Happy Due Date.. err, Fourth of July

Today marks what would have been 40 weeks pregnant with Sprout. Instead the little guy is three weeks old. So amazing! His daddies are doing great with him, I think They're naturals, if you ask me. I'm told he's still a quiet little one, which I joke that he did not get from me!

Baby blues have set in somewhat for me. I think the majority of my being down is due to some pain I'm experiencing in my incision area (there's a bump under my incision where I believe I may have popped a stitch, it's quite weird to feel), and then the leg. Oh, the leg. Gimpy leg, as it's called around the house. It has it's own name! There's been some slight progress, but I don't see myself walking without my brace before the end of the summer. Do I hope I am? Sure! But I like to be realistic, too. It's just hard, because it limits me. I'm doing more and more, but it's still irritating and limiting either way. Ah well.

Breast pumping is going well. I am nearing 50 ounces a day, which I am pleased with, but I can admit that I'm hoping to get a bit more of a supply in the coming weeks. Still, 50 ounces is great, and I know that. After having not even 1/4 of this supply with my own twins, I'm thrilled with this. I have about 400 ounces in my freezer since my last shipment to Sprout. That freezer is filling fast! Oh, I have a LOT more room, but it's nice to see it filling with the milk that MY body has made.

I keep having dreams where I wind up pregnant and we find out that (obviously) the OB forgot to remove my uterus when Sprout was born. It's either that dream or another dream where my husband reveals that he wants another baby. I addressed this with him the other day, but the look on his face told me that'd never happen, not to mention the words that flew out of his mouth.. something along the lines of some laughing and then him saying, "I don't think so!" I have a lot of friends that have quieted about their own journeys to motherhood or surrogacy, because they don't want to upset me. But honest to goodness, I am fine with the hysterectomy. It is strange to think that I don't have to think about birth control again, that even if I wanted that I cannot have another child. (And believe me, even with a uterus, I'd be so very very done!)

All in all I think I'm doing pretty well, even with some hiccups thrown into this. Lately I do one of only a few things, and that's eating, resting/sleeping, pumping, or playing/interacting with my kids. This milk making thing really takes it out of you, and as I am reminded by many, losing half of your blood supply and having it replaced with transfusions can take weeks to recover from. I'm not used to this resting thing, not to this degree. But I am trying to enjoy it while I can, while semi-looking forward to when I can be up and around more, doing more myself, and hopefully getting to the beach before the summer is over (without the brace would be awesome, haha).

Happy 3 weeks to Sprout, and Happy Fourth of July! :D

An Interesting Time

Warning: Rambling about pumping breast milk is included below.

So, I'm about 1.5 weeks postpartum right now. It's been.. interesting. This leg thing has thrown me for a loop, but I'm adapting pretty quickly. I don't use the walker right now, though I imagine I will here and there for longer trips out. My leg brace is saving my life right now. Well, my sanity. Thank goodness for that, even though it's a pain in the butt (quite literally at times).

The good news is, I was sitting at the dining room table yesterday, eating my lunch. I had the brace half undone, as I need to bend my knee a bit when sitting at our table. I thought to myself, "I'm going to lift my leg up." So I look at my leg and lift it.. and I got my foot up about a foot or so from the floor. I held it there for 5 seconds easily. I put it down and looked over at my husband and half-shouted at him that I just lifted my leg up! He got up to come over and see and this time I took the brace off completely and did it again. Amazing. It didn't drop down like dead weight either, though I had to lower it quickly as the pain from holding it up wasn't feeling too good.  I haven't been able to raise it again like that since, but I am pretty sure this is just a reminder that this process is going to be slow. I'll take slow as long as I regain my ability to walk again (without the brace, without hurting my lower back from said brace!).

I still can't talk much about my leg without crying. So, if you know me in real life and try to talk to me about it, well - don't. It's a pretty emotional topic for me. I can talk with hubby, but most anyone else and I just want to cry. I'd be taking it easy either way, yes, but this has limited me quite a bit and that's been very emotional for me. I've been sleeping on the couch since I was discharged from the hospital. Just the idea of strapping the brace on to get up and pump during the night sounds like a royal pain, plus I'd wake my husband (the velcro on the straps is LOUD!). So, I sleep on the couch, then when it's time to pump, I wake and sit up and pump. I don't have to worry about waking anyone and I don't have to strap the brace on a few times a night either. But hubby is starting to ask when I'm going to start sleeping in our bed again, so I think him sleeping alone is bothering him now. I need to figure this out, what is easiest and best, but it's not easy..

