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Almond Superfoods Chocolate Bars

Dessert, Recipes · July 23, 2020

Chocolate bars are delicious to just grab, snap off a square (or 4), and enjoy. I have come to love trying out new flavors. I even have tried a few I never thought I would. Here are my winners and losers list:

Winners –

Dark cherry, mandarin orange, almond crisps, potato chip, hibiscus, sea salt, and hot pepper

Losers –

Bacon (I know, but I just couldn’t get into it), honeycomb, lemon zest

Some things work with dark chocolate, some do not. But I am still curious to try another lemon zest one because I believe that given a chance, I could improve on it and make one that I like.

I love almonds in chocolate, mostly any nuts in chocolate, but they also are usually whole or cut in big chunks. When trying to savor a chocolate piece it stinks to just end up with one chunk per piece or sometimes none at all. I love sliced almonds and thought they might make for a better dispersion through the bar as well as better bite since it would be easier to chew.

And because I loved the hot pepper chocolate bar I had tried once before, I knew that a little spice would be appreciated as well. While this bar is by no means spicy, by pairing it with Detox Organics Chocolate Superfoods, I knew that it would have a small kick at the end and be packed with tons off good stuff to boot!

Ingredients:

10oz Dark melting chocolate

1 scoop Detox Organics Chocolate Superfoods

½ cup Sliced almonds

Tools:

Chocolate bar molds

Instructions:

Place 10 oz of dark melting chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl and warm in 15-second intervals at a time. Stir between every 15-second interval until chocolate is mixed and creamy.
Immediately stir in Detox Organics Chocolate Superfoods and stir quickly until there is no longer any powder visible and the mixture is smooth again.
In a chocolate bar mold, sprinkle sliced almond onto the bottom of the mold.
Pour melted chocolate into an icing piping bag and gently pipe into the mold over the top of the almond slices.
Use a spatula to gently pat and smooth the chocolate down into the mold.
Place in freezer for 10 minutes to set, then transfer to the fridge for 10 minutes. Once the chocolate has hardened, gently peel out the bars and store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cup Frappuccino

Breakfast, Dessert, Recipes, Smoothies · June 19, 2020

It’s hot outside and you want a perky coffee drink to cool you down. Look no further! You can recreate the tasty frappuccino drink from Starbucks at your own house. These milkshake-like drinks are a punch of coffee and deliciously frozen.

I decided to make it more of a full breakfast by using two of my favorite supplements: Protein and Chocolate Superfood Greens. You can use your favorite brands to recreate this superfood frappuccino.

The drink is a balance of protein, carbs and fats to keep you full and cold coffee to give you a delicious pick me up.

Ingredients

2 cups full strength coffee

2 cups ice

2 tbsp natural peanut butter

1 scoop Detox Organics Chocolate Superfoods

1 scoop Detox Organics Vegan Vanilla Protein

Instructions

In a blender cup combine ice, coffee, chocolate superfoods, and vanilla protein and blend for 30 seconds.
Add in 1 additional handful of ice and peanut butter and blend another 30 seconds until a the consistency is an icy thick shake.
Top with anything you like. Suggestions: Vegan whipped topping or cacao nibs.

Roasted Garlic Hummus: No Tahini

Dinner, Lifestyle, Recipes, Sides and Sauces, Uncategorized · May 24, 2020

I love hummus and have always wanted to make my own. But the one thing I never have in the house is tahini. This is a staple ingredient in traditional hummus and creates that super creamy taste and texture. But after doing a little research I realized that people sub in other things for the tahini in a pinch so I thought about not using it at all and going with a slightly less smooth texture.

The biggest part of the flavor of this hummus was using roasted garlic that I baked the day before. I will link the recipe here so that you can also use fresh roasted garlic in the recipe. It gives it a rich and savory flavor and it was so fragrant and delicious when used in this recipe!

Ingredients:

1 whole bulb of garlic, roasted
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 can of organic garbanzo beans
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Salt

Instructions:

In a food processor add in garbanzo beans and roasted garlic. Pour in half of the olive oil. Pulse on high until all beans are somewhat chopped up.
Pour in the rest of the olive oil and pulse on high again until beans are all combined with oil.
Add in a pinch of salt and fresh lemon juice and pulse again to blend until totally combined. The garlic will be creamy but not totally smooth.
Enjoy!

Roasted Garlic: Quick and Easy

Dinner, Lunch, Recipes, Sides and Sauces · May 24, 2020

Roasted garlic is always delicious and adds so much flavor to every dish. I once was at a restaurant that placed whole cloves on a board for you to drag crackers through and I was blown away by the sharp and almost spicy taste of straight roasted garlic. Since that day I always go for dishes that offer whole cloves of roasted garlic in them.

I decided that I wanted to make some to have at home as well. I cook with a lot of fresh garlic but never had roasted my own in order to garnish or add to a dish. I am happy to report the prep time was less than 5 minutes and once it was roasted it was ready to store in the fridge or enjoy immediately. Make a bulb or two for the week to have on hand for your recipes. Garlic is good for your health and now there’s an even more enjoyable way to eat it!

Ingredients:

1 head of garlic

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Gently peel back any loose garlic wrapper, leaving enough to keep all the cloves together.
Cut about ¼ inch on the tip so that you expose the top of the garlic bulbs below.
Pour your olive oil into the top of the bulb and massage into the garlic. Top with a pinch of salt and pepper if desired.
Place the garlic cut side up in a square of aluminum foil and close at the top to create a small tin pocket.
Bake for 40-60 minutes until the garlic is cooked through all the way through and super soft.
Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken Broccoli and Rice Bake

Dinner, Lunch, Recipes · May 22, 2020

I have been enjoying my dutch oven for meals in the past months because it means less clean up and quicker prep time. This cooking pot was given to us for our wedding and I have made soups in it for a few years. But, I wanted to start cooking actual large dinners for meal prep.

I have the Lodge 6 Quart Dutch Oven and it’s large enough to make 8 portions for meal prep which really lasts me and my husband a long time. Once the boys are older and eating the same meals as us this will come in handy for making large portions. They already have big appetites, so I can only imagine how our meal prep will grow!

