Days thirty & thirty-one

Things have been pretty interesting around here lately, with lots of changes, the main one being that Elliot moved to the brand new children's hospital and into HIS OWN ROOM yesterday! His room is complete with two comfy reclining chairs (one that folds out into a little bed), our own sink (so we don't have to wash in the scrub room anymore), and our own closet for our coats and bags (no more lockers, yay!). I'm able to pump right at the bedside now which is GREAT because I always hated dragging myself away from the nursery to go pump.
We like our new room so much better than the old nursery setup. It's so much quieter and less chaotic, which means that Elliot sleeps more peacefully. In addition, we get more privacy and are able to feel more like a "real" family.
It was easy to see that Aaron felt so much more comfortable in our new room. He spent a lot more time than usual holding, cuddling, and talking with Elliot, and it was so heartwarming to watch. I seriously love this man so much- he has been incredibly supportive and I don't know what I would do without him. He is a great husband and an even better father.
We're slowly making progress with feeding. Lately, Elliot takes 5-15 cc's from us before either getting really mad or falling asleep, and then we gavage the rest of his feeding. He now gets 38 cc's at each feeding, and he is only getting 8.5 cc's/hr of TPN. He hasn't gone to breast in a couple days because he has been breathing so hard, but I think we'll try it again tomorrow, along with some more skin-to-skin time.
He spends a HUGE portion of each day grunting and squirming while trying to poop, and is producing 1-2 HUGE bowel movements a day. Why didn't anyone ever tell me that breastfed poop is often BRIGHT ORANGE?! The first time I saw it, I freaked out because I thought something was wrong. Apparently, it's quite common for the babes lucky enough to eat from the boob. His poop really doesn't smell that bad either... my husband and I have both decided that it smells almost exactly like mustard.
Yesterday, I was holding Elliot and he pooped ALL OVER me. It was pretty funny! He felt so much better (after losing SIX OUNCES from one poop!) that he stayed awake for several hours.

Mama Update: I've been taking Fenugreek for five days now with no results. Everything I've read says that "most women" see results in 24-72 hours. I'm increasing my dose tomorrow and REALLY hoping that it's just taking longer than usual to kick in. Otherwise, my lactation consultant is probably going to write me a prescription for Reglan to increase my supply. I'm also drinking 2-3 cups of Mother's Milk tea a day.
I was really hoping to go home with an exclusively-breastfeeding baby, but I see now that it's not going to happen. Unfortunately, I will be pumping and bottle feeding (breastmilk) every three hours AND breastfeeding a few times a day, too. We'll probably go home doing 2-3 breastfeedings a day and slowly increasing from there. I have no idea how I'm going to juggle all of this and am REALLY hoping Elliot gets the hang of breastfeeding SOON.


Daddy and Elliot bonding.


Kisses! ♥


Why, what big eyes you have!


Just hanging out in his bouncy chair.


YAY for my new room!


Sleeping in the boppy with Mommy- the boppy helps to bring his shoulders and arms forward. He has a very bad habit of letting his arms fall limp at his sides, which is very unnatural for a baby his age but is not uncommon in NICU babies. Forcing him to have his shoulders forward and arms and hands up by his face improves his muscle tone.


Zzzzzzzzz


Don't worry mom, I can hold my own paci.

We're almost on the first page! WOW!