Pumping breakdown by special request!

This will be a very tedious post for those not interested in my pumping.

I've copied over my spreadsheet at the request of a fellow blogger. I've changed up my recording through the weeks and now log how much at each session as well as a running total and a daily total. I stopped recording how long I pump for at each session, but generally it's until there's no more milk coming out-at least 15-20 minutes and I had many times that the pump shut off automatically (so over 30 minutes). I began taking 6 Fenugreek and 4 blessed thistle capsules on the 2nd or the 9th (whichever day Ciera and I went shopping and to the herb store-I blogged about it, so check the old posts-I think it was the 8th). I stopped taking them last week and I didn't see much of a difference when I stopped, although they say that you don't have to continue taking it once you see an increase. I started out logging my water consumption (that's the x's), but I found I was generally drinking 5 servings of 16-20 oz, so I stopped logging it. I do still get up once between 1&4. I set the alarm for 3:15 in case I don't wake on my own, but usually my breasts will wake me up. I switched over to the Pump In Style Advanced on the 26th starting with my 3rd session. The biggest difference I've found so far is the gentleness of the pump. The PISA may actually empty me faster, but I'm not certain enough yet to go on record with this. I like the let down on the Symphony better, but the expression on the PISA seems to be faster (although the switch over is a doozy on the nips!) and I seem to get more let downs.

Any questions about it just give out a holler (or a comment).
My final pumping of the day today at 9:30 was 9 oz, giving me a daily total of 77oz for my 1st full day on the PISA. I also try to 'power pump' a few times a week. After pumping my regular session, I wait 20 minutes, pump for 10 more minutes, wait 10 minutes and then pump another 10 minutes. This is supposed to mimic a 'cluster feed' for the baby and help increase your supply over the next few days. I also eat 1 cup of oatmeal 3-4 times per week.

