We had a pretty sleepy night last night. The nurse ended up just gavaging Emmett at every feed except one, during which he nursed vigorously for about five minutes and then was out cold. He took in 12 ml, which isn’t a lot, but I thought was pretty good for just five minutes.
This morning, Dr. L came to visit and announced we have a new plan. Even though he’s nowhere close to the 80 percent feed volume we were aiming for in order to remove the NG tube, he decided to remove it now anyway and do a 48-hour trial of feeding on-demand. He thought maybe the strict three hours between feeds wasn’t giving him a chance to get hungry (for the record, I’ve been saying this all along!!), and the fact that he takes in near-full volumes some feeds and practically nothing others means he’s capable of taking a full feed but just might not be hungry sometimes. So the new plan is to nurse or bottle-feed whenever he actually acts hungry, regardless of how long it’s been since the last feed, but not to go any longer than four hours. This is basically what you’d do with a normal newborn anyway, and most newborns figure out how to eat what they need to grow, so we’re hoping he does the same. If after 48 hours he’s losing weight or not wetting enough diapers, they’ll put the feeding tube back, and we go back to our original plan of aiming for 80 percent orally and gavaging the rest.
We’ve had three of the on-demand feeds today and the jury’s still out on whether the new plan is working. So far he’s definitely eating more at each feeding, but he’s also going pretty close to the maximum four hours in between feeds — which means instead of eating 65 ml every three hours, he needs to be eating 85 ml every four hours in order to take in the same daily volume. So percentage-wise, we’re pretty much even with where we were before. At least so far. I feel like three feeds is too soon to tell and that once he realizes he dictates when he eats his patterns may change.
I must say, it feels nice to have a new plan since we weren’t making much progress the old way. At least it feels like we’re doing something. And if it doesn’t work, it was nice to have a naked-faced baby for a while.
I was in the office most of the day today, so Emmett got mostly bottles, which should have pulled our daily average volume up, except today’s nurse subscribed to the “let him rest every other feed” school of thought, which dragged our average down. We’re sitting at 42 percent for the day (remember, we need to get to 80 percent to remove the feeding tube). Side note: I may have created a spreadsheet to track his feed volume, with formulas to calculate the running 24-hour average, and a detailed analysis of breast versus bottle volume. What can I say, I love me a good spreasheet.
I got back to the hospital tonight in time to nurse him at his 9 p.m. cares. This is usually our best feed of the day since they do a naked weigh-in just before, which tends to wake him up. He nursed for 45 minutes and got an impressive 52 ml from me! I wanted to high-five him. He’s also up another 26 grams, bringing him to 7 lbs 4 oz.
It’s a slow crawl to the finish line, but the little victories are what keep me going.
Today was a pretty good day. We had some good nursing sessions, and he seems to be getting more comfortable at the breast, but because we did more nursing than bottle feeding, and because we’re still getting less volume while nursing, our oral feedings average dropped from around 60 percent to about 40 percent.
I had a good talk with both the nurse and lactation consultant today and asked them to give it to me straight: should we just be focusing on bottle feeding so we can go home? Both told me the same stat: that bottle-fed NICU babies go home an average of about a half day sooner than breastfed babies. One half day. In the grand scheme of things, does a half day make a difference? I know this is an overall average, which means our situation could yield different results, but the nurse and LC both acknowledged how important breastfeeding is to me, and recommended we continue practicing both bottles and nursing while we figure out feeding. Because out in the wild, he’ll ideally take a combination of breast and bottle anyway. To completely stop breastfeeding just so we can go home a little earlier might make breastfeeding at home that much harder and increase our chances of giving up altogether. What’s a couple more days, for an easier time over the next year or longer?
At the end of the day, this final NICU stretch is preparing us for home life, and the more we can replicate patterns we plan follow at home, the smoother the transition will go. I’ve had numerous nurses tell me what we’re experiencing is textbook for an early preemie; that feeding issues are nearly always the final frontier, and that babies usually have an easier time with a bottle than nursing.
Hearing this is typical makes it easier to handle, but not necessarily less frustrating. I’ve said it before, but if only we hadn’t been teased two weeks ago with the possibility of early release! After all, we’re still about a week and a half away from our original due date of August 22, which is what I’d been mentally preparing for all along. Now, if we go past that date and we’re still here, I may start handling this with less grace!
Emmett is 12 weeks old today. Hard to believe we’ve been here almost three months.
