The first night was rough. He slept a lot and didn't want to be bothered. That was also the first time I got to feed him with a bottle. I (thought I) understood when the nurses said that babies that small don't know how to suck/swallow/breath...I was wrong. Within a few minutes of trying to feed him with the bottle, Landon started gagging and shaking. He simply couldn't do it. I was so scared but the nurses reassured me that it was perfectly normal. Thus the reason he is still in the NICU.
The next few feedings, Landon and I bonded and got on a good schedule I think. We tried alternating between bottle and breast but for the last 24 hours we have been consistently breastfeeding every 3 hours (minus the 4 am feeding so I could sleep). He is doing great... he nurses for 10-18 minutes each time and so we are only supplementing half of his feedings with the NG tube (about 28ml). The nurses check the "residual" in his stomach often... meaning the pull up the milk from his stomach to see how he is digesting everything. The last few feedings, he has had a lot of residual which means he is getting a lot of breastmilk and is Full. I think if this keeps up, by the end of the day we will not use much (if any) supplemented milk through the tube. If he is satisfied between feedings and keeps gaining weight, we might be good to go.
At the 4am feeding the nurse, Amanda said he was not interested in the bottle at all and she had to tube feed him almost all of the milk. She said he would start sucking and then just looked confused and would sit there. I know he will get it in time...he's still only 36 and a half weeks. I've discovered Landon thinks he's funny. He likes to fart on me every time I'm changing his diaper and boy does he smell! The last few times I've changed him he just lets it rip. All the nurses and moms think it's funny of course, I'm just glad it's only been gas. However, this morning while I was feeding him he stopped and just stared at me for the longest time. I thought it was so sweet. Then he pooped...ALOT! He smiled, closed his eyes and went to sleep. What a stinker!
The boys miss Landon and me. I will be staying up here until Landon comes home but will probably go home to see them tomorrow afternoon. Hayden has started calling me from the Amazon Echo in his room and asking about Landon. He also called at 9 at night last night to tell me that Dad is letting them have a party and "the party is just getting started!". Bryan had Jarrod and his kids over to watch the Cowboys game, he let the boys stay up late and hang out. I should have known leaving him alone with the kids could be a bad idea lol. Chevy hasn't talked to me too much the last few days. He has been working hard to practice his recorder for school. Bryan is going to send a video to me tonight of his "performance" of The Saints Go Marching In. I'm tired but glad that I finally get to bond with Landon. I know I'm biased but I think me being here is helping him get in a good routine with eating. The nurses have been great. Some are better than others but so far everyone has been very helpful. Sleeping in a hospital bed and still trying to finish my last few assignments for school has sucked but nothing I can't handle.
I don't know when Landon will come home. The doctors will not tell us until the day or two beforehand. I imagine it will be another week or so. I'm sorry if I haven't returned texts or phone calls but I'm trying hard to stay on schedule with Landon. I feed him every three hours which takes 30-60 minutes, then go back to the room and pump (another 15-20 min). I eat, sleep and do homework in between the feedings. Please be patient and understanding as I am not glued to my phone. However, I do appreciate everyone checking up on us. Keep us in your thoughts but please pray for the NICU families that are in worse situations than ours. We are blessed that Landon healthy and strong.
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