Firstly Congratulations TK,
First time mummy and you got an early arrival kinda makes them special in their own right . I too had my DD due to PE complications @ 31+3. You will find (in no way am I defending the nurse) that the nurses you will encounter over your journey will vary from the downright nasty to the extremely sweet and totally understanding. I had a nurse similar to that and told her that whilst yes it was her JOB to enforce the hospitals policies and so on- I was DD's mother and the buck stopped with me. I wanted to know everything that was going on. Crying is good and I was always encouraged to do so, it is an emotional rollercoaster you have just been thrust upon. I was encouraged to ask as many questions that I could think of. So I encourage you to do the same. Knowledge is more power to you hun it will help you understand what lies ahead for you and you family.
Is your DD in a humidicrib or an open cot? If in an open cot, I would be asking why cant I hold my DD afterall isnt bonding the most crucial thing paticular with a preemie, Kangaroo cuddles (skin on skin cuddles-usually bub will be rested on your naked chest under your top with blankets on top) are supposed to be most beneficial for them as they can hear mummy's heartbeat and studies have shown that they are more settled and their vitals stabilise when close to the mummy. When is a preemie baby awake?? Excuse me but very rarely!! Like you I experienced the maternity ward blues. Being there without a baby is so so hard. So I adopted the theory- "my baby cant come to me but I can move heaven and earth to go to her". You have every right to be there for you DD's tube feeds. I was the only mother in our SCN that was. Even the overnight ones.
I hope you have a lovely gentle rollercoaster with Caitlin.
Tiff xox
Last edited by tiffanny; August 11th, 2009 at 11:56 AM.
TK, I'm so sorry hunny. Unfortunately the nurses, like us, are only human and have bad days too Not defending her, just putting it into perspective.
If Caitlin is in an open cot there is no reason why you cant cuddle her when you want.... if you were up on the ward you'd be able to, if you were at home you'd be able to, so you CAN when in there too! Don't be afraid to stand up for yourself and remind them that she is YOUR daughter and you WILL cuddle her when you want to!
If she's in an isolette, then it's a little different, but the same still applies. She is YOUR daughter, they have to respect that too!
Also, even though she has limited suck reflex, when they are tube feeding you can also stick her on the boob, that will not only help with her making the connection between sucking and full tummy, but it will also help your supply. I used to give a breast suckle before a tube feed.
All the best hun.
Well, both my boys are sick again Brendan has only just got over a throat infection and both ears too He had a hearing test yuesterday and he is slowly improving, but still not very good He can hear, but his perception of where the sound is coming from is really bad, he also has fluid in both ears Poor bugger can't catch a break.
Thanks Leesa - yesterday was a huge culmination of all the emotions I had experienced until that point and it was nice to get it all out. Sorry that you went through a similar experience
Tiffany, thanks - she is a treasure. The weirdest thing for me is that I work at the hospital we are at and I know that there are huge variances in nurses personalities and mannerisms but dealing with them as a colleauge (I work in Human Resources) and then dealing with them as a patient is a HUGE contrast - one I probably didn't give a lot of thought to lol. I did feel a lot better after the cry and it also gave me a good nights sleep.
She is in an open cot thing (will have to take a pic) and the only cords she has are the monitors and her feeding tube. No drips, IVs etc etc. So I am going up for each feed now and we are doing a breast feed first before every second feed.
Sally, its ok - I get the perspective thing - just super hormonal and it all hit me at once. I might ask one of the other nurses to go through the info with me again - re processes, when I can pick her up so I know in my head what is happening. Not sure what an isolette is but I think she is in an open cot - as I said to Tiff, might be best to take a photo and post it. Thank you - Bonham08 speaks very highly of you and when we knew that Caitlin may be early she suggested I contact you because you are such an inspiration xox. Sorry the boys are ill... i hope a small break comes your way soon xox
Aww Thanks!! Isolette is also known as a humidi-crib It's great that Caitlin is in an open cot, thats at least one hurdle out the way! She sounds like a true little champion Have the dr's given any idea as to how long she may be in for? I asked with Tristan (34+3) and was told roughly 10-14 days, depending on him. Ended up being 6 in SCN and 2 on the ward with me Mostly they tell you until their due date though.