I love cheese and broccoli anything, but I also want to make it a little bit healthier. There are a lot of recipes out there, but not many had the amount of protein that I wanted. This is a protein heavy meal with 2 ½ pounds of chicken and this made a delicious and hearty dinner.

Ingredients:

2 ½ pounds of chicken
1 tbsp of olive oil
2 ½ cups of organic chicken broth (divided)
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup of rice
16 oz frozen chopped broccoli
1 cup cheddar cheese
¼ cup gluten-free bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Chop the chicken into 1-inch cubes.
In an oven-safe extra-large frying pan or cast iron skillet place the olive oil and chicken to cook on medium-high. Season with salt and pepper.
Brown chicken on all sides approx 10 minutes.
Add in 1 cup chicken broth, heavy cream, and rice to the skillet and cook for 15 minutes until rice cooks through.
Add in the other 1 ½ cups of chicken broth, frozen broccoli, and cheese. Cook for another 10 minutes until broccoli is cooked through.
Turn on the oven to broil.
Top the dinner with gluten-free bread crumbs and place under the broiler. Breadcrumbs will brown and become crispy.
Enjoy!

How to Discreetly Wear the Elvie Pump

Breastfeeding, Exclusive Pumping, Parenting, Pumping, Twins, Uncategorized · May 22, 2020

Is there a meeting or a place you have to be at work when you really need to pump? Are you wanting to use time like grocery shopping or running errands to multitask and also pump? Then a wearable pump is a perfect way to do all of these things and still pump on the go.

Because these pumps add a considerable amount of bulk to your breasts, some women may shy away from wearing them in public. No one wants to feel like they are sticking out like a sore thumb looking like you’re playing dress-up with your mom’s bra stuffed with a roll of paper towels. So what can you do?

I have the Elvie wearable pump and know several moms who have either the Elvie pump or the Willow wearable breast pumps and want to share all the tips and tricks we use to wear the pumps without feeling like our pumps are on display. While I’m proud of pumping and know that no one at work is usually the wiser, or even cares, I still like to feel that my pumps are discreet, because hey, that’s why I got them in the first place! Try out some of these options for wearing the pumps as comfortably and discreetly as you’d like.

Avoid tight-fitting tops

While these pumps sit directly in front of your breast and are not as visible from a front-on angle, the side angle will look a lot different if you’re wearing tight-fitting clothes. The added size will be magnified if you’re wearing a tight top. Instead, opt for a loose-fitting, flowing top that doesn’t hug the pumps and works to blend the shape.

Also, clingy fabrics, while not tight-fitting, might still hug your body and make the pumps more obvious when you’re wearing them. This usually happens to me when I’m wearing tops that don’t have a second lining and are made of silkier fabrics.

Some of the best tops that I found were loose and chunky sweaters, roomy cotton button-downs, and shirts that gather in some way at the bottom. The popular tops that tie in front at the bottom create a billowy top that is great to offset the added bulk in the chest from the pumps.

Wear opaque clothing

Sheer clothing is not a great fit for wearing the Elvie. The pumps have a small light around the pause/play button so anything sheer will show the lights. There is nothing more annoying than worrying about having actual headlights on your headlights.

Even though the new Elvie updates allow you to dim the light, it does not turn it off so make sure to wear non-see through clothing.

Another trick is to layer a dark colored tank top under any shirt and that will keep the lights from showing through. It also makes the Elvie pumps feel more secure on your body when you move around a lot.

Wear dark clothing

Dark colors work best for hiding the lights on the Elvie. Some suggestions are black, navy, rich jewel tones, and even patterns that help hide the lines and lights if the clothing shows the pumps at all. Dark clothing also helps the Elvie pump read the milk flow better too according to their website.

Busy patterns are especially good at taking way the focus on the pumps because busy patterns hide just about anything. Also, textured clothing helps hide the pumps as well. Think sweaters with chunky knits or even naturally textured clothing like linen.

Pay attention to your neckline

One thing I learned the hard way was that the neckline of a roomy v-neck can look great before the pumps are not in and almost downright scandalous when the pumps are on. The volume created a much deeper v-neck than I intended and the pumps were visible under the plunging neckline.

Choose a neckline that will still sit against the chest with the pumps in and you’ll avoid them peeking through the top of your shirt. However, if you have a shirt that you love to wear and you’re afraid the pumps could push out the neckline and show, there are a few tricks I use to still conceal the pumps.

Use scarves and cardigans

During the winter this trick works the best out of all the options in concealing the Elvie pumps under my clothes. In cold weather, wearing a light scarf indoors is not odd at all and even makes a very fashionable accessory and helps to keep my normally freezing self warm.

My favorite way to discreetly wear the Elvie pumps is to stay warm and layer with an oversized cardigan, duster, or wrap. These all make great, easy pieces to layer and can be drawn over the chest so that the Elvie practically disappears.

My favorite options for the winter are oversized cardigans and wrap sweater shawls. In the summer, lace dusters and patterned wraps make lighter and convenient layers to tote along.

Use the app to control the pumps

While the pumps are able to be controlled by the buttons that are physically on them, to discreetly turn them on and off or adjust the suction and mode, you can just use your app. By putting the pumps on and then going into a meeting or working at your desk while pumping, you’ll be able to start, stop, and adjust your pumping session without having to reach into your clothes.

You’ll want to put the pumps on beforehand and use the app to turn them on when you are ready. I tend to use this method when I have a meeting to be in for less than an hour and also need to pump. I put them on right before I go in, start them, turn them off when finished, and take them off immediately following the meeting.

Or if the meeting runs super long, I excuse myself to the bathroom and take them off and drop the milk into a cold spot. That’s usually a company fridge or a little cold lunch bag I bring with me. I don’t like to leave the pumps on for very long after I’m done pumping because it doesn’t give the breast the ability to dry off after. So just be conscious of time with the pumps after you’re finished.

At home, I like to just hit the button so I don’t have to hold my phone the whole time. But while I’m in a meeting or working around other people I can have the pumps already on and adjust the session and turn it off when I’m done all from my phone.

