Our first family-of-four picture!! Cute, huh?! :)
Well, Bella is still about the same- slowly improving all around. Her weight gain continues to be steady and she's tipping the scales at 4lbs 3.3oz!! She's gained close to an ounce a day for the past several days...so, that's wonderful! I think she may be close to 5lbs when she gets to come home. I think I might even see a little chub in those cheeks! ;) (Sorry about the poor quality, it was taken with the iPhone in less that great light).
Her eating is improving a bit, too. Yesterday, she took 27cc (almost 1 oz.) from a bottle! Today she took 20cc. She's improving, slowly but surely, with taking a bottle. As far as nursing goes, she usually does latch on several times and gets a little milk from me...but it's not a lot. It will be a work in progress for probably quite some time. :) Typically, babies don't get the "suck, swallow, breath" combo (necessary for eating!) until 34 weeks gestation. She'll be there in a few days, and the nurses and doctors seem to think that it's likely that she'll "take off" when she gets to that point. We just have to wait for her brain to make the neurological connection- it'll come. But can't it hurry?!?
More sister time. :)
Here, Ava was holding her hand and saying, in a very sweet and soft voice, "Hi Bella." Such a sweetie.
Bella passed her hearing test with flying colors. She's even got a little certificate to prove it. :) Good news is good news...whatever it is!
Meanwhile, I'm still a crazy pumping machine. I must admit it's getting a little tedious...every 3 hours. But, I am getting quite a supply built up! I dream of the day that I'm JUST nursing and not pumping! I really hope that day eventually comes....cause I'm not sure how much longer I can keep up with the pumping. It's exhausting...and a little (I'm being nice here) uncomfortable. Patrick said he's even tired of pumping...AND HE DOESN'T HAVE TO PUMP! I have a phone alarm that goes off every 3 hours so I don't let the time get away from me, and he's SO over hearing that! So, anyway, I'll keep it up at least until Bella comes home....then I've got several months to save milk...so, I wont have to be so crazy about it! By the way, we had to buy a new freezer for all that milk! We were out of room! Check it out!
I know I say the same thing a lot, but I just want everyone out there to know how much we appreciate the continued prayers for Bella so that she can come home soon. She's doing great, and we know how fortunate we really are. We have been blessed with a 9-weeks-early healthy baby girl, and we really can't ask for more than that. So, thank you a trillion times to everyone who has said a prayer on behalf of our Bella bug.
3 comments:
Great family pictures!! I am glad she is eating for you Meaghan!! I cannot belive you had to buy a new freezer. That is crazy! Thinking about you and Bella everyday!
Hey pumping machine!! Way to go! I know it is annoying but so wonderful that you can provide for her and will have a good stash of milk for later. Not exactly the same, but I know a little how you are feeling since we are at 13 months of nursing now, which means on weekdays I pump 3-4 times and 1x on weekend nights and have been doing so for 10 months straight now! :-)
Glad to hear she is progressing well!
Love,
Brig
I pumped for 11 months. I feel your pain! I did three hours for a while too. As soon as you get done, it feels like it's time to do it again! Once I had my supply well established, I slacked off to pumping once during the night so I could rest, and I never had a problem. After 2 months in the NICU, my daughter was doing well transitioning to nursing -- so it CAN be done! I ended up having to add extra calories to the milk, so we went back to the bottle for good, and I pumped (on the couch, in the bed, in the condo on vacation, in the car...)! I know it's exhausting but you're doing what's best for Bella! Hang in there!
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