Hibernating Hattie 3/14/13

March 14, 2013Melissa

Hattie has been pretty sleepy all day. She left 11 cc in her 1:30 a.m. bottle. She slept through her 4:30 a.m. feeding and her 7:30 a.m. hands-on time. She opened her eyes for her 10:30 a.m. feed but didn't really wake up and wasn't cueing. Chris says she is hibernating. We kangarooed and Hattie was pretty restless for about thirty minutes but I put her music on and sang to her and she finally settled down, though I'm not sure if she closed her eyes because my voice was soothing her or if it was because she wanted me to stop singing. Kangarooing is the ultimate relaxation for both of us. I love feeling her warm breath and little belly going in and out on my chest.

Hattie ate all but 3 cc of her 1:30 p.m. bottle. The nurse gave her credit for finishing the entire thing. She slept through her 4:30 p.m feeding.

My good friend Kelly came to visit us this afternoon and I loved having the company and catching up with her. And I loved that Kelly kept calling Hattie magnificent. Hattie just slept through all of our girl talk.

Our little bear cub came out of hibernation and ate her whole bottle for me at 7:30 p.m. We snuggled for a few minutes afterward while Chris was getting ready to kangaroo. It was so hard to give her up! While Chris and Hattie were kangarooing she pulled out her feeding tube for the second night in a row. Doesn't she look cool with her tube mustache?

When Chris put her back she, as Chris put it, cried very loud because she was hungry. It must have been true because Hattie ate her whole bottle in 15 minutes. She would've eaten more if he had given it to her.

Hattie continues to gain weight and now weighs 2,348 grams or 5 pounds, 2.8 ounces.

categories Hattie Updates, Photos

The Stinkachoo 3/13/13

March 13, 2013Melissa

Hattie ate a full bottle overnight after her 1:30 a.m. hands-on time and was gavage fed at 4:30 a.m. Hattie slept through her 7:30 hands-on time and her 10:30 feed this morning. When breastfeeding, we rely on a scale to tell us how much Hattie eats. We have to weigh her before she eats and then again right after. The milk weighs 1 gram per 1 cc, so we know how much she ate by taking the difference of the two weights. After I nursed her at 1:30 p.m. the scale first read she gained 16 grams and then read she gained 118 grams! We weighed her for a third time and a 118 gram gain flashed across the scale. Imagine the look on our faces. There's clearly something wrong with that scale because it's impossible she could've eaten that much! So we took the first reading and assumed Hattie ate (a more possible) 16 cc.

Chris came to the hospital early today so we could take the infant massage class. The developmental specialist gave us several techniques to massage each area of Hattie's body. We practiced on baby dolls to help us learn the strokes. Even though we could barely keep our eyes open, we learned some things that should be good for Hattie when she comes home. Thankfully we were provided a handout so we can revisit it once Hattie is big enough to handle a massage.

After the class, Chris and I took advantage of having a few extra daylight hours together and went on a dinner date to Jason's Deli. Any place with free soft serve ice cream is alright in our book.

Hattie didn't wake up for her 4:30 p.m. feed. She took her whole bottle for me at 7:30 p.m. and then Chris and Hattie kangarooed. She was fed through her tube at 10:30 p.m.

During kangaroo care, Hattie pulled out her feeding tube. When we put her back in her bed, Nurse Jen carefully threaded the tube back through her nose. This, of course, made Hattie sneeze. But it wasn't a normal sneeze: it also came with a toot. Chris has coined this as a stinkachoo. The whole thing made me laugh out loud. I guess Hattie didn't like that I laughed at her because her bottom lip instantly popped out to make a pouty face. It was so cute to see her pout for the first time!

We spent a long time talking to Jen and Maria tonight. We are fortunate to have such wonderful primary nurses who really love Hattie ... and us. They tried to put our minds at ease about Hattie's eating progress by letting us know that this is the hardest part for parents and reminded us that Hattie is just acting her age.

Hattie weighs 2,311 grams or 5 pounds, 1.5 ounces.

categories Hattie Updates, Photos

Five Pounds! 3/12/13

March 12, 2013Melissa

Hattie hit 5 pounds! She weighs 2,298 grams, or 5 pounds, 1.06 ounces. When she was born weighing 1 pound, 13 ounces it was hard to imagine she would ever weigh five pounds. We are so proud of our little piglet. Hattie slept through her last two feedings yesterday. She ate her whole bottle at 7:30 a.m. She took a break at 10:30 a.m. and then for her 1:30 p.m. feed she was ready to eat! She nursed and ate 20 cc! We kangarooed all afternoon and it was lovely.

Dr. Alexander said Hattie looks wonderful! He said we expect a little more from her because of her weight and we have to remind ourselves her brain is still immature. He won't be concerned about her inconsistent nippling for another two weeks when she is 37 weeks and considered full term. He apologized profusely to me and to Hattie for the problems she had with the formula fortifier. It's normal course of business for babies to switch to the formula fortifier prior to going home because the formula is much cheaper and easier to obtain outside of the NICU.

