As of last night she is officially in the step down nursery which is reserved for the most stable babes that are just there to eat and grow. It is SO quiet and there aren't tons of moniters and beeping noises. To be quite honest walking into the NICU with that smell and the noises brought me back to a very dark place so its nice to be out of there (even though I LOVE the people). I loved walking past Jayda's old RT (respitory therapist) and telling him I LOVED that we didnt need him. :)
Bad news is I think I have a cold so I have to mask up and I'm terrified that I'm going to get her sick. But I have to teach her how to breastfeed so I have no choice. I'm "attempting" to breastfeed her once a shift. I say attempt because she doesn't do much. She'll latch on and suck for a few seconds but doesnt get anything substancial. Just kinda licks around.
The good news is she shows interest. She roots around and make sucking sounds. Its funny because she'll open her mouth as if she is trying to swallow fluid as if she was still inside of me. Really its just a waiting game until she learns how to eat. And she'll get it. There is a definate difference in my 26 weeker and her FOR SURE. We got this!
The nice thing is that I'm a NICU vet so I know to not get too excited. The first time we attempted she breastfed for about a total of maybe 2 min and had a latch score of a 4. So crazy good for the first attempt. Later that night she didnt really latch on at all. Just kind of zonked out. So I knew going into it to not expect something everytime because then you just set yourself up for disappointment. She'll get it and I know that.
Having a micropreemie and a later preemie is one of the same in one regard. Its a waiting game. The only thing is the micro part is a waiting game filled with terror. A later preemie its a waiting game filled with patience.
All I know is we ARE breastfeeding this one and she is going to know how to eat good before we go home!
Haven is so different from her sister. She is such a chill baby. She loves food. Once her feed is up she gets antsy and then he minute the food hits her belly she is zonked out. She has been spitting up a little after her feeds though so they might just give it to her slower. Btw she is up to 38mls which is FULL feeds at FIVE days old!!! Crazy! Its through the tube of course but she is loving it and tolerating it good. She's getting my milk completely now and is gaining awesome. We are now up to 4lbs 1oz after she lost her birth weight. Last night she had gained 40grams from the day before just from my breastmilk (with a little protein boost of course!).
She does look a little yellow so she might need to go under the bili lights for another day but thats not a big deal.
Jayda is getting better but we're going to probably wait til saturday to make sure her cold is completely gone. She is so excited to meet her baby sister. She's been carrying around a baby and calling it Haven and feeding her with one of my breastmilk containers and putting her in her baby swing we have set up for her. She started rocking it and sicking rock-a-bye-baby and my heart melted. When I was pumping the other day she said she wanted some of my yummy milk and I said, "OHHHH ok so NOW you want it. You didnt want it when you were a baby. Snooze ya lose sista!"
Its so hectic right now shuttling Jayda around and I feel guilty. We did a little craft and painting yesterday and I felt so tired but had to power through it. She loved spending some time with me but man I am just exhausted. Its only going to get worse when she starts breastfeeding more. Luckiyl we have tons of help but man...its hard juggling everything! Lord help us!
That is too cute that Jayda does that. She is going to be the BEST sister on the planet! Hope everyone gets well soon. Sounds like Haven is making huge strides. So happy for you guys!
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