NICU side B is great. I am able to interact with her much more fully and without so many wires connecting her to the omni bed. Also, I can dress her, which odd as it sounds, is a very big deal and a very happy thing for me. And its a good thing I'm liking side B cause according to the neuro dept. we will be in the hospital a total of 2-3 weeks! When I heard this my heart sank but the doctor explained it to me this way. When I had my c- section surgery and they stitched the skin together all they did was put it back the way it was before. In Evangeline's case they are arranging the skin and tissue together in a new way. This means extra time to heal. It takes a full 6 weeks before the outer layer of the surgery is fully "together". Much longer than that for the deeper layers. Our Neuro team has a standard practice where they don't let a child go home before the greatest danger of the incision opening up has passed. Soooo, great news on one hand! She will be where she can get the best care at a time she needs it most. But still sad for my heart which selfishly wants her to be with me. I just choose to focus on the positive side that she gets top notch care and find ways to make her room a bit more homey. I love that they leave drawers empty for parents to store things in like a boppy pillow, socks, hats and blankets etc.
Medically, she is still doing super! She's eating well, head measuring well, etc. Thursday she's scheduled for some ultrasounds just to peek at how her ventricles and kidneys are doing. Her legs are getting more coordinated all the time. She has great muscle tone and really does seem to be able to feel her feet and toes which is a total hallelujah. She is strong and growing stronger. Even her left leg seems to be more responsive than before.
I'm doing well too. Recovering really makes you tired though. And my milk just isn't doing what it should. I worked with the lactation consultant in NICU today. She was fabulous and gave me some ideas (many of which I already received from some of you! so that made me feel smart!) Basically though, she said my production was only about half of what it should be. Now is the time to get serious I suppose. Fanatical even if that's the route I choose. She recommended I contact my doctor to get a prescription to increase my milk supply. That seems a bit extreme to me. Honestly, so does upping my pumping from every three hours to every two. I like sleep. I admit that freely. So, I guess I need to decide if I mind pumping some and supplementing the rest with formula or if I want to go all out and go for "the gold" so to speak. I know the decision is fully mine but I want to talk to BJ about it. We both agreed that breast milk was best and if I'm going to go all nutty and set the clock for every two hours that will affect him too. Its the fruit of his loins I'm trying to feed and I want him to have a say. They might be my boobies but I want to decide together what direction we feel good about taking for her sustenance. He isn't feeling well tonight but I hope to chat with him tomorrow so we can decide. For now,I will keep doing what I'm doing and maintain the status quot. Well, that and pray. Praying never hurt. ;)
Everything sounds like it's going great!
ReplyDeleteDon't get too caught up with the timeline the docs give you. From my experience they always over estimate how long your stay will be, and then one morning they will come for rounds and say 'ok you can go home today/tomorrow!'
When thinking about breastfeeding and breastmilk, it is important to breastfeed, but having a mother that is rested and not stressed out about milk supply is best too. It will work out the way it is supposed to.
Remember the pumping every 2hrs wont last long before your milk is where it should be. If you can try, go for it!
ReplyDeleteHave you tried different sizes of the breastshield? The wrong size can affect how much you get out- I had to switch twice during the first 2 weeks as my breasts were adjusting to production.
ReplyDeleteWell, still pumping and supplimenting for now. Milk is increasing the slightest little bit. Maybe an extra 10ml per pumping. I was fitted for the correct size breast shield at the hosp. We tried several so I feel comfortable in that regard. What I really hope is that if I just keep pumping fluids and wait for my blood volume to increase (I was borderline transfusion lvl) that my milk will increase as well. My thought (hope) is that my body is splitting my fluids between making milk and making blood and that once its back to normal blood levels it will just make milk! I guess this next week will tell. If nothing is improving naturally, I will seek out other alternatives.
ReplyDeleteWHen you can get her on the breast, I bet you will see a big increase :). Try LOTS of skin-to-skin, eat oatmeal (google "lactation cookies") and you can get some things like funugreek at any old health store to up it too. I don't know if you can stay at night or not, but if you were able to, then maybe you could switch to nursing???? Not sure if it's even a possibility, but thought I'd throw it out there :). She's such a doll and you are doing a GREAT job!!
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