Baby Jayden

Jayden was born cocaine and alcohol addicted, with congenital
syphilis, at 31 weeks gestation. She had no skin on the palms of her
hands or feet and had to have skin grafts. She was the fourth child to
be taken from her mother, and was taken at birth and brought directly
to the NICU. The birth mother's parental rights were terminated within
12 weeks, which is very fast in MIchigan. They could find no formula
that Jayden could tolerate well, but settled on the one that she had
the "least severe reaction to."

When she was about eight weeks old, she was assigned a foster parent,
who came to do kangaroo care with her for eight days before she took
her home, as Jayden was completely blind and profoundly deaf, and
would need to be accustomed to "mom's" smell and touch before they
sent her home. When she went home, she was the most critical discharge
they have ever had from that NICU, which routinely sees the sickest of
babies. Basically, with tears in their eyes, the nurses sent Jayden
home to die. Jayden was insulin dependant (with critically unstable
blood sugars, typically either below 60 or above 400), on oxygen 24
hours a day, and set off her apnea monitor 6-10 times a day. In order
to set off a monitor, she would have to not breathe for many seconds
at a time. She had gained and lost the same three ounces since birth,
and was no more than four and a half pounds. Her foster mother asked
over and over again of anybody who had authority why this baby
couldn't
be on breastmilk, shouldn't this baby be on breast milk, what did she
have to do to get this baby on breastmilk? Over and over, she was
basically told that this was a medicaid baby and that the state
wouldn't PAY for banked milk (which costs between 1-2 dollars an
ounce, and has been pasteurized) for a MEDICAID baby. Finally, one
day, when Jayden was literally activly dying, an infectious disease
doctor looked at her foster mom (who is a friend of mine because of
foster work and doula work) and said, "I won't tell you NOT to give
her breastmilk. We know that it would give her the best chance!" So,
we got her some frozen breastmilk.

With her first bottle of human milk, Jayden's blood sugar regulated.
She is typically somewhere around 120 now. Within the first three
weeks, she regained her sight and hearing. Her new pediatrician says
that when somebody is actively dying their brain will shut off all
non-essential functions--and hearing and sight are non-essential
functions. The first week on breastmilk she started to only set off
her apnea monitor during the night's deepest sleep...and only then
typically once a night. Within three weeks, they took it off of her
completely, because she just didn't set it off any more. THe first
week she gained and KEPT ON four ounces. The next week three. The next
week SEVEN. Now, she has gained nearly four pounds (eight weeks
later). We now have full cooperation with her new pediatrician and the
state to give her human milk, no questions asked.

We have tried her on formula again, and on "extra calories" breastmilk
boosters several times, to see what would happen should we run out of
breastmilk. The baby immediately goes into cirsis again. Formula is
NOT okay. She is showing strong allergies to cow's milk proteins, soy
proteins, and corn and corn derivitives, which pretty much eliminates
every form of artificial milk we have available. This baby was
literally dying (the new pediatrician looked at her stats on intake
and stood up and hugged foster mom saying, "If you hadn't started this
baby on human milk a week ago, she would be dead today--you are a
Hero!"), and now has a chance at life.