So the biggest thing that is keeping Josh in the NICU now is the fact that he is not gaining weight consistently. He lost 12 grams last night, and is now down to 2168 grams. This means that Josh has only gained 28 grams in the last week, which is much less than the 10 grams per kilogram per day that they want him to average. Josh doesn't have the stamina to nurse long enough to get enough calories to gain weight or maintain his body temperature. Josh's stamina and muscle tone is improving as he gets closer to his due date, but it will be weeks before he is able to take a full feeding while nursing.
Right now, Mommy and Daddy are at a loss as to how to get more calories into Josh without tiring him out. What we worked out with the doctors for now is that Josh will be bottle-fed two to three times a day with fortified breast-milk, which has extra calories, as well as will be supplemented by bottle after nursing sessions if Mommy does not feel like he ate long enough or well enough. Hopefully these extra calories will be enough to get Josh gaining weight like we would like. Bottle feeding requires an additional skill set, but makes eating much easier on Josh. He seems to have mastered this skill set, so we are hoping to use it to help him to gain some weight so we can go home soon. It was a hard decision for us to make, but we feel that we need to do the best thing for our little guy despite our desire for him to be breastfed only. He will continue to breastfeed for his other feedings and will hopefully be able to transition over to be totally breastfeed sometime in the future.
Josh continues on his antibiotics and is back to his old self. He was weaned from the radiant warmer today and is doing a good job of holding his body tempearture on his own. We are hopeful they will take the warmer from around his bed later today. Josh has enjoyed meeting many members of his family that were in town for his shoer, including his great grandmother for the first time today, which they both enjoyed very much.
Prayer Requests:
- Josh wake up well and eat fully when it is time to eat
- Josh be able to take in enough calories to grow big and strong
- Josh be able to maintain his body temperature and not get cold
- Josh not get sick while in the NICU
- Mommy and Daddy be able to let go of their preconcieved notions of exclusively breastfeeding, if this is not working for Josh
- Josh, Mommy, and Daddy have amazing friends and family who love us a lot
- Josh has a plan now for his feedings
- Mommy was given the "nice" room in the NICU to sleep in again tonight
(Josh's cake at his baby shower - thank you Suzann!)
(Josh peeking out from his covers wondering where dinner is)
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