I can't believe Sophie and Beckett are almost 3 weeks old. Last week (18-25th) Beckett worked on nursing and coming off of oxygen. It took 2 days for him to get it down he kept falling asleep, apparently it is a lot of work to eat :) After that the doctors bumped up his feedings every day, so by Saturday I was at the hospital every 3 hours to feed him. They also tried him off of the oxygen again on Saturday. By Sunday (the 24th) he was ready to come home, breathing and eating on his own. We were worried he would have to come home with oxygen which would be scary. His first few nights home I forgot how hard newborns are in the middle of the night. (I like my sleep) Now he is doing pretty good, he definitely eats more then every 3 hours like he did in the hospital, but I think we will keep him. He loves to be held and he loves to tuck into a little ball.
Sophie has had some battles of her own. I have had numerous nurses tell me how shocked they are that Beckett did better then Sophie because girls tend to do better then boys. Last week she got taken off of the ventilator and put on a high flow oxygen. They started her at 5 liters per hour and had to bump her up to 7 because she started to show signs of a clasped lung. After a couple days they started to take her liters down each day. By Sunday she was off oxygen and air completely. So Sunday night they let me try to feed her. At the Provo hospital they weigh the baby before and after they eat to see how much they ate. A full feeding for Sophie is 47ml. The first night she did 23 ml. I thought to myself great she will be home in a couple days. Well Sophie had other plans. Monday she didn't eat, she would sit there and stare and me and wonder what I wanted her to do. The Doctor wanted me to come 3 times a day and try with her. Tuesday it was the same thing, she would just sit there, maybe suck 2 times but that was it. I was starting to get frustrated with myself for not being able to get her to latch on and stay on. Tuesday night I had a nurse sit in and watch me feed her, she told me she was grading my nursing (that freaked me out). On Wednesday they had the lactation specialist come in. Now that was awkward, don't get me wrong it was nice to have her help, but nursing is a private personal thing and having someone sit there and watch and grab your boob is a little uncomfortable. She gave me a few pointers on what we could do. Also during this week I have had multiple doctors and nurses tell me I could get Sophie home sooner if I just bottle feed her. Well I don't want to do this cause I wanted her to eat from me, not have to pump to eat. (I am not a cow and don't want to nurse all day everyday) By Wednesday night I was ready to give up, it was emotionally draining and physically draining. I was driving to Provo 3 times a day to have Sophie sit and stare at me. Great for bonding and I was happy to see her but I wanted her to make progress. On Thursday I did what the lactation specialist told me to to do and Sophie did a little better. Thursday night she did 15 of her 47ml. Friday morning (this morning) she did 28 of her 47ml. It has been a long and slow process and I hope she continues to do well. (I think she likes the mommy Sophie time). She is doing everything she needs to do all she has to do is eat and she can come home. I am hoping that by this time next week she will be home :)
Sorry this was probably boring but now I have record of what happened. Here are some pictures to make up for it.
Sophie Rae
Almost Ready to come home
Cute big brother
No more oxygen
Ready to go home
Thanks for the update! It was not boring :) They are so cute!
ReplyDeleteSo happy things are getting better! As I was reading, I had flashbacks of the last 8 months. I totally understand your breastfeeding frustrations! I don't think some people understand how hard it can be with premies. Gratefully, after months mine finally got it. Hope yours are faster. Don't give up! Also, don't know if your ped. has told you, but mine said even breastfeeding once or twice a day gives them the antibodies they need to be healthier. Don't feel guilty if you need to do a combo of bf & formula. That's what we did & it kept me sane! ;) Plus, this way my milk lasted longer so they were able to get breastmilk til about 6 months. I have a friend that dried up at about 3 months cuz her body was so taxed. Good luck! They are lucky to have you as their mom. ;)
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