Corn Fed Kansan: Friday's visit

Lorena looked good on Friday. She wore the high flow nasul cannula for six hours twice a day. She is on the CPAP machine the hours that she is off the nasul cannula. The CPAP machine is what she has been on since the day she was born. Since she did so well on Friday the doctors wrote orders to let her be on the nasul cannula all day Saturday! The nasul cannula is so much more comfortable for the little babies. It has less pressure, is easier to keep in place, and seems to help Lorena sleep better. Lorena's feedings were 9 mils every 3 hours on Friday. They are increasing her feedings to 12 mils every 3 hours since she is digesting most of the milk. This is approximately 3 ounces of breast milk for Saturday. She is still hooked up to an IV for nutrition (looks like gatorade) but as she gains weight, the doctors have decreased the IV flow. I also got to hold her for about an hour.

We had JoAnn yesterday and she has worked in the NICU for 18 years. She told me that the babies have to be about 4 pounds to be in a crib. Lorena weighed 3 pounds 1.7 ounces as of Thursday night's weigh in (so she will be in the incubator for a while). Also she said that sometimes they start letting moms breastfeed when babies are 32 weeks. Of course it all depends on the baby, but Lorena will be 32 weeks next Thursday so it sounds like I'm getting close to trying to breastfeed!

I usually drop by the bakery (Our Daily Bread http://www.barnesks.net/dailybread.html) in Barnes, KS on my way to Topeka. Dan's parents own the bakery and he has lots of family members who work there. I mainly drop by to get some gourmet coffee, but usually my visits turn into a much needed therapy session. I'm thankful to have Dan's family here to listen, cry with me, and give me hugs. :-)