Mother jugs and sleep (a.k.a. living at the hospital)

So as of yesterday I am literally living at the hospital. All three babies have decided that they like breastfeeding and I am thrilled. The lactation consultant has asked that I be here to try and BF at every other feed. They all feed every 3 hours; for example, Ewan feeds at 7 am, Noel at 7:30 am, and Mairin at 8 am. It's completely nuts. We weigh them on a special scale before I feed and then again directly after so we can see how much they take in by weight difference. Then they get the remainder of their feed in their nasal tube. On top of this I am also still having to pump every 2-3 hours as I have an enormous milk supply which is fortunately a good thing when you have triplets. My boobs have never been so huge (well huge for me is probably a B cup but still...), especially when place next to a tiny preemie head.

I never thought I would be such a hardcore advocate of breastfeeding. I almost feel like I could be one of those La Leche League extremists that you hear about. It is just the most amazing thing to watch your baby grow everyday and know that it is all because of you. Then there is the whole issue of bonding. It just is not the same as feeding a bottle. I have literally been brought to tears on several occasions over the past couple of days while I have been BFing each of the babies. Looking down at these tiny preemie humanoids rooting around for the breast and then latching on like it is the most natural thing in the world. Well it is the most natural thing in the world; every other mammal nurses their young. It is hard to describe the amazing power of nursing your infant to someone that doesn't nurse. I wouldn't trade it for all the money in the world. We have been so blessed that the triplets are doing so well considering how early they were born. Much of that is attributed to them getting only my breastmilk- the Drs and nurses keep lauding me for sticking with it. You cannot even imagine how much milk I have stored in the freezer. So much that Eddy went out and bought a chest freezer today. We had talked about it for awhile, but now what better reason than storing the milk of life. They say we are in the final stretches of enabling the babies to come home. That has not quite sunken in yet but I can't wait.