Suckling

All the articles I read about lactation never prepared me for the reality of it.   Nor do I think I can adequetely describe how the pups went from simply hanging out on my chest prepregnancy, to becoming angry, inflamed and purply (or was that me?) during pregnancy to now adapting to the birth, the pump, and finally, after six weeks of trying, achieving a shocking 1 lb per week weight gain for LuLu.  Its miraculous. 
Last week I was wondering why LuLu suddenly ramped up her easy one-midnight feed to three-per-night.  At first we thought she was simply bored with the night programme we had of movie-feed-sleep-feed-sleep-wake up with poppa-feed-sleep schedule.  But when we took her to the clinic for her weekly weigh in, and she had put on a whole 15 oz, we realized it wasn't some perverse agenda to rob of us sleep.  She had finally taken control of milk production.  She had sucked almost an entire pound of flesh out of my system into hers, at the same time beating out our mother/daughter candida infection for all those calories.  I am so proud of her. 
Additionally, last Monday, the 12th, was her official due date.  She is on her was to bona fide infanthood.  We can put away all those preemie clothes.  Maybe now she can fit her sock collection.