During the past weekend we were waiting to see how Naomi was doing on the formula. It was kind of a wait and see final plan since she didn't seem to be digesting any of the other formulas. In the back of my mind, I still think it was the fortifiers that were giving her digestion problems.
They also wanted to take a break from mom's milk. Mom was allowed to nurse once a day, but they weren't expecting Naomi to succeed. In an effort to track how the nursing went, Naomi was weighed pre- and post-nursing to see how well she was doing. Saturday she gained 30 g which is approximately 30 mL of milk.
The other big event of the weekend was a little less apparent to us. We were informed that Naomi's auto-heater 3000 was turned off over Friday night and that she was maintaining her own body temperature well. If she continued to do well, we would switch to a crib in a few days.
Ana and I were both sick over the weekend. We donned our face masks routinely as we entered Children's and washed our hands frequently. I've been hands off for over a week now because of the complications that could arise if Naomi becomes ill. It's been hard not holding her for a week, but hopefully soon I'll feel better.
In the meantime, I've been working on Naomi's room at home with Grandpa Menk's help. He's done most of the work, but as Great Grandpa Menk taught me long ago, supervising is 90-percent of the work. The original plan was to start working on Naomi's room in September, but with Naomi's arrival we haven't had a lot of time to focus on her room.
Monday was a big day. Naomi received her first bath! She was maintaining her body temperature so we were allowed to unwrap her, take off her leads, and give her a scrub down. Naomi had the fewest wire connections yet with just her O2 sensor and NG tube connected. She didn't seem to particularly enjoy the bath at first, but after a few moments she calmed down and was satisfied to just give us her stink eye look. Afterwards, Ana quickly dried her off with the help of the nurse and we bundled her up so she could stay warm. The bath was followed by a shampoo. The nurse informed us that most babies like to get their head washed and Naomi seemed to validate that claim.
After snuggling Naomi back in, we started her other new feature, music boxes. Early birds usually don't get to listen to music until they are around Naomi's current age (36 weeks) because of the stress that it may cause them. I would have preferred to bring in my own cd, but I was content to hit play and listen to nursery rhymes and a toy's interpretation of classical music.
Tuesday was routine as normal for Ana. I was still sick, so I ran around town getting things to fix up Naomi's room. Wednesday, however, was a different story. Naomi was doing well when I called in the morning, mom was planning to go in around noon to nurse, and I was planning to visit after work. That all changed though at 3:30 PM. Ana called me with the latest update. She had two things to tell me, first we were head to ICC! Second, Naomi Kobayashi-ed during nurse time.
Ana and the nurse used the scale again to try to estimate how much milk Naomi received. They weighed her beforehand, nursed for an hour, and weighed her afterwards. Then they weight her again, and finally, a third time, just to be sure. Naomi received about 110 mL of milk or approximately three times her normal feedings. So while we were excited about heading to ICC, we weren't sure what to expect with her record setting performance. I guess we shouldn't doubt her prowess since most nurses comment on her 90 mph binkie habit.
At 3 PM, Naomi was still doing well. Her belly seemed normal and there were no indications of any problems. By 4:30 PM we were packed up and ready to make the mini-parade to ICC. ICC is a step down unit before we go home. It is where Naomi will transition to nursing and bottle feeding, back sleeping, and the routines of a home. Our anticipated stay seems to be around two weeks, but as with our NICU stay, no one wants to say with any certainty.
When we arrived in the ICC, we got to snuggle Naomi into a crib. She skipped one feeding due to her large lunch at noon and had about ten new diapers during her 6 PM cares. Otherwise she was doing well. After tucking her in and getting her feeding started, we received a tour of the ICC. It's a nice unit with larger rooms and windows. Technically, it's also one step closer to home since it is the door before the NICU.
So now we are in transition mode. We've been adopting to new routines and new nurses. Hopefully our stay will be short, but we'll need Naomi to start digesting well on a routine basis. All in all though, it has been an amazing week of progress. Go Naomi!
Wow! How exciting for you guys! Get that room ready... ;-)
ReplyDeleteNatalie