Norah has been struggling to gain weight since she was born. For a while, she was gaining slowly, just like the boys did but she never did start catching up, like they did eventually. By 6 months, babies are supposed to double their birth weight; at 6 months, Norah had not even gained 3 pounds yet.
We starting seeing a pediatrician in December to find out any possible causes. At our visit on December 13, Norah had LOST 2oz since her visit the week before. This loss, coupled with a nasty cough were enough for the doctor to admit Norah to the hospital and put her in isolation.
We spent most of the first 24 hours, with the nurses trying to give Norah formula from a bottle; a task that we have tried many, many times before. It was a no go. We also tried solids and while she was taking very small amounts, it was not enough to make a difference.
The next day, the doctor ordered for Norah to have a feeding tube put in so that her calories could be increased. I would continue to breastfeed and she would get 2oz of formula every 3 hours. The hope was that she would begin to gain.
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| Shortly after the tube was put in. |
She obviously fought the tube going in, but once it was there, the feedings didn't bother her. She was only getting about half of the calories that she needed from the tube. The hope was that she would become full, and have more of a desire and more strength the breastfeed better since that's the only way she likes to eat!
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| Hanging out in the very sterile hospital crib. |
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| Playing with mommy's phone to pass the time. |
Norah couldn't leave the room because of her cold and she couldn't be left alone so I couldn't really leave the room either! It meant for some very long days.
During the first night we were there, Norah pulled out the tube. Because she had a cold, I think that the tube was extra irritating and so she was trying to rub her face a lot! In the night time, I wasn't able to stop her, so out it came.
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| Trying solids. |
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| Jacob checking out the tube on one of his visits. |
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| She loved the mirror in her crib. I had to take it down at night time so she would actually sleep. |
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| Smily girl. |
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| Locked in baby jail! |
After 24 hours with the tube in, she had already gained weight! It was working.
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| Playing on the floor. |
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| Locked in that jail again. |
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| Logan visits! |
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| Trying out solids...possibly the most cereal we've ever gotten her to eat. |
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| Daddy visits! He's wearing an attractive yellow gown because we were in isolation. |
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| Jacob visits! |
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| One positive was that I got a lot of cuddles from my third baby. Something that I normally never would have gotten. There were a lot of arm naps. |
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| Trying formula in a sippy cup. Not a huge success but not a fail either. |
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| Logan visits again. (Can you tell the TV is on?) |
My mom was staying here at our house with Jacob during the day and to get Logan off the bus. She brought Jacob to the hospital in the morning to visit and then Scott would bring Logan in the evening after supper. One night Logan brought a nice card from all the kids in the class for Norah. His teachers also got a nice gift saying they were thinking of us.
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| Daddy visits. |
We were finally let out of isolation on Wednesday. They still wanted Norah to stay in the room but being out of isolation meant that they could come and do the sweat test, testing for Cystic Fibrosis. So that happened and all was clear, so that's good!
On Thursday, the doctor came in and said she was letting us go home! Norah had gained over a pound in the time we were there (leaving her around 11lbs 13oz or so) and they were very happy with that; it was a much bigger gain than they were expecting. So the tube came out!
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| What a happy face with no tube! |
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| Look mommy! I'm big now! |
Hopefully, Norah has regained the strength that she had lost and now has more of a desire to feed longer and better. I'm still breastfeeding and we're also working on solids 3 times a day. We will go back to the doctor on Thursday to see where she is at.
People keep asking if she is "better". I have a hard time answering since we're not really sure. She was much healthier when we left the hospital, yes. But she was also getting extra food/calories through the tube which is hard for us to make up at home. The doctor hopes that she has been given a boost and that this will help her grow and thrive from here. Norah's personality has changed and she is generally happier and sleeping better, so those are all good things. We hope that this is all she needs to get back on track!
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| On our way outside into the cold! |
Thank you so much to everyone who was able to make time to come and see us at the hospital or make food for us, or to help with the boys. You will never know how much it meant to us to have you all rally around us during this difficult time.
To those who prayed and sent good thought, thank you! Please keep them coming. Prayer for Norah to stay healthy and strong will continue to be important as she tries to catch up and continue to thrive.
Thanks to my dad who did without my mom while she was here...especially since he got sick and had to take care of himself!
Thank you mom. I'm not sure what we would have done without you. It was comforting for me to know that you were here with the boys. They keep asking when you are coming back to sleep over again!
I'll try and keep you all updated as we see the doctor and as Norah keeps doing better!
