10/2/08 - 1st Attempt

It was another good day for Kayleigh. Today was the first attempt for Aimee to try and breast feed. It turned out to be more of a bonding session than anything else as Kayleigh didn't latch on. We will keep trying and sooner or later, she will get it. She has been doing a decent job with her feedings though. They are still feeding her a bottle every other feed, and sometimes she is not finshing the whole bottle for the other nurses. When we feed her she does great, so we are curious if Kayleigh just wants us to feed her instead. That is possible!

She took 13 out of 20 mls tonight before she fell asleep from all the hard work. So they put the rest through her tube. She is still pooping on a regular basis and the blood test showed that her blood sugar levels are normal. Woo hoo! She is still on 2 liters of flow and her oxygen is at 30%. They will try to wean her off of the oxygen slowly, but she was constantly at 25-30% all day today. Her weight has gone back up to what it was the other day. (1444 grams = 3lbs - 3oz)

Other than that, it was a smooth day today which is so amazing. It is so true about the NICU being 2 steps forward and 1 step back until you are out the door. We just hope there are no more steps back. We have taken enough steps forward and backwards that I will be starting a new profession in teaching shag classes this winter. ha-ha!

Okay, that was bad! Anywho, Thank you all so much for everything! Good days are so wonderful and let's pray that they continue.

God Bless,

The Freemans :)

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

been thinking of you and your beauty all day today

good luck - I think she will be just perfect!

Anonymous said...

I guess you could say I have been a lurker, as my daughter Rachel was due around the same time as Kayleigh and I have followed your story from the Baby Center Boards. She is so beautiful, and each night I have to log on to get my Kayleigh fix. I am so happy to see her progress, and Kudos to you Aimee on your drive to bring her the best nutrition possible.
Although my Rachel was only 3 1/2 weeks early, she also struggled with latching on in NICU... but we kept trying, and when we got into the "no stress zone" of our own home, she really just got into it. For now, it may help to express just a bit of milk and rub it on her lips to stimulate her latching.
Take care,
Rachel's mommie Michelle

Anonymous said...

Congratualations on being able to try to breast feed today. And Keep it up! It takes a while for all babies to learn and Kayliegh just needs practice! I am a nursing mom and can say that it is a beauty ability to have your body nurish your child and that milk that Aimee has is all Kayliegh needed this whole time!!! COngrats! and keep up the good work!

Crystal in CT

Anonymous said...

I did a happy Glee when i saw that they allowed Kayleigh to try to breastfeed today. Hooray!

go Kayleigh go! :)

Anonymous said...

Yay, Kayleigh! She's just plugging along and doing great. A few weeks ago, I told my niece about Kayleigh and showed her the pictures, and when she was over today she saw me looking at your blog. She was amazed at how much Kayleigh has grown. It's just amazing to think of what a miracle she is. What a blessing.

Anonymous said...

What a special milestone. Although our journey in the nicu was very short (just a few days), I'll never forget how wonderful it was to finally be able to try breastfeeding. Finally something felt normal. Just wait until you are able to do this without any wires, tubes, or monitors in the background! Here's a picture of one our preemie's first attempts at breastfeeding. Micah weighs about 5 pounds and is the equivalent of 36 weeks. http://peaceinhiseyes.wordpress.com/2008/09/21/4/

Anonymous said...

Aimee:
I am a nursing Mom. I wanted to see if you have been introduced to an SNS nurser? Your lactation department would have them. If the baby is used to the bottle then you miht want to use this to have her get the idea that this is where the milk is. I would start this soon because some babies get that nipple confusion thing and the artificial nipple is easier for them. If you'd like more information about it then you can contact me back. zuuzu@aol.com
Lisa