Gains and Losses

As of last Monday.

Losses:

• Two placentas
• A fair amount of blood (so they told me).
• My ankles, as of 9/27.
  
• My giant belly.
  
• The original skin on my nipples (OW!). Lots of crying over this. Lots.
  
• An only child.
• Any time to spend with my oldest daughter. Crying jags ensued.
  
• Two fetuses.
• By last Monday: 20 lbs. Today: 35 lbs.
  

Gains:

• Two babies.
• An eldest daughter, a son and a youngest daughter.
• Incredible pain from gas. I'd just been through a c-section and wasn't in any pain at all, so long as I was laying down. Once I got up to move around, I was in serious pain from the gas that had built up in my gut from 24 hours of no food. Fortunately, it seems to have passed as of this past Wednesday.
  
• The meaning of the term "referred pain". The gut pain from gas transferred to my lower right back. I felt like I was dying. The incision? No pain whatsoever. The gas pain caused me to break down crying at least twice.
  
• A huge appreciation for 3 hours of sleep at one time.
• Nightmares - since I wasn't sleeping for longer than 1.5 hours for the last 3 months, I never seemed to sleep deeply enough to dream. Once I slid over into 2-3 hours of sleep, nightmares came flying back. Nasty, horrible ones, too. Rather not have gained this one.
  
• Rockstar boobs. Well, for me. Misty's breasts would snicker at mine.
  
• Boobs of Fire! Somehow the incredible amount of nursing is causing my breasts to feel like they're burning while nursing. It's as if I can feel the chemical/physical reaction happening inside my breasts to produce the milk.
  
• My ankles returned by 10/3 and brought the tendons, bones and veins in my feet back with them. Looks like I might be able to fit my old shoes again.
  
• I can see my feet again when I look straight down!
• I can bend from the waist again. On Wednesday, I bent over and clipped my own toenails! Yes, we're celebrating the little victories around here.
• Any and all "free time". Now it's all nursing, all the time. Thank goodness my mom is here or we'd never eat. As it is, it's very hard to eat or drink with my hands filled with nursing babies.