Randomness 1-16

1)  I would not have made it through the last 4 weeks without the help of my very good friend seen here:

I only have one at lunch time and somedays I want to cry with joy at the cold fizz sliding down my throat.  Most days I'm praying that the cold fizz will provide me that extra boost around supper time, as all mother's know is the "witching hour" when I'm at my most tired and all hell seems to break loose in and around the house.

2)  Whit is an absolute angel.  He sleeps and eats and dirties diapers.  He's just starting to have more "awake" time during the day and shows extreme fascination with my hair line.  I highly suggest to all blond mothers that they color their hair dark because infants find the contrast between the white of the forehead and the dark of the hairline irresistible.  People comment all the time on how intently Whitaker watches his Momma.  I smile and say "Thanks" but I know the reality is that the contrast on my hairline is what is most interesting to him.

3) Potty training a 2 1/2  year old in the weeks after his new baby brother is born is a stupid thing to try to do.  Maybe I will write a book:  The Eight Stages of Potty training:

                  1)  Excitement:  In this phase, both parents and child are excited to start the process

                  2)  Encouragement:  In this phase the parents try to encourage each other and the child to                keep trying.

                  3)  Bribery:  In this phase, parents attempt to bribe the child with candy and toys to use the potty consistently

                  4)  False Accomplishment:  In this phase, the child has consistently gone to the potty several days in a row and has successfully been wearing underwear with no accidents.  This phase lasts just long enough to get parents excited that they have officially potty trained said child.

                  5)  Regression:  In this phase, the child starts pooping and peeing in his pants again.  

                  6)  Exasperation:  In this phase, parents are tired and worn out.  Mom is especially tired of changing underwear and washing them but is equally tired of cleaning up poopy diapers.  This is usually when parents tell their friends they think something is wrong with their child and that "this one" probably won't be going to college.  In fact, they are pretty sure the kid won't even make it to Kindergarten because he won't use the toilet.

                 7)  Denial: In this phase parents deny that they have started the potty training process.  The phrase, "He'll let us know when he's ready" is thrown around a lot to grandparents and neb-nose friends who want to compare kids achievements and gloat that their kid has been potty trained since he was 18 months!

                 8)  Acceptance:  In this stage the parents just accept that they will not be potty training this child any time soon.  They give up and buy another jumbo pack of 100 size 5 diapers.  Three diapers into that jumbo pack of diapers, the child will decide he wants to wear big kid underwear and use the toilet all of the time and will potty train himself in a matter of minutes.  Parents will then accept that they are stuck with 97 size 5 diapers.  

Right now we are in the Exasperation phase and rapidly approaching the Denial phase.  My hope is that the Acceptance phase will be fast.  It seemed to work with Walker - as soon as we "gave up" on potty training, he started going on the potty all the time.  And just so I don't feel like a total failure in the potty training department, I'd like to point out that Maggie was potty trained at 18 months.  We won't discuss the fact that her being potty trained had  nothing to do with me other than me forgetting to pack diapers for her one day when she was visiting her grandmother and Mimi put a pair of underwear on her and she never looked back!

I'm still taking credit for it!

4)  I got Mastitis this time around and boy was it awful. I felt the milk duct getting clogged on a Thursday night - tried to circumvent the mastitis by using warm compresses, pumping or nursing every hour, etc., but to no avail.  I woke up Friday with a mild fever and by afternoon had a temperature of 103.  I attempted to get to the Walgreen's clinic and the new FastER care emergency center - Walgreen's staff was at lunch and the new FastER care did not take my insurance yet.  So, I had to come back home, wait for Erik to get home from work and then drive myself to the ER where I was given IV fluids and IV antibiotics and waited for blood tests to come back. Luckily, the infection hadn't affected my blood counts so I was able to go home with a prescription for an antibiotic and instructions to REST!  Easier said than done, but I was feeling much better by Saturday morning.  Sunday was even better, but I was so tired still.  Now I'm all healed and feel much better.  

5)  I don't remember feeling so tired with the previous three babies.  I guess running after three kids and then tending to an infants midnight feeding demands is really exhausting.  

6) I forgot how much I love my hair postpartum.  It is even thicker and longer and curlier.  It will start falling out soon and look gross for a while until my hormones level out again.  

7)  The "big" kids have been so great with Whit.  They love him dearly and try to help me out as much as possible.  The possibly love him too much!

8)  I am both bothered and glad that Walker has still had school this past week.  It has been nice to still have a routine where I have to get him on the bus and to school and the three "little" kids all go down for a nap in the afternoon, but I feel like he is missing out on summer.  We went to visit my mom for a quick overnight Saturday to Sunday and the weather was so gorgeous and it was so relaxing sitting at my Papa's pool and letting the kids swim with their cousins.  I wanted to stay a few more days but we had to get back so Walker could finish school.  He'll be done Friday and then we'll really start having some fun!  

9)  I already worry about what type of relationship I will have with Maggie as she grows up.   

10)  I worry more about how we're going to afford to feed three boys!

11)  Whit had jaundice when he first came home from the hospital and the visiting Nurse and the PA at the pediatrician's office said they wanted me to supplement my nursing schedule with formula.  Ever since, I've been giving him a formula bottle about once a day and each time I prepare the bottle, I think how easy it is to do and have about three seconds where I think about giving up nursing.  Then I feel guilty.

12)  Walker devastated me a week ago by getting a "buzz" cut.  In my opinion he was scalped!  I cried when he walked in the door.  I'm still having a hard time getting used to this "hair cut."  Thank goodness it has grown in so much already!

13)  We did a family photo at my Mom's house the other day.  Walker was having a particularly difficult time getting in the mood of posing for pictures.  His dad gave him a little lecture and my sister managed to catch it on film.  This is one of those photos that needs no words - you can tell right from the start the jist of what is going on.  It will be one of those timeless photos we have in our album.  

14)  Me and my sisters:

15)  All the grandkids & Nana enjoying their favorite "toy" at Nana's: 

16)  My blessings:

Camp With Me 3

Camp With Me 3, originally uploaded by Seneca Hills Bible Camp.

Walker and his cousin are at Seneca Hills Bible Conference this weekend for Camp With Me Primary. Their Mimi Schwalm is there helping them enjoy their camping experience. Next year, they get to camp all on their own! Looks like they are having a pretty good time. Can't wait to hear all the stories when Walker comes home Saturday!

Goodness Grew!

We've got a joyful addition to our lives!  

Whitaker Scot Schwalm joined us May 26th.

What a blessing.

He arrived a little early (but I was glad of that!) and is absolutely perfect.

The doctor called about 8:30 that morning and said some test results indicated that it would be in my best health to go ahead and deliver today.  So, by 10 am we were at the hospital getting ready.   My mom and sister got there shortly after we did!  It was crazy.  I guess they were pretty excited.

This picture of my mom makes me cry a little because she looks so much like my Grammie (her mom) - which is unusual because most people say my mom takes after her dad (my Papa).  I actually took this picture from my recovery bed - she was busy posing for my sister, but from my angle, I saw this and wanted to have a copy for myself.  

My mom was such  a trooper this week.  I am so grateful for her giving up her routine and comfort for me to come out and care for the older three children while I was at the hospital and so Erik could work one day.  She made sure Walker got to school on time and clean, kept my wild middle two occupied and happy, and did odds and ends around the house so Erik wouldn't get overwhelmed and I would be OK with the state of the house when I got home from the hospital. She kept on top of laundry and even cleaned the laundry room (which was Erik's responsibility).  When she and Erik left the hospital on Wednesday night, I felt horrible because I had not gotten around to finishing some of the chores I had wanted to have done in order for her to stay comfortably with us.  I had washed the bedding for her room, but didn't get it put on the bed and I wanted to either get her a good fan or possibly an air conditioner to use while she was with us too because I knew it was going to be so stinking hot and she is like me and would rather be freezing cold than too hot.  We don't have central air conditioning and survive with two window A/C units - one in our bedroom and one in the sun room which we can block off from the rest of the house with our pocket doors.  I just felt awful that she wasn't going to be comfortable sleeping at our house.  But I was relieved to hear that she had thought ahead and brought her own fan with her.  Erik said it sounded like a small jet engine blowing away in there, so I hope she managed to stay semi cool and comfortable.  There are not words to thank her for helping us out so much and I'm overwhelmed with gratitude that she wants to take the older three again this week - this time taking them to her house to stay for a few days while I continue to rest, recover and bond with Whit.

