Hello,
It was a good weekend here in Marquette. Josh and I spent a lot of time at the NICU with Willow. My pumping schedule has gotten a little more complicated with trying to feed Willow. I have to make sure that when we go there for her feeding time, I haven't just pumped, but also that it hasn't been too long since I've pumped or I might drown her. It's a delicate balance. Then if we go in there and she's completely conked out and not awake enough to breastfeed (which happened a few times this weekend), I can hang out for a while, but soon I have to leave to go pump! And then it's just 2 hours until the next feeding, so I only do a half-pump so I still have that perfect balance for the next feeding... it gets complicated!
She did pretty well this weekend, pretty much maintained the status quo. She took 35 mLs from a bottle for a night shift nurse on Saturday night and took 10 and 15 mLs from me. We had a little scare this evening. I was pumping, and Josh was over by Ellen's bed talking to Lauren when he heard the Brady alarm coming from Willow's room. He went over there and the nurse had a "look" on her face. Willow had ripped her feeding tube out mid-meal and aspirated some of the milk. She had a Brady and looked pale. It turned out it wasn't as bad as it seemed though. She didn't aspirate much at all and her lungs sounded clear. Her stats were a little unsteady for several minutes afterwards, but she bounced back pretty quick and it was actually the next feeding that she took the 15 mLs from me. Whew.
When we went to the NICU Saturday morning, Willow's chart said she gained 4 ounces overnight and had broken 6 pounds. The nurse said it was probably not right and it'd probably go back down a bit the next day. But on Sunday she'd gained another ounce! So she's now up to 6 pounds 4 ounces! She's growing like a weed. You can actually pick her up more like a regular baby now, under the armpits, as opposed to micro-preemie style of sliding both hands under her prone body.
I remember when she was tiny I was afraid to move her like the nurses did. It always felt like her head was going to fall off. Now we're both much more confident. She's still bald as a billiard ball though, unlike her roommate Alexander who has a ton of black spiky hair. I was bald until I was like a year old though, so maybe she's taking after me.
My parents came down today, and although they still can't see Willow because of the visiting restrictions due to the swine flu (sorry Scott, H1N1 flu, that is :) ), we still had a good time and went out for a "linner" (lunch/dinner) buffet at a nice restaurant for Mother's Day. Josh went back to Houghton tonight and I'm on my own again.
Until tomorrow...
4 comments:
Those photos show us plenty of auburn tinged hair, nothing like a billiard ball! I think Tom was almost three before he had enough hair for a hair cut so Willow's doing well.
Glad you enjoyed your mother's day 'linner'. Just think, you would have had to wait another year to celebrate your first mother's day if Willow had waited and arrived on time. Did she choose you a special gift? We went over to Jenny's place for a mother's day brunch.
Getting the feeding schedules co-ordinated certainly sounds complicated. I hope this all gets sorted out and Willow learns how cosy and comforting breast feeding can be.
Love the photos.
All the best
Jill, Roger, Michelle(now in New Guinea), Jenny & Tom
Willow has given you the best Mother's Day gift. If you look at the second picture, she's using sign language to say "I love you."
Vicki
Happy first Mother's day, Linds! She doing so great, and looking so adorable. Keep up your determination, Linds! It will surely pay off! Take care,
Katie
Happy Mother's Day (a day late) Lindsay! It sounds like you guys had a nice day together. I hope this week brings lots of progress so we can get Willow home!
Love,
Janna
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