When we first began in the NICU, Adam, who is now one of our “primary” nurses, told me that some nurses prefer to take care of only “feeder growers.” Throughout the entire stay of the NICU, I have hoped that my babies would soon be feeder growers. I believe we might be on the cusp of feeder grower status.
Both Aubrey and Lydia are on “room air” trials for 9 hours twice a day. That means that they are just breathing like you and I do for most of the day. Additionally, they have both started to eat from bottles for some of their meals. Once a baby can eat, breath, and keep warm in room temperature, they’re ready to be sent home. Aubrey and Lydia are so close!
Finn is so close. He’s our biggest baby, weighing in at just under 6lbs now. He also is just a bit behind with breathing - he is about to go on RAM all the time. RAM breathing is what Aubrey and Lydia are doing in between their room air trials. It’s the next step for them before room air. We are super excited for him because he’s progressing so well.
We do have a bit of a scare today, though. One that we hope will go away very quickly. Aubrey had blood in his stool today at 11 and then at 4. It’s crazy that I know these things and that I am fixated on it, but I am. Right before I left the hospital at 8, he had another diaper change and while there was still blood in his stool, it was much less than before. The doctors think this could just be due a fissure and we are praying that is it. It could also be because they’ve added calories to his milk in the form of formula (HMF, which is a cow-based calorie supplement). It could be causing irritation. For now, they have made Aubrey NPO (nil per os or “nothing through the mouth” or “not eat") for 24 hours. He’s pretty upset because he has learned he loves eating!
