So we begin our NICU journey....

[Janie]

You sounds as if you are coping so well I'm so pleased that she is doing as well as she is. And massive YAY and WOOHOO for your first kanga cuddle!!!! You made me smile recounting that, I remember so well the first skin to skin I had with DS2, I too couldn't get my top off fast enough .

Here for you on your journey. I hope it is a smooth one, and that Heidi continues to progress well.

[Inanna]

Aaah I also smiled reading about your first kanga cuddle!

I am glad to hear your milk supply is doing well - you are amazing! Good work boobies!!!! I also took the sheet when it was changed from her isolette. Most tertiary hospitals in NICU won't let you put something of yours in there though due to cross infection. So, just a thought and what I did was when they did "cares" I took her sheet and brought it back the next day for my next Immy smell fix! Might help you. xxx

The other thing that helped me (& I like to think Imogen) was I put up positive affirmations over her isolette. I also had Quan Yin (she's special to me) and Mother Mary (my ex husbands Aunt was a nun). They protected her whilst I wasn't there! I also had a photo of her siblings up to watch over her...

All thoughts that you can take and ponder.

Big cuddles to you & special kisses to your special girl.

[Janie]

The photos are a lovely idea . We also had toys that DS1 had given DS2 tied to his IV pole. DS1 also drew him a picture that we laminated, and stuck to the isolette . I think those things helped DS1 as well, I felt he got ripped off too, of that lovely experience that most have of meeting their new sibling.

Don't be afraid to ask for kanga cuddles. You will soon enough get to know the 'routine' of things, but in the meantime, if you're not sure, just ask. Sometimes staff can be really busy, and don't realise that you're waiting to hold your baby (when you get to that point). It sounds as though your milk is coming in well, which is tremendous. Breastmilk is so so important for premmies, especially micro-prems. Those kanga cuddles will help your supply even more . If you pump soon after, you may be impressed by how much more milk there is!

Do you know yet when you'll be discharged from hospital?

[Inanna]

Aaaah we had the toys too Janie... All in plastic bags hanging on iv poles! *trip down memory lane*...

[feeb]

Aww glad to hear things are going well! I got teary reading about your first kangaroo cuddle.

Keep up the good work with expressing, take care.
xoxoxo

[~me~]

Ahhh, so nice to read *sigh*. I hope things just getting more positive for you.
Congratulations on your precious fighting little girl...what a trooper she is.
So nice you already had your first cuddles..this is such a positive premmie story, thankyou for sharing with us
I look forward to listening to all your updates..these have already bought tears and smiles.
Take care Infinity.
I hope your little man is coping ok too.

[*Infinity*]

Thank you all again. The photos are a lovely idea, it would be great to have her big brother watching over her. I'm unsure if we're allowed to put any keepsakes or toys in her cot, but the nurse did mention to me that if we want to bring an iPod or recorder of some description along with stories that we read or music she might like, they'll happily pop that in with her too.

Janie - I actually discharged myself from hossy about 12 hours after she was born. She arrived in a big hurry and I was up and about fairly quickly, so my recovery has been very swift which has helped a great deal with my state of mind and being able to keep it together. Plus hospital is not a restful place for me - we needed to come home and re-charge.

I'm trying now to stay focussed on being healthy & strong, to get my milk supply on track and to keep our heads' above water. I've already outstripped what she will need in terms of EBM for the next few weeks at least - the tiny little possum is only taking 1ml every 4 hours.

It looks like tomorrow they will remove her arterial lines and insert a central line into her arm or leg which is quite distressing for me, but we'll see how the day goes. She is teaching us so much already about strength and fighting, we need to take her lead.

Goodnight all xx

[ladybird11]

Aaaah we had the toys too Janie... All in plastic bags hanging on iv poles! *trip down memory lane*...

I remember the toys around the humidicrib, the blankets that used to be on placed over it to stop the light coming thru, sterilising the hands upon walking into the NICU / SCBU (everytime I smell that stuff it reminds me of those times....The top to toe baths, and by gosh I was good at changing a nappy while DD was in the humidicrib...

Most of all I remember the kindness of the nurses :-)

[Jennifer13]

Glad to hear Heidi is doing so well. Take care of yourself and DP as well, it must be tiring having to manage DS, who's still only little himself, and the trip to the hospital every day.

[Cassius2]

oohh yeah i was also going to second the "aktavite' choccy drink to help with milk supply...i also found keeping on my multivits and plenty of water really helped...

[shazld]

Congratulations on your little girl!!

I'm a mummy to a ex 25 weeker and was in NICU/SCN for 153 days so I know what a long tiring road you have ahead of you. Please if you need any support or want to ask anything, I am very happy to help out.

Shazz.

[*Infinity*]

Evening all, thank you all for your kind words and support. All the tips are really handy, especially on the milk production side of things. So far so good, I'm getting a little bit more day by day which is encouraging so I'm trying not to stress too much about it. I'm not getting much time to rest in between visits and taking care of DS so its hard to stay on top of things but we're getting there. DP is such an amazing guy - I already knew that - but sometimes it takes these challenging times to really see just how amazing he is. Physically I'm feeling a bit worn down, I guess the hormone high has worn off to some extent. Emotionally I'm going up and down depending on the day / time LOL! Leaving the hospital is very hard. I feel like my time with her is so broken and fragmented which is really tough.

She is still nice & stable. They successfully got a central line in her leg a few days ago and she is starting to re-gain some weight. They are monitoring some gastro-intestinal things which are simply a result of her immature digestive system but being cautious all the same. She is still receiving my EBM but just at less frequent intervals. The bruising on her precious face is improving day by day and she is just the sweetest little girl. We had another nice long cuddle too and I'm hanging for the next one let me tell you that!

Must go and be-friend the trusty pump for the millionth time LOL! I will keep everyone informed as we keep moving along.

[ladybird11]

Huges hugs hun, I know how you are feeling about the pump ;-)

FWIW, I could only leave DD when she was asleep, and even then I was still in tears each and every time for 6 wks when I was leaving the hospital.