Demand Feeding?

Greetings,

So far, as far as feeds go, our babies have had continuous feeding in the beginning and more recently have moved to getting their milk once every three hours, but as of yesterday Elsa was allowed to feed "on demand" when I am at the hospital. She wasn't super sure about it yesterday. I think she got all tired out at her first attempt of the day and then we had to wake her four hours later to try again and it didn't go as well. She is still thinking about it and learning what a hungry tummy feels like. Today, interestingly enough, she was awake and ready to eat at almost exactly three hour intervals. She is doing a great job attempting nursing and is very sweet to be around. She is very patient waiting for her mom to unhook all her cords, weigh her, then re hook everything before settling in to feed. Trying to accommodate Elsa and being there for her has made it interesting the past couple of days getting from the third floor to the second to try and spend some quality time with Jonas.

Jonas has continued to have some episodes where he stops breathing and his oxygen and heart rate drop. The doctors think it is due to reflux, which all babies have to some degree. Some preemies with reflux will stop breathing when milk comes back up because they are protecting their airway so the milk does not go into their lungs. This is good, but stopping breathing and not starting again is obviously bad. Jonas is now on a wedge in his bed (more than a 45 degree angle--we tease that he is checking out the ladies in the room) and he just started some medication that we hope will help with the reflux. He is doing a great job eating and could teach his sister how to let us know about hungry tummies as he gets a little upset if his meal is not started right at three hours. He does love to snuggle, as much as is possible with the CPAP contraption on his head.

We continue to pray for healing and strength.

God bless,
Mari, Dan, Elsa and Jonas