Date	Time	Amount
25-Feb	8:05-8:21		0
	10:35-11		0
	1:05-1:30		0
	4:30		0
	7:25		0
	10:30-11		0
	3am		0
			2 oz.
Date	Time	Amount
26-Feb	6:45	1	1
	9:45	0.75	1.75
	12:50		1.75
	2:20		1.75
	4:30		1.75
	7:00		1.75
	10:00		1.75
			7 oz
Date	Time	Amount
27-Feb	2:20am		0
	3:40		0
	6:40		0
	10:00		0
	12:50		0
	3:30		0
	6pm		0
	8:40		0
	11:15
			21 oz
Date	Time	Amount
1-Mar	1:30am		0
	5:15		0
	8		0
	9:30		0
	11:30		0
	2:00		0
	5:00		0
	7:30		0
	10:15pm		0
			40 oz
Date	Time	Amount
2-Mar	1:30am	4	4
	5:30	7	11
	7:30	4	15
	9:30	4	19
	12:00	6	25
	2:30&4:00	8	33
	6:00	4.5	37.5
	8:30	5	42.5
	11pm	5.5	48
			48 oz.
Date	Time	Amount
3-Mar	2:15am	7	7
	5:30	8.5	15.5
	8:30	6	21.5
	12:00	6	27.5
	1:30/2:30	6.5	34
	6:00	7.5	41.5
	9:00	7.5	49
	11:00	4.5	53.5
			53.5 oz
Date	Time	Amount
4-Mar	2:45am	8	8
	6:30	8	16
	9:00	5.5	21.5
	11:30	6	27.5
	2:30	6.5	34
	4:45	6.5	40.5
	8:30	7.5	48
	10:00	4	52
			52 oz
Date	Time	Amount
5-Mar	2:40am	11.5	11.5
	6:30	8	19.5
	9:00	6	25.5
	12:15	8.5	34
	2:15	5	39
	4:30	6	45
	7:30	6	51
	9:00	4.5	55.5
			55.5 oz
Date	Time	Amount
6-Mar	12:40am	9.5	9.5
	4:00	8.5	18
	7:30	8	26
	10:30	8.5	34.5
	1:00	6	40.5
	4:00	7.5	48
	6:20	7	55
	9:00	7.5	62.5
			62.5 oz
Date	Time	Amount
7-Mar	1:30am	10.5	10.5
	6:00	10.5	21
	8:00	4.5	25.5
	10:00	6	31.5
	1:00	8	39.5
	3:30	7	46.5
	7:30	11	57.5
	9:30	6	63.5
	11:00	5	68.5
			68.5 oz
Date	Time	Amount
8-Mar	2:40	9	9
time	7:30	9.5	18.5
change	10:45	9.5	28
	2:00	8.5	36.5
	5:30	11	47.5
	8:15	8	55.5
			55.5 oz
Date	Time	Amount
9-Mar	2:00	14.5	14.5
	6:15	12	26.5
	9:00	7	33.5
	12:00	8	41.5
	2:30	7.5	49
	4:50	7.5	56.5
	7:30	8	64.5
	10:00	5.5	70
			70 oz
Date	Time	Amount
10-Mar	2:40am	12	12
	6:30	11.5	23.5
	9:30	9.5	33
	12:00	6.5	39.5
	2:30	7	46.5
	4:20	6	52.5
	7:00	6	58.5
	9:30	10	68.5
			68.5 oz
Date	Time	Amount
11-Mar	2:30	12.5	12.5
	6:30	11.5	24
	9:00	6	30
	11:20	8	38
	2:00	8.5	46.5
	5:15	8.5	55
	7:00	6	61
	9:20	7.5	68.5
			68.5 oz
Date	Time	Amount
12-Mar	3:15	16	16
	6:30	11	27
	8:30	5.5	32.5
	12:00	10	42.5
	2:20	6.5	49
	5:00	10	59
	8:00	11	70
	9:30	4	74
			74 oz.
Date	Time	Amount
13-Mar	1:15	11	11
	3:45	7	18
	6:20	9	27
	10:30	11.5	38.5
	1:30	9.5	48
	4:00	8.5	56.5
	7:00	9	65.5
	9:30	8.5	74
	10:25	2	76
			76 oz
Date	Time	Amount
14-Mar	2:30	13	13
	7:00	13	26
	9:30&11:30	16	42
	3&6	18	60
	8&9	8	68
			68 oz
Date	Time	Amount
15-Mar	3:20	21	21
	7:30	10	31
	10:00	7	38
	2:00 & 5:00	23	61
		13.5	74.5
			74.5 oz
Date	Time	Amount
16-Mar	2:30	14	14
	6:00	12.5	26.5
	8:45	8	34.5
	11:45	9	43.5
	2:00	6.5	50
	4:00	6	56
		13.5	69.5
	9:30	6.5	76
			76 oz
Date	Time	Amount
17-Mar	3:30	16.5	16.5
	7:00	9	25.5
	9:00	5	30.5
	12:00	10.5	41
	2:15	7	48
	5:00	5	53
	7:20	8	61
	9:00	8	69
clog?			69 oz
Date	Time	Amount
18-Mar	1:00	10.5	10.5
	4:30	12	22.5
	7:15	9	31.5
	10:30	9.5	41
	1:00	8.25	49.25
	2:00	2.75	52
	4:30	7.75	59.75
	7&8	12	71.75
			71.75 oz
Date	Time	Amount
19-Mar	2:15	19.5	19.5
	5:00	8	27.5
	7:30	8	35.5
	9:30	6	41.5
	11:20	6	47.5
	1:45	7.25	54.75
	5:00	12.25	67
	9:20	10	77
	10:00	8	85
			85 oz
Date	Time	Amount
20-Mar	2:25 AM	12	12
	6:00	12.25	24.25
	9:00	8.25	32.5
	11:45	8	40.5
	2:15	8	48.5
	5:00	7.5	56
	9:00	13	69
	9:50	4	73
			73 oz
Date	Time	Amount
21-Mar	2:00	12	12
	6:00	12	24
	8:00	6.5	30.5
	12:00	13	43.5
	2:00	7.5	51
	5:30	10.5	61.5
	8:00	10	71.5
			71.5 oz
Date	Time	Amount
22-Mar	12:15	11	11
	3:20	11	22
	5:55	8	30
	8:30	9.5	39.5
	11:00	7	46.5
	1:15	8	54.5
	5:00	12	66.5
	7:15	9	75.5
	9:00	5.5	81
			81 oz
Date	Time	Amount
23-Mar	1:50	12	12
	6:00	14.5	26.5
	8:45	7.5	34
	12:00	13	47
	3:15	9	56
	6:00	8.5	64.5
	9:30	12	76.5
			76.5 oz
Date	Time	Amount
24-Mar	1:35	15	15
	6:15	12.5	27.5
	8:30	10	37.5
	11:10	7.5	45
	1:30	7	52
	4:00	9	61
	7:00	9	70
	9:30	9.5	79.5
			79.5 oz
Date	Time	Amount
25-Mar	3:20	21.25	21.25
	7:00	10	31.25
	10:00	12	43.25
	1:00	7	50.25
	4:50	12	62.25
	5:50	3.5	65.75
	8:00	8	73.75
clog?			73.75 oz
Date	Time	Amount
26-Mar	2:20	20.5	20.5
clog?	6:25	13	33.5
PISA	11	11.5	45
	1:50	10.5	55.5
	4:20	6	61.5
	7:30	12	73.5
	9:40	9	82.5
			82.5 oz
Date	Time	Amount
27-Mar	3:15	18	18
	6:30	9.5	27.5
	9:00	6	33.5
	11:30	10	43.5
	2:00	8.5	52
	4:30	7.5	59.5
	7:00	8.5	68
	9:30		68

