Jeff got to feed Haley by bottle for the first time on Saturday! This may not seem like a big deal, but it is a HUGE step for her. Preemies are not born with the natural ability to suck, swallow and breathe at the same time - their brains are not mature enough to do all three together. For the past two and a half weeks, they have all been fed by a tiny tube that goes to their tummy. The nurses hook up a syringe and the milk just drains down to their bellies - voila! Once they learn to bottle feed, it is just a matter of a short time before they can come home. Obviously, this is something we've been looking forward to since they were born!
When Jeff gave her the bottle, she did great! It was like she knew exactly what to do with it! We really thought we were on our way...until...first, a little cough, then a little choke. Jeff pulled the bottle out of her mouth and she seemed to regain her composure, so the nurse told him it was okay to continue. Wrong. A few more seconds passed and her alarms started going off. She forgot to breathe! Her oxygen levels started plummeting and she started losing the color in her face - AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! The nurse grabbed her and shook her a little and she snapped back to reality and started breathing again. If Jeff had been hooked up to a monitor, not only would his oxygen stats have fallen, he would have registered a massive cardiac failure! Haley recovered within a few seconds - not so for poor Jeff. He's still pale.
Here are some photos of her first feeding, BEFORE the breathing incident! Hopefully they will let her try again in the next few days!
2 comments:
Wow! What a milestone, but an awfully scary one! Hopefully, she'll be ready to try again soon!
Poor Jeff! Are you sure you're ready for three???? :)
Cyd
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