As for pumping, I am so so proud of my body! My supply is increasing a bit each and every day so far. At first it was growing by 5 ounces a day, but it's slowed a bit, though I am NOT complaining. Yesterday I pumped 36.85 ounces! I think it's safe to say that that number is above what Sprout is taking in at this point! I'm elated. I'd still like my supply to increase a bit more, as I'd like to get ahead of him by a bit more. I am pumping 9 - 11 times a day. I typically pump for 20 - 35 minutes each time, so geesh - I'm spending just over 4 hours a day pumping?! It doesn't feel like it at least. And I'm finding pumping to be pretty relaxing, so that's nice.

I need to get my first shipment out to Sprout today, though. I am nervous about shipping milk across the country. It can be done, it is done often, and I'm sure things will be fine. I know the ins and outs of how to do this, but handing off my precious milk, which I've been working SO hard for, is slightly stress inducing! :O I'll be sure and take photos later today. I am proud of what I've done. Part of this is due to my supply or lack thereof when I was pumping for my twins. I remember how upset I was then at how poorly my body was doing or that's how I saw it. So, to have a good supply now? Yes, I am excited.

According to my Milk Maid app, I have 5.64 liters or approximately 190 ounces of milk. That's not including what I pumped and gave to the daddies before they left last week, it only includes what's for sure in my freezer right now.

So, all in all things could be worse with the leg, but they aren't and for that I am thankful. When I think about the surgery and everything I was up against, I think what I'm dealing with now is pretty minimal, even though I'd love to have the use of my leg back soon, haha. And the pumping is going great, plus it's been educational for my kiddos. They find it fascinating that I can make this, and it's made for some interesting conversations in our house lately. I like that they are so interested and are comfortable asking questions. The boys seem more interested than my daughter. :)

And for some photos.. because it's my blog and I can put these here and not feel like I'm boasting! :P

Some of the freezer stash

One days worth of milk ready to be bagged

One days worth of milk ready to freeze

Love this app!

Pumping and Napping

That's all I'm doing lately or so it feels like. Pumping and napping. Being stuck on the couch due to my leg probably means that I am napping more than I would if my leg actually worked. I am pumping 8-10 times per day, including two pumps during the middle of the night when I'd be sleeping. Getting at least one pump in between 1 and 5am is vital right now, since prolactin levels (the hormone that makes you make milk) are at their peak then. I am so glad I can nap when I want and need, it's been really helpful. I am not the type to nap typically, but lately it's been needed! My husband is getting used to walking into the living room and finding me zonked out on the couch.

Pumping is going quite well, I think. My supply is steadily increasing each day. I keep track on an app on my phone (MilkMaid). It's neat (for a geek like me, ehem) to see how much I am producing and how it's increasing! I'll have to do some screen shots of it soon. I am not even using the app to it's full potential, just for basic record keeping, but I LOVE it and suggest it for any mama that is pumping even part time!

My husband has been great. He's been helping me with storing milk, washing bottles, making sure I am taking my vitamins (I am still scatterbrained lately!), keeping my water bottle filled, etc. I have a little setup around the couch, which makes the living room look cluttered, but with being sort of disabled for a bit, it's what works for me! I have my pump supplies in their basket, but then my table with my vitamins, my water bottle, and so on. I then have a bag of snacks near where I sit, full of protein filled snacks, and some of the lactation cookies I had baked (and froze) just before I had Sprout. I am currently eating these cookies: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Lactation Cookies by Noel Trujillo They are SO good. I altered the recipe a bit by adding fenugreek and blessed thistle too it. I don't know if they're helping my supply, I eat them more because I prefer snacks right now, and they are just GOOD! I don't feel badly eating them like I would other cookies either.

I said goodbye to Sprout and his daddies on Monday. My husband and I went out to dinner with them, which was nice. We talked quite a bit and then Sprout was hungry, only I guess he just wanted to snack. It was the last day that I'd ever nurse a baby. There I sat in the Olive Garden taking photos of him nursing. I am sure some people thought I was strange, but I didn't care. And here is the first and one of the few photos I'll probably post of him on this blog. He is so gorgeous, but then, I am biased! This was our last nursing session. Such a little love he is. :)

I also gave the guys the milk (colostrum!) I had pumped between Saturday evening and Monday afternoon.

 

I was and am pretty proud of that actually! I've already started putting some in the freezer since then, and that's been a great feeling as well. It makes the work of this worth it, to see what is Sprout's food, what his daddies will feed him. And yes, I will be taking photos of my frozen milk before I ship it off. Do you expect any less of me? Ha.

I'm doing pretty good otherwise. My leg is still useless, and I am getting better at strapping on the immobilizer quickly. I use the walker around home, but out and about I tend to hold on to my husband's arm as it's easier on me. The walker is causing me some pain in my back and in my good leg, so I am learning quickly how to get around without it (but doing my best to be safe, of course).

I am excited to see where pumping goes over the next few days to few weeks. It's interesting, to me, to see my supply gradually increasing. The human body is amazing, and I'm once again reminded of this fact!