Meet Our New Mommy Blogger: Payal!

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to share my experiences of raising my girls! I have found along the way that going with your gut and following your heart is the best way to figure out this whole “parenting thing.” What makes life hard is that most of the information out there isn’t always parallel to that particular mindset. I went from not having the slightest clue about RAISING babies, to blogging all about them in a matter of weeks. Overall, this whole life experience has taught me to never forget that everything happens for a reason and to always remember to count my blessings.

Q: How did Twinmommy101.com come to be?

From the time I learned about babywearing (30 weeks pregnant) to the time that I actually became a first time wearer (3 weeks postpartum; 9 weeks later), my whole world flipped upside down. I had inadvertently stumbled upon a foreign place where moms were breast feeding and wearing both infants and toddlers without shame. Where they had no regrets about openly TENDING to their children and MEETING their needs on demand. A place where SO many things just “made sense” to me, even though I didn’t have the slightest clue about what was going on.

The INSTANT I was situated with my girls in our first carry EVER, a tandem pocket wrap cross carry (PWCC), it was like a switch flipped. The feeling that consumed my body is indescribable. After 3 weeks of (THOROUGHLY ENJOYING) laying in the bed off and on throughout the day doing skin to skin, I was finally able to walk around and have my babies close together! We were free to look up/down at each other, and because they were snuggled on my chest, we were as close as we were only 3 short weeks ago! Furthermore, my hands were free to carry an umbrella and some water so that we could take short strolls around our complex or just fold some clothes if I had the itch to do something around the house. Is there anything that could have been more right in the world? I mean, I even noticed an increase in my milk supply! (And what mommy can’t use that?) I knew by the end of that first day, I had to learn more ways to keep this mommy high going and my girls happy IMMEDIATELY.

Now, I LOVE reading and learning about things, but between trying to JUGGLE twins and find information specifically about gently parenting twins, life got tough. But being the kind of girl that likes to learn about things BEFORE I commit, I started using my nights and “free time” (nap time) to do my homework and learn about the things I was experiencing with the girls. Naturally for me after picking a topic, researching it, and drawing a conclusion, I HAD to summarize. I found that SO MANY other moms out there (of both multiples and singletons) had the same questions as me. Many of the times, the things that worked for me and my girls WASN’T the stuff that was the most widely practiced/easily accessible to learn about.

Having a place to share what I was learning through my research and how I was managing to stay afloat with twins only started to make sense. It’s actually kind of funny because, when I was pregnant, several people had suggested I start a blog and I remember thinking, “I’m NOT computer savvy AT ALL! And besides, NO ONE is going to want to hear anything I have to say anyways……” Better late than never!

Q: What are your goals?

I enjoy what I do SO much! Helping other mommies with their own journeys is something I never dreamed I would have the opportunity to do. My short term goals include getting officially licensed as a business and exploring my options with community outreach. I plan for this website to grow with the girls over time as I continue to enjoy fulfilling my passion to learn and connect with others. (Finally putting that psychology and sociology degree to work!) After about 16 years, I plan to stop “growing” and start expanding.

My heart will always lie with adolescents, specifically to those at risk for teen pregnancy and/ or not completing their educations. (Adolescence was my concentration in psychology and sexuality in society for sociology.) I don’t know where the wind will blow me, but I DO know what the focus of my end goals will be!

Q: What advice would you give to expecting moms?

Do what YOU want to do. People are going to throw ALL SORTS of advice at you. Take it all with a grain of salt until you feel your way out. EVERY BABY IS DIFFERENT! (And so is every mommy!) Take the time to learn about ALL aspects of things before you decide you start to do things a “certain way.” And remember, don’t judge others. You never know what is going on in another persons day. Just always be willing to learn and prepared to share.

Do your best and remember that YOU are HUMAN too! Don’t be afraid to ask for help! A tired and stressed out mommy makes for no fun. Find an activity that you and your babies can just “escape” the world with. (Ours was babywearing walks! Surprise Surprise.) Messes will be made, tears will be shed, and days will feel like they are NEVER going to end! But with that comes all the giggles, love, and memories you could ask for.

Your goals of raising children should not be to “raise perfect people,” but rather to raise people who can bring beauty to an imperfect world. Don’t forget it!

Q: What are some things that we can look forward to from this series?

I’m looking forward to being able to take some time to look BACK at the time before the chaos started. I LOVED being pregnant and am crazy enough to miss it. Between the 6 weeks of bedrest and the crazy road that we have been on so far, most of the times I’ve realized that we think we are doing it “wrong,” but in reality everyone is just trying to figure out how to adjust to this new life. I look forward to not only sharing our twin-ventures, but learning just as much from other along the way!

#mominc
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