# preemie born 11 weeks early need advice



## elliemay2612

hi i had my baby 7 weeks ago 11 weeks early, she is my first baby born at 1lb 2oz 7 weeks on and she is still in scbu on oxygen and been tube fed she is now 2lb 4 oz. 
my question really for you all is the hospital are putting fortifiers in her ebm as she wasnt putting on much weight to start off with i am a bit worried about what will happen if she comes home and still needs the fortifier will the doctor give me a prescription for it? 
my other question is at what weight did your babies come home from nicu or scbu, i have asked on the unit and they keep dodging the question. i am just generally uninformed about what will happen when i get her home and it scares me abit.
el


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## Marleysgirl

Hi there,

My little boy Andrew was 11 weeks early and weighed 1lb 6oz :) He's just turned two, and he's a little monkey ...

To answer your questions, he weighed 4lb when he was discharged, which was 2 days after his original due date so "bang on time" as far as we were concerned! 

He too was on fortified EBM in the unit, and they wanted the fortifier to continue after he left - but that was a problem because (certainly in our area) the fortifier sachets were only available in bulk to NICU, it couldn't be prescribed by the GP and obtained from a high street pharmacist. So when he was discharged we were given two large boxes of sachets, and we could phone the hospital to request more that we collected when he went back for paediatric appointments.

Try not to be scared, and most definitely don't be scared of asking questions on the unit :kiss: Units don't tend to have an "ideal weight" that they discharge by, as it's a combination of weight, feeding stability, no other medical problems, oxygen in your house if she is to be discharged still on O2, etc.

Feel free to ask more questions on here, we're a really friendly bunch :hugs:

Ooooh, and Andrew gave up the oxygen only a couple of days before discharge - when we had the pre-discharge meeting with the health visitor etc, we all presumed he'd be coming home on O2. But he'd had enough by then and kept removing the nasal cannula, throwing them out of the cot :rofl:


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## confused87com

My little boy was 11 weeks ealry too, he was bigger, 2lb 5, he came home when he was 37 weeks at 4lb. He was on fortifier and it did cause problems cause as soon as i stayed there and fed him myself he stopped gaining weight. He couldnt go home on fortifier so they insisted on using some formula to my dismay. however a few weeks on and the consultant told em to stop the formula. he is breastfed now and is a happy 5 month old.


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## toothfairyx

Mine was also 11 weeks early but was 2lbs 11 and left hospital after 6 weeks weighing 3lbs 13. To be fair he was a good weight for gestation at birth but his weight gain was pretty awful during his stay at hospital and he dropped off the centile chart. He wasn't on fortifier only ever breast milk but once he went onto demand feeding his growth sped up loads.
He was allowed home because all the other factors were positive and put on as much weight in 2 weeks at home as he did in the 6 weeks in hospital.
Don't be scared to ask questions at the hospital though - they may be non-commital about the weight when they can come home but probably only because it is only one of the relevant issues.


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## bubbles1506

Hi El,
My LO was 9 weeks early and weighed 2lbs15. She came home after being in SCBU for 5 weeks ( a month before her due date) weighing 3lbs 5. I was terrified at first but the doctors and nurses only let baby home when they know that they are ready and will cope, so try not to be too scared (easier said than done!). You will also be doing everything in SCBU that you will be doing at home. As one of the other mums said, it is dependent on a range of factors - not just their weight.

My little girl came home on dalivit and sodium feradate (iron) that had to be taken daily, and as she is still a bit dinky (12lbs at 8months - massive to us!!!) she is still taking them. We breast fed until 6 months and she is on nutraprem2 formula now. All of this, including the formula is on perscription - every thing your little one will need for medical reasons to aid her development will be on perscription.

The nurses and doctors on SCBU are there to help so dont be afraid to ask lots of questions!! Ask away on here too - I had never visited this forum before today - wish I had know it existed before - its nice to know you are not alone!

