...and she drank a lot of juice."
Our Chubby Cheeks with no tubes or tape!!
The NP decided to mix things up a bit with Maria yesterday. When I arrived for the 4 o'clock feed, I got the news..."no more telling Maria what to do". She decided to remove Maria from the schedule that she'd been given, which was to eat every 3 hours a certain amount of formula. Forcing her onto a schedule, meant that Maria had been eating while she slept, and because she was always so tired, her alarms were increasing.
NP decided to try to let Maria call the shots: she's allowed to sleep as long as she wants, and we feed her only when she awakes on her own. When she does feed, she eats as much as she wants; she'll even get a free re-fill on her bottle, if she desires. I was so relieved to hear this, as Maria could actually finish a nap!
When Maria is alert, it is usually for about 90 mins at a time, now. On her old schedule, she would only have about 90 mins to sleep before she'd be woken up again! This new schedule is (so far) much better.
She has actually fallen into a pattern of eating every four hours instead of every 3. When she eats, she has been eating 2 full ounces (which is about 15 cc's more than her former feeds). She kept this schedule for the last 12 hours, and alarmed much less during feeds (she does still get supplemental oxygen during feedings, though). We are so much happier knowing that Maria is more comfortable: while both eating and sleeping.
Christy said it well in her comment- "cast your cares upon the Lord". Remember too "His yoke is eady His burden light" that is because The Lord is right there with the two of you.
ReplyDeleteSara- I love the MOOSE, a camp song how appropriate. But it is A GREAT BIG MOOSE(typo, can't wait till Maria can come to camp, she has a spot pre- reserved for her. I am glad that they are letting Maria set her own schedule, it is more like home and so when she comes home with you and Joe she will be more adjusted to what it will be like. I know that this is tuff on you two, we feel for you, but remember that there we are cheering you on here... oh yeh I need to send Maria a Spartan t-shirt so she can cheer on the Spartans in the B-Ball Tourney. I think they have Teddy bear sizes so it should fit. Does she listen to the Spartan Fight Song yet when she awakes... I am sure that would help,(you can download it to the i-pod) then she will know she has a cheering section back in Michigan, and she can be the smallest Spartan fan!!
I'm glad to hear to about Maria's new schedule. It's probably b/c she's getting bigger now and can space out her feedings more. This seems to be the routine my kids end up in, eat, wake time, sleep, eat, wake time sleep. Helps them regulate. I'll keep praying that it keeps working for her.
ReplyDeleteWe'll keep praying for you two, too!
This is so exciting. My favorite new TV program: Maria's BLOG! It's better than a soap! (I hate soaps, so that is a bad analogy!) Ok, better than... the Biggest Loser! LOL.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I am so enjoying "watching" Maria grow. THanks so much for taking the time to share with all of us!
:) Katie