An update

Here are a few updates.  We've both been meaning to post with an update for quite some time now, but sitting down in front of the computer and getting our thoughts down in a coherent manner is difficult.  A few days ago I started making notes to myself of things that I wanted to mention, and it just took me a few minutes to figure out what one of my notes meant.  So, let's get this out before I forget even more.

Bennett milestones-

• He's started getting breastmilk via feeding tube.  They tried this one day earlier in the week and had been giving him too much too soon, so they stopped and started again a couple of days later.  He's now been getting it for a few days with no problems.  They have added some formula to the breast milk in order to give him more calories without increasing the volume of liquid.  They're hoping to help him increase his weight more quickly.  Although I understand the logic behind it, I'm not sure how I feel about this.  Isn't breastmilk supposed to be a superfood that shouldn't need to be supplemented?
• Earlier in the week (I don't remember which day now- Tuesday, maybe?) they turned off the meds that had been paralyzing him.  It was great to slowly start to see him moving around more.  First, his eyes opening, then him reacting to touching his feet, and then moving his arms.  Now he's moving around like a normal little baby.
• On Wednesday he celebrated his 1 week birthday. In true scrapbooker fashion, I made a little sign for him.  I plan to have these every week to begin with, then every month, as a way to show his growth.
• When I was pregnant I knit a pair of socks for him.  We had brought in some other socks/booties but they've all been huge on him.  The hand-knits fit perfectly!  And of the nurses who come by rave about how great they are.  It almost makes me want to knit another pair- except the needles that I used are so tiny it hurts to knit them.
• On  Friday he had his breathing tube removed!  We got to hear him cry.  Such a wonderful sound.  
• Thursday I got to hold him for the first time, and we've been able to hold him pretty much every day since then.  Each nurse has a different way for us to hold him, and some like him piled up with blankets more than others, but it's great to be able to do this.  I just wish I had asked earlier.  We had kind of thought we weren't allowed since there were so many tubes/wires.  I asked one of the nurses on Thursday when I would be able to, and she seemed shocked that I hadn't held him yet.  She quickly made sure that I was able to do so.

Stuff about Mumma-

• Pumping has gotten much better!  There are some better days than others, but overall it's going well.  Monday one of the lactation consultants came by.  She spent about half an hour with me, massaging and squeezing my breasts to work out the clogged ducts.  We got 150ML out of me, compared to maybe the 15-30 I had been getting on my own.  Wow!  I haven't gotten nearly that much since, but it's been going well.  And when I start to have problems I know how to fix them.  And she's come back frequently since then and helps me with little problems I'm having.  Chris and I kid around that Kim is my new best friend.  :)  I was having some problems with my pump yesterday, but Chris and I came up with a work-around.  We'll need to ask Kim if it's a problem with the pump or if it was something with me- maybe another clog or something.
• After the struggles that I was having with pumping, the nurse tonight commented that I have so much milk at the hospital now that I don't need to bring in what I pump at home- we can just freeze it and keep it for ourselves.  I guess it's nice to know I'm already building up a stash.  Apparently I'm a very good producer and I have no issues with my supply.  She also suggested that since I have such a good supply I shouldn't set an alarm at night and that I should let myself sleep, but I disagree with that advice.
• When I was over at the Brigham, the nurses were constantly checking my feet to see if they were swollen.  They never really got that bad.  Monday they were very swollen.  Tuesday they were just as bad.  Wednesday I went over to my OB's office to follow up on some paperwork and asked if a nurse could take a look at my feet.  They brought me back and had me do the normal OB appointment stuff- blood pressure check, weight check, and urine check.  Odd just for swollen feet, but whatever.  Apparently my blood pressure was rather high.  20 minutes later they re-checked and it was fine.  But since it was high my OB freaked out.  No one ever looked at my feet, but she sent me off to have some blood work done and to come back the next day for another BP check. She also wrote me a script for a diuretic in case I was retaining extra fluid.  By the time I got home, without taking any pills, my feet were much better.  The next day, my blood pressure was fine.  This OB likes to worry about everything!
• One nice thing about going back to the OB was that because of the weight check, I was able to see how much I've lost.  But the results surprised me.  On Wednesday, a week after giving birth, I had only lost 5 pounds.  That's not much more than Bennett weighs.  We had just eaten, so that may have accounted for some of it.  By Thursday's appointment I was down another 2 pounds, so I imagine a lot of it was food/water weight.