Double trouble

All good news! My babies are now a week old. Both babies were off CPAP after the first 3 days, which is stupendous!!! They are breathing on their own, and the IV's have been taken out and they are on a gavage of breast milk only. They are crying heartily, and are already gaining weight back. I couldn't ask for anything more at this stage. After reading a little of www.rastalesstraveled.com I'm even more appreciative, and her twins were born at 30 weeks! This gal is a trooper who has been through so much more than I have just to have her babies, and her baby boy was born sick with lung problems and is still on CPAP four months later and she is out of money and unable to leave India.

Cleaning ladies left the house spic and span this morning, and  I am 95% ready to go to India.  It was the best $90 I've spent in forever. I wanted to kiss both the cleaning ladies on the mouth when it was done despite them being covered in dust bunnies and smelling like lysol. The four large suitcases (2 carry on) are loaded and ready to burst at any minute. I managed to cram in everything I wanted except my DVD player and P90X which was just a luxury item probably not worth taking in the first place. I should have family coming in with diaper reinforcements since the 16 packs of 31 diapers each I have in the first bag will likely run out, and I have 15 more packs in a suitcase ready to go along with items we'll need later. I plan on paying through the nose for being over the baggage weight limit for the first time in my life.  The nursery still has 3 walls that need painting and the living room has 2 walls....and with some luck on my side I'll get that done too.

We had a bad string of luck and the washer hose detached twice in 2 days and did some laminate damage due to 10 gallons of water spilling all over the place. I laughed it off despite the warped flooring next to the washer, thinking that everything in my life good or bad comes in two's now. But then we had a hot water pipe burst a day later, and my sense of humor disappeared and for a moment I did lose perespective and let my life overwhelm me. Frankly I just decided that I don't have the time or the inclination to deal with it right now, especially since the suspected pipe is not easy to get to. I'd rather save money for now and get my babies home. So we kicked the plumbers out who were charging $216 an hour, shut off the hot water, and my lovely husband will take cold showers until I get back. Insert joke here. But I'll be in a hotel in India living out of a suitcase, so this can be his way of showing solidarity with the trials I'll be enduring. And overall I've taken it as a lesson...two steps forward one step back is a lot like the NICU I'm told.

Baby shower is tomorrow! I am excited, but have been so busy I haven't had time to get really excited. I think this means tomorrow I will be really overwhelmed and emotional. I can't believe this many people are coming for us and I have such wonderful friend's hosting it. I never thought I would have something like this.

Since Tara broke the sac and was born first I'm thinking she may be an impatient little girl. Just like her Mommy. She'll just have to wait another 5 days! It feels like forever. It doesn't feel all that long until I leave, because I still have a short but time intensive list of things to do until then. But the journey will be long and starts on Monday at noon and ends on Wednesday on the other side of the planet after hours and hours of flying and layovers, including an all night layover in Mumbai. Same airport as last time. Will have 100 men staring at me again I'm sure. Uber creepy.

Now onto the trials of induced lactation. As soon as they were born and I rented the hospital breast pump (Medela Symphony), I've been pumping on an irregular schedule 8-10 times per day. I started off 4-5 times a day and built up, but with everything going on I can't schedule it every 3 hours like I would like to and at 2:30 am and 5:30 I press snooze a lot! I didn't expect much because I wasn't being consistent on times and am too rushed to worry about my diet and water intake just yet. I'm taking Alfafa and Blessed Thistle supplements, and chewing up Fennel and Fenugreek seeds three times a day. It is waaaaay cheaper to buy the latter two in the spice aisle and just chew them up. I ground up the Fenugreek seeds in my coffee grinder since they are pretty hard, and I would say the end result is good. Both spices taste fine, and in fact the fennel seed is commonly used as an after dinner mint in every Indian restaurant I've ever been to (mixed with a few sweet bits). I've had about four months of Domperidone instead of the recommended six, and will have pumped for 1 1/2 weeks before I see my babies instead of the recommended six.

But despite the inconsistency, left boob is getting the message and producing a few drops every pumping! Right boob however has not been getting with the program. It has produced a few drops, but the last few times nothing at all. Most women have one that is bigger than the other, and my right one is almost a full cup size larger. I expected more from you right boob! But tonight despite my massive production level of a 1/4 teaspoon, they started to hurt after a 5 hour gap in pumping since I had to work today. I considered this a good sign and finally got relief from my console to pump. I figured it out. Left boob is the laid back one and is cool with a 3-5 level of pressure. Right boob ain't listening until I'm at at least a 7. So either I pump them separately or put lefty in for a world of hurt. Yippie. Let's hope lefty toughens up or righty loosens up.

But I'm pleased that after only a week of pumping I have some results, and once I actually see and maybe hold my babies everything says the rest will happen naturally. I'm trying to relax and focus on my babies, but you can only stare at the sole 3 pictures you have for so long. 15 min 8-10 times a day it doesn't hold your attention the entire duration and give you the relaxing warm fuzzy you need. Especially when you are sleep deprived and stressed about everything you have to do to get ready! I trust that with this good of results this soon that in 3 weeks when I have time to sleep and be with my babies and eat and drink better and pump more consistently I will have something they can actually eat.