Brenda,

The Nicu environment must be pure culture shock for this mom! Even more so
than for most parents who are overwhelmed by the setting. Since you say they
are feeding pretty well for most feedings, the simplest thing to do would
seem to be kangaroo mother care as much of the 24hr day as possible. Can
they have continuous rooming in and KMC? What about hindmilk top ups for
supplemental calories? As far as the ca/phos I'm not sure, perhaps bring in
a nutritionist or push up the volume of feeds as I think more babies could
tolerate this if they don't have heart/lung issues. Pamela Morrison used to
post on the Nicu babies getting 200cc/kg I think. What about daily exposure
to sunlight to minimize the rickets risk? What about a soy-based formula if
a formula supp is truly needed or some elemental formula?

Having worked as an RN/Head nurse in level 3 Nicu for 11 yrs, I think we
need to listen and support the parents much much more (as it sounds you are
trying to do). Sometimes we think all the technology is so necessary but we
have not given the KMC model a chance, really. I wouldn't be surprised to
find out that true KMC and exclusive bf are superior for infection-fighting
than are prophylactic antibiotics given IV, for example.

Regards,
Laurie Wheeler, IBCLC, MN, RN
New Orleans Louisiana, s.e. USA

_________________________________________________________________
Express yourself with MSN Messenger 6.0 -- download now!
http://www.msnmessenger-download.com/tracking/reach_general

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html