Day 22 of Life

When the doctors make their rounds in the NICU, they start by saying the baby's name and the number of days the baby has been alive. Today is "Day 22 of Life" for Brady Krebs.

Brady is now 11 pounds and 11 ounces and continues to grow. They have increased his feedings to 110 ml every three hours.

We have different nurses almost every day. Since they usually are dealing with preemies, the need to double or triple check the feeding amounts to make sure they're correct. Brady is still considered the bouncer on the NICU. :)

Brady seemed to rebound nicely from yesterday's setbacks. His bottle feedings during the night were back in the 40 ml range. Ali was able to feed him 37 ml at noon, which is the best he has ever done during the day.

The nurses today believe he was just adjusting to the thicker milk yesterday and that's why his feedings were down. They also think he was dealing with some reflux issues. They noticed him pulling away from his feedings and also thought he was having problems getting comfortable and sleeping.

When I arrived today Brady's bed was inclined at about 45 degrees. He also was in a "Danny Sling" including a strap around his abdomen which held his body in place. His body was wedged with rolled up towels on both sides. All of this was done to to hold him in place and help prevent reflux. Brady seemed to be in a pretty deep sleep, so it must've been working. :)

The OT today worked on having Brady sit up, gave him some tummy time to work on neck muscles and did some wrist stretches.

Our nurse tonight last saw Brady over the weekend. She thinks he's doing much better with his eating and body movements. Brady's coordination with his feedings is getting better. The nurses will also continue to work with his upper body and lower body to create the correct muscle tone.

After Brady's birth doctors and nurses were concerned about his blood pressure, kidneys, liver, blood sugars, brain activity, heartbeat, breathing, blood oxygen, and much more. 22 days later we are focusing mostly on eating and body movements. He's come a long way, and he continues to get better. We hope that tomorrow is another day of improvement. Thanks again for all of your support and prayers.

With love,

Tyler, Ali, Ava, Casey and Brady