I tried to get a picture of the funny face she makes when we burp her.I just missed it.
Now we get to feed Anika two times out of every three feedings. This makes for a
more complicated schedule and more trips to the hospital on some days, but we are
VERY glad she is making progress. I try to be positive because I see how much we have
been and are blessed, but I do get discouraged. We had been thinking that after
2 out of 3 we would get to feed her all the time, but we actually have another step
we have to take first. Once she does well with 2/3 then we go to 3/4 before we can
feed her all the time. We were kinda bummed about that. It makes sense,
but it also means she has to stay in the hospital longer...
Here is a picture with her empty bottle that she finished off yesterday.She even wanted more (but we have to follow Dr's orders),
so we gave her the pacifier. Way to go!
Yesterday was the first 2 out of 3 day, and it wasn't the best. This morning,
however, she took the whole bottle in 20 minutes! She has taken the whole
bottle 3-4x now. We've been working on nursing and hope to continue to do so,
but we've had a lot of issues with it- including my milk supply. I've had LOTS of
issues that I won't get into, but for those of you now and in the future who
may struggle with nursing I suggest you find someone to help you before you give up.
I can give you some good ideas or resources if you need it :)
Luckily I am able to pump enough now to get most of what she needs. But it
comes with a price; I pump 8-10 times a day/night! That is somewhat typical,
but it sure takes a lot out of you.
Yesterday was just a rough day. Anika (or the nurse... it was hard to tell)
accidently pulled her feeding tube out again. She did it a week or so ago as well.
It is soooo sad! This time she had just gotten a new one a few days ago anyway,
but she had to go through it all again. She screams and cries and I want to cry
(sometimes I do). They have to pull the tape off her face; it hurts and leaves a
mark too. They taped the new one on really poorly so they had to put on even
more tape. Not only that, but it was covering part of her nostril, stuck to part
of her lip and pulling at the skin under her eye. So she had to endure even more
tape removal right after having it put on. I don't know why, but they put in a bigger
tube this time and we aren't very happy about it. She is still such a tiny thing
so the tube takes up even more of her nostril. Poor girl :(
This Thursday she will be 3 weeks old! Monday, February 8th is her official
"guess" date (which was most likely 1 1/2 weeks too early). Nathaniel worked a
little during the last two weeks, but he went back to work yesterday. He'll probably
use some of his time off and take a few more days when she comes home, but I'm just
trying not to sit at home crying all day. Don't worry, I'm not doing that bad.
But it is really hard.
9 comments:
How sad! I almost cried reading it. That has to be tough. We'll keep you guys in our prayers. I'm glad that she is doing better with her eating. She is so beautiful!
What a trooper you and nate are. It makes me sad that something happened with the feeding tube. I would cry too. Poor thing. On the brighter side, I am glad you get to have 3/4 feeding and that she is making progress. Know we are thinking of you and hope things keep getting better soon.
Don't get too discouraged. She's getting better & that's wonderful! It is hard to see your baby in pain. I'm sorry about the feeding tube.
Just out of curiosity, what advice do you have about nursing? I gave up pretty quickly, 5 days, but I pumped & got like 1/2 an ounce to one ounce for 20 minutes & that would only come out of my right side. I want to try it again with the next baby we have, but I'm scared the same thing is going to happen. I am curious to see if my milk comes out of my left side, now that my tumor was removed; I wonder if it was clogging something. TMI. Anyway, you guys are so strong! Hang in there!
Holy cow Lina. I wish I were closer to you and had a better way of helping you through this trial. You have been through so much hardship. I guess all I can do from afar is keep praying for you and your family everyday. Know that's what I am doing, and I am ALWAYS thinking of you. I feel for you big time!
I'm so sorry that you have to go through this. She is so beautiful and is growing well and that makes me happy, but it stinks that her time on earth hasn't been the most conflict-free.
I almost cried reading it myself too. I'm sorry Lina! We are praying for you, and will continue to do so. Do you go to the hospital in the evenings when Than is home? (I would love to come visit but I don't want to take away from Than/Anika time... and unfortunately it can't be in the middle of the day, as much as I would like to leave school sometimes!)
i'm so sorry things are going so hard. it really is amazing how hard it is to feed a baby. before i had kids i thought it came natural like with cats or dogs. not so! it's really hard work!
you are such a good mom to keep pumping 10 times per day! keep up the good work. and listen to your mother's intuition more than to the doctors. mothers not doctors know best!
She is such a pretty little girl! We are really glad that she is getting better! I hope that you are feeling okay too... with having a c-section and then having to make all of the trips to the hospital I am sure it's gotta be so hard on you! Let us know if there is anything we can do for you from up here!!!!!
Hang in there Lina! She's so beautiful and it may take a while to get her home, but she will be there soon!
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