Day 50 - Blood Transfusion #4
Thursday, February 18, 2021
Mom has been pumping like a champ with back to back to back GRAND DAYS! (1000+ ML pumps). It’s been challenging to adjust to this new lifestyle of 7-9 pumps per day.
To paint the picture: Mom ends the day with a final pump from 11:15pm-11:45pm. Takes the pumps off and carefully brings the bottles into the bathroom. Pours the milk into the smaller bottles and logs the measurement on her phone app. Writes the label out with the date and time and puts the bottle in the mini fridge for immediate storage. Then rinses the flange, duck bill valve, and the bottle and puts in the wash bin for deeper cleaning when the bins fills up with 4-5 sets of bottles. Mom then needs to sit with a heating pad due to her vasospasms until the shooting pain subsides. By this point it’s approximately 12:30a and Mom can relax and sleep ... UNTIL the next alarm goes off at 2:15am. 🤦♀️ Mom tiredly sits up and shuts the phone alarm off (not by throwing it across the room 🤫) and starts the process all over again. She then repeats this same cycle as above at 6a. And then 9a. As the bottles stack up in the bin, Mom and Dad will then rotate in the cleaning of all of the flanges, bottles, and valves. 🧼🧽 This 30 minute cleaning and soaking process has become an art form at this point and then we stack them in our Wabi sterilizer and dryer. We'll repeat this same process again every 3 hours until her supply is regulated. 😳
Update: James had a roller coaster of a day, but it’s been a good day overall. The day began with getting a new IV put in to prep him for his blood transfusion. His Hct went below 25 so he needed it today. They had to stop his feeds for 3-4 hours during the transfusion. He received everything well, but now has the IV in his little hand. 😞
He is now back in his full feed at 31 ML. James will have his blood checked in 1-2 days to see what his new levels are at.
James weighed in last night at 1490g or 3lb 4oz. He also had his kidney ultrasound this morning, and those results came back good.
James had 6 bowel movements in the past 24 hours. This is great progress as he continues to grow and tolerate his feed. 🍼
To paint the picture: Mom ends the day with a final pump from 11:15pm-11:45pm. Takes the pumps off and carefully brings the bottles into the bathroom. Pours the milk into the smaller bottles and logs the measurement on her phone app. Writes the label out with the date and time and puts the bottle in the mini fridge for immediate storage. Then rinses the flange, duck bill valve, and the bottle and puts in the wash bin for deeper cleaning when the bins fills up with 4-5 sets of bottles. Mom then needs to sit with a heating pad due to her vasospasms until the shooting pain subsides. By this point it’s approximately 12:30a and Mom can relax and sleep ... UNTIL the next alarm goes off at 2:15am. 🤦♀️ Mom tiredly sits up and shuts the phone alarm off (not by throwing it across the room 🤫) and starts the process all over again. She then repeats this same cycle as above at 6a. And then 9a. As the bottles stack up in the bin, Mom and Dad will then rotate in the cleaning of all of the flanges, bottles, and valves. 🧼🧽 This 30 minute cleaning and soaking process has become an art form at this point and then we stack them in our Wabi sterilizer and dryer. We'll repeat this same process again every 3 hours until her supply is regulated. 😳
After the first 50 days of this, talking with several Lacation consultants, and getting advice from friends she would highly recommend some must-haves... ☝️ heating pads, reusable nursing pads, and nipple cream to new mothers who are exclusively pumping and/or those who may suffer from Raynaud's Phenomenon (vasospasm of the nipple). These just so happen to be the first 3 items she received from an old high school friend who also pumped for the NICU. They have been a game changer on this journey! 💓
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