The Dairy Queen is open for business

So, this post probably falls under the heading "TMI", but I thought you might like to see how I spend my days. Since the day Lela was born, I've been pumping breast milk every 2-4 hours for a total of about 8 times a day. At first, I had to pump that often just to stimulate milk production. Now, I have to keep it up to provide Lela with yummy and nutritious meals. So, between my 4 daily hospital visits and my 8 daily pumping sessions, I have not had a lot of time to do much else. I know this schedule must be laughably easy compared to the constant time demands that a newborn requires once she comes home, but it still feels like a lot to me. I guess I'm just easing in to the new mom routine. Phase I is part-time parenting at the NICU. Phase II, when Lela comes home, is when the crazy really starts.

Speaking of food...Miss Lela had another milestone today! She had her first actual breast feed! We have tried to put her to the breast a couple of times now, but she has shown little (actually, no) interest. Today, the nurse encouraged me to try her at the breast before giving her the bottle, when she was still alert and hungry and much to my surprise she latched right on! Actually, it was kind of like that old board game Hungry Hungry Hippo: Lela nuzzled the boob for a minute and all of a sudden opened WIDE and clamped on. Thank god she doesn't have teeth. I don't think she got much milk, but she was definitely sucking (albeit intermittently) and we left her there for about 5 minutes before giving her food through the bottle. Her doctor was impressed with this progress - preemies have immature suck reflexes and it usually takes them a while to learn to breast feed. We're going to keep trying with the breast a couple of times a day before her bottles and hopefully she'll start to pick up on the idea that the boobies produce milk, too.

I'm done talking about breasts for now. Sorry Dad.