NICU Nurse!
I think I have a new least favorite NICU nurse! Oh my goodness, I got there today and brought the stuff I pumped overnight and she asked how it was going, how often I was pumping, etc. So I told her I was pumping every 2-3 hours round the clock and I felt like it was going pretty well.
She got really concerned and said I should only pump if I happen to wake up at night, so I didn't get too tired. Then she said that it's OK if I can only pump for a few weeks, it just gets too hard and a lot of people quit.
I don't know, she just made me feel like I couldn't do it or that it wasn't even worth it to try.
Well, I can't say what is going to be happening in 2 weeks, but I CAN say that I am going to pump as long as it takes! And if I need to supplement with other women's breast milk then that's fine, but I am still going to do my best to get what I can for my baby.
Then she told me that his feeding schedule changed to 8, 11, 2, 5 round the clock. We had already requested that when it be changed it get changed to 3, 6, 9, 12 to maximize the times I could be there during the day, so that was kind of irritating. She said she would change it to the schedule we had originally requested.
Then I asked about holding him twice a day, and she basically made me feel like I shouldn't even be asking. But I assured her if it's not OK then we are OK with that, but we felt like it didn't hurt to ask. I never got a straight answer from her on that.
Then I held him for about 2 hours, which was fabulous as usual. He didn't cry even one time, had no episodes where he stopped breathing, nothing bad happened at all. He stayed warm enough with my body heat only. The only noteworthy event was that he lifted his head off my chest and turned to look the other way, and I almost had a heart attack because I was afraid he was going to hurt himself.
Well after I held him, she was feeding him (through the tube that goes into his stomach). Normally when they feed they also swab his mouth with the milk/colostrum/whatever it is right now, so he can kind of get the taste of it along with the sensation of getting full. She said he was "too tired" to swab...Hmmmm, that is weird since every other time they swab his mouth.
So anyway I was just irritated by her today!
Now on to the good stuff!
Ben was eating 3 ccs every 4 hours, now he is eating 4 ccs every 3 hours. So in a 24 hour period he eats 32 ccs, which is just a touch over an ounce. I am getting between 10 and 20 ccs every time I pump, so I am way ahead of him. Lots of my milk is stored in the freezer there, and I hope to continue to build my supply and stay ahead of the game! He is back under the lights for bilirubin levels. They are going to leave him on until Thursday, because they don't want to check his blood again. If they draw too much blood it could cause him to need a blood transfusion and they want to avoid that if they can. They are going to weigh him tonight. Last time he was weighed he was 2 lbs 8 oz, down from the 3 lbs when he was born. So I'll be curious to see what he weighs tonight. I'm sure he won't have gained any back but hopefully he won't have lost too much more.
He is 5 days old today!
I have a lot more stuff to say about bio mom and family members suddenly deciding that NOW would be a great time to contact us, but I will save that for when I have more time. I'm going to go lie down for a quick cat nap, yay for naps!
She got really concerned and said I should only pump if I happen to wake up at night, so I didn't get too tired. Then she said that it's OK if I can only pump for a few weeks, it just gets too hard and a lot of people quit.
I don't know, she just made me feel like I couldn't do it or that it wasn't even worth it to try.
Well, I can't say what is going to be happening in 2 weeks, but I CAN say that I am going to pump as long as it takes! And if I need to supplement with other women's breast milk then that's fine, but I am still going to do my best to get what I can for my baby.
Then she told me that his feeding schedule changed to 8, 11, 2, 5 round the clock. We had already requested that when it be changed it get changed to 3, 6, 9, 12 to maximize the times I could be there during the day, so that was kind of irritating. She said she would change it to the schedule we had originally requested.
Then I asked about holding him twice a day, and she basically made me feel like I shouldn't even be asking. But I assured her if it's not OK then we are OK with that, but we felt like it didn't hurt to ask. I never got a straight answer from her on that.