I had some minor mix ups in the delivery room and there was a delay in me getting an epidural.  In an attempt to give me some comfort, the nurses tried giving me stadol (which I had already told them didn't work) but I was in such pain and emotionally drained that I caved and let them give it to me.  It was the wrong choice and I was left feeling drunk and having contractions.  I also look drunk and unsteady post delivery from it wearing off.  

Erik was so funny during the labor.  I knew he was terribly uncomfortable with me being in such pain, but he just didn't know what to do or say and became so withdrawn - which is so unlike him.  He was very brave and was by my side which was all that I needed.

This guy is totally in love with his new baby brother and has shown no jealousy so far.  This is a picture of him shushing everyone in the room because we were being too loud for his baby.  He has a cute saying and will ask, "Momma?  I soft him?" about the baby.  This request is for permission to touch heads with Whit and rub against him - kind of like a cat does.  It's pretty cute.

Miss Maggie May is quite the big sister and is prepared to take over for me in the event I should become unable to fulfill my obligations.

Our precious little guy.  He has no neck and several chins.  

and blond highlights to his hair.

He sucks his fingers for comfort.

And he is the final piece to my heart.

Where did those days go?

I didn't sleep well last night, so I am up early - well, early for me.  I'm not really a morning person - not a good trait for a farmers wife.  Anyway, I visited all my usual morning websites and blogs and nothing had changed since yesterday so I decided to look through my iphoto library and realized I took a bunch of pictures I hadn't realized I had!  Since this blog is aimed mostly at keeping family and friends updated on what is going on here at Goodness Grows Farm, I thought I'd just post pictures and some little stories inspired by them.

This boy just melts my heart.  He works harder than most grown men.  Everything he does, he does with all of his heart.  He's kind, responsible, caring, and sensitive.  In fact, there are times I fear he is too sensitive.  I worry about his heart and am afraid it will be broken many times in his life.  He is innocent and everything a little boy should be!

Did I mention how much I love his freckles?  These photos were taken back in March, right after a hair cut - his hair has grown out a lot since then and on humid days, it gets really curly.  He hates it and wants to get a buzz cut for the summer, but I keep putting him off.  I fear he won't stand for it much longer.

This little boy also melts my heart, but he challenges me in ways I never would have imagined.  

He is stubborn and strong willed and at times quite a bully.  He is independent, yet is fearful of doing things without his siblings.  He, like his older siblings,  has been blessed with impossibly long eyelashes.  We recently had a bit of a melt down because he was having a problem with the new sunglasses he got.  He was telling me they were broken and I couldn't figure out what he meant by "broken, Momma!"  Finally, I had him put them on and I looked all around his face to see where they were broken.  When I looked down on them from above, I could see his eyelashes were smashed against the lenses.  Poor guy's eyelashes were too long for him to wear the glasses so far up on the bridge of his nose!  Who complains about that?  

We're also working on potty training this little guy.  He went through a phase for a while where he always had to be wearing this blue skirt from Maggie's dress up bin.  On this particular day, he has on sweat pants, pull ups, the blue skirt and his muck boots.  I told him if he was going to wear the pull ups he wasn't allowed to pee in them.  Well, that worked, but he decided to pee outside, far away from me and then couldn't get all of his pants back up.  He was pretty stuck.  Of course, being the good mother that I am, I had to take pictures of it before I could go help him.

This little princess is something else!  She's smart and sassy and quite the tattle tale.  She doesn't restrict her tattles to things the boys are doing wrong - she gives me updates on everything that is going on.  She tells her stories with such passion and animation that even when she is being a tattle tale, it is quite funny to listen to her story.

