Hearing test
The hearing specialist came today to check Robin’s hearing (as they do all babies) to do this, they take them into a quiet room, and put a device over their ears. The device simultaneously plays a soft clicking sounds, and measures the tiny movements of the little bones in the babies ears. The babies are actually asleep when they perform the test. Robin passed with no trouble, which we weren’t really surprised by, since he already reacts to sounds when he is awake. It’s great to have it confirmed though! Hearing development is a possible concern for premature babies as the tiny earbones are often not completely formed when they are born, and the additional noise of the hospital environment can have a negative impact.
The NICU nurses had a Christmas party for all the ex-NICU kids today. It was really nice to see some of the kids that used to be premmies, all happy and healthy. Robin got into the Christmas spirit and dressed up with the nurses. He may have stolen the show a bit 😉
Robin successfully drank a whole bottle today, and kept it down! Nicki helped him stop a couple of times to burp, and then continue with the bottle, which was much more successful than yesterday. We are still persisting with breastfeeding, but trying a new tactic. One of the hurdles is that Robin is often very sleepy and so doesn’t want to feed. We think he is in a constant milk bliss – and even more so when he has a full milk feed and then some breastfeeding as well.
Today, with the guidance of the lactation consultant, we breastfed first for about 20 mins, then did a partial top up of only 30mls (instead of his usual 55mls) the idea is that by the next feed, he will be a bit hungrier and more likely to make the effort to breastfeed. It seemed to work well for the 7pm feed, so we will try this tactic again tomorrow.
We’ve also booked into the parenting unit for the early realise program! Sometime in the next few weeks (haha were keeping the date a secret) we will be staying overnight with Robin, then taking him home the next day! Woohoo!
Visitors: Granny Suzy
Stats
Weight: 2620 gms
Feed: 55mls / three hourly (gavage / bottle) + supplementary breastfeed
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