Tuesday January 10th
Since she's been on the regular nasal canula, she's been doing amazingly well! Her Fi02 has been stable between 27-31% and she's hasn't yo-yo'd too much on her oxygen saturations. Because she's doing so well and she's not on the high flow anymore, the focus right now is on her getting her feedings down, and working with her developmentally. They want her to have tummy time and to practice moving her head around to strengthen her neck muscles....they brought this mat into her room, and we get to lay her on it whenever she's wide awake enough to have tummy time. Tuesday was the first day using it, and she was so cute....she looked like she was swimming kicking her feet and moving her head back and forth....she lasted for a few minutes before she started getting frustrated and started sucking on the blanket she was laying on.....she was hungry! haha :-)
When preemies get to the feeding stage, they usually have to follow a specific schedule. There are different stages....and before the baby is able to move from one stage to another, they have to meet certain requirements.
Stage 1:
Baby gets to eat 1 feeding by mouth (breast or bottle) per shift...so twice a day. When the baby can tolerate both those feedings for two days straight, and gain weight...they get to move on to the next stage.
Stage 2:
Baby gets to eat 2 feedings by mouth per shift....four times a day. After two days of tolerating it and gaining weight....they get to move on.
Stage 3.....3 times a shift.....6 times a day....
Stage 4.....every feeding is by mouth.
A full feeding is either the total volume by bottle, or 10+ minutes on the breast. If the baby doesn't finish the bottle, or goes less than 10 minutes....they get the rest pumped into their stomach. They've figured it out down to a science to make sure these little ones make progress while still getting their full nutrition. It was kind of confusing trying to figure out which stage baby Katea would fall under because she's so old (being past her due date) yet at the same time this was the first couple days she ever ate through her mouth. The nurses and NNP's were actually amazed at how well she was doing, she picked up so quick on the eating thing...and it seemed like she was loving it. She would wake up frantic looking for her food...rooting to both sides looking for something to eat. I just laughed because I knew she wouldn't have any problems eating. We always told the nurses she would sail through the feeding stages because hey, she's a Fangupo...and eating is what we do best! haha The NNP suggested that we let her eat, but she wasn't completely clear on how often she could eat by mouth and how often she still had to be pumped. The nurses asked for some clarification and the NNP wrote it out on her orders.....she can have ALL her feedings by mouth, as tolerated when she's awake and alert! Wow, she went from never eating through her mouth to being able to take all her feedings by mouth in just a couple days.....skipped right over all the stages!! haha Good job baby girl! Now she just has to eat every meal by mouth for two days straight, and gain weight....and then they can take her feeding tube out and no more pumped meals! Yay! Gramma Cindy and Leka came by to visit today. That was the first time Aunty Leka got to hold her!
Wednesday January 11th
When I got to the hospital, she had just had her eye exam. The results were not worse, but not what we wanted to hear either. They hadn't changed at all....for good or bad. She was still at a zone 2 developmentally and stage 2 of ROP. Since there was no change, the optimologist won't do another eye-exam until 2 more weeks. That just bought us 2 more weeks at the hospital for sure. :-( That means she'll spend her 4 month birthday there too. :-( It's ok though! Most likely she'll have to go home on oxygen....and since oxygen is what can damage the eyes.....she either has to be completely off oxygen, or her eyes have to develop before she can go home. Praying her eyes will develop within the next two weeks! As far as her eating on Wednesday, she did really well again. She didn't take all her meals by mouth, just because she was sleeping sometimes and not awake enough to concentrate. And because baby Katea took a little while to get organized and to remember to suck, swallow then breathe.....once she got a hang of it, her nurse made me stop breastfeeding because she had reached the time limit....and she pumped the rest into her stomach. Boo! Anjanette was back at night and she let me feed her until she was full. She lasted 25 minutes, and we did the test weight thing again....she gained 78grams. Whoo-hoo! One way they know the baby has had enough, is if they sleep good after the feeding.....she slept so good! Yay I was able to fill her up!
Thursday January 12th
Today was a pretty low-key day. Baby Katea ate all her meals by mouth except one. And that's becuase she was dead asleep! Every day she's getting better and better! Good job baby girl, I'm proud of you!
