Please post about any NICU experiences here...

[NewBirdie]

please share your experiences and wisdom with us concerning life in the NICU for babies and parents, and share tips for surviving and updates on how your children are doing now.

this may help someone through a miserable and scary time, and you can make a real difference here. thanks in advance! :)

[Free Bird]

I just c/p mine from the NICU thread:


I was very Blessed that my girls were born at 34 weeks and only spent 8 days in the NICU. When they were born they took breaths on their own. They ended up being intebated about half hour later but only for a few hours and then they got oxygen through a canula.

The main reasons they stayed in the NICU was for Megan's feeding issues, she was digesting properly, and both had troubles keeping their temps up.
Megan did "Brady" 3 times and unfortunately Jeff was holding her all three times so from then on he was scared to hold her. All the nurses were wonderful. I only had one nurse that I had a problem with and that's because she told me that I didn't have to spend so much time in the NICU. What? She also tried to get me to stay in my room for feeding because she was jsut going to put the "formula" through the breathing tube. "Um, What did you say? Formula? No, she's supposed to have my EBM!" I was ticked! I stormed out of the NICU and cried in my room. My nurse happen to come in and saw me crying. I told her what happend and she told me to get my "patootie" back in that NICU and not to allow some nurse to tell me otherwise. Oh, ok.
She told the Charge Nurse what happend. It turns out that NICU nurse that told me that was covering from their sister hospital and not a regular there. I was informed that if, for the remainder of our stay, if she was working there again, that she would not be assigned to my girls. Lucky, on the 8th day, we were allowed to bring the girls home and they have been thriving since. They will be 7 mo old soon.

My advise to you, spend as much time and touch your babies as often as you want if they happen to be in the NICU. You are the ones giving birth to your little miracles. They belong to YOU not some NICU nurse. Flesh to flesh contact, in my opinion, is key to your babies recovery. Trust me on that.

[NewBirdie]

thanks, freebird! that sucks how often that happens that they give formula when parents don't want them to. i am glad you got it worked out so they wouldn't see her again, and that they came home soon after! thanks for sharing. you will inspire people to speak up and be heard! :clap :clap :clap

[carchris kringle]

Here is my NICU story from 5 years ago.

My boys were born at 30w6d. Carter weighed 3lbs15oz and Christopher 3lbs14oz. Both were amazingly healthy boys. I will start with Carter, he was on his vent for about 50 hours, trying to come off after the first 24 and just not able to do it. He then had to go under the billyruben lights for jundice. once he was put in his incubator it seemed like he was doing great, just a feed and grow with a lot of growing to do....... In our NICU they have a healthy side a very sick sick and a place in the back for those who are getting ready to go home. The boys were put on the ready to go home side at about 3 weeks and were in the same crib at this point. So about 3 1/2 weeks into their stay DH and I got a call that Carter had blood in his belly and they think he had a serious bacterial infection. They were running tests and would call us back. Well we instantly got in the car and headed to the hospital, getting there as the were finished with the ultrasound and the catscan. They took his blood and we had to wait. Carter was put back in an incubator back on nose oxygen, and all feeds were stopped. He wasn't ready to come home.......We finally got the results and there was no infection, just his bowels not being able to keep up with his feeds, so they let his belly rest for a few days and started his feeds again. He started to gain weight and was moved back into bed with Christopher. At 5 weeks he was released and came home!!!!!!! We were fortunate for how healthy he was and still is. The only effects we had from their prematurity is Low Tone as an infant (not now at all), and a speech delay. He also has asthma.

As for Christopher, his adventure isn't as crazy as Carter's. Being the smaller of my boys, you would think he would be the one with issues. NO WAY, he was and still is a little fighter. He was on oxygen for less than 4 hours. Was put in an incubator within 24 hours and grew grew grew from there. He tolerated feeds, took a bottle at 2 weeks and was released with Carter at 5 weeks.

As for me. I look back on those days and wonder how I survived. I was the thinnest I had been since highschool, the bags under my eyes in pictures are incredible. My DH was amazing, he made sure that I didn't dwell on the neg, but looked forward to the positive. He let me be concerned when necessary, but lifted my spirits when I was missing my babes. We took me on dates for dinner before we visited the boys for the night..... At 11:00 when the NICU did a change of shift nurses at night, he would take me to the movies or just a drive in the summer night to wind me down. I really wouldn't have made it through this time if I didn't have him by my side. How he kept it together is beyond me.........

My boys are now 5 1/2 and busy, busy, busy. Healthy boys who you would never know were 9 weeks premature!!!!!!

I'm a lucky MOM!

[Twintastic]

I am up to this point in submissions