Carry a multipurpose handbag

Instead of carrying an entire pumping bag with me, I found a larger versatile handbag that I put a small insulated sleeve in and the tops to the pump reservoirs. This also draws less attention to the fact that I’m walking around with pumps.

My pump bag tends to be great to leave in the office or car but if I’m carrying my pumps into a meeting or need a place to put them after I pump, a large discreet handbag works great. Your Elvie pumps come with two small bags you can put them in once you’re done pumping and you can use the caps that come with your pumps to seal them up so they don’t leak.

A small insulated sleeve can help keep your breast milk from getting too warm. I used my insulated baby bottle sleeve to store reservoirs. If you’re worried about any milk getting on the inside of the bag you can always bring a gallon size Ziploc bag to put everything in.

There are so many ways to wear your Elvie pump that makes it as discreet as you need it to be. Small tips and tricks can make the Elvie comfortable and easy to wear. Try out a scarf or an oversized cardigan and see what works for you. Often, just one of these tricks can help you wear the Elvie Pumps confidently. Different things will work on different body types and it can just take a few tweaks to turn any outfit into the perfect wearable pumping outfit. What are the ways you wear your Elvie?

How to Work From Home with Twins

Lifestyle, Parenting, Raising Twins · May 22, 2020

Today I’m going to cover working from home with my infant twins. I work remotely 80% of the time, but I also have a place where I can go to work in a co-working space, and a small office provided by the company I work for. I also have the freedom to work anywhere I’d like during the week. Sometimes that’s at a coffee shop. Sometimes that’s at a restaurant. Other times it’s just at a library or in a park with a hotspot. I really enjoy that I could work anywhere.

But now with things going on in the world that prevent us from leaving our house, I am working from home all the time.

This has been a big change for me because I no longer can get up and go to a place that is quiet or distraction-free. I also turned my old office in our apartment into the twin’s nursery. So I no longer have a dedicated workspace either. I got rid of my desk because I was working at tables in other places and there was no space in the nursery for one. We also don’t have a kitchen table because we turned our living room/kitchen into a massive open-concept space, and never put a dining area in there.

So what am I doing to make sure that I have a productive workspace, while being able to only work from home at this time?

Find a Dedicated Spot

The first thing I’m doing is finding a new spot, even if it isn’t an office or a place that’s truly a workstation. Because the twins and my husband are in the nursery and in the living room throughout the day, I decided that the best place to work for me is going to be from my bedroom.

I can close the door and I have a bathroom that I don’t have to walk through the main house to get to. This minimizes the distractions I have, and also gives me a quieter space to work in. Having a door to shut has been key to being able to block out a little bit of the distractions at home.

No door? Try Headphones!

So many of us won’t have a room that we can go into and shut the door. Maybe it’s because there are too many family members trying to all find space to work, or maybe your house just doesn’t have that many rooms where you can find a place that no one else is in.

Either way, one of the ways to create a small, less distracting space is to put on headphones. This can help block out some of the background noise. It’s still good to find a space to work in, even if it’s a small chair facing a corner and a small table, a space on your back patio or even a tiny nook in a bedroom.

Having your headphones can turn any spot that you are in, into a quieter space where you can focus. I recommend doing the large over the ear headphones because they tend to block out noise a lot better than earbuds.

Limit Visual Distractions

I also think that keeping as much distraction out of your eyesight as possible is another great way to stay focused. If I’m staring at a pile of laundry in my room, it’s really hard for me to answer emails. Instead, I make sure that wherever I’m setting myself up doesn’t face a lot of things that are going to stress me out because I think I should be attending to them. This includes not staring at a pile of laundry or staring into the refrigerator, because we both know that’s where I’ll end up half of the day.

I decided on working from my bed. I will say this isn’t the ideal option because it can make it harder to relax when it’s time to go to bed in your new “workspace.” It is, in my case, the quietest area in my house. So in order to differentiate my work bed from my sleep bed, I throw a bright blanket over the bed while working to rest my computer and work stuff on and put it all away and out of sight when I’m done with the workday.

Take Regular Breaks

Once you have a good pair of headphones and a small space to work in, another great way to stay on task is to make sure you’re taking regular breaks. This might seem counterproductive, but sitting in one place, and becoming restless can actually distract you from staying on the task. If you take regular breaks to get blood flowing, get a change of scenery and give yourself mental breaks to recharge, you’re more likely to stay focused when you go back to a task and be able to finish it.

Using free desktop timers to schedule in a 10-minute break every 90 minutes or notifications on your calendar to take breaks is a good way to break up your day and be more productive during your work time.

Use a Website Blocker

Just like always, in an environment with lots of distractions, don’t be your own distraction. Put things like website blockers and timing tools on your computer to prevent you from getting lost on websites that might be distracting to you. For example, I blocked things like news websites and social media websites that I don’t regularly use for my job. This means that if I was to type in a web address that was on a restricted website for the time of 9am to 5pm, I would be redirected and told that the website had been blocked. This helps me not become a distraction to myself.

Don’t Forget to Eat!

When you are working from home, it’s easy to skip a lunch break. I find that the more often I work from home, the less often I’m having a real meal. I’m more likely to graze all day long, in and out of the pantry and in and out of the refrigerator.

I still need to make time to sit down and eat lunch and decompress, as well. Having regular meals helps fuel your brain and keep you focused for when you’re working. It’s more distracting for me to be constantly hungry and nibbling and going to the kitchen than it would be for me to just set aside 30 minutes to make a real meal, and then eat it.

Set Quiet Times

Be honest with your family. If they’re being too loud while you’re on a call, and they can find a way to do a quieter activity for 20 minutes – don’t be afraid to ask for that quiet time. Don’t be afraid to talk to them about important times to be quiet during the day, if you have a schedule and you know when you need to be on video calls. Plan things like going on a walk outside or play in the yard or even find quiet activities that won’t result in shrieking or banging noises while someone else is on a call.

