Matt did today's breakfast and morning milk session on his own today and did a great job! After talking to Matt on how he felt with everything he commented how the whole process seems so overly simple but then when you go to do it there is much more to it. We are both just so excited (and relieved) that Abby has been responding so well. Allyne warned us that now that she will not be with us through the day Abby may try to pull her old tricks on us but we have to stick to the protocol. I actually noticed this last night when I was doing Abby's milk session - she was trying all sorts of different things to get me to stop and give up (let all the milk spill out, stuck her tongue out and wouldn't close her mouth, sealed her mouth shut, turned from side to side, ripped her bib off, etc) and to get control back, but I just stuck with it - ignored what she was doing and proceeded on. That is another thing that we have learned this week - to not address or even say anything when Abby pulls her tricks out or starts to fight us but just keep pushing forward like nothing.
With Abby's milk feeds we notice that after about 5-6 minutes Abby gets pretty antsy and irritable, so the new protocol is that once we see her start to do this, we then pour the rest of the 1ounce that she hasn't finished into a little cup and syringe feed her the rest. This is not something I'd like to be doing, but we don't really have an option, she needs those calories. I took two small videos of the milk feed, one is here, and the other with the syringe is here.
My mom came around 11 and was trained to feed Abby - she went through the whole being feed and her feeding Allyne approach and though it seems silly, it really is very helpful. Here is some words from my mom (Mama Brown)..."In preparation for my training today I read the blog, took notes and watched the videos over and over. Today Allyne went over the techniques using herself and I as examples, I'm glad i had my notes
because it helped to refer to them and I was able to add additional notes. Then it was my turn to feed Abby, Nico was right, it's a little bit harder when you are actually trying to feed Abby. So much to remember. In the past, I loved to play around and be silly with Abby when i fed her but now this is serious business. Even my tone of voice was important. Over all I think I did ok for my first time. Allyne thought it was a good idea for me to continue to do more feeding so I could become more comfortable, so I stayed to do the dinner feed. Well wouldn't you know, a few hours later I had a brain fart and forgot a few of the techniques I had just learned. You may have not noticed because Abby is doing so good but technique is important because we don't want Abby to go back to her old ways. As for her milk feeding it went well. This is a time when I could be a little silly and interact with Abby while she watchs a video. So I will have to help with feeds at least a couple times a week so I can fill in when needed and not be intimidated." Thanks mom, yes get the practice, we need a date night! :) 
In between feeding sessions and nap times Abby enjoys playing around the house, going for walks outside and today, I peeked in the living room and saw her dancing, so I got a quick video of it, she is too cute!!!!
To give you a quick rundown of what Abbys eating looks like during the day, check out her schedule below.
Breakfast - 1.5 oz of puree with 1tsp heavy cream and 1/2 tsp saffola oil, finger foods to eat/play with (finger foods are on her terms so she can eat/taste or not eat/taste whatever she likes)
Morning Milk Session - 1 oz of whole milk with vanilla or chocolate carnation instant breakfast powder
Lunch - 1.5 oz of yogurt with 1tsp heavy cream, finger foods
Afternoon Milk Session - 1 oz of whole milk with vanilla or chocolate carnation instant breakfast powder
Dinner - 1.5 oz of puree with 1tsp heavy cream and 1/2 tsp saffola oil, finger food
Evening Milk Session - 1 oz of whole milk with vanilla or chocolate carnation instant breakfast powder
To us this seems like so much more food than Abby is used to, but then I really look at the quantity and it is still so little compared to so many other babies I know at this age (or even younger!) - but it is progress and we hope in the coming months we can continue upping the quantity. I mentioned in my previous blogs that we were going to weigh Abby today, and I did, but it is a little disappointing after she's been eating so much more. She's up 2 ounces since Monday. But after talking to Allyne she said we need to give it a few more days to really register on the scale since reaching her caloric goal just started on Wednesday. So I'll keep you posted!
Tomorrow we do everything on our own, lets see how it goes!
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| Lets do this mom!!! |
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