Something I foind really useful in SCBU was to get to know a group of mums. I made such good friends with 3 other mums in special care at the same time and it is a god send! When I go to mum and baby groups I find my LO isnt doing the same things as babies her age which can be a little disheartening. But when I visit the other mums, all our babies are doing similar things at similar times so its lovely to be able to share this with others and realise that actually they are making brilliant progress - she has started rolling in the last month which is just fab!

I hope I havent rambled to much, take care and I hope your little one gets bigger and stronger daily.


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## kelly6407

Congrats on Ur baby

My little girl was 11+1week early weighing 1lb 8oz. She was put on the formula mix at 3/4 and 1/4 ebm. She put on weight and left hospital 8+1 weeks old. Weighed 3lb 10oz when she left.

Up till the last week she was still in incubator, still tube fed and still had monitors. It all got took away in a few days, her progress was slow then suddenly everything happened. I was shockedwhen they started talking bout discharging us because I felt we were just getting somewhere in the unit and progressing and I didn't think we would suddenly be progressing out the door.

Because she wasnt gaining enough weight to come off the formula she had to come home on it. We get it on prescription.


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## bob2331

Hey,

Congrats on your baby girl.

Harry was born a bit earlier at 24 weeks and weighed in at 1.5oz. They tried him on fortifer but he didnt take to it too well and at 12, they started to introduce formula (due to me having to stop expressing and to try and get some weight gain)

Harry came home a week before their due date, weighing in at just over 4lb, and on oxygen.

The hospital we were in, babies had to get to 4pound before they could come home.

Good luck with your little girl and keep us updated xxx


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## inperfected

Our boy is 8 weeks old and was 11 weeks early. We expect to come home in the next 1-2 weeks. He was 3pm at birth (1345gm) and we expect him to be about 3.7kg (8-8.5lb?) when he comes home. We use fortifers here, but have stopped them now. This unit has babies that gain weight very well due to the way they treat them (in new Zealand).


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## EmSmith1980

My wee girl was a couple of weeks earlier, born at 23+6, weighing 1lb 7oz. We stopped ebm at 13 weeks due to her not gaining weight, and she gained weight amazingly on formula. She was in hospital for 19.5 weeks and came home at a fantastic weight of 9lb 5oz.

Every baby is different. Coming off o2 and feeding can use up a lot of calories. They may want to establish this before committing to you when she will come, but they should really be giving you some answers. Perhaps ask to speak to the consultant. I often did this when I felt the nurses were skirting around issues. xx


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## elliemay2612

thanks everyone, well sophie has been bottle fed twice now but just once a day to get her used to it, the nurses still wont say much just that she will have to be feeding on demand to come home. it has put my mind at ease a bit that you can get evrything on prescription its hard enough finding preemie nappies and bottles nevermind formula and fortifiers. i am still expressing for her but its getting increasingly harder as i dont get the skin to skin time with her. i am desperate to get her home so we can bond more but i know she isnt quite ready. it helps having people to talk to that understand how difficult it is emotionally and physically having a prem baby i am used to working full time and i am finding myself getting tired just sitting by her incubator. 
i will of course keep you updated
el xxx


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## PleaseBaby

Amelia was 13 weeks early. She came home at 4lb 7oz when she was 36 weeks. SHe had come off the monitors 3 weeks before was taking all her bottles for 2 weeks and out of the incubator for 2 weeks but our NICU wouldnt discharge till they hit 2kg. She came off all breathing support at 31+5. She wanted out of that horrible place as much as we wanted her home x


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## Linz88

my daughter was born 11 weeks early.. she weoght 2lbs 14 oz she came home weighin 4lbs
some babys at the unit left at 3lbs. i think the dodge the question to avoid getting your hopes up. hope ur lil 1 carries on doing good, ne questions pm me =]


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## stick2000

Hi, my little girl wasn't a premmie but was born with a life threatening birth defect at 37 weeks which left her in SCBU and NICU for a while. Although I can't comment on the weight bit, I can add my experience with fortified feed. We were discharged on fortified feed (although tube fed and not oral) which was either breastmilk fortified with SMA gold (if I could express enough - was getting enough for 1 feed a day at 3 months as started to dry up) or a prescribed high calorie feed. She came home on oxygen as well - came off it at 15 months old.