Logan's week in pictures!

Friday night fun with the boys!

Saturday night fun with the cousins!

Sunday night fun! It's a Sock Monkey!

Tuesday night at the ball field!

A long, exhausting, birthday weekend!

I'm just finally getting caught up after Logan's birthday weekend (if you recall I tend to stretch out the birthday's longer than necessary).

Thursday night an IM friend was in town and I hadn't seen her since this summer, so of course I had to meet up with her for a quick visit before she left town. I was pretty tired that day, but not hooking up was out of the question. I left our visit around 9:30 and successfully pumped in the van on the drive home. This allowed me to go to bed as soon as I walked in the door-30 more minutes of sleep!

Friday was a minimum day for the kids (as was Thursday). Ciera went to a friends house for the afternoon and Logan had 3 friends come home with him. We went out for lunch at Taco Bell and then the boys played Guitar Hero World Tour, made videos with the new camcorder and dug a hole for their 'time capsule'. In the afternoon we headed out for miniature golf and some laser tag. I am not a mini golf fan, but it was fun to watch the boys. Brian had taken the day off to help out in case I wasn't physically up for it (we didn't know how I'd be feeling when we planned it-plus pumping with 4 10 year old boys isn't the easiest thing to do). We've never done laser tag before, so it was a very odd feeling to turn 4 boys over and not go in the room with them. It just seemed like they needed some parental supervision, but the gal assured me they would be fine and that's how it's done. So Brian waited for them and I went to the van to pump. When we got home they finished up their time capsule and buried it while I made dinner-taco meat, nacho cheese, refried beans, tortillas, chips and lettuce for "Make whatever you want". They watched a movie, had cookie pie and ice cream before going to bed (or whispering in bed for hours).

On Saturday the boys all left early due to prior Saturday commitments. I got up early to make pancakes and scrambled eggs. When the last boy left at 9 I headed back to bed, I was exhausted. Ciera had a pitching lesson and Logan and I just hung out. We all watched Twilight before heading to my 12 year old nephew's rainy baseball game, where I of course pumped in the van again. After the game the cousins came home with us to sleepover for Logan's birthday. We picked up Little Caesar's Pizza and had more ice cream. The 3 boys did a lot of 'movie making' and Guitar Hero World Tour. There was even some 'shirtless' World Tour going on at one point!

Sunday Ciera had softball practice, but I got to sleep until about 9, at which point I had promised the boys breakfast. They continued playing World Tour most of the morning and afternoon. Around 3 the rest of the family showed up for Logan's family dinner. Logan chose to have breaded pork chops, mashed potatoes with gravy and corn (I forgot he wanted corn, so I chose asparagus). Grandma volunteered to make the pork chops for us and I was SO grateful. We all love breaded pork chops, but I really don't care to make them so we have them rarely. He chose Chocolate silk pie for dessert, as well as ice cream. Then it was present time. He ended up with everything he wanted, including a sock monkey! The day passed quickly and it was already Sunday night. I think we all went to bed exhausted but happy that night.

Monday I happily went back to bed after taking the kids to school. I was still able to get a good nap, but it felt more 'normal' than all of my napping the previous 4 weeks (or months). I felt really good the rest of the day. Logan and I discovered that the horrible smell in his room was coming from his bed. At some point over the weekend, the boys must've gotten too rowdy on the bed-the waterbed. One of the tubes (thank goodness it's tubes and not one giant bladder) had no water in it and the rest of the bed material had soaked it all up and was stinking! Lucky Logan got to sleep on our floor that night. Monday night Ciera and I headed out to try to find some 'transitional' pieces for my wardrobe. I found a couple of things that should help and Ciera got to look at all of the Twilight stuff at Walmart while I picked up some groceries.

