Well, I would have posted this earlier, but this is what happened...
"Bathtime for the kids. Why you ask? While blogging, Ellie decided her
art medium was herself and Beckett. RIGHT behind my back. Can't believe I
didn't see it. I thought they were awfully quiet. On the bright side.
She did write a big B on her arm, must be the love for her daddy and her
brother. Oh, joy...Ben's home. Welcome home birthday boy!"
She did somehow manage to write a big B in red crayola marker on her right arm...which means she used her left to write it. Quite impressive.
So Ben gets home. I bathe Beckett. Then Ellie's turn. I make her wash her red marker off her skin with her washcloth, and leave the soap with a pump on the bathtub. Leave to go feed Beckett. Mistake. Come back to check on her, and ALL soap is gone from container. It was 3/4 full. Walk right back out. Ask Ben politely to deal with this issue. Back to feeding Beckett I go.
So recap of the day. Whoa. It tuckered us all out. OT this morning at 9:30 was great. Beckett showed off his stellar rolling skills. OT wise, we have been focusing a lot on his hunger strike. We all concluded that the GI consult was a good idea. His sucking is good, so it must be something internal. He did gain weight. He is now up to 14 lbs. 8 oz! Fine motor skill wise, we are working on transferring toy from one hand to the other, and supported sitting, reaching up.
GI Consult: It went great. Beckett doesn't have "true constipation" but his stooling patterns could be more regular. With motility issues in the NICU, it still could have an affect. So miralax it is. Daily dosage, and hope it will do the trick. It's just been so hard to see him bare down, cry trying to poop! Tried juice, infant massage, etc...so now a new plan.
AND...we found out that he most likely has reflux. It was more of a "silent reflux" because he isn't spitting up. However, he's a smart one. He just refused to eat after he gets to about 2.5 oz! So we are starting him on some reflux medicine that will hopefully rid the pain, and help him "want" to eat! After we met with the nurse practicioner, we met with the dietician. SHE WAS AWESOME! Finally found a nutritionist that we will hopefully stick with.
Good news: Beckett is still gaining weight.
Nutrition plan for Beckett now is:
1. End goal of 23-29 oz per day continuing with every feeding fortified to 27 calorie/oz. This is based on catch up growth for Ideal Body Weight (weight/height). This was a good explaination to not get carried away with "which chart" are we following - the chronological age or adjusted age...
2. Add 1 tsp Neocate Nutra (cereal) with 1 tsp EBM (expressed breast milk) 3 times a day before feeding. If feeding intake decreases after a couple days, change to end of feeding. This hopefully will help with the reflux, plus developmentally, he is showing signs that he might be ready for it, and we don't want to "miss" a stage.
3. Still need to feed every 2 hours. Deep breath. His eating hopefully will increase, but it won't happen overnight. I can go to every 3 hours as long as daily total is a minimum of 20 oz. (This is also what he needs for hydration = 20 oz.)
4. Growth goal for catch up is 15-21 grams/day for Beckett. Weight check again in 2-4 weeks.
Oh, and from Physical Therapy yesterday, our homework is:
1. Sitting - starting to prop on floor with hands (tripod style). He is starting to push up and shift his weight when he is on his tummy now, so this is the next step to progress toward sitting up!
2. Rolling - Tummy to back. He has done back to tummy, but also need to practice to right side so he's doing it both ways.
3. Tummy - put toys to the side of him to encourage pivoting.
MOBILE BECKETT, here we come!
