51 days....

51 days old/days in NICU

Weight: 4 lbs 10.5 (+1.5 ounces)

51 days...why does 51 days seem like SO MUCH longer then 50 days?? We're approaching Thanksgiving and for the longest time, we were all convinced Ella would be home by Thanksgiving. Notttttttt going to happen. Her breathing issues are not getting any better so today they are going to start giving her NEB treatments again. They started them this morning so hopefully we'll see a difference. They won't help with the lung disease but hopefully help with her respiration in general. It's so frustrating because in order to come home we need two things at this point: all feedings from breast and off the high flow cannula. Well, in order for all feedings from breast, her respiration needs to be better. They say that will happen with age and growth....she's growing. She's getting older. Her respiration is getting worse. And believe me, we are absolutely in the best place we could be so it's not that I don't have faith in the hospital, I'm just frustrated. 

We've been working on breastfeeding and what lactation has us doing is weighing Ella before she eats, then afterwards to gauge how much she's getting. Well, the scales are NOT consistent. The LC (lactation consultant) showed me how to use the scale...like 20 times. I KNOW how to use the scale. The nurses KNOW how to use the scale. We are not stupid people. But the LC insists that scale is a $3000 scale and is accurate. Okay, if it's accurate all the time, then why does it sometimes say that Ella lost 30 grams after having a 10 minute nursing session? It's inconsistent and cannot be relied upon. Which has been a problem from the beginning. Today I was expressing my frustration with the scale to the nurse after Ella had nursed at 9:00 PM because I weighed her 3 times after she ate. The first 2 times, it said she lost a bunch. The third time, it said she gained an ounce. Well, Ella didn't do the greatest job nursing so I KNOW she didn't take an ounce. It's not giving us an accurate view on what Ella is actually eating and I'm really getting irritated and frustrated with that. So our evening nurse talked to the charge nurse and they're going to try and get us back on the timed protocol. I'm not sure if you all remember what that was before but 0-5 minutes of nursing=full feeding, 5-10 minutes=half a feeding and 10 minutes or longer=no feeding. Based on the times that we HAVE gotten an accurate weight after she's eaten, that's about right. If she nurses for around 10 minutes, she definitely gets a full feeding and then some. When she DOES nurse, she's an effective nurser. I have breastfed a baby before. I KNOW what a letdown feels like, I KNOW if she's eating and the scale is not always on track with what is actually occurring. So hopefully after tomorrow that stupid scale will be out of Ella's room! 

I have an exciting Olivia story to tell. Today she woke up and I went to change her diaper and it was TOTALLY dry! First time ever! WOO! So I asked her if she wanted to go pee on the potty and she said "Yes!" We went into the bathroom and she sat on the potty, then stood up. She did this a few times and then she peed a little bit on the floor and I gently told her to move to the potty. She did and peed the rest on the potty!!!! Yay!!!!!!!! So exciting! I was very proud of her. I'm definitely NOT even trying to potty train right now, but if she wants to sit on the potty sometimes and then once Ella is home, I think we'll be able to really start potty training. Hurray!