Tuesday I spent the morning doing loads of laundry. I also finally went through my boxes of clothing to see what I had to wear now, soon and next year. I packed up some of the maternity stuff that I'm definitely not wearing anymore and labeled the other boxes so I know when they may fit again. I then did some typing at the school. Ciera had a 7:30 game that night, so we headed out for a long night. Ciera's finger is still bothering her (she hit it again, so it's recently sore) so we weren't sure how she'd do playing. Hitting seemed to cause the most pain, so they had her bunt. Her first time up she struck out bunting and looked scared to death. The second and third time she layed down 2 beautiful bunts and made it to 1st (she's been working on her speed-she had none). We were all in bed by 10:45, but that is really late for a school night! Logan's bed was still not put back together, so he got another night on our bedroom floor. This is actually a treat for him. He would choose to sleep on our floor every night if given the option.

Wednesday we all woke up tired, but we made it to school on time! I did some copying and finished up the typing. We are out of wheat bread and turkey and we have an out of town tournament this weekend, so I stopped by to pick up some groceries. I'm working on finishing up the laundry (5 loads and I'm still not done) and putting Logan's bed back together. I may even sneak in a little cat nap today. Ciera had a lesson tonight and Logan has some essays he's working on editing tonight.

Thursday and Friday are minimum days again, so I won't get much done. Ciera has practice Thursday night, Brian and I have eye dr. appointments and conferences Friday afternoon. Friday is Brian's moms birthday, so we will be having dinner with his family that night-roast beef.

This weekend we are in Stockton for a tournament and then the week starts all over again with a ton of laundry to do.

My rental pump has to go back tomorrow, so today is my last day with my magic Symphony. From the posts I've read on the Exclusively Pumping website, I probably won't notice much difference in my supply when I switch over tomorrow. I'm hoping not! I'm producing between 68 and 85 oz a day now, with most days hovering in the mid 70's. This is so much better than last time I pumped. I can not express how thrilled I am about that!

I'm feeling pretty normal this week. My incision finally feels, well, it doesn't feel-and that's what I've been waiting for-to no longer notice it. I can actually sleep on my side without feeling like the incision is going to tear open, except I can't sleep on my side because of my giant milk filled breasts. They are still extremely sensitive and acting as if it is very cold outside-all the time. Aside from that and a painful let down every 2-3 hours, they are doing well also. Fortunately I'm not a leaker and haven't had to worry about pads to protect my shirts. Oh the joys of lactating! The chocolate NEED is going down, now it's just a habit to break. My swelling is still going down, but walking down the stairs is getting less painful. The scale is moving slowly, but it's still moving. I plan to start out slow, but I think it will actually feel good to get my body moving again. I figured I'd start by walking the dog daily and then move up to the Wii Fit. Eventually I'll get back to the gym, but it will probably bring a decrease in milk production, so I'll wait a bit for that. I'm really fighting the desire to cut off my hair. I'm pretty sure my hairdresser will be against it, so I probably won't, but I feel like it would be a great change!

I'm now rambling, so that usually means I should quit typing. I've got to try and get Logan's bed put back together anyhow. Hopefully I can get the week in pictures up soon.

1 month old!!

As I was dating a batch of milk at 3 am this morning it hit me, the babies were born 1 month ago! I am 1 month PP. That's 4 weeks!! Where has the time gone? I haven't hardly even done anything yet!! Soon V&B will be 6 week old babies, and I recall far too clearly that there is a huge difference between a newborn and a 6 week old baby!

