Braylon's Big Day

Braylon had a big day today. He was able to try nippling for the first time. I had to pump before letting him try so he didn’t actually get to breastfeed but he got to practice for a while. Ever since working with the physical therapist yesterday he has really discovered his thumbs and hands and seems to have them near his mouth during most of his care times. The doctor called this morning and said he was really rooting and showing cues that he was ready to try nippling. We worked with the lactation specialist to get the hang of it and she said he did very well for his first try. He seemed to really enjoy it. It took a little while for me to get used to, on top of the fact that he chomped down with his little gums and pinched me really hard at first until he got the hang of it. I didn’t realize they had that much strength in their jaws yet.
Kaden has been doing well on the c-pap and cannula still. He did have to go back on c-pap about a half hour early this afternoon because he was working a little hard but he got the second tube replaced and shoved down his throat again and it probably stressed him out. They think the one tube finally dropped to his intestines and they weren’t able to pull the air out of his belly with it anymore so they placed the second tube in his stomach to draw back the air, basically to burp him. He is anemic so he has been started on shots and an iron supplement to help him build up red blood cells. The doctors are trying to avoid giving him a blood transfusion because that would require an IV so he gets a little shot every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. He did really well with his first shot tonight and didn’t cry a whole lot. I was proud of our tough little guy.
Both boys have gained weight. Kaden weighed 3lbs 6oz and Braylon weighed 4lbs 1oz. We are so pleased with Kaden’s weight gain because it doesn’t take much for him to lose weight at this point. Braylon has been put on a baby diet already because he was gaining weight too fast. They cut his feeds back a whole 2mL per feeding. They have also increased the rate of his feeding so instead of running over 1 ½ hours they run over 45 minutes. This is to help him get ready and tolerate breastfeeding better since he will get larger amounts of milk in a shorter amount of time once he is truly breastfeeding.
Although Kaden is not ready to start nippling he still really enjoys his pacifier and would love to stick his hands in his mouth if Mom would let him. I always try and keep his hand away from his mouth because of the tubes. He has mastered the art of hooking his little fingers around the tubes and pulling them right out. I keep explaining to him if he would just leave them alone they wouldn’t have to keep shoving them down, but he just doesn’t quite understand yet. He just looks at me with his big eyes and sneaks his little fingers right back up there. He spends a lot of time in his baby straight jacket so he will leave his tubing alone.