courtneyb

Two steps forward, one back

Monday, June 7th, 2010 | Oh, Baby! | 6 Comments

These are the days all of you NICU graduates warned me about. We had a great morning. My mom and I made the trek over for Kate’s 9 am care time. Nurse Rose already had one of the comfy chairs and a set of the privacy screens over by her bed. She was alert and hungry so after a poopy diaper change, I got her out and attempted breastfeeding for the first time. She was amazing, latching on almost immediately. Who knows how much she got down, but it was the practice I was most interested in and I followed it with 15ml from a bottle to make sure we knew she got something to eat — a step forward.

I also took some photos of her with her handmade bee hat that Kelly made. I’m afraid she will forever hold on to the nickname “bee”.

I spent the rest of the day getting some things done around the house and responding to some work email. Most everything is washed and ready for her to come home whenever that might be.

Excited by the morning, Kelvin and I went back for her 6pm care time with hopes we would try feeding again. We arrived to Kate without her bili-pad; her levels were good enough to take her off — a step forward.

That excitement was overshadowed for me by the fact that her gavage was back. Her nurse said that she had petered out with her bottle and had only taken 15ml from her in a half hour– a step back.

Kelvin held her while they added my milk to her tube. She seemed super sleepy and not as animated as usual. You can tell the tube makes her uncomfortable. Hopefully this will be short lived and she’ll bounce back quickly. She’s got some more progress to make; they’re working on cooling her crib a degree at a time. I’m looking forward to her being in an open air crib, and closer to the exit door.

Tags: bili, gavage, kate, NICU