Emilia successfully drank milk from Mommy's breast today, twice, each time for about 20 minutes. Both times, we didn't have to top up the milk by tube feeding because she sucked and swallowed milk well. She is currently fed 12 times a day, so 2 of the 12 feedings were exclusively breastfeeding today. I was so proud of her. It's a big achievement for her as she first started non-nutritive sucking last Sunday.
It is tiring and difficult, at times frustrating, for both of us to breastfeed but practice is the only way to learn. For the first few minutes of a breastfeeding session, she sucks continuously, forgetting to even breathe, which results in oxygen desaturation (=alarms beeping) and I need to pull out the nipple from her mouth to let her take a break (=milk dripping and a frustrated baby). The interesting thing is that, after a few episodes of desats, she knows she has to take a break and take lots of breaths between sucks without losing the latch-on. Babies are so smart and the way they develop and learn is amazing. Nipple feeding is a hard work for her: her heart rate during breastfeeding is always above 180 bpm (145 normally and 130 during sleep) and she pants a lot during her breaks. But I am sure she likes it because she gets rewarded with milk and lots of love from mom.
Emilia was born on May 31, 2011, at 25 weeks and 5 days in gestational age. She came home on October 21, 2011 after spending 143 days in the hospital. Today she's a thriving, happy baby who continues to amaze us every single day. This blog records the journey of our miracle baby.
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