Well Brendan has gotten worse, I'm watching him like a hawk now, I hink he may have a flu He's not vomiting and is breathing fine... but other than that has everything else.. temp, cough, sleepy, whingy/sooky, not as active, off his food and drink, even has the runs Got some hydralite icypoles, going to try those when he wakes.
I was initially told she would be in till at least 36 weeks (so 10-14 days or so) but have just heard tonight that Caitlin may be moved to Campbelltown Hospital (we are currently at Liverpool) - this is a great step because it means she has come leaps and bounds with her being transferred out to Campbelltown (Level 3 nursery whereas Liverpool is a Level 5)... just waiting to see if I can either be discharged home or transferred over to Campbelltown with her... if I can't go home or go to Campbelltown then Caitlin will stay at Liverpool but not because she needs the Level 5 nursery!! So so so excited... I am hoping that my liver function tests are favourable and just need one more good blood sugar level for me - fingers crossed!!
Sorry to hear Brendan has not improved - hope the hydralite does it jobs and keeps him hydrated so he can get through this.
firstly congratulations on the arrival of baby Caitlin!Im Nic, mum to 2 boys. Nixon my first was born at 33+3 weeks in April 2006 and is going on 3 1/2yrs now. He was in hospital 4 wks so came home at 37 +2 weeks
thats fantastic you are most likely to get transfered, good sign of how well she is doing! How far from campelltown are you? My parents live @ Harrington Park so our that way, Im in the shire, but if down the track you'd like to have a chat/coffee etc let me know. The premmie journey is such and up and down one and you can feel quiet alone if you dont know anyone who has been through what you may be going through
DD was born at 33+4 weighing 2350grams, and we managed a short SCN 5 days at WCH then we transferred to our Privae hossy and they roomed her with me as she was the only SC bub and we had our own MW for each shift We took her home at 35 weeks 1 day.
We were told at the WCH that we wouldn't be taking her home for 4-6 weeks! But thanks to her Paed (head of NICU) he organised the transfer of her to another Paed who was based at our Priv Hosy and was a great friend
She had a few problems, extremely low BLS, she was unable to maintain her temp for about 1 week, was in and out of humidi-crib, and heaters and required phototherapy for a couple of days. Feeding took quite a while to establish, and I completely understand the expressing!! Just retired my pump a couple of weeks ago!!
for the incident with the nurses too, I had a shocker one night made me sooo angry and upset, she fed and did DD's OB's 1/2 hour early as she wanted to leave early, so I missed out, and DD missed out on EBM that feed as I had just got enough to cover the feed.. She was very nasty when it came to BF'ing too, I dreaded walking in and seeing her on shift!
But had a reallly really lovely girl on a couple of nights who would wait for the last minute for me to come down at 3am with my milk I was one of the few who came down for that feed Also had another how snuk me an extra cuddle too
oh i meant to add also one thing i remember was the doctors etc not wanting to put a time line on how long nixon may be in hsopital for or when he could come home. I dont think they like to create hope too early on because as most prem parents learn things can go very up and down. But the first indication we were given was they thought we should ahve him hom by his due date (so expect a 6-7wk hospital stay)
i guess if you think she may be home by her due date anything sooner will be a big bonus!
. I too had my DD due to PE complications @ 31+3. You will find (in no way am I defending the nurse) that the nurses you will encounter over your journey will vary from the downright nasty to the extremely sweet and totally understanding. I had a nurse similar to that and told her that whilst yes it was her JOB to enforce the hospitals policies and so on- I was DD's mother and the buck stopped with me. I wanted to know everything that was going on. Crying is good and I was always encouraged to do so, it is an emotional rollercoaster you have just been thrust upon. I was encouraged to ask as many questions that I could think of. So I encourage you to do the same. Knowledge is more power to you hun it will help you understand what lies ahead for you and you family.
Not defending her, just putting it into perspective. 
It's great that Caitlin is in an open cot, thats at least one hurdle out the way! She sounds like a true little champion 
Have the dr's given any idea as to how long she may be in for? I asked with Tristan (34+3) and was told roughly 10-14 days, depending on him. Ended up being 6 in SCN and 2 on the ward with me 
for the incident with the nurses too, I had a shocker one night made me sooo angry and upset, she fed and did DD's OB's 1/2 hour early as she wanted to leave early, so I missed out, and DD missed out on EBM that feed as I had just got enough to cover the feed.. She was very nasty when it came to BF'ing too, I dreaded walking in and seeing her on shift!
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