My 33week+5day baby Jett's NICU journey begins!!

Emotionally draining is a understatement. I don't think anyone could of prepared me for this NICU experience.
My darling boy Jett arrived unexpectingly on Saturday 3/7/2010- due to in medical terms a 'placenta eruption' @ 33weeks + 5 days resorting in an emergency c/section.
He was straight away taken away from me I didnt even get to see his beautiful little face, i didnt even get to hear that first cry, all because those experiences became overshadowed by worry and other concerns. I felt Traumatized, Shocked, Guilty, Powerless and just longed to be with my baby- He was taken and put in a incubator, I wasnt able to go see him till the next morning. I was completely overwhelmed by the sight of this tiny little thing in an incubator. He had so many tubes coming out of him that I could barely see him, he was on a ventilator to help him breathe. I remember being wheeled in there by my mum and telling him sorry! sorry! sorry! I was sorry i had failed him, i didnt nuture him the way a mum was supposed to, i let the stress of his father get the better of me and now this poor little baby is the only one suffering. The closest thing to my baby was a quick hands over cuddle in his incubator, i couldnt pick him up and promise him everything was going to be ok!

sadly my milk hadnt come in yet, so i was unable to breastfeed- luckily thanks to some beautiful mummas out there my beautiful son was able to have a feed thanks to the mummys milk bank. My milk has only arrived today, not a whole lot but im trying. Trying anything i can to do something right for my baby. Although i am unable to pysically hold him and feed him i am content knowing he is feeding and progressing through a tube.

I dont really know why i wrote this i guess i just needed a place to write my feelings. I wont be writing a birth story simply because i feel it will bring back tramatic thoughts, i would rather try forget at this time being. Maybe when i am content and finished our NICU journey i will come back and recap what i went through giving birth to my beautiful son Jett Axel Storm :heartbeat:

ETA: Im sorry if this is all over the joint, im tired and emotional.

:hug: You dont have to be sorry for anything hun :comfort:

And it is good to have a place where you can get your feelings/emotions out. We are all here to give you and Jett strength when you need it most.

You have not failed him at all :comfort:

Hun, usually these things are completely out of our hands! You didn't do anything wrong! Congratulations on the arrival of little Jett and I hope you have a heap of support around you hun! :hug:

Please don't be sorry, that is what we are all here for :hug:

You have not failed your beautiful baby Jett, and you should not feel guilty. What matters most now is that you are gentle on yourself, look after yourself, and your little man, and we will all be here beside you sending you all the strength and positive vibes you need :hug:

Big hugs to you and 1 day short of 34 weeks is still really great both my really early bubs were only in hosp til 35.5/36 weeks gestation and my 35 weeker didn't at all so even though it seems bad now hw should pick up and be out of there in no time and when you look back it doesn't seem like that long though it does at the time

Firstly, congrats on the arrival of little Jett :)

You didn't fail him at all, you brought him safely to the world as best you could :hug: And I think it's fantastic that you were able to get him human milk rather than do the "easy" thing and stick him on formula - it might not be your milk, but it would have done him a great deal of good. I look forward to hearing all about him :)

Give him lots of "cuddles" from all of us :)

Congratulations on the birth of Jett! (Beautiful name BTW)

As the others have said, you did not fail him at all. These things happen sometimes unfortunately, and we just have to do our best.

I don't really know what to say, bu I just want to offer you my support and comfort. You and Jett will be in my prayers. Hope he does well and is out of NICU and home with you and Oscar as soon as possible. You have been through so much and are such an amazing person. This is exprience too will make you stronger and a great mummy to your boys. Lots of hugs to you and your LOs. :grouphug:

Oh, and well done for expressing BM. That's wonderful. Do not hesistate to call the ABA or ask to see a lacation consultant if you have any questions or need support with this, as you are doing a fantastic thing.:hug:

It is certainly an emotional rollercoaster hun, my thoughts are with you and Jett at this precious time.

FWIW, you haven't failed him, and you still can reassure him everything will be ok. Soon you should be able to do the 'top to toe' washes, change the nappies etc. We had a wooky system where I had one and DD had one, I would wear it usually stuffed down my bra lol. At each visit I would swap the wookies over to help get used to each others scent.

Massive hugs for you, you're a brave & strong woman :-)

Big hugs to you and your little bundle Jett :hug: I hope he continues to go from strength to strength. You have done a wonderful job.

Oh wow. I didn't realise he was here already!
Congratulations hun. Please don't feel bad. He's a strong little boy & will be in your arms where he belongs very soon.
Take care of yourself, please xx

Just wanted to give you a :hug: and to say that Jett knows how much his mummy loves him.

Having a NICU baby is far from failing! He has people looking after him 24/7, working towards making him strong enough to go home with mummy to his gorgeous big brother. Rest up and feel comforted by the fact that you ARE doing the best for him! Maybe try and turn this frustration into something positive, like expressing for him in the hopes of having a BF boy when he gets home :)
Anytime you want to talk PM me or FB me. We did our trime in NICU with the girls (born 33+6)
xx

Congrats again on the birth of Jett :hug: Please don't be so hard on yourself, you've been through quite a dramatic, and very fast labour and birth, all very unexpected.... you would be dealing with tons of different emotions right now, not to mention HORMONES!!!! As your body adjusts to post birth......

Wishing Jett a fast and healthy time spent in NICU so he can be home and in his mummy's arms very soon.... and yes he knows you love him ;) You brought him into this world, it doesn't matter how. :hug: he's just thankful that he's here.

