Day 11

Tomorrow is the big day! Our babies are coming home! Well, assuming that there are no issues in the meantime, that is. But, they have been doing great for days now, so hopefully all goes well tonight and we can take them home tomorrow morning! (I'm afraid to jinx it by even writing this... eek!)

At any rate, they have been taking full feeds by bottle since 8 am Saturday morning. They have been gaining steadily, and Lydia is now up to 4 lbs 9 oz and Sophia (my little piggy!) is now up to 4 lbs 8 oz! No issues, events, or anything to be concerned about. In fact, I'm honestly not even sure why they are still there today other than that they needed to do all of the testing, consents, various visits and such prior to discharge so we did all of that today. They are ready to come home and we are so excited!

I'm incredibly excited to begin our real lives with these little loves. Of course, we are their parents now, but so much is dictated to us in the NICU. My babies are given iron because "preemies need iron," even though they aren't anemic. They add Neosure to their breastmilk because "it will help them gain weight faster." And so on. Very little is left up to us, really. Even little things like when to feed, pouring bottles, and so on. We spend a lot of time there, and do a lot of the care, but we are told what to do and when. Finally, tomorrow, we will be able to make actual decisions and really be parents to these little girls. I just can't wait.

My heart is so full tonight.

Oh, and about the pumping. I won't even go into the agony that is pumping lately, but I'm hanging in there and getting into a routine with it. Still pumping 10 times per day, and trying to hit every 2 hours during the day and every 2-3 hours at night. My supply is still increasing, and today I pumped 880 ccs (29.7 ounces). I have a few bags in the freezer now, so I'm getting enough ahead to start to build a small stockpile for the future. However, I need to produce WAY more milk to keep up with them as they grow, so I'm going to order Reglan this week. I actually still have refills left from 2008! Hopefully, it will give me enough of a supply boost to get a really good freezer stash now to tide me over for the time when I can't pump enough for both. And, even more hopefully, maybe I'll be able to get them to nurse so that I don't have to pump all the time for the next year, too. Fingers crossed!