You know that feeling you get when you have an early flight and get up at 3am? I have that feeling most of the time now, I believe it's called lack of sleep. I'm just finishing up Hope's 5am feed and will be able to head back to bed until Hope or Sadie wake up or the 8am feed arrives.
Yesterday was much better than Saturday, no throwing up at all! It appears the problem was 100% the incorrect mixture of formula and breast milk. She was receiving almost 8x as much formula as she was supposed to! We still find that Hope can be quite gassy and unable to burp. We can use a syringe to pull air out of her feeding tube, but can't seem to stop the gas from returning.
I've also realized that I'm not very good at administering Hope's injections. It seems that every time Shawn or I give them, she's bruising. As a result, we're running out of space on her tiny legs. The injection can not be given where there is a bruise. Any tips from the nurses out there??
Just a short update, I need to get to bed!
Hi Amy! If its a blood thinner you are giving her she is going to "bruise". It's just surface blood. The most experienced nurse or doctor would have the same result. Keep it up! The bruising means the meds are working!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Amy, you don't know me but I stumbled upon your blog a while back and have been following your story ever since. Your story touches me in so many ways: as a mother myself, as someone who lives with a congenital heart defect (tetralogy of fallot) and had heart surgery twice as a child, and as a nurse. I just wanted you to know that you and your family are an inspiration to me and I pray for you all every day.
ReplyDeleteIn answer to your question about the bruising... if you inject really slowly (15-30 seconds and if possible 60 seconds) it should help. It gives the blood thinner time to disburse a little before more goes in and therefore there is less bruising. I can imagine when giving your own child a needle you want it in and out as fast as possible but if you can slow down and count while injecting it in slowly you should notice less to no bruising... another tip is to put the needle in very quickly - less pain and bruising as well (probably another hard thing to do to someone you love cuz you are dreading it)... hope this helps,
blessings, devon
Hey Amy, this is Kathy (Lukas's mom from Stollery). We have been giving Lukas enoxaparin for about 7 months now and he has almost never bruised. Our trick is simple, give it quick (and at a slight angle so its not straight down into leg) and immediately hold pressure on the site for at least 5 minutes using cotton balls or 2x2's or whatever. Hold it with some decent pressure though, and it will seem like the longest 5 minutes ever. Good luck!
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