This morning when Dr Wolf came in to see Molly he said she looked great! YAY! She had gained 70 grams in 24 hours and we seemed to have turned that corner. The last hurdle we had was to get an OT (occupational therapy) consult and get their OK to be able to go home. Boy, I was so excited! I started packing up and getting ready to leave and I was super happy that I would get to spend the evening with Seth Daniel! My day was looking bright.
Then OT came. :) They ran just a little later than we had anticipated because the consultant works evenings on Thursdays so she was finally here for Molly's 3pm feed. She did an assessment of Molly and then wanted to watch me feed her. Molly's assessment went relatively well. She said that because Molly was born two weeks early, she was going to consider her an almost 2 week old instead of a 1 month old. Based on that, she stated our best case scenario is Molly is developmentally ahead of the game. Our worst case scenario is Molly is right on track.
She then wanted to watch me feed Molly. Talk about feeling like you as a mother are being scrutinized! But that's what we did. And Molly showed her colors at that point. She struggled with her feed. She would fuss, cry and shake her arms. She curled into a fetal position and pushed the nipple from her mouth. All these things started to concern the OT gal. She started asking more and more questions and the more she talked the more things started to unravel. We realized that Molly may have a sensory issue. She may get overstimulated at times which is interrupting her feeding. AND she seems to still struggle with actually taking a bottle. This hasn't gotten to the point that we have to find other ways to feed her by any means, just that we have to find ways to help her learn to take a bottle more effectively.
So, right now the OT gal wants to watch a couple more feedings and to be here to teach us some massage techniques and other things that I can't remember right now because my head is swimming and my heart is hurting. I was oober excited to go home and be with my son for an evening but we are gonna have to be away one more night. I am excited to learn different ways to help Molly feel comfortable and in control of herself. It was recommended that we swaddle her with each feed as that helps her to gain control and be "organized" as the OT gal put it. We are going to have therapists come to the house and watch her feed every week or every other week. They are going to help us learn new techniques and to help identify items in the house that might be over stimulating (ie our DOGS! :) ). We are also being scheduled to be seen in the out patient peds clinic until First Steps starts coming to the house.
WOW...this just seems like so much for a little 3 week old that isn't eating up to par! But whatever works to make life great for all of us is absolutely what we'll be doing. I am super thankful for my family and all my friends and all the thoughts and prayers being said for us. I really can't thank all of you enough for being there and just letting me know you are thinking about my family. It definitely helps to keep me strong! THANKS SO MUCH!
Molly all snug as a bug and swaddle after a relatively successful feed with the OT gal.
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