Sharing Our Joy: Savannah is competitive

The battle of sexes is on in pod 2! Savannah was ready to compete :) I arrived at the NICU today an hour before her next feeding. Her pod mate- Baby N was in the middle of a breastfeeding session so his area was screened off. I greeted his mom through the screens and she told me that he was eating really well. The nurse, lactation consultant and I congratulated Baby N's mom and Baby N on his progress. Well Savannah was listening and decided that she would not let Baby N show her up. The nurse took Savannah out of her isolette and handed her to me for some good kangaroo care. Well Savannah was wide awake so her nurse suggested that we try breastfeeding while she was awake instead of waiting another hour for her scheduled feeding time. I had low expectations but decided to try because her nurse thought it was a good idea. Well Savannah was definitely ready!! She doesn't need a schedule. She is on her own time :) She breastfed like a champ for about 15 minutes. She did so well- a HUGE improvement from prior attemptsl!! I was so surprised and so proud of her. She did so well that they only fed her 14mls (1/2 of her feed) via the feeding tube! However Baby N won that round because he did not need any supplemental milk via the feeding tube. The score was Baby N 1 to Savannah 0.

So I then did kangaroo care with Savannah. Well I had no idea what round 2 of the competition would be. As Baby N's mom and I both held our babies, we started a conversation about Christmas cards. The conversation was interrupted by the sound of Baby N filling his diaper. We couldn't help but laugh how does a baby so small (under 4lbs) make such a loud noise!! Baby N's mom said "well boys will be boys". We continued our conversation only to be interrupted by Miss Savannah. She decided to show Baby N up. She was so loud!! lol Pod 2 was will filled with laughter by the antics of our babies. Well that evened the score to Baby N 1 and Savannah 1.

There wasn't a tie breaker, but I guess we'll see what happens tomorrow. Should I be worried? :)

Savannah is doing well- although probably really embarrassed that I'm sharing her competitive story. :) She is still 3lbs 13oz. She remains at 28 mls of milk fed over a 45 minute period. Her height is 40cm. I need to convert that to inches. She is having some reflux. She did have some reflux and looked very uncomfortable (of course) a few times after her feeding with me. The doctor said that she should outgrow it so and for now they'll try to position her so that the reflux is minimized. They may consider some medicine if it gets worse.

Please continue to pray for Savannah's progress- that she will continue to do well, that her reflux will go away, she will remain infection free and she will continue to get stronger. Please also pray for Savannah's friend. They think she has another infection so she is facing another setback so please pray for her and her mom.

I did not get to take very many pictures today due to all the activity! But here are the 2 that did come out clearly.

This is Savannah- wide awake and ready to compete with Baby N. She would like you to know that it is mommy's fault that she has bed hair for this picture.