She and Will are my big sweets eaters.  They would eat sweets 24/7 so I have to be very careful on what they are allowed access to.

Maggie & Walker have their very own cowgirl/boy hats.  On this day they were playing cowboys/cowgirls and were wearing their hats and boots.

Will was very disappointed to not have his own hat.  All we had left was a costume type hat that I had to modify to fit him.  He was pleased as punch, which is all that matters in the moment.  However, I have a feeling that when this photo comes to surface sometime in the future, I'm going to get in trouble.  Something along the lines of "sure, typical third child, always getting the left overs!"   Willie J, my consolation to you is only this:  Imagine the short end of the stick your new baby brother is going to get!"  Poor guy - I had to find a super larger rubberband and wrap it around his hat and chin to keep the at on him!

Scenes from fishing camp at my dad's.

Enjoying the last days with the puppies.

Will is obsessed with goggles.

Will falls asleep in our bed.  Typical male.

Maggie exerts her sisterly dominance and applies lipstick to her little brother!

Will isn't such a photogenic model demonstrating his recent lipstick application!

Walker holds Tubby - now named Levi as we say good bye!

I can't express with words how much joy these creatures bring to my life.  We wait with great anticipation for the arrival of this little guy.  We're at two weeks!  But we wouldn't be too disappointed if he came sooner!

Catch up

It feels like the last two months have been a whirlwind!  We've been busy enjoying warm weather and enduring the ups and downs of the temperature.  We've also been working through a few weeks of various illnesses.  Maggie & Will came down with the 24 hour stomach flu, thankfully not at the same time.  Walker had a bout of what I believe was Fifths Disease, which then led me to a series of blood work to determine if I have an immunity to the disease (I am) and general life on the farm!  We ordered 50 broiler chickens to raise for our own consumption and hopefully to sell to customers.  Erik has been super busy with his landscaping business as well as keeping our other customers happy.  In addition to the Burmese families that come to the farm to purchase their meat, we've been approached by a young man from the Pittsburgh area who is opening a gourmet market in the Strip District featuring hard to find meats/delicacies.  He has put in an order for a variety of things:  Ducks, geese, goat, in addition to specialty items like lamb belly (he makes a bacon out of it) and is even looking for venison, game birds, etc.  Erik is doing his best to accommodate him, but finding a lot of these animals on demand is hard!  It is kind of ironic that the game animals that Pennsylvania has been so well known for are so hard to find through domestic resources.

We've had two ultrasounds and as of May 13th, the baby was estimated to weigh 7 lbs 13 ounces.  That measurement was taken about three weeks before my due date.  Baby's gain about half a pound a week the last four weeks of gestation, so factoring that in, we're looking at a pretty big baby - about 9 lbs give or take!  I'm not really worried about it - have you met the children I've already birthed?  They are peanuts!  We are actually struggling right now with Walker because he has graduated up to the official "Olympic" pool at the YMCA for his swim lessons.  Unfortunately, the Olympic pool is kept at 80 degrees and he finds it freezing!  We've tried using those rash guard shirts to keep him warm, but it just doesn't work.   He's such a skinny little fellow and by the end of the 40 minute lesson, his lips, fingertips and toes are purple from cold!  Unfortunately, the class he is in is a mix of kids that have graduated from preschool swimming classes and youth ages 6 and up that have never taken lessons before.  His class has two inexperienced swimmers in it, which makes it difficult for the instructor to really provide much additional instruction.  He's too busy convincing the one student to move away from the wall and encouraging the other student to actually move his arms and legs.  This situation has been a real challenge for me because I want to interfere somehow because I feel the rest of the class is being treated unfairly.  They end up swimming the length of the pool and are left waiting at the end for the beginner students to catch up.  It's especially frustrating because Walker used to LOVE swimming lessons and now he cries and complains each week when I tell him we have to go to lessons.  He hates being that cold.  In fact, this past week, the instructor said that next week will be report card week, so that means only two more weeks of class.  Walker burst out with a "HOORAY!" when the instructor made the announcement.  Now I'm torn between registering him for class again.  My hope is that he will advance to the next group and leave the beginners behind but my fear is that the instructor, really having no time to evaluate the entire class on their progress, will not see that Walker would benefit from advancement into a more active class.  I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

The wait and see portion of parenting is the hardest for me to deal with.  I like to look at the calendar and make plans for what is going to happen.  (More like make plans for what I want to happen!)

