Nursing

So I did it, I officially "nursed" Ella & Claire yesterday. I felt a little guilty for betraying my beautiful committed pump which by they way is named "Symphony." However, I soon found that nursing preemies, you don't really get the full effect as their "suck" reflex is weak so afterwards they still have to have a bottle or be tube fed and I have to still pump. Ella wouldn't bat an eye and was not going to even be bothered with this new type of pacifier. In fact she wouldn't even take the bottle afterwards and had to be tube fed. Claire on the other hand decided that she was a ravenous bird and decided she was going to give it a try. She did well and afterwards ate half a bottle and was tube fed the other half. It was a more natural process than I was planning for regardless of the two nurses and one lactation consultant wondering around me and the alarms sounding in the background.

However, my expectations are low for continuing this process when I get home. I will continue to pump so they get breast milk, however the nursing part I think may be too tough with two other babies waiting in the wings. Even yesterday while I was situated with Ella, the other two both had issues from spitting up and chocking to crying and luckily there was a nurse their to assist them. Had it been just me, I would have to unhook a baby to help the others. Plus the time it takes to nurse, then feed a bottle and then pump seems like quite the daunting task when you have to do at least two of those steps two more times. And all of this occurs every three hours in which you must also change diapers, eat, and try to get a wink of sleep. Can you tell I'm starting to get a little overwhelmed at the thought of triplets finally???