Twins

As Loki slumbers on my lap I take the opportunity to write a quick post.

We near five and a half months of pumping milk and three months of breastfeeding practice. All of a sudden Mommy's boobs are not so happy anymore and have decided to produce less and less.......and less milk. Apparently this is quite common in situations like ours. If Loki does not breastfeed well by his third month corrected/adjusted age, there is a pretty big chance he will not be able to learn breastfeeding at all. In addition, if by month 6 of pumping the milk supply is not sufficient, it is hard to maintain a supply at all. However, rather than settling for this fact, we pumped it up a notch. Literally and figuratively.

As the Special Start nurse phrased it: "we are going to trick your body into thinking you have twins." That is a wonderful idea of course. I pump a minimum of eight times per day. In addition, we are still aiming for ten Loki-Breast connections per day, although realistically this comes closer to seven or eight sessions. Of course, the bottle is offered seven to eight times a day as well. Days here are pretty milky, to say the least.

Unfortunately the plan is not working well. My milk supply is not really coming back. I have tried a great variety of herbal supplements and teas, which initially did help. So the next step, since giving up is not an option quite yet, is the hard-core drug Reglan. This drug has a pretty scary list of side effects from simple diarrhea and fatigue, to symptoms of serious depression, anxiety and suicidal tendencies - in the mom, not the baby, that is. So, we'll keep a close eye on me this time, and Dad promised to rescue me if I end up wandering around like a zombie, disconnected from reality. I am not too worried though. The more serious symptoms are less common and disappear soon after quitting. If this does not work I am probably just going to have to accept that I did what I could and there is not much more left to do to get the milk factory going again. But, I am hopeful for now. Especially since Loki has gained weight consistently for approximately two weeks now.

Our little dude had his second round of shots today, and as usual with unpleasant medical interventions, he behaved like his heroic self. He screams for a few seconds, looks at me with a puzzled somewhat disappointed face, and then just cuddles up happy with all the hugs, forgiving me for the pain I had him go through. Well, obviously this is my interpretation of the whole situation. He has three colorful band aids on his chunky, and I mean CHUNKY, thighs. He weighs 9 pounds and 7 ounces. Wow........

Mommy and Loki taking a bath:



Waiting in the doughnut for breakfast:


Suckie duckie is waiting with me:


Me and my twin:


We do look alike, they say. Just as handsome as I am: