Feedings - Getting Closer

Anyone who has had a child in the NICU realizes that feedings are usually the toughest thing to wait on.  Your child seems ready to take home but they are not eating the amounts they should.  We have been getting frustrated with feedings and we are trying to stay positive.  Earlier in the week we voiced our opinion that we feel Makinley is being over fed and that she does not realize what it means to be hungry. 

Our routine up until this point has been to feed her every three hours.  The amount of milk she is supposed to eat is calculated based on her weight for the day.  So we wake Makinley up, allow her to eat as much of the bottle as she is willing to eat, and then they NG the rest of her amount. 

Andrew and I feel that Makinley is getting too much food and therefore she is not learning what "hungry" means.  We have come to this conclusion based off of several things.....
* She never wakes up around the three hour mark and is starving for food.  She eats a little bit and then tells us she is done but they still NG the rest. 
* She is gaining 45 grams a day.  After doing some research we learned that the ideal weight gain is 15 to 30 grams a day.  Therefore, we feel she is getting more milk than what her body needs
* I am barely able to provide enough breast milk for Makinley.  A mom's body is supposed to know how much food their baby needs.  I hear stories of how mom's are storing up their extra milk and how they have a freezer full of milk.  I am no where near that!  I have just enough to get her through each day.

Due to our gut instinct and trying to read Makinley - we have pushed for a new routine which includes removing her NG tube.  By taking out the NG, we know that she is not getting any additional milk other than what she consumes herself.  I also agreed to spend the night last night and tonight with her to wake up and feed her whenever she cries for food.  Some nurses refer to this as the starvation method.  We are starving her of food in order for her to realize she has to eat to become full.

Yesterday, I did not see a lot of progress.  Makinley really did not care to eat too much and was happy just to sleep.  I woke up multiple times in the middle of the night expecting to feed her and she was still sound asleep.  I think our baby would be an excellent sleeper if she wasn't woke up every 3 hours for rounds.  Today has gone much better though.  I think it is finally starting to click for her.  She has way better suck pattern and actually wakes up crying to be fed. 

Although she will have to consume way more than what she is now - we can only hope that this means the end is in sight and we can go home soon!



No More NG Tube - First time we have seen her without it!