Back to Work

Today is officially my second day back at work since having the babies. I'm amused that word got out yesterday that I'm back and today I've had many coworkers and parents stop and ask about the babies. I'm amazed at some of the questions people have had - good questions and I welcome their questions, but wow. I wasn't prepared for some of them! Of course I can be just a tad smart-alec-y and I do love messing with people a bit. :-) Here's a sample of some of the questions and my responses:

-"How do you know who each baby belongs to?" That's easy. Brady and Cohen each belong to Brad and Rodney. (Yes, I know what they are trying to ask, but I'm going to make them work for it!)

-"Why 'Brady' and 'Cohen'?" Because 'Baby #1' and 'Baby #2' were already taken. (This from a parent of children with rather "unique" names.)

-"You are pumping for the babies? How do you get the milk all of the way to them each day?" I don't. I have something like 800 ounces frozen in my freezers and I overnight it to them when they need it. Even when they were here in the Twin Cities I didn't deliver daily after their first week. Every couple of days was sufficient to meet their needs.

I freeze the milk in the little freezer. Then, I put the frozen milk in the big bags and finally put the bags in the deep freezer. They are easier to sort and then ship for me.

-"Do they (Brad and Rodney) want more kids?" I think what they want right now is sleep. Other than looking forward to the day they can get 6 hours in a row of uninterrupted sleep, I don't think they are contemplating more kids just yet. 

-"How's the pumping?" Great. Milk is still being produced, I'm giving various supplements a whirl on the advice of a lactation consultant (I know I can keep up with one baby, I'm hoping to keep up with two). I'm fearing my pump may be starting to slow down as every once in a while I have lighter suction from it. I'm really hoping it's going to make it. If not, I believe my insurance should cover another one. Hmm, maybe I should preemptively get the other one from my insurance. I'd hate to have my pump go on me when I really need it. Ouch!

-"What's it like giving birth to two babies?" A lot like giving birth to one and then doing it all again. This is usually followed by "Would you have twins again?" Technically, I don't have twins now, so... (Insert pause here) And, no, I'm not going to intentionally get pregnant with twins again.

I'm so glad my students' parents and coworkers know me. I love that they feel comfortable enough with me to ask questions. The one question I've been getting a lot from pretty much everyone is "do you miss them?" Well, yes, of course I miss them, but I am so glad with how things are right now. Brad and Rodney have the family they've wanted. My family has some amazing friends to visit in a state that's warmer than Minnesota (seriously, when are we going to get some nice weather around here!). How can I be anything but happy with the way things are for all of us? Who am I to question small miracles?