My twins love to play peek-a-boo and shriek and yell in excitement during the game. That’s probably not a great game for them to play while I’m on a conference call. But reading books with their dad is something they love to do and they like to sit and quietly turn pages. I try to make sure that I am sharing if I need to take a call so he can more easily plan for what to do with the babies. The weather is nice here so going on walks is another way for him to get the babies out of the house for short amounts of time and still entertain them if I was to need a very quiet 20 minutes.

Set Reasonable Expectations

Be sure to be realistic about how long your family can stay quiet. If from 9am to 5pm you need absolute silence, you may have to find a way to become very separated from the rest of your family and make sure they’re on one end of the house, and you are on the other. On the other hand, if you only need quiet time for an hour a day for calls it’s much easier for people to set aside time for quiet activities in that shorter amount of time.

Part of working from home successfully is working together with the people you live with. It’s also making sure you’re setting yourself up for success, cutting out distractions, and just doing your best during these times where we’re working in unconventional ways. It calls for a little bit of forgiveness for both you and the occasional interruption from your children on a work call. Having twins means we have a busy and loud household sometimes but that doesn’t mean I can’t work productively at home with a little bit of creativity and of course flexibility.

Protein Cookie Dough

Dessert, Recipes · May 18, 2020

Let’s talk about cookie dough. But also let’s talk about why we have to. First of all: I love chatting with you guys. And sometimes the reason for creating recipes just has to be stated. As always you can scroll down to the recipe and skip all this, but for those of you looking for a reason to love a recipe more, just keep reading.

So as a kid, my mom told me to not eat raw cookie dough and I still tried it here and there. And it’s fantastic. But then I saw a news story about a woman who became super ill by eating raw cookie dough and was too scared after to eat it.

Instead, I spent so much money on safe to eat premade cookie dough at the store. Costco has a brand that is delicious but the issue is that I don’t need a metric ton of it and that’s what I had to buy there. Other times I’ve tried new brands and some were at best just ok.

So after complaining a whole bunch about it, I decided to try to make some myself. And let me tell you: this is try number 1,000,003. It might be a little bit of an exaggeration but if you’ve ever put your heart and soul into a recipe and then had a major fail then you’d understand why it felt like this. I even got close to perfecting it a month ago and gave up.

One thing I changed is that I stopped trying to use regular gluten-free flour or grinding up my own oats for this. I used a lot less of the almond flour that seemed to work the best and paired with the something I always have at my house: protein powder. So when I finally nailed it I figured it deserved a whole full history. Also, it’s for the Google algorithm so you can actually search my recipe!

Thank you and enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 scoop Detox Organics Vanilla Protein

½ cup almond flour

¼ cup peanut butter

¼ cup raw honey

¼ cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions:

Mix together the protein and almond flour until totally combined.
Then mix in peanut butter and honey until all of the dry ingredients are combined into one large ball of dough.
Gently flatten the ball, press in half of the chocolate chips. Reroll into a large cookie dough ball and gently work in the rest of the chips around the outside.

To make this vegan: Swap maple syrup in for the honey. Then swap the dark chocolate chips for “vegan enjoy life” chocolate chips.

Tips for Exclusively Pumping

Breastfeeding, Exclusive Pumping, Lifestyle, Pumping, Raising Twins, Twin Pregnancy, Twins, Uncategorized · May 16, 2020

Today I’m going to go over a few success tips for those who are exclusively pumping. Even though these tips can work for anyone on their breastfeeding journey, these are especially helpful for the unique journey of exclusively pumping.

There’s a difference between pumping while breastfeeding and exclusively pumping. When you are also breastfeeding while pumping, you are dealing with a different way of regulating the amount of milk that is being made and the amount of time spent on the pump.

How My Breastfeeding Journey Changed

When I first had my twins in September, I came home and was breastfeeding part-time and then pumping the rest of the time.

My pregnancy ended with me developing HELLP Syndrome and so I couldn’t pump for the first eight days of the boy’s life. That made my breastfeeding and my pumping journey a little bit more difficult as well as me feeling I had a low supply right from the beginning.

Why We Stopped Breastfeeding

When they were really little, tandem breastfeeding worked really well. As they got bigger and heavier, my husband would have to help me hold them up to the breast even with a twin breastfeeding pillow below them.

Another big change was that the boys were getting older and they were getting a little more playful and starting to interact with each other while breastfeeding. They were touching each other on the head and then pulling away from the breast. Feeding them both at the same time became really hard.

Breastfeeding just became playtime for them and sometimes lasted for over 40 minutes before they were both done.

After a while, we would breastfeed them one at a time if they were fussy in the middle of the night, but as they got to be better sleepers they didn’t breastfeed at night as much anymore, either. During the day when I was working, I was pumping, so it just turned into me exclusively pumping around the 3 ½ month mark.

We are at seven months now and I am really proud of how long I have stuck with it because I had to go through a lot to get my supply up. It was discouraging in the beginning when I was really sick.

So that is how I went from breastfeeding and pumping to exclusively pumping.

What Does Exclusively Pumping Look Like?

Exclusively pumping means that you’re pumping full time and not feeding the baby from the breast any longer. The baby is still, however, considered breastfed because they are getting milk from the breast. You may be giving your baby breast milk, or as in our case, breast milk and supplementing with formula, as well.

I did not produce enough for two babies to be fuully fed all day long. We still work with a lactation consultant because both breastfeeding and exclusively pumping can be hard and we needed support. That support has been wonderful for us and for our journey.

Hopefully, if you’re an exclusively pumping mama, you take to heart that there’s a lot of people doing this now and this isn’t weird. People think that no one’s doing this or that they’re alone doing this and I really feel like more and more people are exclusively pumping than you think.

I now belong to a couple of Facebook support groups. I also follow a couple of people on Instagram who exclusively pumped. I didn’t even really know people exclusively pumped when I started.

I started looking for options when the boys were not doing as well nursing and it was taking anywhere from 20-40 minutes to feed them at the breast and we still needed to bottle feed them after as well. I questioned who just pumps?! But then I found this great community and a lot of support from it.

