All posts tagged: feeding

Eating, breathing, & pooping

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Eric continues to drink and digest his milk up like a champ and that is key to helping him get stronger. Below you can see nurse Kathy gavage feeding him. Gavage feeding is when the nurse lets the milk flow through the tube that leads to his stomach. Eric can not feel the feeding tube in his throat as you and I would because at this age the do not yet have a gag reflex so it is perfectly comfortable for him. Remembering to breath is Eric’s biggest challenge right now and something all preemies need to grow into. He is still getting oxygen throught CPAP, which gets delivered either with a tiny mask over his nose or these tiny little nasal prongs. The resipatory therapists alternate between the two to keep his skin healthy. When he needs more oxygen they can turn it up a bit but he needs to take a breath for the oxygen to get where it needs to go. We are definitely his cheer leading squad for this. Today Eric …

Momma Posts a Blog

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Today Eric’s Grandma Lorriane went back to Great Falls. I am afraid we may have worn her out on her first taste of “Grandma Duty”. Tonight Eric and I had some alone time. It is the first night I have visited him without Dad or Grandma around. I had to be disciplined to get myself to leave his bedside to “pump” and eat dinner at reasonable hour. Grandma has been really good at making sure I remember to feed myself and get some rest. Eric is tolerating a little more of milk now, 4 cc’s every 3 hours, which is the equivalent to 4 millileters or almost a teaspoon. This little bit of milk in his tummy his helping is digestive system develop. He also got started on some antibiotics today to cover a possible infection in his breathing tube. They did a chest xray today and don’t suspect a lung infection at this point. Tonight as I was getting ready to tuck Eric in and say good night he opened his eyes and peaked …