So I post the other week about getting some advice about my neice.
And Im back again.
What I would like to ask now is can someone tell me what is likely to be happening in the hospital with her??
I know it sounds strange, but I am roughly 12hrs away. We are heading up in the next few weeks to visit my family. (They still havent met Miss H)
Everytime I talked to anyone up there and ask how she is doing, they just say, "shes doing well, shes putting on weight."
I know the other day SIL had heaps of appts with drs about tests they were running, but now no one will tell me anything....
Today she is 30wks, 4wks since birth.
also I am wondering what we could expect once we get there?
Expect a smaller bub then what you are used to She may or may not be on some breathing support or oxygen (every baby is different). She wont be able to suck yet so if she is being fed she will have a plastic tube going either through her mouth or nose and into her stomach for feeding. She will probably still be in an incubator to help her maintain her temperature. She will also have some monitors attached to her to monitor her breathing, the amount of oxygen in her blood, and her heart rate. At this stage it's really all that's expected of bub is to put on weight and grow. I can't say what is happening in the hospital with her as it is individual depending on the baby's circumstances and history. There are routine tests that all NICU's do but the timing can vary. Hope this is helpful.
You may not be able to hold her either, with dd the only contact she was supposed to have was cuddles with were dh and I, it's because they expend a lot of energy just surviving those first few weeks and can loose to much weight if held a lot, I didn't believe it until we let a few people sneak in cuddles and dd lost weight. Only a few people can go in at a time and it's best not to look at the other babies too much as it can upset the parents.
Thank you both so much!
Its so hard to know what to expect, especially when everyone is pretty vague about what is going on up there. And to be honest I don't really mind if we cannot hold her. I have many years of that to come!
Also are you taking kids with you? Some do not allow children into the nursery, so might be worth checking that out so noone gets disappointed if they can't go in.
What everyone else has said is right on the money :-)
The weight gain is a HUGE thing for nicu babies. I remember a gain of 10 grams in one day, although it doesn't sound like much - was a gain and a 'win' in my head; however in saying that if DD had gained 50 grams one day and 10 grams the next I'd be concerned big time. Nothing anyone could say could get that thought out of my head. So maybe be prepared for that kind of conversation - although it sounds like you already are.
Thank you so much for replying! No we dont plan on taking the girls in. I mean I would love for them to meet her, but they have the rest of their lives to know her. But I won't let them go in.
Today we are hoping that we will be allowed to see her in a couple of weeks, as she is very sick at the moment. She has a staph infection and is battling it at the moment. We are hoping that she gets well enough by the time we come up to see her, but if we cant then thats ok too....
Last edited by beansbeans!; June 4th, 2010 at 02:15 PM.
just some questions!
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