Today was a pretty good day. Feeds are going much better and he even took a few full feeds via bottle last night! We are averaging around 60 percent orally, and you may remember we need to get to 80 percent over 24 hours to remove the feeding tube (though E tried to get a head start and pulled it out again himself today). The bottle feeds are definitely higher volume than the breast feeds. In fact, if you exclude the breast feeds from his averages, we’re already at 80 percent. This, of course, has me all kinds of hyperanalytical. Should we just focus on bottles for now so we can go home? Or would we ever recover from that if we did? I know babies who were able to figure out how to nurse later, but for many, lack of nursing is the beginning of the end of breastfeeding and once they get used to the relative ease of bottle feeding, it’s hard to go back. Plus, I won’t have the luxury of weighted feeds at home, or lactation consultants just down the hall to help. Can I nurse him at home and be confident he’s getting enough? Am I willing to potentially give up breastfeeding just to go home a few days sooner? Is my own stubbornness in my desire to breastfeed keeping him here longer than necessary? Lots to think about.
I love how he sleeps with his arms up. T used to sleep like this too.
Today we had a major breakthrough on feeding, and they are suddenly talking about sending us HOME soon. I can’t believe I’m typing those words.
This morning, I woke up to one of my favorite nurses bringing us some intersting news. He said he and the rest of the team huddled and we have a new plan: instead of giving a bottle 1-2 times per day and breastfeeding 1-2 times like we discussed yesterday, we’re going to either nurse or bottle feed at every feeding. They think E can handle it and don’t want to lose momentum. So when I’m there, I’ll breastfeed. When D is there, he’ll give a bottle. And if neither of us is there (which is rare), one of the nurses will give a bottle. They subtract whatever he gets from breast or bottle and push the remainder via his NG tube.
So this morning, we started up the weighted feeds again (weighing E before and after nursing to figure out how much he got). At our first feed he took in 14 ml (his normal feed is 57 ml). Second feed was 22 ml. Third feed was 54 ml, and fourth was 56! He took 22 ml via his bottle tonight. Everyone is shocked at how quickly we’ve turned the corner. To think we were talking g-tube surgery just two days ago. If he goes 24 hours taking 80 percent of his feeds by breast or bottle, they’ll remove his NG tube. If he keeps this up for 48 hours, we can start feeding on demand. If he goes 5 days without a major event, we can go home. We hadn’t had anything since Thursday, as far as I know, so I need to clarify when the clock starts, exactly — now or since last event?! He’s still on oxygen, but they are going to trial him off of it again tomorrow. I have everything crossed he handles it this time (third time’s a charm?), but even if he doesn’t, he’s on a low enough level that he can come home with an oygen tank, if needed.
I think we’ve been here longer than any other baby in the NICU currently, and news spread quickly that E may be going home soon. This afternoon, several nurses who have taken care of Emmett over the past 10+ weeks stopped by our room to see us and a couple of them teared up. Of course, so did I. It’s really bittersweet to be thinking about leaving these amazing people who are responsible for my baby’s life. I don’t know how I can ever thank them.
After a highly emotional day yesterday and facing the possibility that E could need g-tube surgery, I arrived this morning to find out the nurse had tried a bottle on him and that he ate half his feeding! I was very surprised, considering the physical therapist yesterday thought a bottle would just overwhelm him and cause him to shut down. I was initially a little apprehensive about what introducing a bottle might mean for breastfeeding, but to go from thinking he might need surgery to realizing he probably won’t really put things in perspective and I’m kind of at peace with whatever happens as long as he doesn’t need surgery.
That said, we tried breastfeeding later today and he actually did better than before. I talked to the lactation nurse and she said while the conventional wisdom is that introducing a bottle before breastfeeding is established can sabotage breastfeeding, sometimes it’s just the opposite in preemies, and that giving a bottle can sort of kick start their understanding that sucking can result in food. E did so well with nursing today that we’ve decided to start up the weighted feeds again so they can measure just how much he’s getting via breast. Our plan going forward is to give a bottle 1-2 times per day, breastfeed 1-2 times per day, and the rest will be via feeding tube. As he gets stronger we’ll start doing more breast and bottle and less via tube. What a 180 from yesterday.
Overall it’s been a very good day. Hardly any events, starting to figure out how to eat, and a healthy 54 gram weight gain tonight, bringing him to 6 lbs 7 oz. I really needed that today.
Another good day today. I was at work for most of it, but the report from D was all good news.
After dinner tonight I came back to the hospital to nurse E at his 8:30 cares. Tonight was the first time we did a weighted feed. According to the scale, he got 4 ML from me, which is only about 8 percent of his total feed and he needs to be taking 80 percent to have his feeding tube removed. I don’t put a lot of stock in that number, though. For one, I felt really rushed by the nurse. He only nursed for about a half hour and I felt like he could have gone much longer but I was tired of her bugging me. I know she’s got a schedule to stick to and she had to push the rest of his feed by tube after getting his post-breastfeeding weight, but I think she should have given us a little longer. Theo used to regularly take 45 minutes or more to nurse when he was little, and he was a full-term baby. The other thing is, I don’t have a lot of faith in the scale. In fact, the first post-feed weight showed that he had lost 2 grams, which isn’t physically possible since he didn’t even have a diaper change in between. So the nurse weighed him again, and that’s when it showed the 4-gram gain, and that’s the number she went with. It seems she could have checked a third time to corroborate the numbers, and if it was off with his post-feed weight, it certainly could have been off with his starting weight. It’s not like I think we’re anywhere close to getting 80 percent via nursing yet, which is why I didn’t push the issue. But as E gets more efficient and I think he could actually be getting closer to a full feed, I’ll push back with the nurses more if needed, and will demand they recheck their weight if the numbers don’t look right.