I've been meaning to blog about something for awhile, but then my brain/heart gives out and it doesn't make it into print. I've been told repeatedly 'I bet you're glad to have your body back'. or something similar, but it's not a thought I've really had. My head and heart were committed to staying pregnant until March and really I wasn't ready to be done 'gestating'. Having been pregnant with twins before I knew what was in store for me and I had mentally prepared myself (as well as making many physical adjustments to our life and family) to get through a long, physically trying pregnancy. I really wasn't feeling 'tired' of carting around so much baby and extra body weight (although I'm definitely feeling all of that extra weight now). Delivering was a really bittersweet experience. Of course I'm thrilled that the babies are now with their family, that's what the whole pregnancy was about. But at the same time, overnight I'm no longer pregnant. I've wondered if it had to do with the pre-eclampsia and the 'suddenness' of our delivery, but most deliveries happen suddenly, so that doesn't seem right. However, P& L were a planned delivery. The only times I've had a sudden delivery is with my own kids, but my pregnant belly was replaced with a baby and I felt it was a trade I was willing to make. In this situation my hugely pregnant belly was replaced with a pump and a mind that was really prepared and willing to carry for 2-3 more weeks. Would I have ever felt 'done'? Plus, this is likely my final pregnancy, unless the family can be convinced in 1 1/2 years or STE decides to have just one more in 4 years (or I move to Canada). I'm not really expecting any of those things to happen and at the very least I have 1 1/2 years before I would ever get to be pregnant again anyhow.

So today is also a bit bittersweet. Four weeks ago everything changed, for all of us. The babies are growing and changing so quickly and I have to wait 5 more weeks to go see them! I know in my head that there was not a better time to get away and go visit, but 5 more weeks seems like an eternity. There are many upsides to waiting to visit though. The babies will be a bit interactive by then, and I'm sure they'll be dang adorable. The family will have had time to adjust and figure out how to function as a family of 6. I should be much more hormonally stable by then and hopefully I'll have found something else to wear besides maternity clothes!!

Feel free to skip to the next paragraph if you don't want to read my rant about clothing! We're smack in the middle of 'iffy' weather. Some days it's cold and rainy and you really want warmth, the next day it's a bright and hot 78 degrees and you can't wait to get some color. If it stayed warm I would be OK, I could go out and buy a few capris in a size that I hope to only wear for a few weeks/months, but that's OK and expected-my PP clothing is part of my maternity wear. I KNOW that I need a few outfits in sizes that will not be worn for long, that's just how I gain during a pregnancy. But what do I do on those cold days? The stores no longer have 'warm' clothing in stock. I'm stuck with my maternity clothes, but I am a tad smaller and they are all elastic waists. Does anyone know what elastic waisted pants look like on my butt after a few hours of wear? Not pretty-definitely not something that makes me feel good about how I look. I've been dwelling on this topic for a good week or so. I've decided to try to find a few 'spring' outfits and hope that it just stays warm. And on those days that it's not warm, I'll just wrap myself in a blanket out at the ball field, no one will notice the saggy butt pants that way!

Thursday I had my appointment with Dr. E. I had been a bit concerned about my incision and I was still experiencing swelling in my legs and feet (although they fit in a shoe and that's nice). My blood pressure is great, so there's no need to worry about the swelling. I'm told that it will eventually go away and I look forward to that day. Apparently my incision looks just fine and I will just have to stop obsessing about the things that I think look 'not quite right' (although I'll still monitor it in case I'm really right). So basically I've been cleared and I don't even have to go back at 6 weeks, unless I want to, doc said I'm always welcome to just come visit :) We did talk some about another pregnancy, although I wasn't prepared for the conversation, I thought I'd be going back in 2 weeks. Having had 2 c-sections there is a slightly higher risk, but that there was nothing to indicate that I shouldn't consider carrying again. The report from my c-section showed nothing of concern, so the uterus still looks good and the scar is fine as well. My husband's concern with me carrying again is that I will be 35 in September, almost 36 by the time I would be willing to be pregnant again. He had the lack of common sense to say to me, "I think you'll be too old", that did not go over too well. Fortunately I knew that what he meant to say is "would it be safe for you at 36?" Logan thinks I shouldn't do it again because if they wanted a sibling than I would have to do it 2 more times. My response to that is we'll just have to carry for someone that is already has a child and is just hoping for a sibling. Ciera's only reason is because I hormonally overreacted to her 'changes' after I returned home from the hospital. She didn't care to be on the receiving end of my emotions. But honestly in 1 1/2 years I think she'll be used to my overreacting to her continual changes out of girl hood. And then there's my hang ups. Sometimes I can clearly see myself carrying for someone else-it almost feels selfish of me to not. But then there are times that I can't imagine carrying for anyone other than STE and family. There's something beautiful and satisfying about having helped this one family and I should just leave it alone and be happy. But then there's the other part that feels like this is something special that I'm good at and there are so many families waiting to be born. There are definitely certain families or stories that have touched me and I can easily envision helping them, but they may not really need or want my help. Only time will tell.

Next up: the final birthday weekend tales.