I shouldn't have written the last post but I was so appreciative of a good week...
Sunday Ella turned into a true fusspot. We couldn't figure out if she was inconsolable due to hunger or gas. Later we realized its hunger. She just gets a small fraction of what babies her size eat and she's naturally hungry. The iv fluids just don't cure the hunger. It's so hard to watch her fuss constantly because she's hungry and do nothing about it. Or worse, take what little she gets away.
Yesterday while I worked the nurses took turns holding Ella because that was the only thing that halfway worked to console her. They are very full and don't have the staff for catering to one fussy baby.
She didn't sleep during the day at all on Sunday or Monday.
Of course yesterday she was off feeds for several hours due to more blood in her diaper. I found it at 7am. It was just two small streaks and it wasn't mixed in with her stool. They stopped her feeds, ordered an X-ray and labs and everything checked out fine. They attributed it to a fisher on her butt and restarted feeds at 18ml.
This morning at 3 am, more blood in her diaper. Stopped feeds again. More labs that look fine. Thorough butt exam didn't show any evidence of a fisher.
Basically, no idea what is causing the blood. She's off feeds for a couple of days and when she does restart it will be little & slow again, because that's how it works.
At 7am I asked my mom to come so she can hold her during the day while I work.
It's a very delicate balance, that works when things are okay, working with Ella in NICU. When these issues happen, the balance is completely thrown off. Thankfully mom is so willing to drop everything and be here when called. She should be here before noon.
Sunday Ella turned into a true fusspot. We couldn't figure out if she was inconsolable due to hunger or gas. Later we realized its hunger. She just gets a small fraction of what babies her size eat and she's naturally hungry. The iv fluids just don't cure the hunger. It's so hard to watch her fuss constantly because she's hungry and do nothing about it. Or worse, take what little she gets away.
Yesterday while I worked the nurses took turns holding Ella because that was the only thing that halfway worked to console her. They are very full and don't have the staff for catering to one fussy baby.
She didn't sleep during the day at all on Sunday or Monday.
Of course yesterday she was off feeds for several hours due to more blood in her diaper. I found it at 7am. It was just two small streaks and it wasn't mixed in with her stool. They stopped her feeds, ordered an X-ray and labs and everything checked out fine. They attributed it to a fisher on her butt and restarted feeds at 18ml.
This morning at 3 am, more blood in her diaper. Stopped feeds again. More labs that look fine. Thorough butt exam didn't show any evidence of a fisher.
Basically, no idea what is causing the blood. She's off feeds for a couple of days and when she does restart it will be little & slow again, because that's how it works.
At 7am I asked my mom to come so she can hold her during the day while I work.
It's a very delicate balance, that works when things are okay, working with Ella in NICU. When these issues happen, the balance is completely thrown off. Thankfully mom is so willing to drop everything and be here when called. She should be here before noon.
Thinking of you and hoping Ella is feeling better soon. Poor little pumpkin is going through a lot. So happy to hear your mom is there for you. It makes me think when my boys are older I want to volunteer at our local NICU to sit with babies who have working mothers.
ReplyDeleteTake care
Poor Ella! I hope this is figured out quickly and she back to "eating" again soon. Take care of yourself also!
ReplyDeleteIt must be so hard for you watching her be hungry. You are doing an amazing job handling all of this and I know Ella and you will get through this. Hoping her digestive system catches up soon so she can start really feeding soon. In the mean time, get as much rest as you can and take good care of yourself during this stressful time!
ReplyDeleteYou know, in addition to hunger, it might also be the age she is. It was about this age (going by her due date) that Finn got really fussy - and during that time I had a lot of other moms tell me that the same thing happened to their babies at that age. So don't be surprised if it doesn't improve tons once she's actually getting more food. (Which I hope is very very soon!)
ReplyDelete:( So sorry for both you and Ella having to keep going through this crazy routine.
ReplyDelete