The OJ tube had been replaced with an OG tube. Instead of bypassing his stomach and feeding him continuously, he was on hourly feeds to his stomach. Bypassing his stomach was done to minimise his reflux in order to minimise any pain/ discomfort. Now they were hoping to find that the reflux had improved or he was better at handling it... I am not sure which but it was a good step forward in any case.
On his actual due date, on a regular 7.30am call to the hospital the nurse casually mentions that when I come in, I can give breastfeeding a try once a day! This was huge. Almost bigger than the change in ventilation. I was so excited... then reality hit and I remember that I was working that afternoon and had planned to take Brooklyn to the hospital with me in the morning. How could I feed him with Brooklyn there?? Of my Mothers Group friends, 2 have gymbaroo on Monday morning, 3 work, 2 had just given birth, and 2 are pregnant so didn't want to ask them. I had two other people I could call on who weren't as close by but not overly out of the way either. I sent one a text, then called my husband to find out what time he'd get to the hospital that day. He was going to be there soon so I packed Brooklyn into the car and figured if I could get 20 minutes at the hospital with husband holding Brooklyn, that should be all we need. Just before we got to the freeway, I got a text back from Fab Friend saying of course she would take Brooklyn... I changed route and headed to her place. Felt terrible as I hadn't packed a single thing for Brookie to eat/ drink since it was just going to be a quick hospital visit...
Behind a privacy screen, my litle man with all his ventilator tubes and prongs had his first attempt at feeding. It didn't really work but I didn't care at all, it was good enough just knowing we were able to try. If it takes weeks and weeks, so be it. We know he can suck, he loves his dummy, but this was still a foreign concept to him. We didn't push him too hard, I think maybe 10 minutes on and off before making it just a cuddle instead. I think if Nico had have been a regular newborn, I would have been frustrated and/or disappointed but I was still elated, regardless of the outcome.
I have tried every day the last 5 days, sometimes going back late at night to give him extra practise. 90% of the time he has been so sleepy that there has really not been much point, and when he is awake, he is still not really even attepting to latch on. I can tell that like everything when it comes to Nico, he will take his own sweet time and get there eventually.
2 days after his due date, a friend was with me during one of my late night visits for a 2nd attempt, we witnessed two babies come in within 2 minutes of each other. So close we thought they were twins until we saw that one looked term and the other was a micro prem. It was a busy night. I don't tlike to sound happy about it, I hate new babies coming in as it means another family going through this horrible journey, but this was the best thing for Nico because the next morning we got a call:
"We are moving Nico to Bay 5"
It wasn't that Nico had neccesarily been doing so well they wanted to move him, it was more that he was the best of the Bay 8 bunch and they needed his bed space. Either way, after 16.5 weeks of looking at the same walls, I was glad for the change. Bay 5 is a bit more cramped, but with 6 babies instead of 8 and because the babies are in better condition, they have less equipment and therefore the room is soooooooooo much quieter. I love it.
Yesterday we got the "2 steps back" news. Nico has been put back on ventilation, has lost litle weight and may have another infection... I find out today. I had a bit of a cry about it yesterday, not because it is awful news, we have been there before and it's not a big deal, but after all the fab news of the week, I just got comfortable and forgot that this IS a rollercoaster still and we just have to ride along.
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