  

All six of our puppies have found homes. HOORAY!  I was a little sad to see them go, but I know they all have wonderful new homes and are loved.  That's a good feeling for sure.

Walker has been taught how to mow grass and has been mowing it every week now.  We felt bad because we kind of scared him to death, lecturing him about the responsibility of mowing grass, how the other kids, dogs, etc. were not to be in the yard when he mowed, he was NEVER EVER EVER allowed to mow without our permission, and all the other bad things we could think of to scare him into being safe (like accidentally mowing off his leg, or his brother's leg).  But, we think he got the message and he did a great job of mowing!  He's very conscientious of what he is doing and I'm very proud of him for doing such a great job!

Separation of House and Barn

Erik is out of town for the weekend having taken Walker to an event in the state capital.  I am left home with the two youngest and 40 acres of chores.

I think it's pretty safe to say that each household has its division of labor.  Just from my general friendships, (*DISCLAIMER:  I am not implying or saying that this is EVERY household in the world - it is just my view of the microscopic circle in which I am part) I think that typically, the household is divided into outside and inside chores.

 I realize that many men participate in and maybe even enjoy the inside chores, but generally women do dishes, clean house, do the laundry, shopping, schedule and schlep the children, and men typically mow grass, shovel snow, fix things that need repaired, coach the teams the moms are schlepping the children to.  That is just a generality, but one that is, I feel, pretty accurate of the area in which I live.  Now, that is not to say that men can't do the inside stuff or women can't do the outside stuff  - it just tends to be how it works out.  There times in the summer months when I pack up the kids, load up the car and drive to my hometown for a week and leave Erik home alone.   I try to have all the laundry done, stock the refrigerator and pantry and leave little notes about what is there to make for meals, etc.  I can guarantee you nine times out of 10, when I call Erik at the end of the day to say goodnight, he has either been invited to eat at someone else's house or he just ate "on the go."  I come home to expired lunch meat and produce.  I don't usually expect Erik to do any of my inside chores because they don't have to be done.  I can usually catch up with them when I return.  That's not to say I don't appreciate it when he does go ahead and do some of those chores while I'm gone - especially the laundry, but it isn't necessary.  Which is funny because while all of the chores I do are vital to our house and family looking and smelling good, basically none of them have to be done daily, well, other than meals.

This time of year at Goodness Grows Farm, outside duties include:  starting and maintaing a fire in the outdoor wood burner, feeding goats in two barns, watering goats in one barn, feeding chickens in the chicken house, collecting eggs, feeding a variety of ducks and chickens that live outside of the chicken house at various points in the barn yard, and feeding four dogs.  Today this all had to be done in the mud and muck in the pouring rain.  And I had to do it all by myself!

The thing about these chores is that they have to be done regardless of who is home!  See, when I go away in the summer time to visit my hometown, all the chores I do INSIDE on a regular basis do not have to be done!  Erik does not have to do laundry.  He does not have to sweep floors, do laundry, cook meals,

 do laundry, take out garbage, do laundry, clean toilets, do laundry, make beds . . . and did I mention do laundry? 

 Sure, most times he does do some of that stuff, but most of the time he doesn't.  And that's okay, I'm fine with that.  My personal view is that because I have the privilege of being a stay at home mom, there are just certain duties that fall into my jurisdiction as part of the job of staying home. Maybe that's old fashioned, but it's my philosophy.  

But here I am, alone, 30 weeks pregnant (yeah, I slipped that one in) and I HAVE to do all of those outside chores or else I won't have any hot water for bathing, cooking or LAUNDRY, no heat in my house and I would have a barnyard of dead animals on my hands (well, I don't think they would really die of starvation in four days, but you get the point).