There are a lot of people who have helped me through their advice and their expertise because they’ve been doing it for a long time as well. For some, it may be that this is their second or third time exclusively pumping for a baby. They are veterans who have all these tips and tricks, and I’m so happy to have found that community. I want to share some of the stuff that they’ve told me, plus advice from my lactation consultant, and then just what works for me.

Exclusively Pumping Tips

Time Your Pumps to Your Baby’s Feeds

You will want to time your pumps with the number of times your baby is eating over the course of a day. In the beginning, when the boys were first feeding, it was between 8 and 12 times in a day. It was really closer to 12 in the earliest days.

Basically anytime that we were up feeding them, I was up pumping. In the beginning, your supply is based on hormones and also the amount of milk that you take from your body so your body knows to replenish and then replenish again. Then as you go on, your hormones regulate and settle down and your supply is based on demand.

There are a lot of things that affect supply but one of the biggest things that affect it is how frequently you empty the breast and how much you empty it.

If you’re emptying your breasts 8 to 12 times, you’re going to ramp up in production. If you go down in pumps your body is going to adjust the amount of milk down because you’re telling it you don’t need that much.

The best thing for us was to just keep a tally of how often the boys were eating. If it wasn’t convenient for me to pump while they were eating, I would just match the number of times that they ate with how many times I pumped a day. Some days I would just pump every single time we fed them for 10 minutes or 15 minutes but if I couldn’t pump right then, I’d pump later to keep the number matching. That’s how I kept up in the beginning.

Match Cluster Feeding with Pumps

One of the things I did not do because I just got into a routine at first was that I didn’t account for cluster feeding and I didn’t account for growth spurts. Cluster feeding adds sometimes two or three extra sessions a day.

For example, the boys normally went about 1.5 hours to 2 hours between feedings. But during cluster feedings the boys were eating only 10 minutes apart, and then another 30 minutes went by, and they ate again, another 15 minutes went by, and they’re still screaming for food. We would feed them but I wasn’t timing my pumps with those small spurts of rapid feeds.

What it should have been telling me if we were breast breastfeeding is that the boys needed more food and so I should have been pumping more to match that. The same thing with the growth spurt where they might have been eating the same number of times, but they were eating more ounces per session. I didn’t think to account for that in the first couple of months.

Once I met with my lactation consultant they told me to just basically be aware of cluster feeding and growth spurts, and then to add in extra pumps to account for that, and you only do it for as long as the baby is doing that.

So if they cluster feed for two or three days, I would only add two or three sessions extra into those days, I wasn’t doing it from there on out, it was just to match their demand.

Keep up With Growth Spurts

They had a growth spurt in January and that time I knew that as they were eating more, I was supposed to be pumping more. I added an extra two pumps for around three or four days. I can’t remember the exact time but I do remember feeling like they were eating so much and I knew to add a couple additional pumps per day.

Once they normalized the feeds again, we upped the ounces that they were getting. And once that happened, I was also just producing a little bit more at that point. So it just worked out. It makes sense when you think about it as supply and demand. If your baby is cluster feeding or going through a growth spurt, it would be putting more demand on your body.

In the Beginning Pump at Night

I learned this the hard way. In the beginning, you need to pump at night. We don’t really want to go more than five hours between pumps in the very beginning. The maximum you want to go when building your milk supply is probably more like 3 or 4 hours. I pushed it because I was just exhausted and running on fumes.

So a couple of days I would sleep a little bit longer and my husband would get up and do the feeds. But you want to get up in the night and pump when the baby is getting up and eating. When the twins were getting up around every 2.5 hours I was just getting out the pumps too.

But when they started sleeping a little bit longer – five and six hours in the middle of the night, I was not pumping as often. If I went to bed and for some reason, the babies slept longer than anticipated, I wasn’t pumping every three to four hours. This dipped my supply in the early weeks. As they got a bit older it didn’t affect it as much.

I would then set an alarm, and this was something that someone had told me to do, and wake up to pump. I can’t even tell you how stressful that was, hearing that alarm in the middle of the night when you really need sleep. I wouldn’t suggest that. Instead, you can use a trick I’ll cover to make sure you’re still getting up even if your baby isn’t waking you up.

Pay Attention to Your Cycle

One thing that can cause your milk production to dip is the return of your cycle. And throughout the month, whether you’re ovulating or you have a period, it can drop your milk supply. A lot of people find that they can combat that by adding a couple pumps on those days.

If you add pumps and you don’t feel like it helps combat the dip, you can always take a little from your freezer stash you hopefully have built up by then.

A milk stash is good for more than just cycle fluctuations. If you get sick or your body is just not feeling well, you’ll still produce milk, it just may not be as much.

I got the stomach flu and was throwing up for hours and hours and it caused me to pump a lot further apart. For two days, I just didn’t pump as much as normal. So it was really good to have milk to fall back on.

Get Extra Pump Parts

Get extra parts if you can if you plan on pumping for a long time. One of the things that I ordered were a couple extra shields (for my Spectra Breast Pump) and an extra pumping bra and pumping top. I ordered the ones that were my favorite and that were really comfortable. I could have one in the laundry and one that I was wearing. You’re going to spend a lot of time with your pumps on, so it’s really stressful to have no clean pumping bras and to have no clean pumping parts.

If you can get a couple of extra and look at it as an investment for something that you’re going to be doing for months down the line, then it can be really helpful and it can take a little bit of the pressure of always doing laundry and dishes.

I also got extra breast shields for my Elvie Breast Pump. So when they were dirty and when I was tired and I didn’t want to wash them I’d have an extra clean pair and that really helped save time.

Put Your Pump Parts in the Fridge Between Pumps

Speaking of cleaning your pump, when you’re exclusively pumping you can be pumping from six to 12 times a day. On average most people I talked to long term pumped 7-8 times a day.

That’s a lot of times to clean pump parts. The most beautiful thing that someone shared with me was to put your pump parts in a Ziploc bag. After you are done pumping just empty the parts, give it a rinse, and throw it into a Ziploc bag and place in the refrigerator.

This will keep the parts and the milk, anything that is remaining in there, at a safe temperature. You can just put the parts back together to pump again, empty into your bag, put it all back into a Ziploc bag, and put it in the refrigerator over and over. You can do this for an entire day.

