New Updates! 2 weeks old

Hailey is doing good. Her feedings seem to be fluctuating around the same, 25-35 cc. She has to be able to fed completely from a bottle without tube feeding before going home. Right now she's at 48cc every 3 hours. She's only bottle fed once a shift.

Sounds easy right? Not so much. For a full term or "well" baby this comes very naturally and easily. They have had time to cook completely in the womb and come into this world ready. This is not the case for preemies. This ability usually doesn't develop until about 36-37 weeks gestation. Hailey may be 2 weeks old but they look at her as 35 weeks gestation. She's finishing her "cooking" in the NICU rather than the womb. She needs to be taught to feed and needs help developing the suck, swallow, breath coordination. The doctors say she's progressing normally for her age (35 weeks). This is great but also means she still may have another week or 2 (when she's 37 weeks). They also tell me that sometimes, over night, they just suddenly pick it up well and then are released. Hailey has made a big jump in the past 2 days. Averaging 4-15cc to a sudden 24-35cc. She could stay there for awhile. We need her to do another jump! But it will only happen when she's ready. She's a preemie, not a full term "well" baby. We all have to remember that. It's a completely different ball game for her.

But she's a strong little girl with a personality already!! She'll be home before we know it!