Nate has been home a week tomorrow!
Now at 2 1/2 weeks old, Nate has got his weight up to 5lbs, 12oz! He's starting to fill out a bit, but is still in preemie clothes. I think he will be for a while, newborn still looks WAY too big for him to wear!
As for feedings, Nate is still going back and forth between nursing and bottle feeds. He has really got an appetite though, and is sometimes wanting more food after just an hour and a half. He's taking between 2 and 3 oz of bottle, so I'm assuming he's also getting that amount from nursing. So we are gradually replacing bottle feeds with nursing, and am hoping sometime next week he will be nursing all feeds.
The only thing that we really need to work on is getting his days and nights right. Now he is up about 2 hours during the night. Some of this time he will just lay in his bassinet and happily look around, but that gets old fast and he starts to protest a bit. I guess the NICU and all the action 24 hours a day did not help all that much. He has had one night where he just woke up to eat and was right back to sleep, so we are working on him staying awake more during the day.....it's making me pretty tired, so I'm hopeful this will get fixed soon. Any advice would be appreciated. I did not encounter this with the other kids. I always wondered what people were talking about being up half the night with their newborns...now I know!!
Well, that's the update for now. I hear Sam crying for Mom, so I must run!
xoxo
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
Nate is HOME!!!
So on Wednesday Nate had his feeding tube removed and we were told that if he took his bottles and gained weight over the next 48 hours, we could take him home on Friday.
Instead he increased his feedings on his own, chugged all his bottles and his weight gain was so good on Thursday he was discharged that day!!!!
So now we are HOME!!! And how wonderful it was to not have to get up and drag the family to the hospital this morning! It's 12:30pm and the kids are still in their PJ's (as they have requested) I think they just want to have a lazy play day at home...they have been troopers with all the back and forth and all that has been going on. They deserve a PJ day!
I just want to thank you all so much for all the prayers over Nate. The doctors at the hospital called him a star for how quicky he improved and got stronger. But we know it was God's hand on his little body that helped him the most! I just look at this child and am soooo thankful he is here and healthy. It was a long pregnancy and a surprise early arrival, but God was there the entire time. My faith has grown so much over these last 7 months, I have never seen the hand of God work so much in my life.
love you all!!!
Julie
Instead he increased his feedings on his own, chugged all his bottles and his weight gain was so good on Thursday he was discharged that day!!!!
So now we are HOME!!! And how wonderful it was to not have to get up and drag the family to the hospital this morning! It's 12:30pm and the kids are still in their PJ's (as they have requested) I think they just want to have a lazy play day at home...they have been troopers with all the back and forth and all that has been going on. They deserve a PJ day!
I just want to thank you all so much for all the prayers over Nate. The doctors at the hospital called him a star for how quicky he improved and got stronger. But we know it was God's hand on his little body that helped him the most! I just look at this child and am soooo thankful he is here and healthy. It was a long pregnancy and a surprise early arrival, but God was there the entire time. My faith has grown so much over these last 7 months, I have never seen the hand of God work so much in my life.
love you all!!!
Julie
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Nate Update, Feb 3/09
Yesterday Nate was taken out of the incubartor and is now in a cute little hospital crib! It was fun to put him a cute little (and I mean little) sleeper last night.
We went in this morning and he held his body temperature well overnight and gained a little weight. It is common for preemies to lose a bit of weight once out of the incubator since their bodies have to work harder to keep warm.
Yesterday I got to nurse him twice, and he did very well and only needed a little bit of bottle to top him up at the end. This morning he had a full feed from nursing, no bottle needed! He surprised all of us with how much he took in a short amount of time. He does a bottle feed in 30 - 40 minutes, and did a breastfeed of the same amount in 15 minutes. I think he prefers the momma feeds to the bottle feeds! :)
He is still a little on the lazy end with getting all of his daily bottles down, and is still using help from the tube. Although he is not as dependant on it as he was just a few days ago. We are really believing that he can start finishing all bottle feeds so we can get that tube out!! It sounds like once he is able to take in all feedings on his own, he will be able to come home. And we are really really looking forward to that day!!
We went in this morning and he held his body temperature well overnight and gained a little weight. It is common for preemies to lose a bit of weight once out of the incubator since their bodies have to work harder to keep warm.
Yesterday I got to nurse him twice, and he did very well and only needed a little bit of bottle to top him up at the end. This morning he had a full feed from nursing, no bottle needed! He surprised all of us with how much he took in a short amount of time. He does a bottle feed in 30 - 40 minutes, and did a breastfeed of the same amount in 15 minutes. I think he prefers the momma feeds to the bottle feeds! :)
He is still a little on the lazy end with getting all of his daily bottles down, and is still using help from the tube. Although he is not as dependant on it as he was just a few days ago. We are really believing that he can start finishing all bottle feeds so we can get that tube out!! It sounds like once he is able to take in all feedings on his own, he will be able to come home. And we are really really looking forward to that day!!
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