It must be such a hard thing seeing your baby in the NICU though and not being able to hold him or feed him as you wish.... xxx

O&g you haven't failed Jett at all, I had a 34weeker by emergency c sect, so I understand about no seeing them straight away. Dd was whisked away and all my family got to see her straight away or next morning but I had to wait for 12 hours before I cracked it and demanded to be let out if bed. I still resent that, even though I know she needed to be in the humidicrib.

You should be able to do more of the day to day stuff for Jett, as pp have said, washes, nappies and taking temps etc. Well done on the bf, getting the milk after a Premmie c sect is hard work, thank god for the milk bank, it wasn't around for us,

We are all here for you if you need to let it out, it's a hard thing to go through. Maybe write a diary to let out all the emotions, getting it all out really helps

Congratulations & welcome to the world Jett.

:hug: Oh Hun, I know all these emotions are very real but believe me, you have not failed your beautiful baby boy. He already knows the nurturing touch of his mother hands and the love and energy that comes from them, comforting him whilst he lays in his isolotte growing stronger every day.

Hoping the NICU journey is a smooth one and that Jett goes from strength to strength and will be home in your arms really soon.

Take care of yourself :hug:

Cuddles to you and a big congrats!

Giant :hug: hun, i hope your getting some rest, you did not fail him at all, your an amazing woman and a wonderful mum!
Congrats on the birth of little Jett

Thanks beautiful ladies, I know i havent failed him to a point. I just feel like if i had just taken all my life stresses in my pride i wouldnt of put extra stress on my pregnant body. Im also baring the brunt and feeling guilty on behalf of his non existant father, who hasnt even acknowledged his existance, not even a lousy 25c text msg- i lie a FREE text msg.
I just wish i could hold him. I think that is the hardest part.
I know having a NICU baby is far from failing and i just want to make that clear i think i worded it incorrect and i apologise. I guess what i ment is i feel like i myself failed him because i didnt look after myself.

Thanks for all the reply ladies, dont know what i would do without this place :heartbeat: You really are like my little angels telling me to keep going!
oh and thankgosh for IPHONES- i am going crazy in this place from boredom.

O & G - Huge :hug: Congratulations on the arrival of your little man. He sounds gorgeous and so precious.

You have done so well for him - you got medical help when you needed it and got him out safely. You have done an amazing job.

Don't stress about your milk. He was only 48 hours old last night and milk can take a few days to come in. It's great that you have some already. Lots of people can take a day or two more before they get any so you are doing really really well.

Thanks for keeping us updated on your little man and his progress in what must be a very difficult time for you. Look forward to hearing how he goes.

You are an amazing Mum and Jett is one lucky little boy to have you :hug:

B - it is a horrible feeling waiting for your milk when your premmie bub needs it... thankfully you have the milk bank for the interim... it can be so hard. I wish someone had introduced me to the hospital pumps sooner. My milk didn't come in until day 4 and I was so stressed waiting for it and that is fairly 'quick' I was told by the nurses for a premmie mum.

You are a wonder and I am in awe of you xox

Bah to lousy, absent fathers :hug:
Well done on all your hard work so far - you've already produced some milk, that's great! I hope it's not much longer before you can hold your little man.

You are doing an amazing job hun! Its so great to hear that you got to use the mothers milk bank. I'm planning to donate to them with my baby this time and its soooo good to hear of someone who has been able to benefit from it!

Looking forward to sharing your journey on BB. What lucky boys you have.

You are amazing. XP is a douche. Someone else is amazing - you know who i mean.

Im so glad little J has your name! Not long now til you can hold your precious little bubba! Now my little princess has 2 little boyfriends to choose from hehe. You are in no way a failure and should never blame yourself. XP is a failure in soooo many ways!

If you need ANYTHING call or message me! So so proud of you! Here's hoping little Jett's stay is short and sweet xo

Congratulations on little Jetts arrival.

My DD was also premmie due to placenta abruption at 29 weeks 6 days (via emergency c-section). I think it is not very common, and it is soooo frightening when it happens. PM me if you ever want to talk about it. I had to have a general anesthetic as part of the placenta came out as well and DD's heart beat was way too low. We were home in 6 weeks 4 days fully breastfeeding (2 weeks NICU, the rest special care).

It is so surreal getting used to the NICU life, so use whatever supports they have. ASk to see the social worker/counsellor if they have not seen you yet, and do not stress too much about how much milk you get at first. It can take time to increase when you are only able to pump. Hopefully you will get lots of kangaroo cuddles soon and then before you know it little Jett will be home.

Thanks everyone for the support :) Its truely means alot to me.

Ammaki- I truely do owe alot to you! you have been like my little rock, someone who has helped me through absolutly everything, i really could never repay you for the support you have given me.
As for little miss getting to choose her bfs- id be truely the happiest mumma if your daughter was my daughter in law- there would be none of this evil MIL business :o

As for my XP i know his a douche :lol: as for the 'someone' else his absolutly amazing. Been spoiling me rotten- i even got roses this morning :heartbeat:

Naww what a gem!! Im glad you're being taken care of miss!

Cant wait to catch up xo

congratulations on thearrival of baby Jett. I hope he is doing well and you are feeling a bit better. All that you are feeling a garuntee every parent to a prem/sick newborn has felt the same, its def not your fault.

:hug::hug::hug: