2 weeks home

2/24/06

Just wanted to write a new entry real quick – obviously with Kaitlyn home I seem to have less time to write in my blog. But I think that has more to do with the fact that I’m working again.

Kaitlyn has been home now for 2 weeks! Wow, so hard to believe, the time is really flying by. I can imagine now when so many of you had said enjoy the time when they are still so tiny, as they grow so fast!

At Kaitlyn’s pediatrician appointment yesterday, she is up to 7 pound 8 ounces. However, she only gained 3 ounces this week, so they decided to increase how much milk she is getting, so she is now up to 85 cc’s (she was 75 cc’s). That’s no fun, as it means more milk to gavage (feeding tube) for mom and dad. Sadly, her intake of milk via nipple really hasn’t gone up all that much. Sometimes we think she’s turned a corner and does great for ¾ of a day, then it’s back to her not wanting to eat. I just fed her and she only took 20 ccs by nipple and then I had to gavage the rest.

Thank goodness the projectile vomiting seems to have subsided. At one of her big vomits she pushed out the feeding tube so I pulled it all the way out (easier to give her a bath with it out, and easier to tape on her cheek when it’s clean so the tape doesn’t come off easily). After we put the tube back in this time, however, the vomiting changed to more regular baby spit up vomit. It wasn’t emptying her whole stomach contents across the room like before. Maybe it was just the placement of the tube in her stomach. Back at the hospital when she was doing the same thing and we changed the nostril that the tube was in made a difference. Now it seems more likely that it was just the placement of the tube within her stomach that actually made the difference.

It’s frustrating though that she isn’t really improving. We had so hoped that her being home would make her want to eat more, but alas, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Kaitlyn hasn’t been doing very well with breast feeding. I think she’s gotten too used to the nipple from the bottle, which is often times the case with preemies. Besides the fact that if I breast feed I have no idea of how much she gets and it is so important that she get regular volume of milk/fortifier so she can grow.

My mom (Corinne) is coming to visit with Kaitlyn today for the first time since she left the hospital. She is sooo excited! I can just imagine when she first walks in the door. It brings a smile to my eyes. My mom recently donated a plaque in honor of Kaitlyn's sister - Corinne Margaret, at a foundation she volunteers at. It’s so sad that my mother’s namesake isn’t here with us. My mom owns a uniform costume company in Southern California and her staff threw her a "grandma shower" yesterday as a surpirse! My mom was so touched she called me crying. She is just so excited to finally be a grandmother (or Nana as she wants to be called). She has been so incredibly supportive (both emotionally and financially) to us with all of our trying times - we are jokingly calling her Kaitlyn's primary investor!

Yesterday, Brian brought Kaitlyn into bed with me in the morning and we had a little family snuggle. It was soooo incredibly nice to have her home with us. We all feel asleep. However, I did get sad, thinking of what it would be like to have Corinne, there with us too. All 4 of us taking a nap. I miss Kaitlyn’s sister incredibly.

The day before, I came back home from working and Brian had just laid Kaitlyn down on our bed with him. All 3 of us took a quick nap. These are things that we missed out on so much while we were at the hospital. It’s so nice to have her home.

We are finally getting into the swing of things. Between: defrosting my milk for Kaitlyn, fortifying it with preemie formula powder, pumping, eating, washing her vomit covered burp cloths and clothes, eating, sleeping, and my working on top of it all, we are getting the hang of being new parents.