Pumping (warning: includes some whining)

Since micro preemies are so small and immature, they are unable to take in any milk for quite a while after they are born. I think with most babies, they start out with very very small amounts of milk after the first couple of weeks. Because of Nate's belly problems, he didn't start taking in milk for many weeks. They also NEVER use formula on babies that small so they are very serious about moms trying everything they can to pump milk. If the mother is unable to pump, they use donor milk until either the mother has a supply of her own, or the baby is old enough to start formula.

No one thought that I was going to be able to establish a good milk supply since I was so sick and after the babies were born. They had us sign the consent to use donor milk and then told us to do the best we could to pump. Thanks to Todd, who helped me when I was basically unconscious for the first couple of days, I ended up getting enough milk to start a little stash for when Nate was ready.

Once I started feeling better, I became obsessed with pumping. I felt like my body had failed in keeping the babies safe while they were inside so I wanted to do everything I could to keep Nate safe on the outside. Plus, for the first couple of months, it feels like it is the only thing you can do for your baby. You aren't allowed to touch them or hold them so pumping is the one thing that makes you feel like a real mom.

As Nate got older and healthier, I really wanted to be able to nurse him. He did great while we were in the hospital but I was never allowed to exclusively nurse since they were keeping such a careful eye on how much he was drinking all of the time. I thought that after his last surgery in the NICU he'd do great but after a week of not eating anything and a week of bottles to slowly work him up to a full feeding, he just wouldn't nurse anymore. So when we brought Nate home from the hospital, we also brought the pump.

Fast forward 7 months and I am still pumping. My goal was to give Nate milk through at least his first RSV season so he would be a healthy as possible and able to fight off anything that came his way. So far it has totally paid off since Nate hasn't been sick once this winter (even after I had a couple of nasty colds).

This is where the serious whining starts so stop reading now if you don't want to hear it :)

I had no idea how much I would hate pumping by the end of this first year! It has been a huge blessing for Nate, which I am very grateful for, but pumping is HARD. Here are the top 3 reasons why I hate it (but there are many more than this list)

1. It's like nursing and bottle feeding. I spend a half hour pumping, 15 minutes feeding Nate the milk, and then another 10 minutes washing pump supplies and bottles. 
2. It is difficult to keep up a good milk supply while pumping so even though Nate is now only eating 4 times a day, I still pump 6 or 7 times a day, including one time in the middle of the night.
3. As Nate is getting older and not content just sitting in one spot, I am having to sit him in front of the tv while I pump, which is something that I never wanted to do. 

The hardest thing has been the time commitment. Being stuck on the couch for hours each day leaves a lot less time to do other things that need done. After complaining to Todd the other night, we decided to do some calculations. Here is where we were shocked!

Over the past year, we figured I had averaged about 7 pumping sessions per day. So over the course of the year, I have pumped 2555 times! Each session is 20-30 minutes so that comes out to be about 1200 hours or 53 days!! Can you believe that!?! 53 days of sitting on the couch pumping! I must be totally insane or I must really really LOVE Nate!

Surgery

So Nate had his surgery last Thursday and he did great, of course. He did a bit better on the drive this time because we decided to stop in Twin Falls for a little break half way.  Plus, I brought pretty much every book we own :)

We had to be at the hospital at 7:30 the next morning so we were all a bit drowsy. His surgery was scheduled for 9:30 and was only supposed to be about an hour long. They said he'd probably have to stay for about an hour after the surgery and then we could get him in the car and head home before all of his pain medicine wore off. We were hoping to be back in Pocatello before dinnertime. Here's what actually happened...

The surgery that was before Nate's had some complications so they didn't come to get Nate until about 10:15. By then he was starving and exhausted and had just finally fallen asleep. We were sent to the waiting room to wait. By 12:30, I was starting to get a little bit worried. I knew that they would have come to tell us if anything major had happened but we had already been waiting twice as long as we thought. Finally at 1:15, the doctor came out to talk to us. She said there was still a lot of scar tissue in his belly from the NEC he had during his first week so it took a lot longer than she expected to get through all of it.  She said any kind of belly surgery he has in the future (which is hopefully none) is going to be more complicated because of that. Luckily she thought about that during his surgery last August and took out his appendix while she was in there. So that should be one less thing we would have to worry about happening down the road.

That afternoon was rough. He was starving and exhausted but couldn't do anything but cry. He was too tired to eat and too hungry to sleep so it took a few hours to get him content enough to be able to get in the car. Finally at about 6:30, his belly was full, he had another dose of some good pain medication kicking in, and we left Boise. Luckily, he slept the whole way home.

