Millie's Milestones

MILLIE continues to be fed solely on her mummy's milk.

The nurses feed it through the tube that passes through one nostril and into her tummy.

She is fed 18ml (3 1/2 teaspoons) once every two hours.

Today, mummy was allowed to feed Millie using the tube for the first time (see photo below).

What happens next involves some rather complicated arithmetic.

Millie will stay on the equivalent of 18ml of milk every two hours for some time. But the aim is that ideally she should be fed every four hours.

We think this is because four-hourly feeds are a more manageable interval for mummy to breast-feed her once she comes home.

To reach this milestone, the nurses will slowly increase the amount of milk fed to Millie, but give it to her less frequently.

The transition to larger less frequent feeds will take place gradually over a period of days until she is on 36ml of milk once every four hours.

After the first two hours and ten minutes, for example, she will receive 19ml of milk.

Then, after a further two hours and 20 minutes, say, she will be fed 20ml.

Milk will be fed in increasing amounts at increasingly longer intervals until she reaches 36ml every four hours - the same as 18ml every two hours.

Everything else is going well, and Millie has stopped triggering the sensors.

She gained only 6 grammes over the last 24 hours, but the nurses say not to worry.

In fact, it would have been a concern had she continued to gain at the rate of 40 grammes a day because it would have been unsustainable.

posted by Johann @ 1:33 PM