Feeding Tube

Landon continued to not eat too well overnight, even with feeding every 2 hours instead of 3. He seems to hit a wall after eating pretty well for a few minutes and then seems to be uncomfortable or in pain and just won't take anymore. We've stayed overnight the last few nights to try and help with feedings so it's been good to be so close by but hard to see him get upset at pretty much every feeding. They've added another acid reflux med and tylenol to his med schedule (so he's up to 5 now) so we're hoping that once these have some time in his system they will help with any discomfort from acid reflux and residual pain from surgery and all his incisions and such.

It sounds so trite, but the poor guy gets hiccups constantly it seems, especially when he is mad and then the hiccups just make him more angry. I guess frequent hiccups are common for infants but it's so sad to watch because they shake his whole body and probably hurt more because of his surgical incision.

This morning they decided to put a feeding tube in that feeds through his nose and straight down to his stomach. That way even if he gets tired during a feeding he can still get the nutrition and calories he needs. They have upped his fortification so he doesn't have to take as much quantity to get a good calorie intake. They'll continue to let him eat every 2-3 hours and then supplement what he eats through the feeding tube, likely during the night hours so he can basically sleep through his feedings and get some good rest but still get the food he needs.

The tube was just put in a little while ago and he hated that process- it's so hard to watch your infant be in pain or frustration and not be able to do anything to help. Luckily he usually calms a little bit when he is held, so that is one "go to" that we have but no other comfort measures are guaranteed. He does like his pacifier quite a bit, so we've thrown the "no pacifier for the first month" rule out the window (we didn't have much choice since he got it in the NICU on day 1) and just let him have whatever soothing methods he can.

They've said that it's possible they would send us home on the feeding tube, but I get the impression that they'll keep him here for a few days and watch his eating and his weight gain (he hasn't gained anything in the last few days). We're still not sure how the feeding tube will affect his apparent acid reflux, but hopefully as those meds start to kick in more it won't be as much of an issue. I imagine we won't go home before Tuesday, but no official confirmation on that.

Please pray for Landon's comfort with the feeding tube now that he hasn't had any tubes for a while and that it won't deter him eating on his own. Also for patience and strength for Mom and Dad since we are starting to get worn down from having to see him in so much pain and discomfort and just wanting to take our son home!