Becoming Parents.
Our journey into parenthood didn’t start as we expected. Firstly there was the surprise at our first scan that we were having twins. Then I was put on bed rest from 26 weeks. Our very impatient little twins were born at 33 weeks and 1 day. The labour was so fast and intense and then instead of having 2 squishy babies to cuddle, they were sent to NICU and I was sent to theatre.
Eventually the babies were strong enough to both be in an open crib. We had one amazing day where they were in a twin cot together and everything seemed to be heading in the right direction.
Cystic Fibrosis.
The very next day we were told about Norah’s Guthrie test results. Her bloods had shown markers for Cystic Fibrosis.
Since that day there has been more heartache and tears than I ever thought possible. Norah was officially diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis when she was 6 weeks old. At the beginning it felt like there was no end to the dark tunnel and nothing was ever going to get better.
Thankfully with huge support from everyone around us there has been so much joy and love. And although the heartache will never go away being parents is way better than we could have ever imagined.
Twins.
Being a parent to twins is truely amazing, but it is also so challenging. Just when I think we have figured something out, something changes and we have to start again.
The sleep deprivation at the beginning was the worst. Running on zero makes everything so much harder. Thankfully the twins have been sleeping through since they were 14 months, but now we’re faced with a new daily struggle; getting them to eat. Not just eat, eat something that’s balanced and nutritious, eat something that is high in calories and contains good fats and eat something that isn’t full of sugar.
Meal Time with Toddlers + Counting Fats.
Meal times with toddlers are tricky, meal times with toddler twins are even trickier because they influence each other. Add Cystic Fibrosis to the mix and I feel like all my brain is thinking about is what I’m going to feed them next and how much fat is in a meal or a portion (oh and germs and meds and physio, but that’s not what I’m talking about).
When I cook something that they love and actually eat, it’s such a weight off my shoulders. Even if it’s only for that one night.
Sharing our Wins.
I want to share our wins with other families going through the same daily challenges. I want to share my recipes, with the hope that someone else’s child will eat their meal and their families can feel that same weight lifted. I want to give families the confidence to try new foods and to cook from scratch. I want family members and friends to be able to follow a recipe and know how much fat is in a meal, so that parents don’t have to pre prepare everything before leaving their child in someone else’s care. I want children to choose their own recipes, be involved with the cooking and one day follow the steps on their own; hopefully giving them the tools to help calculate the fats in their own meals.