I didn't have school or practice this morning, so we had some quality time as a family. The kids were able to sleep in, we ate breakfast together, and we all snuggled together on our bed. It was difficult to drop Ava and Casey off with Grandma and Grandpa Vollmer, but we knew it would only take them a few minutes to get settled in and forget about us. :)
Ali and I arrived to the hospital to learn that Brady had a very sleepy night. They tried feeding him every three hours and were only able to give him 10-20 ml during each session. The nurse fed him 60 ml at 10 a.m.
The OT arrived before the 1 p.m. feeding and did exercises with Brady to stretch his muscles and wake him up. Ali tried everything in the OT book with that feeding. The OT directed her to use a pacifier to get him sucking, tilt the bottle, push up the chin, hold in the cheeks, burp him, tilt him down, sit him up, burp him again, etc. After 30 minutes of work he had taken 30 ml and was sound asleep. If they had an extra bed in the room, Ali and I might have fallen asleep next to him. It can be exhausting to do the song and dance necessary to feed babies like Brady.
When it was time for the 4 p.m. feeding, Brady still had only been awake for a few minutes the entire time we were there. The nurse warmed up 60 ml and handed me the bottle. Instead of going through the thousand steps, I just sat in the chair, cradled my arm under his head and placed the bottle in his mouth. Brady's eyes were closed and I figured we'd be lucky to get 10 ml out of him.
Maybe he had been resting up all day for this one meal. Maybe he was trying to impress him mom and dad with his last feeding with us before the surgery (he will need to have an empty stomach for the 12 hours before the procedure).
Whatever the reason, Brady put everything together for one feeding. He had a perfect rhythm for his suck, swallow, breathe. He was taking in large amounts perfectly into his mouth without the need to support his cheeks or chin. He showed no signs of reflux at all. Within ten minutes the bottle was empty, and it felt like I was just a spectator the entire time.
We called the nurse over and she was very surprised. She asked if she should warm some more milk. Brady still looked like he was asleep, but we thought we'd give it a try. It took her about 10 minutes to get the milk out, get it warmed, and bring it back over to us. I tried to burp Brady the entire time to keep him awake, but it looked like he was sound asleep.
She brought over another 40 ml. I put him back in the same position and put the bottle into his mouth. The same magic happened again. Within 10 minutes it was completely gone.
We could've warmed more milk at that time, but we thought we'd end on a good note. He drank 100 ml in 20 minutes of actual feeding time. We have no idea how much he could've eaten if a larger amount was warmed up earlier. He showed absolutely no signs of reflux and looked so content after the meal. And the best part about it was we didn't need to stand on our head to feed him. We hope it's a positive sign of things to come.
Before the 4:00 feeding we received a phone call from Ava telling us she had lost her first tooth (it was loose and ready to come out). She was over at her cousins' house and was eating an apple when she lost it. Ali and I were bummed that we weren't there with her, but we were thankful to be with her tonight to prepare for the Tooth Fairy's arrival.
Earlier in the day Ali and I also signed consent papers for Brady's surgery tomorrow. He is scheduled to have his surgery at 3:20 p.m. We're thankful for the talented doctors and nurses who will be involved in the procedure. We were able to ask more questions today, and we feel like we're all ready for tomorrow.
Please say an extra prayer for Brady and the medical staff tomorrow. We can't wait to get him back to those 100 ml feedings again very soon.
With love,
Tyler, Ali, Ava, Casey and Brady
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