Mamas who are spending time in the NICU - Page 3

[sehbub]

Congrats, loudmama! Hopefully little Niko will start a trend!!

[Amys1st]

Yay Niko!! Hopfully Maggie will follow by late next week!

[heytootsy]

Congrats! Brody is suppose to come home on Tuesday. It seems so far away, but it is getting closer. He hasn't had an "episode" since Monday night. He is doing great, and has finally passed his birthweight.

So, only a few more days, I hope.

[Amys1st]

btw-

my hospital refered me to this website and its been proven to be an assett.

http://www.pediatrics.wisc.edu/patientcare/preemies/

it also links to some other sites that are good.

[fireant]

Sorry I haven't been on the site for awhile.

Marlow is doing great. We just need her to take her bottle for 48 hours of her feedings. I gave in to the bottle because I know I can get her home faster on that than the breast feeding (she'll take almost 50cc of the bottle vs 12cc from the breast). The LC says she should go back to breast easily once we can take her home.

The NICU has been a very traumatic place for us this last week. Twice now they have given her someone else's breast milk. The first time, we brought it to their attention and they told us we were "nit-picking" and they acted like we were making it up, the second time happened it was during a night feeding when we weren't around and the nurse admitted to it and brought it to her supervisor's attention.

We realize that people use breastmilk banks and such but from what I know that milk is screened before being given out. This has just really added more stress for us. We feel like the staff isn't as trustworthy as we'd like them to be.

We don't want to be seen as nit-picking or anything but this is our child and we don't feel like she is safe there. It feels like they are much
more worried about a lawsuit than our baby's health. We just want her to come home safe and healthy.

[loudmama]

Marlow,

The hospital should be having the other Mom's tested for HIV & Hepatitis among others. The NICU that Niko was at gave another baby my milk. The head nurse let me know this & had my blood tested. This was for the other parents peace of mind. Mistakes DO happen, my hospital even has a hand out for this. The important thing is for the safety of the baby, so they should have the Moms tested. I'm sorry you have to deal with this. The fact that they don't want to admit that mistakes happen is the most worrisome part.

It is hard giving baby a bottle. Niko came home thursday & we still have to give him a bottle for 1/2 his feedings. He's just still too little to get enough out of the breast himself. The hardest part is having to pump during/after a bottle. DH has been doing this at night & when he's home. Its going to be harder when he goes to work tomorrow.

You're not alone hon! This is hard.

Hugs,
L

[fireant]

I guess if it were only the milk issue there I may feel better about the whole situation. But they have missed some of her gavage feedings due to pump failure and lack of staff attention. We've had to point out that her food isn't being pumped when it's been sitting there in the pump for hours. I just wished someone had checked on her at least once in over two hours. It breaks my heart to think that when we weren't there no one was with her for so long

She also had apnea because the goggles slipped down over her nose when she was under the bililights. And now she has terrible diaper rash and she screams when we change her.

I am so stressed about her being there. I feel that there are too many babies and not enough staff. I know the nurses are pushed to their limits on what they can do for all the babies. It is really full. Today we got bumped out of our area and are now being doubled up with another baby because there just isn't enough room.

We've been trying to keep our spirits high and stay positive. But some days (like today) it's really hard to. I try to say hi to all the nurses we've met and let them know how much we appreciate all they do for us. I'm sure they're stressed out by the overcapacity too.

I just needed to vent.

[Amys1st]

Hey Marlow Mama!

Hugs to you, it will be over soon, the nicu here was at capity too before Maggie left but that is no excuse.

I am sorry they made you feel the way they did, and its ok to nitpick about your child's health. They have a real strict guideline for the breastmilk where Maggie was at. I was given pre printed labels for her milk as for everything else they gave her. It had a barcode on it that matched MAggie for everything and it was scanned before everything to double check for that. So when it was mixed by the nutrition dept with human milk fortiefier, it was scanned etc. Then put into feeding holders that also had the label on it and then checked in.

I also remember asking if they had a milk bank to donate to and the nurse was taken back by that and said they would never give one mamas milk to another baby. I dont see the issue but I would have a problem with them messing it up and not asking permission.

[loudmama]

Marlow's Mom,

I'm so sorry that your NICU experience is even harder than normal! Our NICU was busy, but I never felt that any babies were neglected at all. Our NICU even had volunteer cuddlers that come in just to cuddle babies whose parents can't always be there. Allows the nurses to handle feedings & etc, while giving babies much needed snuggle time when they need it. Niko got the benefit of it a lot. He's a boy that just wants to be held!

