Monday we went back in to the Dr's. I thought since it was going to be a weigh in that it wouldn't take long. I took James and Claira with me and we waited for an hour and a half in a little room. I really thought that they were not going to survive. Come on, how in the heck do you entertain 3 children in a small room for over an hour? STARBURSTS! I was desperately going through my purse trying to find something, anything, and there they were. Totally saved my life and theirs! We did find out that she gained another ounce which I was then allowed 4 more days to see if she could gain any more weight.
I tried all kinds of stuff to help my milk come in better.
All kinds of stuff =
Non alcoholic beverage - Way dang super gross!!
Brewers yeast - Way dang super gross too. Even in a fruit drink.
Marshmallow Root - This is actually a capsule and doesn't make me want to barf!
I felt that I at least needed to do what I could do to help her out.
Thursday was another weight check and this time I did NOT take Claira and James. I was out of Starbursts! Elise had only gained an ounce and so the Dr. wanted to admit her into the hospital to find out what was going on. Answers to questions like, is she not getting enough calories, is she not eating well, is she just content with a small amount of what milk she is getting, or is she getting enough and not absorbing the nutrients.
They put an NG tube up her nose to feed her through. They wanted to do this so they could monitor how much fluid she was taking. I pumped as much as I could and the rest we had to supplement with formula. They also had to put little boards on her arms so she wouldn't pull the tube out. The first day we fed her an ounce every hour for 3 hours. After that it was 2 ounces every other hour. 24 hours of being in the hospital she gained 2 ounces. The Dr. was pleased and upped the amount to 3 ounces every 3 hours.
Friday night she decided to take a bottle!!! This was super exciting because that meant one step closer to getting the NG tube out. She took the bottle so well that we didn't need to use the NG tube the rest of the time that we were in the hospital.
She was great at the hospital and all the nurses just loved her! She is way super cute and still the best baby, even with a tube up her nose. We had lots of quality bonding time during the 48 hour stay as well as bonding time with the Food Network and HGTV. So super addicting. Oh ya, I also had 3 fantastic meals a day that I didn't have to cook! :)
Although Elise hadn't gained weight in the 2nd 24 hours, she was taking a bottle and eating consistently, so the Dr. gave us the OK to go home. The NG tube was still in just in case she decided not to eat well at home. With every feeding I am nursing and then giving 2 oz or more of formula. I talked to the Dr. yesterday and because she was doing so well, she said we could go ahead and take the tube out. I did feel pretty confident in taking it out but called my neighbor who is an RN for support. It came out just fine and she is doing SO good!!! The conclusion is that she was satisfied on what she was getting which was probably only 12-15 oz a day. She should have been getting anywhere from 24-36 oz a day. She is up to 24 ounces and we go back for a weight check on Thursday.
All of the other kiddos went up to my parentals over the weekend and had a great time. We picked them up last night and now life is back to as we know it! Thanks to all who helped out and for all your thoughts and prayers!