He has recovered well. The first day he slept most of the day but after that, he pretty much went back to normal. The hardest part has been the activity restriction. He has felt pretty good but wasn't allowed to bathe or jump in his jumper all week, which are his 2 favorite activities. He's been pretty bored but physically, he's doing great!

Boise

We went to Boise this past week for some of Nate's follow up appointments. We drove over Sunday afternoon and came back Tuesday afternoon. It was great to get out of the house for a couple of days and spend a little time together since Todd has been working so much lately. We left during nap time thinking Nate would sleep most of the way. However, we learned that Nate no longer sleeps in the car. He slept half an hour and was awake the rest of the 3 hour drive. He actually was pretty good and only got fussy the last 20 minutes or so. I sat in the back with him and read him the only 2 books I had packed over and over again. We have definitely learned our lesson for next time though... bring a variety of books so I don't go completely insane!

We were able to stay at the Ronald McDonald house again while we were there. We are SO grateful for the service they provide! I haven't mentioned too much about them on the blog but they were a HUGE support for us while Nate was in the NICU. We stayed there the entire 5 months.  If anyone ever has the opportunity to donate or volunteer, please do so!

We went to the NICU for a visit on Sunday night. It was so great to see all of Nate's nurse girlfriends! They, of course, passed him around and totally doted on him and he loved it. No one could believe how big he was and how good and healthy he looked.

Monday morning, Nate had an eye exam. It went really well. They were testing his vision to get a general idea of whether or not he would need glasses in the near future. Luckily, his vision was great and totally normal for a baby his age. We were very relieved because the thought of trying to get him to keep glasses on right now sounded like a nightmare!

Tuesday, Nate saw the surgeon who did his 2 belly surgeries. She wanted to keep an eye on some hernias that Nate left the NICU with. She does want to repair them so Nate will have surgery next week to get them taken care of. It should be a super quick and easy fix and we will hopefully be able to go home the same day.

Nate loved getting to have morning snuggles in our bed. 

No wonder all the nurses love Nate! How could you resist that cute little face?

11 Months

Nate Bug is 11 months old! We spent his first 5 months wishing he would grow faster and now we want him to slow down! 

• He was 17 pounds 10 ounces and 26 inches long at his last doctor appointment. According to the growth charts, he is slowing down in the growing department but you wouldn't know looking at him. He is one chunky little monkey.
• Eating is still going well. He is still eating his vegetables like a champ and tolerating a few fruits. We hope to start working a little more on finger foods this month. Every time we have tried so far ended up in a lot of gagging and throwing up. He's also really liking his sippy cup. We gave it to him a few weeks ago thinking he'd just play with it but he has figured out how it works and really likes drinking water after he eats.
• He LOVES books. We read to him several times each day and he is really starting to enjoy it. He has his few favorite books and anytime I try to read one he doesn't like, he shuts it. Even if I open it back up and try again, he keeps shutting it until I get one that he likes. He loves books about animals and dinosaurs and is showing particular delight in puppies. Every time we turn to the puppy page in one of his animal books, he gets very excited.
• He is doing really well on his sitting still but shows no interest in crawling or moving at all. He is tolerating tummy time a little bit better and is getting stronger all the time but doesn't get the whole crawling thing at all. He has decided he likes standing much better and is getting really steady on his feet. I won't be surprised one bit if he skips the whole crawling thing and just goes straight to walking.
• One of my favorite things that Nate has learned this month is how to stick out his tongue. Todd has been trying to teach him this trick for weeks and he finally figured it out. We now also know that the mystery sound that he had been making for the past month or so was him trying to stick his tongue out. He makes that same sound every time he does it.
• He is also starting to understand some of what we say. He recognizes his name (well, he thinks his name is Nate Bug) and also a few phrases. One of Nate's favorite things to do these days is sing songs. Every time I ask, "Do you want to sing a song?" he gets really excited and grabs my fingers to sing with me. His favorites are "The Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Open, Shut Them" and "Row, Row, Row Your Boat". Hopefully I can get a video of this soon :)

He's getting too big for the dollar picture these days. He just wants to eat it! (Don't worry, it's in a plastic bag to keep the germs away :)

Natey with his sippy cup

He's always been a great sleeper so we haven't ever really had him in our bed with us. I put him in while I made the bed the other day and he loved pulling the sheet over his head and playing peek-a-boo. He was not happy when I took him out.

Nate's very favorite toy is a wet washcloth. He would chew on it all night if we would let him. He likes to play peek-a-boo with everything lately but the washcloth is his favorite. He gets VERY angry when we take it away.

                                          

Here's a video of Nate sticking out his tongue.