Since she's been on the regular nasal canula, she's been doing amazingly well! Her Fi02 has been stable between 27-31% and she's hasn't yo-yo'd too much on her oxygen saturations. Because she's doing so well and she's not on the high flow anymore, the focus right now is on her getting her feedings down, and working with her developmentally. They want her to have tummy time and to practice moving her head around to strengthen her neck muscles....they brought this mat into her room, and we get to lay her on it whenever she's wide awake enough to have tummy time. Tuesday was the first day using it, and she was so cute....she looked like she was swimming kicking her feet and moving her head back and forth....she lasted for a few minutes before she started getting frustrated and started sucking on the blanket she was laying on.....she was hungry! haha :-)
When preemies get to the feeding stage, they usually have to follow a specific schedule. There are different stages....and before the baby is able to move from one stage to another, they have to meet certain requirements.
Stage 1:
Baby gets to eat 1 feeding by mouth (breast or bottle) per shift...so twice a day. When the baby can tolerate both those feedings for two days straight, and gain weight...they get to move on to the next stage.
Stage 2:
Baby gets to eat 2 feedings by mouth per shift....four times a day. After two days of tolerating it and gaining weight....they get to move on.
Stage 3.....3 times a shift.....6 times a day....
Stage 4.....every feeding is by mouth.
A full feeding is either the total volume by bottle, or 10+ minutes on the breast. If the baby doesn't finish the bottle, or goes less than 10 minutes....they get the rest pumped into their stomach. They've figured it out down to a science to make sure these little ones make progress while still getting their full nutrition. It was kind of confusing trying to figure out which stage baby Katea would fall under because she's so old (being past her due date) yet at the same time this was the first couple days she ever ate through her mouth. The nurses and NNP's were actually amazed at how well she was doing, she picked up so quick on the eating thing...and it seemed like she was loving it. She would wake up frantic looking for her food...rooting to both sides looking for something to eat. I just laughed because I knew she wouldn't have any problems eating. We always told the nurses she would sail through the feeding stages because hey, she's a Fangupo...and eating is what we do best! haha The NNP suggested that we let her eat, but she wasn't completely clear on how often she could eat by mouth and how often she still had to be pumped. The nurses asked for some clarification and the NNP wrote it out on her orders.....she can have ALL her feedings by mouth, as tolerated when she's awake and alert! Wow, she went from never eating through her mouth to being able to take all her feedings by mouth in just a couple days.....skipped right over all the stages!! haha Good job baby girl! Now she just has to eat every meal by mouth for two days straight, and gain weight....and then they can take her feeding tube out and no more pumped meals! Yay! Gramma Cindy and Leka came by to visit today. That was the first time Aunty Leka got to hold her!
Wednesday January 11th
When I got to the hospital, she had just had her eye exam. The results were not worse, but not what we wanted to hear either. They hadn't changed at all....for good or bad. She was still at a zone 2 developmentally and stage 2 of ROP. Since there was no change, the optimologist won't do another eye-exam until 2 more weeks. That just bought us 2 more weeks at the hospital for sure. :-( That means she'll spend her 4 month birthday there too. :-( It's ok though! Most likely she'll have to go home on oxygen....and since oxygen is what can damage the eyes.....she either has to be completely off oxygen, or her eyes have to develop before she can go home. Praying her eyes will develop within the next two weeks! As far as her eating on Wednesday, she did really well again. She didn't take all her meals by mouth, just because she was sleeping sometimes and not awake enough to concentrate. And because baby Katea took a little while to get organized and to remember to suck, swallow then breathe.....once she got a hang of it, her nurse made me stop breastfeeding because she had reached the time limit....and she pumped the rest into her stomach. Boo! Anjanette was back at night and she let me feed her until she was full. She lasted 25 minutes, and we did the test weight thing again....she gained 78grams. Whoo-hoo! One way they know the baby has had enough, is if they sleep good after the feeding.....she slept so good! Yay I was able to fill her up!
Thursday January 12th
Today was a pretty low-key day. Baby Katea ate all her meals by mouth except one. And that's becuase she was dead asleep! Every day she's getting better and better! Good job baby girl, I'm proud of you!
2 comments:
OMGoodness I'm so amazed at how much she's grown and the progress she has made. She is such a fighter! All I could do was smile while watching the video. I feel like I know her through your blog. Thank you for sharing such precious moments Monica. I'm so happy for you. Love ya
She (and those little boots) is so cute! She is getting so big too. It will be so exciting when you get to bring her home :)
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