This realization has given me pause.  All of the things I do around here that I think are so vital to our existence here, really aren't.  Well, maybe cooking - but that's about it.  Okay, and keeping my kids clean, that is kind of important too, but as evidenced by pictures, I don't do such a bang up job on that front.

Here I was earlier tonight feeling all martyrish that not only was I doing my chores (which, by the way, I do not understand how removing one grown man and one six year old boy from the equation lessened my burden by so much, but it did) but I also had to do the outside chores on top of being 30 weeks pregnant (I know, I'm milking the pregnancy thing).  I was throwing logs into the fire (logs, I might add, my husband carefully cut to manageable sizes and then stacked in a trailer at the same height as the furnace door so I wouldn't have to do any heavy lifting) the rain soaking my hair and dripping into my eyes, mumbling something about how he'd (my husband) better appreciate the fact that I'm willing to come out here and do all these things! when I realized I took for granted that my husband not only willingly goes out and does all of these chores daily, he does so happily and with no complaint, unlike me, who complains at least a million times a day about the mud and the laundry!  I think at most, there have been maybe two times that Erik has complained about a chore and that was when he needed to cut more firewood for the furnace after having already been awake and plowing snow for 16 hours.  But he fired up the skid loader, trekked through a foot of snow and cut wood for the furnace because it was VITAL to our survival.  

So, I'll end my little tale by admitting that I have been significantly chastised and have let go of my martyrdom.  I've turned my complaints to prayers of gratitude for a husband that keeps all the outside chores running so smoothly and for never grumbling about having to do them.

I am grateful for the luxury of living on a farm where the separation of house and barn is an option and that should I ever find the desire to participate in the barn world, I can, but in the meantime, I'll continue to plow through the mountain of laundry that constantly lies in wait, even though I'm 30 weeks pregnant.  And I'll try not to think about how much MORE laundry I'm going to have in 10 weeks time.

Random Conversations with my Children

I know that this post will have no real appeal to anyone outside of my family, but since the  main goal of this blog is for me to have a record of the things my family does, I thought that it was time to put together a post of Random Conversations with my children.

Momma:  Maggie?  Why did you spread your curtain that fell down all across the floor last night?

Maggie:  Because a BIG cwocodile and a wittle cwocadile was gonna get me.

Momma:  What were you more afraid of, the big one or the little one?

Maggie:  Well, I sure wasn't afraid of the wittle one!

The children have been expressing a great deal of interest in what is going to happen to me as I get closer to my due date.  Unfortunately/fortunately, they are pretty aware of the actual birthing process having watched a wide variety of animals give birth on the farm.  Walker has expressed some anxiety over all the doctor appointments so we recently had him come with us.  It was a busy day - I had to do a one hour glucose test where I drank a sugary orange drink (I found out that this drink contains 3x more sugar than a Mountain Dew soft drink!) and then after waiting for one hour, I have blood drawn.  In the one hour wait time, we took Walker to the maternity ward, showed him the rooms and the nursery.  He wasn't too impressed.  Then we headed back to the lab to get the blood work.  He wanted to come in and see what happened and was sitting in a chair across from me.  He was a little scared but I just explained that the phlebotomist would stick a needle in my arm kind of like a shot and blood would come out through a tube and fill a little vase.  He watched with a little horror as she inserted the needle, but the we could see him straining to see.  The phlebotomist told him he could come over closer to see.  So he watched me fill up to vials of blood.  

Phlebotomist:  Here's one vial of blood - all filled up.  Touch it, it's very warm.

Walker:  Momma!  I didn't know your blood was so hot!

Phlebotomist:  Ok.  We got two tubes so we're all done.

Walker with great disappointment:  Aw.  Can't we just do another one?

I admit with some shame that occasionally we are those parents that threaten the kids with a wooden spoon.  We've never actually had to use it really, just the threat scares them pretty good because I have told them stories of my mom hitting me with a wooden spoon or the 'pank turner (pancake turner/spatula) and I make it sound so gruesome that they know it will really hurt.  The other night, Walker and Maggie were whining a great deal about cleaning up the toys they had gotten out.  

Erik said threatening:  Where is that wooden spoon?  

Will, running into the kitchen:  I get it for you, Daddy!