Instead of pumping and cleaning it every single time with soap and water and drying it out, you can let it sit in the refrigerator between sessions so that you’re only doing one really deep clean a day.

That really saved my sanity. I had days where I felt like all I did was clean pump parts. When I found the Ziploc bag trick, it saved me so much time. I don’t do it every day but it helps on days I want to save time.

Now I’ve gotten really good at rotating with an extra set of containers. So I just wash one and if one is dirty I have an extra one, which is why I say if you can get a couple of extra parts, it is super helpful.

But if you don’t have extra parts and you need to clean them in between each and it’s driving you crazy because you feel like all you do is watch wash pump parts, just get yourself a Ziploc bag and put it in the refrigerator.

Get The Support of a Lactation Consultant

My lactation consultant has been amazing. I saw one originally who helped us diagnose the boys with lip and tongue ties. Then when I was breastfeeding, they were able to latch and nurse a lot better. I met with a second lactation consultant when I switched to be exclusively pumping because she spoke a lot about that and had a lot of great support for that transition. I just really felt like we were on the same page.

I have seen her a total of two times in person, and then I did a telecall with her this past month, and I can’t tell you the peace of mind I get even if I’m not learning anything new. I think sometimes just having someone sit there and say you’re doing a good job can help you.

I have asked myself if I can really do this so many times, but she always reminds me that I can do it. She’s also helped me navigate any issues like clogged ducts, supplementation, and supporting what is a low supply that I started with.

So how did we find her? We had a list of people covered with our health insurance and then I got a chance to read through their websites and see what they were all about, and how they talked about breastfeeding and pumping. Once I got to her site I really fell in love with how she talked about breastfeeding and pumping. I knew that it was going to be a good match for me.

All insurance companies are different. They differ in how much they cover and what’s included but I really encourage you to check it out if you have the ability to. I know that some lactation consultants don’t take insurance and you can pay for it upfront. They work with you on that, too.

So if you can see a lactation consultant and you want to have that support – that extra encouragement and expertise that reminds you that little changes make big differences – I really encourage you to go see one.

Meet with one or two of them and see who is the best fit for you. But it really has changed how I feel about how I’m doing right on this breastfeeding journey. When you’re at home pumping and things are getting frustrating and you’re looking for answers on the internet, it’s good to actually have someone to reach out to.

When I talk to her I’m brought back and reminded why I’m doing this, the importance of what I’m doing for my family, and how grateful I am that I can even do this in the first place. Seeing that we had a really rough start, it regrounds me and reminds me that while breastfeeding isn’t easy, and exclusively pumping isn’t easy, and raising babies isn’t easy, it’s so worth it.

I think that just having somebody who is there to be your biggest cheerleader while you navigate breastfeeding and pumping is powerful.

Consider Your Mental Health

My Lactation consultant reminds me that there is no right way to do this. You don’t win for having more milk. You win for doing what you can do and being as good of a mom as you can be at the end of the day.

That means that maybe you don’t breastfeed, maybe you don’t pump, maybe this is the end of your journey, or maybe you do it all or some combination.

It looks different for everyone. We talk about things I never considered like my own mental health when breastfeeding and pumping. We’ve talked about if the stressors outweigh the benefit of me pumping. I haven’t gotten to the point where it has, so that’s why I’m still doing this, but it’s wonderful to have someone to ask you those questions.

You need to ask yourself:

Am I more stressed out?

Am I getting too stressed to make this worth doing?

Is there something I can do to make this journey continue working for me?

I really encourage you guys to just seek out some support.

Supplement Carefully

After meeting with a lactation consultant you realize they work with doctors and know your case very personally. They aren’t just giving you advice on a wild guess. I really suggest that you choose supplements for yourself carefully and only with the supervision of a lactation consultant.

There are so many products that are out on the market that are labeled “breastfeeding support,” “herbal support,” and breastfeeding “magic potions.”

I think the best advice I’ve gotten off of the internet about what to take for breastfeeding was someone saying, “Look, if this journey is so important to you, and you really want to know what’s best for your body, talk to someone who knows what they’re talking about.”

Just because something worked for someone else doesn’t mean it’s going to work for you. What some else takes for breastfeeding may not work for your body. And these herbs that people are taking are sometimes really concentrated and high dosage. You shouldn’t just be just dumping those into your body because it worked for someone else.

The same thing with these “magic lactation elixirs.” They are all different and work for different reasons. They address different deficiencies in your body, or different things that your body is struggling with, but to know exactly what you’re struggling with, you should be seeing a doctor and you should be talking to a lactation consultant.

I would never recommend that someone look at what I’m taking for breastfeeding and match it just because it worked for me. If you cannot see a lactation consultant, I would recommend going on to reputable lactation websites like LaLeche League and going over their advice. I would also say to take it very slowly and one at a time if you do it on your own.

Give yourself a couple of days to a week to see if things are working for you. Even with my lactation consultant, we only added one herb at a time to make sure that I was going to add to my life and add to my supply.

We didn’t want to just add in five things and not know which ones actually helped. So supplement carefully. Different people respond to herbs differently. If you can get someone’s helping guidance, you can make the most of the herbs that will really work for you. Herbal support can help you keep your supply up if that’s something you struggle with.

Use Pumping Tools to Empty the Breast Better

There are a lot of tools out there to help you empty the breast better at each pump. I have a hand pump, lactation massagers, and a heating pad.

Those three things allow me to empty the breast better at each pump. When I was just using the pump, I wasn’t emptying the breast as efficiently as I was when I was breastfeeding and I saw a dramatic dip in my supply when I first started to exclusively pump.

I use a heating pad before I pump for just a minute to warm up the breast. This allows for better duct flow and comfort. I use the lactation massager or do hand massage while the pumps are on. This stimulates and helps release the milk from the ducts. I use the hand pump or hand expression after the pump is over for a minute to make sure I was able to better empty the breast and there is almost nothing left in there.

