Tuesday, December 2, 2014

NICU Day 73

I spent an enjoyable day with Baby Girl and we tried nursing 3 times in a row.  We ended up supplementing the second feeding.  The fact that she gained (even though it was only a little bit) is great considering she's getting 5 unfortified feedings and she's having to put forth effort to eat.  Today she will have eaten some or all of her feedings 6 out of 8 times, which is awesome!  The nurses keep reminding me that even though she's come so far, she still shouldn't have to do any of this yet.  Feeding is going to take time and patience.

I mentioned my Snuza Motion Monitor when I spoke with the doctor today about Baby Girl possibly coming home on a monitor.  She said that I shouldn't count on that monitor and that babies die even on an apnea monitor, that SIDS is more than just breathing and heart rate and I shouldn't depend on the monitors.  I didn't find this very helpful.  I did point out that I'd also take the other safe sleep precautions such as room temperature, running fan, sleeping in a separate bassinet in the same room with me, etc.  She agreed those were all also important.  It was later pointed out to me that she may have thought I would take the monitor as safety enough and skip the other SIDS prevention techniques.  As my nurse said "it's not like you were going to lay the baby down in a soft bed with 17 blankets and a teddy bear".  I mentioned my belief that doctors are in fact just people with opinions when it comes right down to it.

We agreed that it is important to make sure everyone involved in someone's care understands the WHY of their actions, rather than just the what.  C4 once had a nurse pick him up by the shoulders after open heart surgery.  When I reminded her that we were not to lift him under the arms, so we could protect his sternum which was held together by wire, she pointed out she lifted him by his shoulders, not under his arms.  Now, the point was to prevent his body weight from pulling on his chest.  The goal was to always support his weight in his rear and never with his upper body, but she got stuck on the "not under arms" and didn't think about the WHY.  It is easy to have that happen anywhere in life and it is something worth guarding against.


I thought this was super cute.  It was like she was hugging her pacifier.


Weight: 2415 grams 10 grams (5 lbs 5 oz)
Milk: 107 (40.5 oz)
Feeds: 52 ml 6 unfortified, 2 fortified to 24 calories pushed over 30 min
Nursed: 2.5 nursing session out of 3 total attempts
Tri-Vi-Sol .5 ml
Day Nurse: Sarah
Night Nurse: Stephanie!

1 comment:

  1. I read all of your posts even if I don't comment. I'm so glad she's doing OK. And you're right, knowing the "why" is important. It's crucial!

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