Siblings meet...
September 29, 2011, 1:54pm
Just returned from some sweet cuddle time with Tristyn. It was her reward for her amazing progress with the breastfeeding. We breastfed two times in the night (which means I am now experiencing the new-mommy-no-sleep syndrome) at 3 am and 6 am. It takes about an hour for the whole process but she was able to get 20 ccs both times (45 ccs is considered a full feeding until she reaches her birth wei
ght). I then have to go back to our room to pump and return the milk back to the NICU. In all, it takes about and hour and a half, which means I had an hour and a half to sleep before the next feeding. Exhausting but amazing.
Speaking of exhausting -- breastfeeding is super tiring for Tristyn. The breath-suck-swallow reflex is a hard one to master and it takes a lot out of her. Thus the reason it takes an hour to breastfeed -- I spend a majority of the time trying to keep her awake. We decided to give her a break at the 9am feeding and try again at the noon care.
Once again, our superstar wowed her nurses. She took 30 ccs during her breastfeeding!! This is why she was rewarded with some more kangaroo care from momma.
Her biliruben came back this morning at an 8.4 and that is great news. Still a little jaundice but no need to go back under the lights. She continues to have regular poops and wet diapers and has maintained her temp and O2. She does have to get her PKU test redone because of an abnormal reading, which we were told is very common for premies who are on TPN (the nutrition she was receiving before breast milk).
Her official weight last night was 4lbs 13.5 oz -- steadily gaining, which is what we want to see.
We were blessed to get a good friend, Sammy Jo, as our nurse today and she helped us give Tristyn her second spit bath, new outfit and even a little bow for her hair.
I am now up on my feet, though still moving a slowly. There is some residual headache but it is manageable and a definite night-and-day difference from what it was before. Five+ days flat on my back in bed have made for some soreness but I will take a cue from my daughter and won't let it stop me from progressing.
September 29, 2011, 11:23 pm
We've had a good day of breastfeeding for Tristyn with her best intake of 30 ccs at noon. After talking with the nurses we did decide to alternate her feedings and only breastfeed every other Care ("Care" happens every three hours and is th
e time when her diaper is changed, temp is checked, stats recorded and she eats). This is to help her keep up her energy up as it takes so much out of her to breastfeed.
Gideon did meet his little sister for the first time tonight. Though "meet" might not be the right word. Daddy walked into the NICU with him while I videoed and he was much more interested in getting down to play than looking at the baby in the bassinet. We did have a nurse on hand to snap a quick family photo. And, while it appears in the photo that Gideon is shrieking in terror at the sight of Tristyn, rest assured that he is simply wanting to get down to push buttons.
The whole event took less than 60 seconds. I suppose they will meet later when we bring her home.
Just returned from some sweet cuddle time with Tristyn. It was her reward for her amazing progress with the breastfeeding. We breastfed two times in the night (which means I am now experiencing the new-mommy-no-sleep syndrome) at 3 am and 6 am. It takes about an hour for the whole process but she was able to get 20 ccs both times (45 ccs is considered a full feeding until she reaches her birth wei
ght). I then have to go back to our room to pump and return the milk back to the NICU. In all, it takes about and hour and a half, which means I had an hour and a half to sleep before the next feeding. Exhausting but amazing.
Speaking of exhausting -- breastfeeding is super tiring for Tristyn. The breath-suck-swallow reflex is a hard one to master and it takes a lot out of her. Thus the reason it takes an hour to breastfeed -- I spend a majority of the time trying to keep her awake. We decided to give her a break at the 9am feeding and try again at the noon care.
Once again, our superstar wowed her nurses. She took 30 ccs during her breastfeeding!! This is why she was rewarded with some more kangaroo care from momma.
Her biliruben came back this morning at an 8.4 and that is great news. Still a little jaundice but no need to go back under the lights. She continues to have regular poops and wet diapers and has maintained her temp and O2. She does have to get her PKU test redone because of an abnormal reading, which we were told is very common for premies who are on TPN (the nutrition she was receiving before breast milk).
Her official weight last night was 4lbs 13.5 oz -- steadily gaining, which is what we want to see.
We were blessed to get a good friend, Sammy Jo, as our nurse today and she helped us give Tristyn her second spit bath, new outfit and even a little bow for her hair.
I am now up on my feet, though still moving a slowly. There is some residual headache but it is manageable and a definite night-and-day difference from what it was before. Five+ days flat on my back in bed have made for some soreness but I will take a cue from my daughter and won't let it stop me from progressing.
September 29, 2011, 11:23 pm
We've had a good day of breastfeeding for Tristyn with her best intake of 30 ccs at noon. After talking with the nurses we did decide to alternate her feedings and only breastfeed every other Care ("Care" happens every three hours and is th
e time when her diaper is changed, temp is checked, stats recorded and she eats). This is to help her keep up her energy up as it takes so much out of her to breastfeed.
Gideon did meet his little sister for the first time tonight. Though "meet" might not be the right word. Daddy walked into the NICU with him while I videoed and he was much more interested in getting down to play than looking at the baby in the bassinet. We did have a nurse on hand to snap a quick family photo. And, while it appears in the photo that Gideon is shrieking in terror at the sight of Tristyn, rest assured that he is simply wanting to get down to push buttons.
The whole event took less than 60 seconds. I suppose they will meet later when we bring her home.