Stories from Sparrow House- Chapter 3- The ups and downs, watching the baby scale.

Much of the life in hospital is dictated by the baby scale. A baby’s health is often depicted by their weight gain and growth. The early morning routine of weighing the baby very often predicts how the rest of the day will be. If they have gained weight, it means that they are getting better. If they lost weight, it means that something is wrong, and the expectation of going home is crashed. Hope and despair hanging in the balance.

I have seen how a mom’s hope of good news is crashed by what the scale says. I have also learned that watching the scale is like the proverbial watched pot that never boils. The baby’s weight gain is not going to change, not matter how many times she is weighed. I have learned to be satisfied with about 10 grams per day.

Thanks for reading
Gretha

Stories from Sparrow House is a collection of my thoughts and experiences as I go though the journey of being a Foster Mother, Safety Parent and Temporary Caregiver to 3 special needs babies one of which has VACTERYL Association. My hope is to raise awareness around VACTERYL Association by sharing our journey, as well as offer support to other foster and safety parents or parents with children who have this syndrome.

If you would like to know more have a look at our Facebook page Sparrow House - a second home for babies