Walker recently went to the dentist and came home with a goody bag filled with a new toothbrush, toothpaste and floss. He left it in his Dad's truck but then asked Maggie to carry it to the house for him.

Walker picking his teeth with his fingernails:  Momma.  What did Maggie do with my gloss?

Momma:  Gloss?  I don't think you have any lip gloss, buddy.

Walker:  No - my GLOSS!  For my teeth!

Momma:  Oh - your dental floss.  Yeah, it's in the cupboard with the toothbrushes.


It has been a beautiful and sunny week here at Goodness Grows Farm.  Yesterday, the children spent hours outside.  Rather than come in the house and ask for one, they kids decided they would just get in the car and raid the stash of lollipops I keep in there for emergency bribe moments.  So yesterday afternoon, Will comes in the house with a lollipop and says:
Will (with a big smile on his face and laughter in his voice:  Momma.  Chloe like me pop.  So funny.  
Momma (a little stricken, but complacent in only the way a farm mom can be when her children tell her about sharing their food with the pets): Oh yeah?  Chloe likes lime lollipops, huh?
Will:  Yeah.  Her say 'Yummy in my tummy'!  Then makes a big slurping noise.

Will (after eating lunch) sticking his belly out and lifting up his shirt:  Dere's a baby in mys tummy.
Momma:  Really?  What kind of baby?  
Will:  A pink one.
Momma:  So that must mean it is a girl baby.
Will (in his most indignant voice):  NO!  It is a pink one!
Will leaves kitchen in disgust.

Small Farmers Part 2 - Antibiotics/Pharmaceuticals on the Small Farm

Small farming provides a host of challenges.  As we approach the Spring and Summer farming seasons, it brings about a new set of goals and obstacles for us.  And by "us" I mean Erik.  Due to my current state of pregnancy, I'm really not much use out back at the barns.  I am clumsy and not able to lift anything, so if I manage to maneuver the long path of sludge that we call the driveway to the barn, I basically just stand there and observe.  Erik is in charge of everything for the farm - from the day to day feeding to the planning for crops, arranging crops to be planted and harvested, managing our herds, flocks, etc., to performing emergency medical procedures and treatments, Erik has a handle on everything.  That's not to say that I don't help out a little and through helping out, I've gleaned a little knowledge and some opinions on the subject.   Here's the disclaimer I posted in my first post about small farming :Small Farmers Part 1 - The Chicken Chronicles

the following comments are the opinion of the author and are a compilation of conclusions I have come to after MINOR research into the small farm business. Please do not interpret my OPINIONS as fact nor should you take my OPINION as an endorsement for anything in particular.


I have to say that our farm has benefitted greatly from the internet.  In our area of Western PA., large animal vets are few and far between.  By the time you actually reach one on the phone and get them to your place, chances are your animal may be dead.  We have spent a lot of time on our cell phones - Erik in the barn giving me a list of symptoms and me at the computer looking those symptoms up for a possible treatment.  God Bless all those folks out there who are willing to share their knowledge with the rest of us on the net.

Having had to do that has led us to some conclusions about antibiotics and other practical drugs used in small farming.  Many people ask us if we are organic or hormone free, etc.  The answer is yes and no.  First of all, there is no such thing as "hormone free."  All animals that are consumed contain hormones because all animals create their own natural hormones.  When you butcher and consume them, you can't extract the hormones - well, at least the butchers we use don't offer that option.  I'm sure in some scientifically based, sterile laboratory out there some where, it can be done.   Usually when people refer to "hormone free" they are asking, "does the farmer inject or feed growth hormones to the animal?"  Growth hormones have been a popular choice in the past to enhance the growth of animals, creating larger animals at younger ages.  Here at Goodness Grows Farm we choose to manage growth through natural breeding practices.  Why don't Factory Farms use natural breeding practices to promote natural growth and weight gain?  Well, basically because it is a money issue.  To make more money faster, you have to produce more animals faster, which means you have to sell off animals at higher weights faster.  Not only does this mean introducing growth hormones, but it also means feeding the animals a steady diet of antibiotics to ward off infection.

