More Progress

When I went to the hospital yesterday I was met with 2 EMPTY faces..... there were no tubes! They were trying the boys without the gavage (feeding) tubes. Key word: TRYING 

They had been bottle-feeding all morning, Brooks taking 35 ccs and Nolan taking 50. So we breastfed twice, and supplemented a little after for more calories. They both did pretty well, the breastfeeding just takes so much out of them, they get tired so quickly. But the nurses warned me that they are just trying this, it is likely that both of the boys may need the tube put back in if the nurses are worried they are not getting enough to eat. 

And they are off the caffeine! So that means they have a minimum of 7 days left!

Today I went back and both of the boys were still off the tubes. But Brooks' nurse told me that he is really gulping a lot, and not taking breaks while he is feeding, so he is having bradys. While I was there, a speech pathologist (they analyze how their mouths function and feed the babies themselves to see how they react) came to feed Brooks and see how he reacts to the feedings. She started off with a regular size nipple, but quickly realized he needs a smaller one. She switched, and he just seems to have a hard time coordinating still the breathing/ sucking/ swallowing. He gets so excited when he realizes he's drinking, that he just sucks and sucks, and forgets to breathe. So even you give him breaks from sucking, by just angling the bottle away, he gets worn out from all the "exercise"- which is the other main concern. If this continues to happen, he won't get the nutrients he needs to grow, and will eventually lose weight from burning calories through sucking. So it was the recommendation from the speech pathologist to put the gavage back in for the time being. :(  She'll come back later in the week to see how he is doing.

I understood the reasons, I was prepared for it. The worst part is just them putting it back in. And I know things could be so much worse, and I've been there before when they have pulled the tube out themselves, but I just hate being there when they put it back in. He cried so hard. 

So he will continue to get 30 ccs through the gavage tube, but we will continue to breast/ bottle feed him every 3 hours. That way he will still be getting around 45 ccs, but we won't have to worry about him not getting enough from exhausting himself.

Nolan's tube is still out, and he is still doing really well with his feedings.

Growth updates:  Nolan is 17 and 3/4 inches long, and is 4 pounds, 15.2 ounces. Brooks is 18 inches long and 4 pounds, 4 ounces! My growing boys!