I spent quite some time today arguing with insurance about my breast pump. I am supposed to use a hospital-grade pump because of how often I have to pump. The hospital provides a grant pump until Hattie reaches 34 weeks and then payment for the rental is supposed to go to insurance. My doctor wrote a prescription for a hospital-grade breast pump but my insurance denied it because "it isn't medically necessary." Thankfully the hospital is letting me keep the grant pump until insurance sorts everything out. I sure hope this isn't foreshadowing any insurance issues in our future!

Hattie ate her entire bottle for Chris at 7:30 p.m. They kangarooed tonight; Chris slept very soundly (I think he's still catching up from his extremely long day at work yesterday) and Hattie was a little restless. She wasn't in the mood to eat so she got her 10:30 p.m. feed through her feeding tube.

categories Hattie Updates, Photos

No More Formula! 3/10/13

March 10, 2013Chris

After a night of worrying about our baby girl, we arrived at the hospital this morning at 7:30. Hattie had a good night--clearly her three feedings without any additives had made a huge difference. But it was only those three feedings and she was now back to the formula fortified milk. She was starting to get stopped up again. As a way of getting around the "tainted" milk, Melissa breastfed Hattie at 7:30 a.m. and she ate 14 of her 43 cc. Hopefully that little bit would help to reduce the amount of the formula in her system. Hattie seemed to get worse as the day progressed. She clearly needed to poop and kept groaning from all of her tummy pain. At one point she was pushing so hard that she spit up. That's not something she normally does and it reinforced our feeling that something was wrong. Our hearts were broken that our little girl was in pain and there was nothing we could do to make her feel better. Almost out of instinct, Melissa picked her up out of her bed and just hugged her.

Nurse Kristi had a couple of extra tricks up her sleeve and helped us move Hattie's legs and rub her belly. It worked! Hattie was able to poop and almost instantly felt better. Kristi also went to find Dr. McMahan who had given the temporary orders yesterday. She asked him to permanently switch her from the Neosure 22 back to the human milk fortifier that she was previously on. He agreed and we instantly switched her to new milk. No more formula!

By 7:30 p.m. Hattie was back to the bottle for the rest of the day. She never quite finished any of them but we could tell she was feeling much better.

Hattie weighs 2,226 grams, or 4 lb., 14.5 oz. She grew to 43 cm. (17 in.) long.

It's hard to believe the formula that was such a small part of her feeding caused this, but the nurses say they've seen it before. And it goes to show that every little thing matters with these fragile babies in the NICU.

Thank you, God, for making our little baby feel better.

categories Hattie Updates, Photos

Rumbly Tummy 3/9/13

March 09, 2013Chris

With the exception of her 1:30 a.m., 27 cc bottle, Hattie slept through all of her feedings today. We're pretty sure the Neosure 22 formula that was added to her milk a few days ago is doing something funky to her system. We talked about this with Nurse Kristi and decided that we are going to give it until Monday and talk to Dr. Alexander if she still isn't herself. But as the day progressed, we decided that the change in her milk had to be the cause for her discomfort. Melissa kangarooed with her and she was very restless the whole time. We couldn't wait until Monday. Kristi talked to a different doctor who agreed to temporarily change Hattie's orders. For the next three feeds, Hattie would be on straight breast milk with no extra fortifiers added.

She did end up pooping once in the afternoon and it definitely made her feel better, at least for the moment. It was a big one, so we had to bag it to keep the paint from peeling off the walls. You would think that a unit with more than 100 babies would have a Diaper Genie...

Moin came to visit this afternoon to spend some time with her little namesake. She saw Hattie's 1:30 p.m. hands-on time and got to hold her hand and help keep her pacifier in. This was the first time Moin had seen Hattie in her bassinet instead of her Isolette and she loved seeing her so up close and accessible.

A lactation nurse came to consult with Melissa while she breastfed Hattie right after her hands-on, so Moin and I headed downstairs to give them some privacy. Moin met some other ladies who were waiting on their granddaughter to be born. One of them was knitting a pink hat and before she left she gave it to Moin for Hattie. I love how Moin makes friends wherever she goes.

Moin took us to a nice afternoon dinner and when we returned we found a calmer Hattie, hopefully as a result of the additive-free milk. Even still, we let her eat through her tube so she could rest. She weighs 2,217 grams or 4 lb., 13.53 oz. I kangarooed with her and she was calmer than during the day, but I could still feel her tense up from time to time as she worked on getting her system cleared out.

It's not the first time, but perhaps now more than ever we are praying for poop. In the past we've prayed because the doctors told us she needed it for one reason or another. This time we feel helpless as our little girl has a tummy ache and doesn't even know what that is.