These tools allowed me to bring the supply back up. While it felt like a lot of fuss, once I got into a routine it only added a few minutes to each pump. The goal is to have comfortable, efficient pumping sessions and sometimes that means adding a heating pad or adding in lactation massagers. Maybe it’s hand expressing at the end for you. No matter what combination works for you, just empty the breast as best as you possibly can so your body knows to produce more milk and your supply stays strong.

I know that was a really long blog and thank you for reading it! I hope you enjoy these tips. Let me know if you’re an exclusive pumper! What are things that help you keep your supply up and keep you going on this crazy journey? Where do you find support? And what are the things that have helped you the most? Leave me a comment below.

How to Travel with Breast Milk and Pump

Breastfeeding, Exclusive Pumping, Lifestyle, Parenting, Pumping · May 15, 2020

What do you do when you have to go on vacation or a work trip, or you’re just going to be away from home for an extended amount of time and you’re pumping? One thing I was really worried about on my breastfeeding journey/pumping journey was what I was going to do if I was away from home. It’s a little bit daunting to think about how you’re going to fly with breast milk. I kept wondering how I would pump on a schedule.

I ended up following the advice of several moms who were exclusively pumping and also had work trips coming. I was able to take ideas from each one of them and made it work for myself.

The biggest thing I’m going to share with you is the actual tools I took because I think it made a big difference to be prepared. The thing I thought would be the hardest, which was flying with breast milk, was actually one of the easiest.

Start Pumping a Month in Advance

I’m going to start by what I did ahead of time, and that was to pump extra. Every single day I pumped a little bit extra. I added one extra pump for the 30 days leading up to my trip. The trip was four days and I had to fly.

At that point, I was pumping six to seven times a day, I changed my pump schedule to seven to eight times a day, and froze the milk from the last pump of the day and put it in the freezer. That way I had 30 packets of milk that were frozen. Because it was only the last pump of the day it tended to be a very low amount. And so it wasn’t these big bags of milk but with 30 of them, there was enough for four days for the twins.

Even though they were not giant bags of milk because the last pump of the day for me is lower in ounces than the normal pumps, I wasn’t stressed out with trying to fill these big bags of milk in a short week before I left.

And so I’m really happy that I started way ahead of time with freezing it because if there was a day that I didn’t get that extra pump in, I wasn’t freaking out and it took the pressure off. So I froze a ton of milk and then I made sure to pack everything I needed for the trip to pump while I was gone.

What to Pack

Pack Your Breast Pump, Including Battery Packs and Chargers

One of the things that I’m extremely grateful for are these Elvie Wearable Breast Pumps. These are rechargeable and they go right into your shirt and into your bra to pump without tubes. I have a full review on these that you can check out here. They fit in my purse and I can pump as I’m walking around.

Since I was going to a conference, I knew that this would be the only pump I was taking. I didn’t bring my plug-in pump. Sometimes at conferences, I don’t go back to my room more than every four to five hours and that’s only if I’m just running and grabbing something. So I knew that I wanted the most portable option.

If I didn’t have this pump, I would have had to schedule time to go back to my room three to four times a day. At least three times during the actual conference meeting times and four to five if I count from the minute I left for breakfast in the hotel to when I went back to bed.

Lactation Warming Massagers

The second thing I took with me on this trip were LaVie lactation warming massagers. I’ve talked in the past about being comfortable while pumping in order to get the best output. When I’m traveling, I tend to be stressed. I knew I was going to feel stressed being away from the boys too, since they were only four and a half months old.

It was my first time being away from them besides my initial hospital stay where I was held back and the boys went home before me. It was a little bit stressful because it made me feel like I did back then when I was separated from them. Knowing that my stress levels would be up, I worried that my output wouldn’t be as great.

Flying also can be a stressful way to travel. This conference was luckily in the same timezone so the flight wasn’t too long. But sleeping in a different place than you usually sleep, being on a really weird schedule, and not eating the foods you usually eat can really throw you off.

I didn’t want to get into a situation where I got a clogged milk duct or I wasn’t getting as good of output with pumping because of stress. The massagers are really small and they use the same chargers as my Elvie pumps so I brought just one set of chargers for these two things.

These hold the charge pretty long and I only ended up using them at the end of the night when I was feeling more stressed from a long day. I just popped these on and turned on the warmer to help me relax while I was pumping and get the maximum output at the end of the day.

Hand Breast Pump

The last tool that I brought with me was my hand pump. I brought this because when I’m rushing and walking around a lot (like I knew I would be at the conference) and I’m not sitting still while pumping, I don’t always get the best pumps. Especially if I’m power walking, which I was doing a lot at the conference between each of the sessions.

So I brought the hand pump just to make sure that several times a day I was doing a really good empty after a pump to make sure the breasts were really emptied out. I only ended up using this at night too, right before I went to bed.

The morning before I flew, I used this as well just to make sure my breasts were super drained because the flight and airport wait is long and I was unsure about how I wanted to clean out my pump if I pumped on the plane in the little plane bathroom.

I just made sure the breasts were really empty before I got on the flight. I didn’t have to pump again until after I was off of the flight.

These were my pumping supplies and all of that actually fit into a bag smaller than what my Spectra pump would have fit into. Even though it seems like a lot of stuff, I just put it in one bag together with the charger and was able to travel with this pretty compactly.

Request a Refrigerator

I also brought a bunch of milk bags and a sharpie so that I could write the dates and times that I pumped on all the bags as I was going along. I knew that bringing them with me on the plane, it was possible they were going to get jumbled up and so I just made sure to label these really well.

Our hotel room had a refrigerator in it for me to store all the pumped milk. It didn’t have a freezer but the front desk said if I needed it they could store it in their big freezer in the kitchen. But I only used the refrigerator in our room and was able to store all my milk there easily.

I also brought a freezer bag lunch box. It has freezable material in the base and on the sides of it. You can put it in a freezer and the bag will freeze solid and it will keep whatever you have in there very cold for a long time.

Even though I didn’t freeze the bag, I did put it in the refrigerator before I traveled. It stayed really cold when I did this and then I took a little bag of ice from the icemaker in the hall, sealed the Ziploc bag, and added it in there with my breast milk.

