Yesterday was 18 days, the time when Rosemary's feeds were changed to "On Demand." Tomorrow will be 20 days, the day on which Rosemary was discharged.
I was really hoping that Poppy would be out of the NICU sooner than her sister. I thought Poppy's larger size and already having a sucking reflex would accelerate her discharge, but unfortunately, it's the opposite. Her excess weight makes her sleepy as her brain tries to catch up with her size. Her sucking is disorganized. The Cookie is not ready to be placed on feeds by demand and certainly isn't ready to come home.
How much longer? It's all up to her. She had done really well last week, waking up to receive at least partial feeds most times. Over the weekend, though, she conked out. The nurses said she ate during the nights, but she slept through all of the daytime feeds. I couldn't help but cry. It was so hard to see her get ahead and then stop. The doctor reminded me that she's still growing and needs to conserve her energy to do so. The doctor also gently hinted that maybe I needed to take more time away from the hospital for myself. She's right. At least until Poppy starts consistently waking up, I don't need to be there so often. It's hard to stay away, though.
Our Sleeping Beauty
1 comments:
I am sure it is almost impossible to stay away. She is absolutely gorgeous and I will have Poppy in my thoughts and focus on her steady progress to going home. I hope you will take some time to rest and stay strong for her homecoming.
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Thank you for sharing your thoughts.