August 25th, 2007

First - Happy 20th Birthday, Rob!

Bottle feeding when MUCH better today. The nurse showed me a different way to hold Megan for feeding. I lay her on my lap, perpendicular to me, supporting her head and neck in my left hand and feeding with my right. That seemed to help a lot! Megan took her entire feeding by bottle - 30 ccs! We took it slow and gave her breaks in between, but she eventually got it all down! She didn't even need any help from the oxygen. After eating, she slept on her Daddy for a while and it was adorable!

The doctor wants me to start doing two feedings - one nursing and one by bottle. Yesterday, I decided to just do the bottle feeding since she ate so much. I didn't want her to be overwhelmed. Tomorrow we will do both. The nurse said it helps to put her back in her isolette shortly after the feedings if I'm going to do both in one day so that she has some resting time. We don't want her to be overstimulated.

I did overhear the nurse giving someone discharge instructions. They are very thorough and encourage any questions. We will probably be asking questions for hours :) She was saying that RSV season is the biggest risk for preemies when they are young which lasts from about October to May. During that time, they recommend that we don't go out in public with Megan. She can go outside in her stroller for a walk if it's not too cold, we just need to avoid busy places full of germs like malls, restaurants, etc. She will probably qualify for an injection that doesn't prevent RSV, but will give her a boost in case she gets it to help her fight it. Either way, if she would get RSV, she would be back in the hospital. I guess the worrying doesn't stop once she comes home!

They did move Megan's isolette again. She is now in the "annex" which is across the hall from the NICU. They have so many small babies in the NICU right now, that a few of the stable babies are in the annex. She now weighs 3 lbs 12.4 oz, so she is gaining quickly! I can't believe how fast she will be up to 4 lbs! When holding her, Bob and I can definitely tell she is getting bigger and heavier :) That is what we want!

This week I am sure we will continue to work on her feedings. Once she is settled with feeding, we will start to turn down the temperature in her isolette and she will soon be home! Bob and I put her swing together and it really started to sink in that she will be coming home. We are soooo excited!! (and extremely nervous) We are just hoping that they give us plenty of notice when she is coming home. I have been in the room when they surprise couples and tell them they can take their baby home. Bob and I would need time to mentally prepare ourselved since we are both "planners". I guess it doesn't matter because our plan is already a little off since Miss Megan decided to come 15 weeks early!