Cohen is two months old today! We marked the event with a return visit to the pediatrician (Cohen had his first visit on Monday). On Monday's visit we weighed Cohen to get a baseline weight on this new scale; he was 5lbs, 5oz. The pediatrician had us come back today for Cohen's two month check up and to reweigh him.
I had been concerned about his weight because he had lost some weight at the hospital as we transitioned from tube feedings (gavages) to only breastfeeding. In fact we were hoping to go home on Friday of last week but on Thursday night's weigh in he had dropped 20 grams and he was being fussier than usual. I became nervous that Cohen was not strong enough to handle eating without the tube; so we didn't go home on Friday. The next night he had lost 80 grams, quite a bit for such a little guy. The doctor and nurses recommended that we stick with the breastfeeding and reassess again the next day. The doctor said that even if Cohen hadn't gained weight by Monday, they would probably send us home and that we may need to fortify the breast milk, which meant that we would have to start using bottles. Of course, I had wanted to wait a bit longer to introduce the bottle so that Cohen wouldn't get too use to eating from them.
Meanwhile, I had many talks with the wonderful nurses about what could be going on and they reassured me that the weight loss was most likely a transition, and they were confidant we would start to gain weight. Sure enough, the next night Cohen had gained 30 grams! Knowing that they would most likely send us home soon anyway after Saturday night's weight gain, we felt more confidant about him being up to the challenge of eating on his own and felt comfortable leaving. So we asked to be discharged on Sunday afternoon.
Today at the big weigh in, Cohen was up two ounces from Monday to 5lbs, 7oz. YAY!!! He's doing it!!! My little gainer! We will go back a week from today to make sure he is still gaining the appropriate weight, but for now we don't have to fortify.
These past few days I have been practicing self control as I had wanted to weigh Cohen on a daily basis. Joel has a scale in the garage that he uses to measure ingredients when he's making beer. I was very tempted to use this scale, but everyone has warned me against becoming too obsessed over taking daily weights. In my defense, Cohen has been weighed at the hospital every night for the past two months. It was such a part of the routine as well as a daily check on his progress that it only seemed natural.
Anyway, Joel was able to hold me back from the scale and, long story short, Cohen is gaining weight again!!!
At the pediatrician today, Cohen also received his first round of vaccinations; four shots in total. Poor little boy. He handled it better than I imagined and didn't cry all that much.
As for home life, we are loving it!!! We spent many hours at the hospital getting to know Cohen and caring for him as much as possible, but being home with him totally different. Now we are now able to care for his every need and that feels great. Watching him grow and develop the last two months has been amazing, even with all the bumps in the road. I am so grateful for the relatively smooth ride we had in the NICU and for all the wonderful care we received. But now, he's all ours!!! We feel so blessed that we get to experience the next chapter as a healthy and happy family.
I had been concerned about his weight because he had lost some weight at the hospital as we transitioned from tube feedings (gavages) to only breastfeeding. In fact we were hoping to go home on Friday of last week but on Thursday night's weigh in he had dropped 20 grams and he was being fussier than usual. I became nervous that Cohen was not strong enough to handle eating without the tube; so we didn't go home on Friday. The next night he had lost 80 grams, quite a bit for such a little guy. The doctor and nurses recommended that we stick with the breastfeeding and reassess again the next day. The doctor said that even if Cohen hadn't gained weight by Monday, they would probably send us home and that we may need to fortify the breast milk, which meant that we would have to start using bottles. Of course, I had wanted to wait a bit longer to introduce the bottle so that Cohen wouldn't get too use to eating from them.
Meanwhile, I had many talks with the wonderful nurses about what could be going on and they reassured me that the weight loss was most likely a transition, and they were confidant we would start to gain weight. Sure enough, the next night Cohen had gained 30 grams! Knowing that they would most likely send us home soon anyway after Saturday night's weight gain, we felt more confidant about him being up to the challenge of eating on his own and felt comfortable leaving. So we asked to be discharged on Sunday afternoon.
Today at the big weigh in, Cohen was up two ounces from Monday to 5lbs, 7oz. YAY!!! He's doing it!!! My little gainer! We will go back a week from today to make sure he is still gaining the appropriate weight, but for now we don't have to fortify.
These past few days I have been practicing self control as I had wanted to weigh Cohen on a daily basis. Joel has a scale in the garage that he uses to measure ingredients when he's making beer. I was very tempted to use this scale, but everyone has warned me against becoming too obsessed over taking daily weights. In my defense, Cohen has been weighed at the hospital every night for the past two months. It was such a part of the routine as well as a daily check on his progress that it only seemed natural.
Anyway, Joel was able to hold me back from the scale and, long story short, Cohen is gaining weight again!!!
At the pediatrician today, Cohen also received his first round of vaccinations; four shots in total. Poor little boy. He handled it better than I imagined and didn't cry all that much.
As for home life, we are loving it!!! We spent many hours at the hospital getting to know Cohen and caring for him as much as possible, but being home with him totally different. Now we are now able to care for his every need and that feels great. Watching him grow and develop the last two months has been amazing, even with all the bumps in the road. I am so grateful for the relatively smooth ride we had in the NICU and for all the wonderful care we received. But now, he's all ours!!! We feel so blessed that we get to experience the next chapter as a healthy and happy family.
1 comment:
I am so happy for the Barkley's!!!
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