the hook separately and didn’t even get the fancy bag which serves for practical storage! Oh well. We had to store them in a plain old Ziploc bag. By the way, the happiest ending to all of this is that my daughter gave me the best gift by leaving the Curlformers on my dresser the morning we left for Idaho. I almost started crying. This was better than any Christmas surprise I’ve had! She saw how much I loved them and decided to let me borrow them for however long until she wants them back if she ever grows her hair out. How sweet. I did have to go buy some more to augment what she had since she had lost some. Here’s a tip: if you have hair shoulder length or longer, you will probably want the “extra long” size. If your hair is past your shoulder blades you might have to double up and also use two Glam Up kits.
The day after your Curlformer curls, you will have “leftover curls,” definitely not as bouncy and close to the scalp but you will probably still have some “texture,” and maybe even some waves and a few curls in your hair. The video above shows a pretty style you can do for the day after. I love this gorgeous updo from Becky over at babesinhairland.com.
If you go to Becky’s blog post here she shows how you can use Curlformers if you have super long hair, and still get a complete curl from root to tip. Thanks Becky for teaching us all about Curlformers and their possibilities! You really can get perfect curls every time, without heat. If you are into curly hair, I highly suggest you put these on your wishlist or go buy some today.
(P.S. I used my own money to buy these Curlformers, so this is not a sponsored post. But if you buy your Curlformers through this link at Amazon, it will cost the same to you, and I will get a small percentage to help with the costs of running this blog.)
Hi, this is Sarah. Just before Thanksgiving of last year I delivered twins. This was my seventh pregnancy, and I thought I had the mom thing down, but twins have proved a big challenge for me.
All my other babies were exclusively breastfed and I have always had an ample milk supply. A couple of times I have even pumped extra for a friend. I didn’t think I would have any trouble at all nursing twins, but I did, and I wanted to share what I did about it.
My twins were born at 37 weeks after an induction due to high blood pressure. I was able to avoid a c-section, but I did need to have an epidural. All my other children were born pretty close to 40 weeks and completely natural. My milk always came in quickly and completely, and they were always vigorous nursers. The twins being three weeks early made a big difference: they were not vigorous nursers at first. And having the epidural seemed to have a negative effect on my milk supply.
The first week of the twins’ life was extremely hard for me and each night I got little to no sleep. This put everything on a downward spiral. I was already struggling with my milk supply, and the lack of sleep just made things worse. I was so tense and full of adrenaline that I couldn’t sleep even when both babies were finally settled, and that also made nursing harder and decreased my milk supply.
I will never forget the evening when they were about five days old. I had hit the wall. I was a complete wreck and I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t sleep and I couldn’t feed my babies enough and I did not think I was going to survive. All I wanted to do was hand the babies off to someone else, along with some bottles and formula, and sleep for a week straight. But I knew that long-term I really wanted them to be breastfed for so many reasons, and so I sat and cried.
My sister in law saved the day. She is the ultimate all-natural mother and I had called her for some breastfeeding advice. When she figured out what a mess I was she volunteered to come over and stay the night and help with the babies. I warned her she would be up all night and she came anyway. When she arrived, about 9 pm, we had a long talk. She was nothing but encouraging. She helped me realize how tense I was and how that was hurting the nursing situation. She helped me relax and she kept telling me over and over, “you’re doing fine. You can do this.”
That night was a major turning point. She was up all night walking the floor with one or two fussy babies, but by the end of the night I had calmed down, the adrenaline had finally left my body, and I was finally able to sleep. Most importantly, I had hope. I really needed to hear her say “you’re doing fine” over and over again until I believed her.
But we weren’t out of the woods yet. Things began to go better and I found some things that really helped (more on that in a minute) but a week later I realized that not only were the twins not gaining any weight but they had lost a lot of weight—about a pound each. The next couple of weeks were very stressful as I did everything I could to build my milk supply, constantly hoping that at the next weight check at the doctor’s they would at least be back up to birth weight. They finally were back up to birth weight when they were a month old.
