9 week update and spelling everything out for NICU nurses

So we have made it to week 9...it has been a week of ups and downs...mainly ups for the boys though...

Aiden:

He is as of today 4lbs 6oz! He is now in an open crib!
He has also eaten 20ccs today from a bottle!

Brayden:

He had some ups and downs this week.
He had to go up on his nasal cannula...initially to 2 liters but now down to 1 1/2 liters.
He also had some big residuals once they increased his cannula...

The good news though is, today he drank all of his bottle! 26 cc's! He did better then his brother! The only thing is right now they will only do the bottle once a day bc they don't want to overstimulate them and want feeding to be a positive experience.

Brayden is now at 2lbs 14oz! He did reach 3lbs this week but went down some.

Both of my boys met with speech therapists who help them with their bottle feeding and an occupational therapist to help them with body movements and head shape. So far so good!

This week I learned that you really need to tell the NICU nurses exactly what you want to be involved in...I have had several instances where the nurses had made changes that had to do with my babies and I didn't learn about it until I asked or I found out by going there. I didn't want to be surprised by anything. You are their parent so you should know everything they are doing and some things before they actually do it. So I have learned that I need to tell them that I want to know what's going on...and this really happened this week also bc I was sick and couldn't see them.

Another thing that irks me is that after an incident happened the nurse told me that she was advocating for the patient. I am sorry but that is just wrong! I am their mom! Before doing anything you should be contacting me first! She didn't even bother to contact me and I found out the next day when I went there! The sad thing is when I told my obgyn the next day about what happened he wasn't surprised and called the neonatologist on my behalf bc he believed that shouldn't happen and was telling me how these types of things causes parents of NICU parents to have postpartum depression...

So this is my take away for those who are going through the NICU experience...make sure to spell out exactly what you want to be involved in and how! You are their parents! Don't be afraid to tell them how you want things done!

Until next time!