Nursing and the MMBA

Hello All! I wanted to write about something that's been on my mind lately.

If you had asked me last June through maybe September/October how nursing was going, I would have told you that I was counting down the months until I could be done with it. It was stressful, difficult, and time consuming. Most of you know the story of the girls' birth, but I will remind you of a few details.

They were born at 34 weeks and although early and little, they were healthy weights and doing amazingly well. They only needed to be in the NICU for 5 days, until they were 35 weeks, and then when they passed all their tests and were thriving, we got to bring them home. Now thankfully, the girls were born in a smaller hospital and were the only ones in the NICU. So I didn't have all the stress of seeing other tinier babies who were really sick and not doing well. I was worried enough about mine at the time. And while my situation was a really good one, I still developed a heart for preemies and babies in the NICU.

I was unable to nurse the girls at the hospital, but I was pumping all the time. They had formula until my milk came in (almost 2 days) and from then on, they had my milk. I credit their good health to breastmilk. When we came home, they didn't have a clue how to nurse and were addicted to bottles and pacifiers. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do and it was really frustrating.

I tried to nurse them, but decided to continue pumping and bottle-feeding so I could still give them my milk and yet keep my sanity. I tried to nurse them at least once a day though. This took so much time and I hated to make the girls wait while we warmed up their bottles. But I kept going...thank goodness for time flying by! :) By the time they were almost 3 months old, I had them nursing fairly well. Then it was difficult with 2 babies, since it hurt to nurse them at the same time but I had to listen to one cry and wail with hunger while I nursed the first one.

Anyways, I just had a really tough time. I guess I have been nursing them together now for about 2.5 months now. It still hurts more than doing it one baby at a time, and the girls tend to mess with each other, but it takes less time and I am soooooooooooo stinking proud of myself for sticking it out! They are 10 months old now, and I will start to wean them in June...not that far away at all!!

Now that you all have the background, here is what has been on my mind....I have been freezing a LOT of milk away since the girls were born. We used some of it and had to throw some of it out when we'd had it longer than 6 months. It made me sad to throw it away. I knew that somewhere there was a NICU baby who could use it. I finally did some research on BreastMilk Banks and found one in Austin. I am so excited about this, and not writing about it to "toot my own horn", but it is just such a great opportunity.

The MMBA, or Mother's Milk Bank in Austin, is about to celebrate their 10 year anniversary. They have women donate their frozen breastmilk and then the milk is screened, pasteurized, and distributed to sick babies who will benefit from the breastmilk. A year ago, I didn't even know this existed. Now I get to send my excess milk to someone who can actually use it before it expires!! This makes me so happy! Plus it is something I can do for sweet little NICU babies.

Yesterday, I got my bloodwork done to screen for diseases, yada, yada. Today, I am mailing in my paperwork and legal forms, then early next week, the girls and I are going to make a quick drive to Waco where we will drop off our frozen milk at a drop-off location. My freezer is currently full and I need the room. Plus, they provide all the containers to put your milk in...I don't have to buy any more bags. I am really happy that milk banks exist and hope to get more involved in years to come. Even when I am done donating milk, I hope I can stay involved and help out!!

If you know anyone who is breastfeeding, this could be a great option for them too. You only have to commit to donating 150 ounces right away and then donate for at least 2 more months. It is really simple and easy! I'll let you all know how it goes at a later date. Have a great day!!

Happy Easter

I have tried several times to do my Easter blog and had "technical difficulties". So it may be a little late, but it's finally done and that is all that matters. :) We did not go anywhere for Easter...not even church. Lilly has been sick all week. We are not sure if it is a cold or just allergies but she is now on the mend and has even figured out how to sit still so mommy can wipe her nose. She even blew her nose for me last night...that was pretty cute!

So we stayed in, so as not to infect anyone else or make her feel worse. We had a nice day at home for Easter this year. Getting the girls to take pictures together is almost impossible right now, since all they do is move!! But after playing in our jammies, I put them in cute little dresses and we took a couple of pictures. I bought them a Nursery Rhyme book as their Easter gift. I like it a lot, especially since it is made of hard cardboard pages that will not get ruined by the licking of little tongues. :)

Here is the only pic I could get with bunny ears on Lexi's head. They WILL NOT leave them on and there was no way that I could get a picture with both of them in the bunny ears. :) They would pull them off themselves, or off of each other, and then try to eat them!!

Lilly is checking out her new book!!

Lilly is on the left and Lexi on the right...they got the lambs from their Great-grandmother when they were first born!

Lexi is finally getting her first tooth...remember that blog back in November announcing her first 2 teeth?...well...apparently the little white/pink swellings on her gums were not related to teething. For 2 days, she fussed like she was teething and even felt better with Orajel. Then the swellings went down and there were no teeth. The doctor said it was just her gums doing something weird and it was nothing to worry about. Now, she is not terribly fussy...but there is definitely a little white tooth under her gums and it is thinking about poking through soon. I bet she will cut it in the next 2 days. She has been waking up early in the morning wanting to snuggle. So I am really tired these days. I am still getting up every night to pump and then when Lexi gets up at 5:30 with sore gums, I get very little sleep. Here she is, in all her beauty!! :)

Also, on a completely different note, does anyone want an "evil" fish???? Let me explain...this fish is named, Leopard Fish...how appropriate, don't you think?

Eric found him as a little tiny fish at WalMart. He was not labeled and there was no price, but he was so cute and they gave it to him for $4.00. He has almost tripled in size now. The other night, he ate 6 of our new neon tetras, within like half an hour. He still looks pregnant! I told Eric that he had been freaking me out and had been doing some weird things lately with his mouth. Of course, he thought I was being silly.

After the savage fish attack, we did some googling and figured out what kind he was...we also discovered that he was a semi-aggressive carnivore. :) :) So, our bigger fish are safe, but he clearly intends to eat all of our other ones. He is a Spotted Climbing Perch, a Ctenopoma. YOu can read all about them here: http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_Ctenopoma_acutirostre.php

I would like to give him to someone who desires to feed him what he needs to be healthy and thrive. I do not want to feed him the stuff he needs and feel awful that my cute tiny guys were eaten, 2 hours after bringing them home...poor babies!! If you want him, let us know! Thanks!!