Bottle Time!

Wednesday, July 31

What an exciting day! I received a phone call this morning from the NICU (which always makes my heart skip a few beats until I hear a happy voice). It was one of the therapists saying that Kinley was ready to try a bottle today!

When I arrived at the hospital the nurse warned me that babies will most often take only a few cc's during their first feed, and then usually tire out quickly. So, I had prepared myself that this may not go very well. The therapist showed me how to position Kinley so that you can see her face and monitor the milk flow from the bottle. As a preemie, the suck-swallow-breathe coordination can be difficult, and whoever is feeding her has to watch that she continues to breathe while she is eating. Of course, for now the monitors will go off if the baby isn't breathing and/or getting enough oxygen...but that won't always be the case.

 

 Kinley right before her feeding. She's already displaying signs that she's hungry and ready to eat!

 

 

Kinley did amazing! She took the bottle almost immediately and began sucking. Having spent weeks sucking on a pacifier, she looked shocked to actually have something in her mouth! She has a very strong sucking reflex, so even with a slow-flow nipple I had to help her slow down a few times to give her a chance to swallow what she had, and give her time to breathe. At one point Kinley began to tire, so I stopped to burp her and we assumed she was done, but as soon as I put her head back again, she started looking for the bottle. She ended up drinking 18 cc's, or about half of her normal feeding, which is fantastic for a first timer! And although she did get quite tired and fell asleep, she woke up soon after and still had energy to suck on her pacifier while the rest of her milk was given to her through her feeding tube.

Kinley's first bottle! 

 

Unfortunately, Dad couldn't get out of work to make it to the hospital for Kinley's feeding, but his time will come soon. Feel free to remind us how excited we were to feed our girls for the first time when, in a few months, we are complaining about having to manage feeding two babies simultaneously!

 

Sleeping Beauty is awake!

 

Devyn's day wasn't quite as exciting as her sister's, but she still had a good day. She seems to be doing well on her CPAP. As a matter of fact, our usual "Sleeping Beauty" was wide awake for an unusually long time today. Even without her pacifier, she was content to just look around and check things out. I've never seen her awake and alert for so long.

 

Surprise, surprise...the girls gained weight again! Devyn now weighs 5 lbs. 9 oz. and Kinley is up to 4 lbs. 8 oz.

 

The new wing of the NICU opened today. One of the nurses took me on a tour. It is amazing! Compared to the "old" NICU, it looks like a hotel! Some of the babies were being moved into the new wing tonight. I am not sure if our girls will be moved. The only downside to them being moved is that each "bay" is separated by a wall, so the girls wouldn't be right next to each other. However, there is a window between each room and the rooms are only 3-sided, so a quick step around the wall would put us in the next room. We'll find out tomorrow if they'll be moved or not.

 

 Kinley and Daddy

 

I think Kinley's tired!

  

 Mom and Kinley had such a great day!