all about the milk

pumping (read: giving your baby breastmilk. because eventually you'll probably choose to breastfeed rather than pump) is the best thing you can possibly do for your little one.

some information about preemie benefits to bm:
better immunities- your breast milk passes all the protection to your little one that they can get and need. at the beginning the colostrum is a power boost to babies. so even if you only get a few drops, SAVE it! and tell them to give it to your tiny little one. even if you have to freeze it initially, which you probably will, it will be so beneficial to them. about 80% of the cells in breast milk are macrophages, cells that kill bacteria, fungi, and viruses. breastfed babies are protected in varying degrees from a number of illnesses including, pneumonia, botulism, bronchitis, staphylococcal infections, influenza, ear infections, and german measles. and mothers produce antibodies to what ever disease is present in their environment

july 14- grandad and mim go back home...

bye grandad!

see you soon mim!


wren did great today. nothing new. all the same stuff. her sprinting went awesome! the nurse started her at 100% and was able to get her down to 30s-40s. i think it was a little harder for her to be in the blanket rather than kangaroo'd... but obviously not too much harder! grandad and i both held her, and then she spent the last little bit on the cannula back in her isolette. i think grandad's humming and singing were what kept her sats up. :)
tonight, i was pumping (*sigh*), and thadd was going to hold her while she sprinted. then we (us and the nurse) decided that we would go ahead and wait for her sprint at 10 or 1 since she had had the last one at 1pm. they apparently like to keep them 12 hours apart- which makes total sense! (we'd just not heard it before.)we were happy to oblige... her nurse tonight is awesome. well, while i was gone, thadd got all ready to hold her, and the nurse set up her gavage feed, and it started going in, and thadd mentioned that she had been going on the pump over an hour. she hadn't been told that in her report. thadd thought that maybe they changed it. (they have been lowering the times.) she stopped it immediately to check. she's still supposed to be on the pump over an hour, and definitely DID NOT LIKE the bolus feed. (bolus is rapidly given as it drips in using gravity.)
she desated all the way to the 50s at one point, though she didn't have any bradys or apnea. the nurse said sometimes the full belly can push up to the lungs... so it was a huge deal with bagging her and everything! (i, of course, am oblivious while pumping.) when i got back she was sating high on 30%. when she came back she decided to do it right!
i called a few hours ago and she was doing fine. back to about high 30s-low 40s.
it's funny... but because i like and trust this nurse i wasn't even worried or upset at the mishap. if it had been one of the ones i don't like i would be livid right now. i suppose I'M pretty subjective about their care for my daughter too! i'm working on trying to be more positive, and not get so upset.

also, last night she weighed 2lbs 14oz! yay. we'll break 3 soon! oh, and last sunday she measured 15". this sunday it was recorded at she was 38". we decided that that was probably a mistake. :) so we'll wait until next sunday to see what length she's gettting to.