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## embojet

Molly was born 11 weeks early too. She came home 1 month before her due date. When she was born she weiged 2lb 4oz, when she came home she weighed 4lb 10oz. She came home on oxygen for a few eeks, and was prescribed Nutriprem2 formula as I didnt produce enough milk. You wouldnt know now to look at her that she's been through this, she is a cheeky monkey! x


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## bdsummer

Congrats omn your little girl!
My LO was born 10 weeks early at 2lb 13, and we stayed in Neonatal until she was 6 weeks old, so she got out 4 weeks before her due date and was 4lbs 3oz at coming home. She was on EBM for the first four weeks and as my milk was drying up the hospital pushed for me to switch her to Nutriprem2 to try and increase her weight, Im glad I did as it worked wonders!! As soon as she went onto it we tried a bottle which she took to very quickly over two days then we did interval between the tube feed and bottle feeds and within a week she was on all bottles and suddenly coming home, the first week to two everything seemed to happen all at once then nothing really and then suddenly it all happened again and bang she was home! Nutriprem2 is great though its on prescription and my LO weight is very good on it, she was born on the 9th centile and at her corrected age suddenly jumped to the 50th and has maintained it ever since, she is 5months corrected now should only be 2 and a half and is 14lbs so I am a great believer in Nutriprem!! it sounds like your LO is a fighter and I cant wait to hear that your getting to bring her home soon, it is a tough time but its all worth it when you get them home, hugs xx


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## AUGmum

not sure about the fortifier question but my lil girl was born 16 weeks early and came home 3 wks before her due date weighing 3lbs 5oz


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## Foogirl

Abby was 11 weeks early and came home at 6 lbs.

One thing though, weight really means nothing in terms of when they get home. As long as the weight gain is consistent, the actual number means nothing. The two main indicators are feeding and temperature. If your LO can keep her temperature up and is feeding well, it won't make a difference what her actual weight is. I've seen huge variances in weights for babies going home, some as low as 3 and a half pounds and some as high as 7.

This will be why the staff are being evasive. There is never a "right" answer to "when will they come home"

Relax about it and concentrate on her wellbeing and getting you both fit and healthy.


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## mum2eliza

hi there my little angel was born 5 days ago at 29+2 she is in scbu breathing on her own but will not take ebm ,nurse said that its often that it takes them a while to take the milk but im scared if she dont take my milk what else can she have cos she needs to put on weight to come home she was weighing 3lbs when she was born . 

has anyone else had the same situation ???


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## Foogirl

I haven't been in the same situation, but I'm a little confused about LO not taking EBM. Is she tube fed? If so, what happens when she is fed EBM? Is she sick with it or something?

If so, try cutting out dairy from your own diet, Abby developed an intolerance to dairy but was fine if I didn't eat it.

It might be that she just isn't upping her feeds just yet, but that has nowt to do with the milk, just taking time to adjust to a new way of eating.

If longer term there is a problem, don't worry about it, there is a very good preemie formula, Nutriprem, your LO won't starve!


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## mum2eliza

yh she is fed with tube but she is also on gulcose and other formulas to keep her going ...they said its early days yet and its common for them to adjust .


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## Foogirl

mum2eliza said:


> yh she is fed with tube but she is also on gulcose and other formulas to keep her going ...they said its early days yet and its common for them to adjust .

Ahh. Abby was on TPN for a couple of weeks, as well as being fed small amounts of EBM.


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## Marleysgirl

I don't think Andrew started EBM for at least a week, and then it was only 1ml per feed to start. He was maintained on IV fluids until he could take sufficient EBM.


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