Then I held him for about 2 hours, which was fabulous as usual. He didn't cry even one time, had no episodes where he stopped breathing, nothing bad happened at all. He stayed warm enough with my body heat only. The only noteworthy event was that he lifted his head off my chest and turned to look the other way, and I almost had a heart attack because I was afraid he was going to hurt himself.
Well after I held him, she was feeding him (through the tube that goes into his stomach). Normally when they feed they also swab his mouth with the milk/colostrum/whatever it is right now, so he can kind of get the taste of it along with the sensation of getting full. She said he was "too tired" to swab...Hmmmm, that is weird since every other time they swab his mouth.
So anyway I was just irritated by her today!
Now on to the good stuff!
Ben was eating 3 ccs every 4 hours, now he is eating 4 ccs every 3 hours. So in a 24 hour period he eats 32 ccs, which is just a touch over an ounce. I am getting between 10 and 20 ccs every time I pump, so I am way ahead of him. Lots of my milk is stored in the freezer there, and I hope to continue to build my supply and stay ahead of the game! He is back under the lights for bilirubin levels. They are going to leave him on until Thursday, because they don't want to check his blood again. If they draw too much blood it could cause him to need a blood transfusion and they want to avoid that if they can. They are going to weigh him tonight. Last time he was weighed he was 2 lbs 8 oz, down from the 3 lbs when he was born. So I'll be curious to see what he weighs tonight. I'm sure he won't have gained any back but hopefully he won't have lost too much more.
He is 5 days old today!
I have a lot more stuff to say about bio mom and family members suddenly deciding that NOW would be a great time to contact us, but I will save that for when I have more time. I'm going to go lie down for a quick cat nap, yay for naps!
If you have the energy, you might talk to the hospital personal relations person. We had a bad experience with a nurse for Jeremy once and spoke with this person, who took care of it for us (coincidentally it was our land lady/neighbor at the time, so we felt very comfortable talking to her!) It's really important that the hospital know about these types of interactions imo.
ReplyDeleteanyway, I can't wait to hear how much he has gained! Keep up the pumping, I know you can do it!
That makes me so mad for you! Keep up the pumping - you'll know if you reach your limits and need to change what you're doing, but in the meantime that's the very best thing for your baby. You CAN do it!
ReplyDeleteDo I need to come down there and have a talk with this woman? Don't back down and don't let her talk you out of anything. Sounds to me like she has lost her perspective on compassion. You are doing great and I'm really proud of you.
ReplyDelete"Yeah, I know, I am so sorry. We all get tired at of work from time to time...that is why they PAY you to be here." -Hang in there Moma!
ReplyDeleteStinkin' Nurse! I had one unsupportive nurse with one of my babes and it was so frustrating and I didn't have the extra stress you are dealing with. If she skips steps that other nurses take I might ask a supervisor if what she is skipping is a part of standard procedure. Glad to see he's progressing well!
ReplyDeleteYou know one bad nurse can make it so rough! I hope all the best hun, hang in there! ~Hugs~
ReplyDeleteHi there,
ReplyDeleteI followed your link here from bbc birth stories. I think you're doing the exact right thing with pumping and I just want tosay to make sure you have a good medela electric pump and to always look at a photo of your baby when you're pumping as it helps with production. Also, better to pump after holding him than before, although it sounds like you're already doing that. And stay ahead of the game while you can because there will come a time when he will begin eating more and it's so nice to have a reserve. I'm not sure where you're located but if you need milk be sure to check out human milk for human babies. I have never pumped in nicu before but I did pump for 12 days when our daughter was in picu (pediatric icu) at 10 months old. It IS exhausting but there were so few things I could do for my daughter at that time, that pumping felt like love in a bottle. I will keep following and hoping that little Ben gets bigger and stronger every day.
I'm sorry about the nurse. There are always a few that are not so good. Fight for what you know is right with Ben. He's YOUR baby, not theirs.