Emerson saw the cardiologist yesterday to have her murmur looked at. They did an EKG and an ECCO and for now the cardiologist doesn't think it's anything to worry about. They'll follow up in a year and keep watching it but for now it's no big deal. The cardiologist was really great. I was impressed that he took the time to look up their records and knew the history of their prematurity and their stay in the NICU.
Marcus and I are both starting to really wonder if Emerson's regression in eating is a result of some sort of reflux (the cardiologist agreed, when he was asking about her eating habits and others here have suggested it as well). While she's eating, she'll suddenly start flailing her arms and crying. She is also resistant to eating about half-way through. Although she almost never spits up. So who knows we'll definitely be contacting her pedi. to ask about all of this, especially since her eating has been getting worse recently instead of better.
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I bought a maya ring sling yesterday and I was really excited about it, except for one small problem. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to use it. I read the manuel, watched the DVD, and even looked up youtube videos. I'm not really sure what I'm doing wrong, but Emerson was very patient with me yesterday as I tried to figure it out. I'm going to give it another shot today.
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One of the most amazing things to me about my babies is how different they are from one another. Eli loves to be held, cuddled, and swaddled. Emerson also likes to be held but she's not content to hold still, and she has never liked being constrained by the swaddle. Even in the NICU after she moved to her open air crib, she would escape from her swaddle all the time, it perplexed the nurses how she was getting out of it. We've found the same to be true at home. Each night we swaddle her, and then not long after when we go in to check on her we find this...
Every night she unwraps herself, turns herself sideways, and puts her feet up on the crib. It's been really hot and humid here lately (90% humidity yuck! I'm from Nevada and not used to the humidity at all I hate it). So they've just been sleeping in their diapers. Apparently, even that is too constraining for miss Emerson, because she also somehow managed to get her diaper off. Not sure how she managed that either. Although both Marcus and I find it entertaining to watch just how exactly she gets out of her swaddle. She's a clever little baby.
4 comments:
hi there,
congratulations on your babies! i stumbled across your blog and wanted to share my experience with my baby with the hopes it might help. when i had my baby i had no idea what i was doing and lived alone in NYC so i tried to read and learn as much as i could. so i thought i would share my experience just in case...
regarding the potential reflux issue, my baby had silent reflux - no spitting up but very uncomfortable for the baby. my baby was on Zantac for about 7 months and then weaned off as his system matured. i am sure your dr. can tell you more about silent reflux, just note that the medication takes about 1 week to begin working and the dosage may need to be adjusted.
also, the meltdowns from 6:30pm to 10:00pm are very familiar to me. my son would begin his crying fits at 6pm and they would a number of hours. my dr. said that this is the time of day that most baby meltdowns happen and they would subside.
good luck! and congratulations!
I'm so glad that the cardiologist doesn't think Emerson's murmur is anything to worry about :-)
The whole figuring out how to use a sling thing, makes me nervous about wanting a moby: I'll get the thing and won't be able to figure it out lol
I love the picture of Emerson with her feet on the side of the crib...that kid is going to need her own queensize bed :-) Good thing Eli won't have to share the space when they're a couple years (+) older.
First, YAY on the heart stuff with Emerson. That's GREAT news! Hopefully, the eating issue will be sorted out soon.
Re: the breastfeeding--if you hate it, don't do it. My thoughts on breastfeeding are that it's great for the baby, but if it doesn't work for everyone involved, it's not the end of the world to end it. If formula makes you happier, go with it. You've done great to make it this far.
And finally, I totally think you should set up a camera to tape Emerson, to see how she gets out of her garb. That's too funny!
So glad to hear the babies continue to do well. I can't believe how big they are getting!
Hey, it really does sound as if Emerson has reflux. Liana started having reflux way before she started spitting up. Talk to your pedi, some Prilosec could make all the difference with the feedings. And kudos for keeping up the pumping. It is SO hard, but you're doing an awesome job for those babies. And whenever it is you know you have to be done, feel good about the many weeks you've provided BM for them.
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