Now they are almost two months old and watching them getting round and chubby is a personal victory for me. I always took my babies’ growth for granted before, but now I feel really proud of myself when I pick up one of the babies and think, “she’s really getting heavy!”
So, here are the things that have helped me during this struggle, other than my amazing sister-in-law (but she is a perfect illustration of how vital it is to support and encourage nursing mothers as much as possible!)
Chiropractic care for both me and the twins: I like to go to the chiropractor right before I give birth just to make sure my hips and everything are lined up properly. I think this helps the delivery go more smoothly, especially with large babies. This time I also took the babies as soon as I could after they were born (it was about a week) and it made a huge difference. They had been rather fussy and had had trouble latching. Immediately after their adjustments they were calmer and had a better latch. Make sure you have a chiropractor who is experienced with babies and knows how to be gentle with them. My current chiropractor is trained in the upper cervical methodology, which is a more gentle approach.
Placenta encapsulation: I had this done for me professionally. I don’t know how much it helped with my milk supply (some), but taking these capsules has made a huge difference for me in my energy levels and mood. I remember after baby number six I felt like it took a long time to get my strength and energy and motivation back. I thought “I must be getting old.” This time, with the placenta capsules, I had a speedy recovery like the kind I had back in my 20’s. And I only had the tiniest little bit of “baby blues.”
Fenugreek and other herbal formulas: I started taking Fenugreek and it helped (though it makes you smell like maple syrup—it’s the weirdest thing!) Then my niece gave me a bottle of an herbal formula that contains Fenugreek and other things as well and that has helped a lot with my milk supply.
Coconut oil for sore nipples: my nipples are always sore for a few days whenever I have a newborn. This time around I put coconut oil on them and the soreness went away within a couple of days. This was a huge blessing as things became difficult in so many other ways during the next few days—at least I didn’t have sore nipples on top of all my other problems.
Using a supplementary nursing system: when I did have to supplement a little bit, I fed it to them through this tiny tube while they were nursing. This way they continued to stimulate me to produce more and they didn’t get nipple confusion going back and forth from breast to bottle. It was helpful to me to pump a few times to get an idea of how much I was producing… that helped me realize that I was really only producing a little bit less than they needed (half an ounce or so) so that I didn’t give them more supplement than absolutely necessary.
Nursing both twins at the same time: this was awkward for me so I tried to avoid it at first, but this may have made the biggest difference in finally getting my body to up its milk production. When both nipples are being stimulated at the same time it sends a clear signal to the brain that you need milk enough for twins. A twin nursing pillow—a generous gift from a kind family member—has been a big help for me to learn to manage nursing both of them at once.
Taking good care of myself: Eating enough, drinking upwards of a gallon of water a day, taking a high-quality whole-food vitamin, and trying to get as much rest as possible have made a big difference. Various relaxation techniques I have learned from different sources over the years have been very helpful as well. I came across this article recently and while it doesn’t work on me in under a minute like she says, it does work.
Exercise: I started going on walks every day. Getting my heart rate up increases my circulation, which makes it easier for my body to make more milk.
I have been very blessed during this process to have lots of family support. With six older children to care for, I don’t know how I would have managed if I hadn’t had the help I have had. Meals and childcare help have been wonderful. Perhaps the most helpful thing has been people who have been willing to come over and rock a baby or two so that I could get a nap.
From now on if anyone I know is having twins, especially if they are planning on breastfeeding them, I am going to do everything I can to help them. Now that I know what a lot of work it is and how overwhelming it can be, I am going to do my best to be supportive in whatever way I can. I hope that maybe someday I can be for someone else what my sister-in-law was for me during this time—if it weren’t for her I’m pretty sure we’d be bottle feeding right now—but even if I can just bring someone a loaf of bread or a pot of soup I know I will have made a difference for them.
Tree of Life Mothering 