Speaking of weight, Emmett gained 18 grams tonight, bringing him to 6 lbs 1 oz.
Today Emmett is two months old. And we’ve been here 61 days now. With any luck we’re about 2/3 of the way through this NICU journey.
I went into the office today so D was here most of the day. He seems to be doing better with his breathing and reflux, though they were having to chase his oxygen levels all over the place today. He’d desat and they’d turn his O2 up — and then he’d high-sat and they’d turn it down. They’re still having to suction him a fair amount, but he sounds better than he did the other day.
This evening I hurried back to the hospital after dinner so I could get here for his 8:30 cares and give breastfeeding another shot. I’m happy to say we had, by far, the most successful session to date. More about that below.
So here’s what’s going on at two months…
Adjusted age: 35 weeks
Stats: 5 lbs 5 oz and 17.5 inches. Like last month, I created the image below before they did his evening weigh-in. I figured like last month he’d maybe be an ounce or so off but wasn’t expecting him to put on a whopping 110 grams tonight!
Milestones: Getting moved to an open crib, stepping down to low-flow nasal cannula at 1 liter, beginning to breastfeed.
Sleeping: So far so good, but as I mentioned last month, at this gestation most preemies sleep pretty well. Within the next few weeks he should start showing his true colors.
Eating: 45 ML of breastmilk every three hours via NG tube, plus 26kcal of fortification added to my milk. We got to try breastfeeding for the first time last week, and as of tonight I think it’s finally starting to click with him. I think it was a combination of him feeling better, simply getting bigger and more mature, and I think a lot of it was that I was more comfortable. For the past several days the lactation nurses had been telling me to hold him a particular way (“cross body” hold, with my hand holding his head), and I had been following their direction, even though it felt unnatural to hold him this way (I had always preferred to nurse Theo in a “cradle” hold, with his head in the crook of my arm). But since I had never fed a preemie before, I followed their direction. Tonight I did what felt natural to me, and was far more successful. Moral of the story? Listen to your instincts, mamas.
He still isn’t able to get much, but he was rooting around, opening his mouth and truly giving it his best effort. And several times he would latch and actually get in several good sucks before losing his “grip.” He probably would have done even better, but he got a vicious bout of the hiccups about halfway through and I could tell that just wiped all his energy. It was just such a relief to see him actually doing what he should, though, even if he needs more practice. I think the most discouraging part about the past few days is that he just didn’t seem to know what he was supposed to do. We’ll probably try weighted feeds tomorrow (where they weigh him immediately before and after to see how much he got), now that he seems to be actually getting a little. As he gets more and more by breast, they’ll start subtracting that amount from his tube feedings.
Personality: Like last month’s update, it’s still pretty early to see much personality shine through, but he’s certainly gotten more vocal about when he’s unhappy with something lately! Whether it’s reflux or those horrible eye exams he isn’t shy about speaking his mind.
Likes: Being held. His oxygen and heart rate are always at their best when one of us is holding him.
Dislikes: Reflux and eye exams. And boogers.
Mama: is down to pre-pregnancy weight but feeling pretty squishy still. I went to barre for the first time postpartum last week and am hoping to start making that a regular habit again.
I’m back at work now so that I can save the rest of my leave for when E comes home. It’s actually been kind of nice to be back. I only go into the office twice a week (usually Mondays and Fridays) and I work from the hospital Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I’m thankful to have such an understanding employer, and this schedule allows me to have two “consecutive” days in the office (Friday and Monday), but still lets me get 2-3 days of hospital time in between so I don’t feel like I’m missing E too much. I also have most of my standing in-person meetings on Mondays and Fridays, and all the others I can easily call into. I’ve discovered the kids’ play room on our floor is quiet, has a desk, and is rarely used (the only kids allowed in the NICU anyway are siblings and they’re probably spending most of their time in their brother/sister’s room), so it’s perfect for taking calls.
I’m still obsessive about pumping (even though I despise it), but I’ve been able to stretch it out to every three hours during the day and and 4-6 hours at night, while still increasing supply. Currently getting about 33-35 oz per day, which is way more than he’s eating right now and we’re running out of freezer space in both the kitchen and the garage freezer!
Keeping up with the Hoffmans 