First week of feeding program

Things have been pretty overwhelming to say the least. People are constantly knocking on the door for one thing or another. Chance meets with OT a few times a week. He's doing awesome in that area. Her goal is to have him sitting  unassisted for 5 min before discharge. He's doing really well with that already!  He's not quite to 5 min but he's greeting close. A little wobbly still!  He's working on his pincher grasp too. 

I really like his speech therapist. She's an older lasy with lots of baby experience. He was not too sure about her at first but is warming up to her. He sees her 3x day for therapy. She's working on a lot of oral motor strengthening for his mouth area. He seems to be very weak in that area. She's also saying he has open jaw excursion. Where he doesn't want to close his mouth to properly latch to the bottle. He will close and latch but not for long. We've tried a few different bottles so far with no luck. He's going for a swallow study next Tuesday which'll give a better idea how he's swallowing and making sure that he's swallowing safely. 

We're also feeding every 3 hours again. At night too.  His therapist was saying with preemies for whatever reason, the longer they go without eating the less hungry they become. Opposite of us. So, by putting him on a rigid schedule, it should start to boost his hunger. He was on oxygen for so long that breathing was more important than eating. So Chance doesn't really show too many signs of hunger. Even when he's hungry. 

The ng tube is still looming over us like a dark cloud. His dietician looks closely at his intake, output (we weigh his diapers), and weight gain. So far he's gained 20 grams a day which is in the ok range. He could gain up to 34 grams a day. He has some catch up to do. So, basically they factor all those into play before deciding he needs one placed. I get so sad thinking of having to do that again. The ng is the nose feeding tube he came home with. 

So, please keep praying we can find a bottle that Chance will take and we can begin to see an increase in his intake. 

He's also teething. Getting his 2nd tooth, which hasn't been helping the fact any. 

His doctor here wants us to see a neurologist to rule out anything neurologically wrong that could cause his muscle weakness in his face. It's very common with preemies so it may just be a delay and catch up deal. He won't have to be sedated for another MRI cause he had one done while still at children's med center. 

I just have to keep remembering this is only temporary. This too shall pass. It's just scary. Faith as small as a mustard seed....

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