First, some great news that I forgot to share earlier! We found out at the end of August that Eva’s ROP (eye disease) has basically disappeared! We’re out of the danger zone and we don’t need to see the eye doctor again for a whole year. Her vision should develop normally, and though she may need glasses when she gets older, it would be more due to genetics at that point than her prematurity. So our best-case scenario has occurred, and we are so thankful.
It’s hard to believe that more than a month has passed since she came home. We just weighed Eva today, and she is nearly 9.5 pounds. She continues to make great progress, and everyone is very impressed, especially with her head control and arm and leg strength. She makes great eye contact and can track when you move your eyes.
When she left the NICU, Eva was eating between 2 and 3 oz (60 and 90 ml) every three hours. Her milk was fortified with a tiny amount of formula for preemies that adds extra calories for weight gain. Since she has come home, her eating has been completely erratic. Which was to be expected, I’ve been told. During periods where her reflux is worse, sometimes she’ll take a few sips from her bottle and then cry or arch back – and at least a few feedings a day are difficult, with her squirming the whole time, spitting up and/or refusing to finish her bottle.
Because of this, she sometimes only takes an oz or an oz and a half at a time. But then she’ll still be hungry an hour and a half or two hours later. So it basically feels like we’re feeding her nonstop around the clock, which gets exhausting, especially because we’re supposed to hold her upright for a half hour after each feeding (to help with the reflux.)
In the past day, that’s changed. Suddenly, she just started taking two oz – or more! – at a time, and she gets hungry every three hours. Her schedule has become more like it was in the NICU, and both Jim and I are breathing a sigh of relief. Her doctor and the speech therapist had expressed some worry about the small amounts she was eating, but because she was continuing to gain weight, and her total daily amounts are OK, it hasn’t been a serious problem. We’re crossing our fingers it continues to stay this way…..
Sleeping is the other area in which she’s a bit erratic, but she’s a newborn, so we’re not too worried. From the start, Eva has slept through the night, except to wake up to eat. When she finishes her bottle, she goes back to bed without crying (though she’ll often wake up an hour and a half or two hours later because she’s hungry again). So we’re very lucky in that sense. However, she is an erratic napper. One day, she’ll sleep ALL day and ALL night, then the next day she won’t sleep much during the day.
She also naps best in our arms; she’ll wake up soon after we place her down. She likes her bouncer and play mat but only for short periods of time. So we hold her a lot. I have to say that the Baby Bjorn carrier has been a life-saver; she can still be close to me, and I can get stuff done!
There are days when I get a little stir-crazy. I can’t really take her out anywhere yet, so friends and family come to visit us, which is great! But I definitely miss being able to go wherever I want, whenever I want. In that sense, I took a trip to Target today, which was awesome and probably the highlight of my week! LOL
The best parenting advice I’ve heard so far is from a friend of my sister’s. She said that with children, everything is a phase. I remember this when I worry too much about her feeding or reflux. But overall, I love spending the days with Eva, and I know I will never have another two months off with her like this ever again. So I’ve got to enjoy every second with her!
Eva's Journey 