Samanthas Home!!

[alparen]

After 4 long sleepless days at the hospital feeding Sammy myself she finally came home yesterday!!!
I have a question. She's still kinda sleepy at feeds. She's at 85mls every 3 hours and the hospital told Me to wake her to eat. But at night she's hungry but so tired so falls asleep midway through her feed and it's a struggle to get her to finish if she even can. So I was wondering if I should up her amount she take in the day so that if she won't stay awake for her night feeds then it kinda makes up for what she's not getting at night? I hate having to force her to stay awake to eat. She's kind of a yoyo with her weight. Up and down every other day and I know that can affect her development. It gets frustrating at night to get her up to feed when she is just so tired and could easily sleep 4-5 hours. Like lastnight I told the hubby if she's sleeping at 1 wait till 3 to see if she wakes up and she did but only wanted to take about 65 mls of food. I'm scared she'll get dehydrated and start losing weight. We have a drs appointment tomorrow to check her weight and such. It's so confusing because the hospital has me so paranoid over her weight and feeding now. But I feel bad for having to push her into eating like this.

 

[cat81]

Firstly, congratulations on getting her home.

Thomas was really sleepy for feeding too when he first came home. I think that they advise you to feed so regularly and wake them for feeds because their little tummies can't take too much so they need to eat little and often.

If she will take more during the day, it is possible that she may be able to go a bit longer at night time. Are you going to have a visit from the neonatal nurse at home? If so, maybe you could ask them. x

 

[alparen]

The occupational therapist and also a nutritionist is supposed to come to the house and see how she is with feeding andnsuch. Not sure when though. It's got me worried. Today she fed at noon and was pretty much asleep the whole way through and took about 40 minutes to eat. Yesterday she was hyper as a banana and eating like crazy. She's only been on 8 bottles a day for the last few days now so I am scared she pooping out. Last thing I want is for her to end up back in the hospital.

 

[MissFox]

CONGRATS!!!!!
My LO wasn't a preemie but she only eats for about 10 mins at night- she's more interested in sleep at that point. I say try making a couple of her bottles a pinch bigger to see if she'll take it duringthe day (especially when she's hyper and ready to go). I really hope all goes well and her weight stays good!!!!

 

[cat81]

I think that if you are worried about how much she is taking, then continue to offer it regularly. If she gulps down a whole bottle, it is probably safe to let her sleep for a little bit longer.

I remember stripping Thomas down to his vest, putting a cold flannel on his face and tickling his feet to try to keep him awake long enough to have a feed in the early days. As he got stronger, he began to get more and more alert and it does get easier I promise.

If you have real concerns I recommend that you speak to a professional though as I am only speaking from my own experience and trying to remember what I did with Thomas. When Thomas was discharged, I am pretty sure that I was given a phone number for the neonatal outreach nurses who I could contact if I had any questions or worries. Do you have anything like that? x

 

[PrincessPea]

When we first got Jessica home she was on demand feeding. Through the night she fed at 11pm, 4am and 7am roughly right from the start. In the early days a 90ml bottle was a BIG feed but through the night she would take as little as 30ml regularly, as you say mainly because she couldnt stay awake! When we left the unit we were told not to let her go any more than 5 hours without feeding her so she wouldnt get dehydrated. As long as she was putting on weight then it was ok.
Eventually a few weeks down the line I felt she was able to take more but was tiring herself out with the sucking so I got faster flow teats and very gently introduced them.
As before though this is only my experience.

p.s fantastic news that she is home, so pleased for you dear. xxx

 

[sherryberry79]

Congratulations on having your little girl home where she belongs - enjoy her

 

[Srrme]

Yippy! That's so good to hear! Congratulations!

Elias was very sleepy during his feeds too. We began exclusively breastfeeding when he came home, and I also began feeding on demand. He only fed for 5-10 minutes each feed, and I was worried he wasn't getting enough, but he was, and he was still gaining weight (he was weighed twice a week by a HV for 4 weeks). I didn't let him go longer than 3-4 hours in between feeds, but he began waking himself up pretty quickly, and crying when he wanted to eat.

Everyone told me, as long as you're having 6-8 wet nappies, and plenty of dirty nappies a day, then your baby is getting enough, and they were right! If they're hungry, they'll eat.

 

[toothfairyx]

Congratulations to you and Samantha! You must be over the moon! As the girls above have said as long as she is having enough wet and dry nappies I wouldn't be so worried. I found the hospital routine went out the window quite fast when we got home but more so because he wanted to feed all the time! When they are in hospital they seem to be much better at routines and come into their own when they get out of that environment and much more do their own thing.
It's really daunting being home at first but you will figure it out quickly!

 

[alparen]

Thanks girls! Samantha did amazing lastnight. Mind you she slept all day haha. Today she is her normal alert happy go lucky self. She is bottling super well but still get tired as her stamina is still building. I have been adding in a bit ofnextra formula at each bottle because her thickened enfamil was not getting to that consistency that she was used to. I ones it with the dr and it benefits her cause she'll get more calories. I've been getting lots of wet nappies. She hasn't pooped in 2 days though. Thank heavens we have a dr's appointment for her this morning so hopfully they can get her to go poop. When she hasn't pooped in a day or 2 she gets to tough to feed. So hopefully todays drs appointment brings a good weight gain for her! I must say waking her every 3 hours to deed is going to kill me lol I have never been so exhausted in my life. She won't really eat for the hubby. I think it's more because he has not fed her much so hebdoesn't know how to read her cues on what she wants during her feed. I love having her home. Lastnight i was making supper and noticed it was 10:30 and for a split second thought I had to call the hospital to check up on her haha. The hubby is so glad she's home in time for fathers day tomorrow.

 

[Skyeyes]

I agree with the person about tickling their feet and such. With my son I had to wake him every 3 hours to feed. They told me to unsnap his pajamas, play with their feet, etc, anything to awaken them. Towards the end I'm start snapping back the pajamas and he'd be out like a light. Little things that work, but it is probably different for everyone. Good luck. Glad she is home.