Now for the real good news/bad news. The good news is that Rebekah gained six, yes, count them - six! - ounces last week. That was the largest weight gain in her life...literally! :) We were very excited that Rebekah gained so much. She probably won't find that very exciting in 20 years, but we're cheering for it now!
And now, for the rest of the story.....since Sunday Rebekah has been much more tired during her feedings. Actually, she has been tired to the point of drinking about half of her bottle and then sleeping for 15 or 20 minutes only to wake up hungry and finish the bottle. She has also been spitting up her medications about once a day, and that's not helping her tummy issues!
The solution? A feeding tube. Yes, I know, it's not the route we had hoped to take, but it seems that Rebekah is telling us that it's time. For now we have an Ng tube (nasogastric tube) which is inserted in her nose and ends in her stomach. The good news is that all of her medications and milk can be sent effortlessly to her stomach with no effort on Rebekah's part. The bad news is that it significantly increases Rebekah's reflux because the tube prevents the valve at the top of the stomach from closing completely.
So the plan is to feed Rebekah by bottle as much as she will take in twenty minutes. If it is at least 50cc's (almost 2 ounces) then we call it a good feed. If it is less than 50cc's, we will push the rest into her tube with a syringe. During the night Rebekah will be getting continuous feeds of 15cc's per hour to see if we can boost her growth and weight gain a little more.
Since the feeding tube was inserted this morning, Rebekah has had three episodes of spitting up significant amounts of her feedings along with some medication. They all occured during bottle feeding, not while she was on continuous feeds. We are waiting to see how she does through the night and will be talking with the doctor in the morning to reevaluate the plan.
We would appreciate your prayers for Rebekah's growth and comfort and also for wisdom for us and for Rebekah's doctors as we try to find a feeding plan that works for Rebekah.
Nancy
1 comment:
(((Rebekah))). I hope the G tube feedings increase her weight. Looking forward to seeing more pictures!
Denise
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