Prep Your Stash for the Plane Ride

The plane ride was only an hour but I think if it had been longer I would have asked the hotel to freeze the bag and the milk. I brought my freezable bag around with me in my work bag for when I was walking around pumping. I would go to the bathroom, wipe the pumps out, fill the milk bags and then pop it right into the cooler bag so that the breast milk stayed cold until I could run upstairs to the refrigerator.

The cooler bag is big enough to be able to just put everything that I needed right into the cooler and keep it all in one place. That is how I pumped while I was out of the hotel room and walking around.

Bringing the Breast Milk on the Plane

Now comes the part where I get my breast milk onto the airplane. I made sure all the milk bags were really well sealed. I had the bag of ice that I traveled to the airport with and right before we went through security, I dumped it out so that the ziplock was empty and dried out well and the only thing in the cooler was the breast milk.

When I went through security I let them know that I had breast milk, so they pulled it to the side.

They didn’t have to scan them through the regular x-ray machine. I can’t be sure but it seemed like there was a certain allowance. The agent was measuring them and it seemed like they only paid attention to the really full bags above six ounces.

Then with clean hands and gloves on they had me open the bags and they waved a sensor strip over each bag. I had a chance to wash my hands so that I could help them. Everything stayed sterile. The test strips never touch the bag or milk either.

The whole thing took only a few minutes and they let me pack it back up and sent me on my way. But one awesome piece of advice she did let me know was that if it had been frozen milk that they wouldn’t have actually had to open it and test it at all.

Next time I will probably take most of the breast milk down to the hotel concierge and have them freeze it in the cooler bag. That way, when it goes through security, I will only have one or two bags of milk that I had just pumped from that morning that they would have to check out.

So it might have been a little quicker, but really no hassle the way I did it either. They were super kind about it, really sympathetic, and wanted to make sure that I knew that they cared about the cleanliness of the milk that I was taking home. It was a better experience than I thought I was going to have.

I had heard some horror stories about people who they felt that security wasn’t careful with the milk as they were testing it or they gave them a hard time about it. But that was not my experience. I’m really appreciative of the people who helped take care of me on the trip.

As soon as I got through security, I went straight to a Starbucks and I got myself a coffee, and a bag of ice. Then I just popped a bag of ice back into the cooler, zipped it up and the breast milk stayed really cold until I got home. When I got home, I put it in the refrigerator and used it the next few days for the boys.

Bring Your Water Bottle

The last thing that I will say on top of bringing the things that you need to pump comfortably and something to tote it around and get it home with, is to bring a water bottle to wherever you’ve traveled. At the conference, they had little water stations here and there, but I’ve found that I tend to get dehydrated when I’m on vacation or traveling.

Drinking water is the last thing that I think about and add that on top of the fact that I hate using public bathrooms, I am not just chugging water and having to pee every five minutes if I can avoid it. However, when you’re breastfeeding, that’s just not a great idea to let yourself get dehydrated. You don’t want your body to have to pull from its reserves because you’re not meeting its needs.

I carried a large water bottle with me throughout the conference and that helped me stay hydrated. The first day I wasn’t as hydrated as I should have been.

The second day I was super dehydrated and I felt parched when I woke up. Maybe it was from flying or being busy throughout the day and not drinking as much. For the rest of the conference I made sure to drink a lot of water.

Also, if you’re going to be drinking alcohol when traveling just remember to time your pumps accordingly. Try to pump right before you have a drink or two. And then give yourself that three to four hour window before you pump again. If you have to pump sooner for comfort, you obviously will have to dump the breast milk.

But if you’ve only had one drink and it’s been two hours since you finished that drink, you should be good. They say if you are good enough to drive you can pump, but basically this means you haven’t had more than one drink in an hour. And that you allowed enough time to pass for it to get out of your system. So stay hydrated, take a water bottle with you or make sure that there’s a place that you can drink plenty of water. I think that really helped.

Sleeping Longer When Traveling

I definitely realized that me waking up every three to four hours with the boys at night does affect my supply because one of the nights I slept five hours in a row and my output that morning was really, really high. I’m talking exponentially higher compared to just the extra hour that I hadn’t pumped so that was kind of cool.

I think as the boys get older and I sleep better, I should have a better time pumping. Obviously not getting sleep is stress on your body and so I definitely think it affects how much milk you produce.

Milk Stork Breast Milk Shipping

One last thing I wanted to talk about that I didn’t use but other people recommended, is Milk Stork. I think if you produce more breast milk than can fit into a small carry-on container or if you’re gone for multiple days and don’t want the milk to go bad if it’s not frozen – this is a good service to use.

Milk Stork actually sends a shipping box to your hotel and you pump and pack the milk into a prepaid postage box. It has a cold pack that breaks apart to activate and you put it on top of your milk and overnight the package back to your house from any Fedex drop off. If you’re traveling and you have a lot of milk to ship back, you don’t have to worry about it spoiling if you have a really long plane ride. You don’t have to worry about struggling through security with it either.

It was more on the expensive side, I think for the small box to ship it back to you the whole thing was between $80 and $120, and I think it’s closer to $150 for the larger box if you pump a lot of milk.

It can get a little expensive, but I think it’s really good for people who have long plane rides and don’t want to hassle with dragging the milk around. This is also good for anyone who will be gone for a longer amount of time and want that milk to get back home for their baby. That’s something to look into if you think it could help you have peace of mind while traveling with breast milk.

This is a link to their website and I think it’s important to just have options. If you can do what I did and bring yourself a quality cooler, you can save some money. But if you want the convenience or you’ll be traveling with a lot of milk there are always other options.

My biggest suggestion is to start prepping for pumping for vacation earlier than later. That helped me the most with the whole process. You don’t want to feel rushed and you don’t want to feel stressed. Stress is not your friend when you’re trying to breastfeed and when you’re trying to pump.

If you guys are planning on traveling and being away from your baby I hope this helps you prepare and travel easier. Comment below and let me know what you do when you travel and have to pump and share your experience and tips for doing so!