The mini-Haberman

Wyatt is now 5lb 11oz.

Rus and I met with the OT today. She was there to evaluate Wyatt's suck and swallow response and to see how he handled a bottle. She said she didn't hold up high hopes for much to happen this time as he is still on respiratory support and it takes a lot of energy to feed by bottle.

She held Wyatt upright and swaddled. He looked so cute drinking from the bottle. He looked like his body was in a cocoon with just his head sticking out. He drank slowly, occasionally raising his eyebrows. He was so charming. I wish I had my camera with me to take a picture of him.

He actually did surprisingly well! He drank about 10mls. He had good suck and swallow and good pacing. We are so proud of him! He did have some desat episodes, we think because he got a little pooped after a while.

Interestingly, she mentioned reflux as a possibility. Rus and I looked at each other. I don't know what to say about reflux anymore. The doctors don't seem to want to discuss it. I don't know that even I want to discuss it anymore. The OT said she is going to mention it to "the team." We will see what is said in rounds tomorrow.

Poor Pat. I think that she was nervous about Wyatt being bottle fed. She gets worried when he is pushed too fast. I just really want that f-in tube out.

The OT will be back tomorrow to try a couple of other bottles. She may even let me try to bottle feed him. (I have to admit I am scared!) We won't immediately jump right in to bottle feeding with him. The sessions will be no longer than 15 minutes for now. I don't know how many per day though. We will likely discuss tomorrow.

Today, she tried the "mini-Haberman" on Wyatt. Apparently, she knows the dreaded Marie Waters (they are friends) and Marie says she doesn't have any success with the mini-Haberman, but Amelia (the OT) does. There is also the regular Haberman and the Pidgeon. Amelia says the Pidgeon is generally the least successful. She also told us that all these bottles are expensive. I just checked online and the Medela Haberman is $25 per bottle. We were thinking $250!

Francine, the social worker, came by again. She has been visiting us more recently. Apparently, some one reported that Rus is not as chipper as usual. Seems they are watching him too! She talked about how parents sometimes get "nicuitis" where they just can't stand coming to NICU. I told her I had reached that point. She suggested that we take the day off from NICU.

Rus and I had just talked about that this morning, but taking off half a day. I think though taking the whole day off would be a good thing. Rus doesn't think I can do it. He may be right . . .