The highlight of this day is my first chance to hold Mary Jo. It takes some doing, what with working around my incisions and all the life-supporting equipment on Mary Jo. But I get to finally hold Mary Jo and she is comfortable and stable for the 30 minutes that I get. The rest of the time, I'm pumping breast milk for the girls. The lactation consultant, Mary, will become my great coach over the next several months. She tells me to "become friends with the pump" because making milk is the one thing that only I can do for the girls. Every time I begin pumping, I say a prayer to Our Lady of La Leche, "Dear Immaculate Mother, Our Lady of La Leche, please intercede for me that my milk may be abundant, nourishing and sufficient. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen." That prayer was answered with a freezer full of 4 ounce frozen bottles and over 32 ounces per day for the many many weeks before the girls' sucking reflex even came online.
In those days while I was still hospitalized, Dave and I met with social workers who wanted to tell us what we'd qualify for if we needed government aid; researching doctors who wanted the girls to join their clinical studies [we did enroll both girls in two studies]; and lactation consultants. And the greatest of these is lactation consultants.
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