As for the diaper rash, that may be related to the billirubin. Niko had such bad diaper rash that his bottom bled. They changed him regularly, but said that the billirubing they were getting rid of is very acidic. To help with it, they had him on his belly, with a hole in the diaper & oxygen blowing on it to keep it dry. It was kind of cute to see. They also slathered his bottom in Sensocare, this diaper cream. Not to say that the staff isn't doing this enough either though.

Hugs to you! Hang in there!

L

[sehbub]

Niko has most definitely started a much needed trend! Assuming we don't have any major setbacks, Sam is coming home on Wednesday! Her kidney reflux was diagnosed as being grade 2 or 3, but the pediatric urologist chose not to operate, but rather decided that there was a 50/50 chance it would resolve itself, so we're taking a "wait and see" approach. She will be reevaluated at six months to see if it's getting better or worse, or is stable.

I'm so deeply relieved right now, even if it doesn't last. At least for now it's wonderful news!

[Amys1st]

Maggies 3 months!

her reaction to be 3 mos old today:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...t/DSC00068.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...t/DSC00064.jpg

[loudmama]

Sehbub, Yeah on baby most likely coming home! It wasn't until Niko came home that I really felt like I was completely his mama. I just felt in such limbo in the NICU.

Amy, your little one is too cute! How's she doing?

L

[boscopup]

Amy, she's ADORABLE! And so alert! Wow!

And congrats to Sehbub and Niko about coming home tomorrow! That's awesome!!!!

Loudmama is right... You really feel like a mama when you get those little ones home. I hope everyone has their babies home real soon!

[Amys1st]

Maggie is doing great thanks! And if all goes well, home within 48 hours!!

[sehbub]

Anyone else even the littlest bit nervous about bringing the babes home? I'm starting to get butterflies in my stomach! Partly because I'm just so incredibly excited to finally get to see her all the time, and partly because we are bringing her home on the heart monitor and in the back of my mind I have this horrible fear that something awful will happen and we're so far from the hospital! I guess that's normal for all mamas though, not just mamas of preemies. I can't sit still! I'm running around like crazy trying to get everything ready for her to come home! My house is a wreck 'cause I haven't been home in a month!!

GAH!

[fireant]

Amy, she's so cute!

We heard from the dr today and Marlow is scheduled to come home this Saturday! She had apnea on Monday so we have to wait out the mandatory 5 days episode free (we are praying she doesn't have another one!!!)

Her butt rash is finally gone. The nurses say it was probably due to the antibiotics.

I'm so excited to finally (hopefully) get her home soon. At the same time I feel guilty about showing too much excitement in the NICU. I know it's probably hard on the other parents.

[ladybugamber]

Marlow's Mom,
I think it gives the other parents hope that their baby will be home soon too! I know it would give me hope. They are probably a bit jealous that you get to take your baby home with you and they are once again leaving the hospital without their baby... but... Deep down, I think it keeps the spirts up.
I'm so proud of all of you! I dont know how you do it everyday.... Our thoughts and prayers will be with you all..

[Amys1st]

Maggie is home!!

[luv2bmommie]

Yeeeeeeahhh Maggie!!!

Happy Babymoon

[PMolly]

Wow, I feel so fortunate after reading what you other mamas went through in NICU. My DS came @ 34 weeks 2 days. After the first 2 days we were just working on getting him to nipple all his feeds. He was there for 23 days which seemed like forever, I can't imagine staying longer. My husband liked to tell people we had a "Rent-A-Baby" while he was still in the hospital since he wasn't home with us.

Fortunately, our hospital had been certified "baby friendly". I'm not sure what all this means, but they are VERY pro breastfeeding. I got so much support from them. They encouraged me to pump at baby's bedside to increase my milk supply and had several pumps to use while there. The last two days he was there I BF exclusively and was able to stay in a "sleep room" that is available to families with children in NICU or peds. I can't believe some hospitals don't do kangaroo care. This was the best for us. I would put him on my chest and after a few minutes we would both be sound asleep - I swear it's the best I slept during those three weeks. My pediatrician kept reassuring me that they've never had to keep one there until kindergarten which only ticked me off at the time.

BTW if you are getting poor care you should talk to a hospital administrator. I had to do this once when my mom was in ICU and it was helpful. They told me we could ALWAYS ask ffor a different nurse for ANY reason. You have to be your own advocate for good care.

I'm so glad your babies are coming home!