Because the Lactation Consultant still scares me ...

Aaargh I bought a pump. I bought a Medela pump, even, which is the company that makes the hospital grade pump I've been using. I was going to buy one pump in particular but it was just way expensive so when we got to the pump-buying place I saw another cheaper one by the same company and bought it on faith, which is sometimes a bad bad thing but I do think they make good pumps so risked it.

It's a good pump. Really strong suction, lots of milk pumped, and risk of injury if I use it on the highest setting (which I found out the hard way [please don't ask.]) It has an electric setting, a hand pump mechanism and will also use batteries if you're somewhere without access to an outlet. The hand pump works so well that I almost prefer it to the electric, but mostly because it's much quieter. This pump is pretty loud compared to the hospital-grade pumps.

Holy crap, the word 'pump' is just meaningless to me after reading the last couple of paragraphs.

Anyhow, I still intend to hand-express lots and this pump isn't meant to be used for all your pumping. I got it to make sure I get my hind milk outta there for the kid, and also to use if I get mastitis and want to really make sure I empty the girls out. I haven't had any mastitis problems since switching to hand expressing, though, so hopefully that will continue to not be an issue.

Shaughnessy is doing really well. The level 2 nursery is agreeing with her and she's being her usual talkative self. Her nurse last night joked that Shaughnessy almost doesn't need to be hooked up to the monitors since she can tell from the other room what's going on with her based on how much and how loud she's grunting away. It's very true. That girl knows how to express herself.

The CPAP seems to officially be a thing of the past! I was cautious about believing it, but unless she gets sick she won't need it again. If she comes down with an infection or something she might need the help since she'll be weaker and having to put her energy toward fighting it off. Right now, though, she's breathing on her own and doing it well!

She's had two 'lick and sniffs' at this point. That's basically breastfeeding orientation for preemies, where she's put in the breastfeeding position but not expected to do much except hang out there. She's got the rooting reflex down, she knows how to suck (as evidenced by her enjoyment of her soother) but she has to start learning how to put it all together and figure out how to swallow while still breathing as well. So far she's been opening her mouth really, really wide but not actually latching on as a next step. Then she falls asleep. Hee.

I just like the opportunity to hold her even more, but it's encouraging to see that she has the basics and will probably figure it out in a couple of weeks. Preemies usually start to 'get it' by about 35 weeks gestational age and she's nearly there.



Overall I try not to have too many expectations. The fact that she's alive and already asserting her personality is enough to impress the hell out of me.