Aerin is 6 weeks old today. The time has just flown by, but I can't wait until she's ready to come home. She's still doing well with her oxygen and feedings. She's still refluxing, but the Reglan and longer feedings are taking care of it.
One issue we're dealing with is her slow weight gain. She's such a high-energy baby that she burns more calories than she's getting. She loves to be awake and to move all around her isolette. All of the nurses comment on how active she is. That is truly a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it's great that she has the energy and muscle tone to move so much. On the other hand, it burns calories. Dr. Rose is upping her feeds to 36 cc's and adding fat to her diet in the form of an oil she gets twice a day.
Dr. Rose told us today that if Aerin continues to be as stable as she is now, we'll try dry nursing on Friday. I'll empty my breasts by pumping, then I'll offer Aerin a breast to see if she can latch on. If she can, it'll be very soothing for her. Since the breast is never truly empty, she might get a few drops of milk, which will give her a taste. She has a very strong suck, so we're optimistic about her ability to latch on. This will all be done under the supervision of the NICU lactation consultant and nurse, Beth.
3 comments:
Oh, my goodness! You're going to get to try nursing! Yay!
And I hear you on the active babies; my daughter has a high activity level and high metabolism, too, When she started walking, she dropped from the 50th to the 5th percentile in weight (and was in the 75th in height.) She never stopped moving before she was born, and she hasn't stopped since! I think you're going to have your hands full when little Aerin starts crawling around!
Lucky you! (((hugs)))
-Anne/kq
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO AERIN AMELIA.
She really gets more beautiful as time goes by.
Many blessings on this and all her birthdays.
Alan A.
she is really adorable
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