01-17-11

Today was a great day!!!

Cooper was faking us out and ate 70 mls at the morning feeding.  All the other mornings he was just messing with us.  He could do it all along.

Then the nurses suggested that we bring in bottles for him to get used to them and see if they would work better.  Since we didn't have any bottles, I asked if there was one they would suggest that might help him out with his reflux.  They suggested Dr Brown's.  So, I went and got one to try with him.  He didn't skip a beat and took 75 mls at the noon feeding.  This was turning out to be a good day.

Then the 4 pm feeding came and he surprised everyone.  Especially me.  He took 90 mls in 25 minutes.  Then with a little more prodding I was finally able to get him to finish the entire bottle in under 45 minutes.  YES HE TOOK THE ENTIRE BOTTLE! His first one ever.  This was a great day!  Even the doctor was impressed.

So, going in for his 8 pm feeding, I really wasn't expecting him to take more than 70, but was hoping.  It's not usual for babies to take 2 full bottles in a day, the first day they take a full bottle.  But with a lot of prodding (and I do mean a lot) by me, I got him to finish another bottle.  Well, close anyway.  There were 3 mls left in the bottle, but the nurse called it good.

I do not expect them to get him to take full bottles though the night.  Only a parent could bug him that much to get him to eat.

The other changes made today were that they are no longer adding calories to his formula.  He is gaining well, almost too well.  He is up to 10lbs 10.2 oz.  He's up 3 ounces in the last 24 hours.  They have put him on a multivitamin with iron.  He is still a little anemic, so they think that about of month of this and his formula should get him back to a normal level. 

The doctor also gave him a shot for RSV.  It is called Synagis.  It is a passive vaccine and will help him against RSV.  He will need to get doses of this every 30 days or so until RSV season is over.  This is a very expensive drug and because of his CDH qualifies to receive it.  The doctor said it's about $1000 per vial and because of his size he would need to get about a vial every dose.  Thank goodness he qualifies to have insurance cover this.

This doctor does not like Alimentum, so either tomorrow or Wednesday she is going to change his formula.  She isn't sure what yet, but probably a soy formula.  We are happy because even soy is cheaper than Alimentum.

It was a big day for the Jensen's.  We are so happy that Cooper is just that much closer to coming home.  Both Jaxon and Lea asked if Cooper would come home tonight because he ate his first bottle.  Let them know that he has to do this more often before he could come home.  They were still excited that he is starting to eat.  We might be getting Cooper home very soon.  We just keep praying that it will be any day now.