Now, I'm not a big conspiracy theorist or one who always believes everything that she reads.  However, I've come across enough "conspiracy" articles to make me think twice about the ethics of factory farms and how they are "creating" animals for the marketplace (your local supermarket).  There are TONS of articles out there from major news organizations highlighting the problems with factory farm animals, but here are a few links to both major news organizations and some posts from other farm bloggers about their discoveries as to why factory farms use antibiotics as a PREVENTATIVE measure and what that means for us, the consumers.

Is Your Food Safe?
Giving Antibiotics to Animals . . . Not So Smart

If you don't feel like reading these articles, the break down is this.  Factory Farms routinely give their animals small doses of antibiotics as preventative measure to cut down on infections, etc. that tend to plague feed lots.  Additionally, research has shown that routinely feeding cows (beef) antibiotics there is a three percent increase in growth in those animals.  This should be wonderful, right?  Cows are growing faster, staying healthier, and the factory farmer is making better profit AND better yet, the increased good health of these animals leads to better prices at the supermarket because the farmer has less loss (death) to counterbalance.

Well, research is showing that not only are feed lots/ factory farms unhealthy regardless of the use of antibiotics, the use of antibiotics in consumable meat is leading to the mutation of many forms of common viruses.  Not only are the viruses mutating, but humans are consuming (through their meat and environment) small doses of COMMON antibiotics making those antibiotics useless to treat many common infections.

So, what does this mean for the small farmer?  Well, here at Goodness Grows Farm, we use antibiotics and/or other pharmecutical treatments regularly AS NEEDED.  Why?  Well, if you had a serious infection that could be treated easily with a course of antibiotics, you would do it, wouldn't you?  Strep throats, ear infections, etc., are all treated regularly with a simple course of antibiotics.  It is important for your health, right?  It's the same for a small farmer.  A while back, we had an outbreak of pink eye in our goat herd.  Should we have completely ignored the infection, allowed our goats to go blind and let our consumers see us treat our goats inhumanely or were we right in secluding the infected animals, treating them all with a minimal course of antibiotic treatment and then once they were healed return them to the herd?  Economically, the right thing to do was to treat our herd.  The antibiotics were administered for less than 10 days.  We do not believe in the daily administration of antibiotics to our animals, but yes, when needed, we will provide adequate medical care.  It is good farming practice.  

Animals are expensive - especially animals considered "stock" which refers to the animals kept on a farm for breeding purposes only.  If we did not treat our breeding stock appropriately when they are sick, we would be out of stock in months.  Every animal has a disease or ailment that they are prone to.  Goats often develop pneumonia.  Is it humane to let our stock suffer with pneumonia just so we can say our animals are "antibiotic" free?  Of course not.  That's just ridiculous.  Just as any extreme is ridiculous.  Most small farmers I know practice a common sense, middle of the road approach to farming.  Especially small farmers that rely on that farm for income.  Whenever possible, we use as many home remedies as possible.  I can't even tell you the concoctions we have created in my kitchen for our goats they are so bizarre, but they didn't involve pharmeceuticals and we were able to treat and even in some cases save the lives of our stock.  In fact, one simple treatment many dairy farmers use for their cows when they have a twisted stomach or other stomach ailment is to give the cow a bottle of beer.  The yeast in the beer has components that help level out the bacteria in the stomach.  It seems so simple yet is very scientific.  On the other hand, when we have a dire situation, we have the proper antibiotics and other medications on hand to treat our animals appropriately.

It's all about balance, folks.

Sharp wire brushes leave your caviar looking clean

Sharp wire brushes leave your caviar looking clean


I'm trying to earn money on my blog.  One of the ways to do this was to register with a site that will not suggest advertisers to place ads on my site, but will also allow advertisers to request that I write articles for them.  


We'll see what happens, but for now, I had to publish that silly opening sentence so they can verify I own this site and am not trying to make money off someone else.  


I'm not sure how effective this is going to be - but if you happen to catch me out purchasing a vacation home or something, I guess you'll know my attempt at gaining advertisers worked!  


Thanks : )