# how long was your preemie in NICU?



## chelseav1213

How long was your preemie in the NICU, when were they born, and why did they have to stay?


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## AP

27+4 gestation, stayed 11 and a half weeks. It may have been a week shorter if I agreed to go home with O2 and tube feeding, but I stuck it out and we didn't need either. It would have been longer if I insisted on breast feeding but I choose to express instead


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## chelseav1213

Oh wow! I couldn't do the o2 and tube feeds either id stick it out as well! My little man is only having trouble eating and Im contemplating if I should stop trying to breastfeed and continue to express.. hes so used to his bottle nipples and pacifiers he cant get anything from my breasts.. wonder if I just gave up on direct BF if he'd come home sooner? Nipple shields aren't even working for us... :-/


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## AP

It's a very personal decision Hun, don't take it lightly because once you are home you may regret it. I was happy with my decision though


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## Honeybear1976

Ive had 2 preemies. My 3rd baby was 31+3 gestation, 3lb 4oz stayed for 28days :) expressed and tried to bf soon as he could manage to coordinate himself! He was 3lb 15oz coming home but they only let him out that small coz I had bf my first 2 children so they knew he wouldnt starve! He is 5 soon 
My youngest, 4th and last baby! He was born 34+2, 5lb 2oz and spent 7 days in nicu coz he was tiny bit jaundice and fell asleep for a few days! I expressed and he had it thru ng till he was ready to feed at the breast again. He is still exclusively bf at 13 months. If you can stick at it, and I know how difficult it is, it is incredibly rewarding. Best wishes hope you are home with baby soon :hugs:


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## chelseav1213

Thank you ladies.. I'm going back for his next feed al well try the nipple shield again.. I'm going to keep trying for maybe a week or so and if things don't progress I might think about just expressing.. I just want him home! But EBF is something I really want to do so I'm not going to give up quite yet! How long does it usually take preemies to get their feeds right? He takes about half to a little over half of what hes supppsed to each feed from the bottle then the rest goes in the gavage tube..


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## Crayz

Chelsea-my daughter was in the NICU for 5 weeks, born at 34 weeks at 3 lbs. I can't tell you when they get the feeding down as i woild imagine that every baby is different. 

It took my daughter about 4 weeks to eat enough from the bottle that she no longer needed the NG tube, and then another week just to make sure she stuck with it. We had to beg the NICU to let us use our own bottles (Dr. Browns) and once she started using those, her feedings really took off. Sometimes it's something as small as their preference of nipples, and sometimes it takes them a little while to get the breathe suck swallow thing down.

Good luck, I hope your LO gets to come home soon! The NICU is a roller coaster ride!


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## dizz

33 weeks - missed 34 weeks by 1 hour 20 minutes (and the clocks had gone back that previous weekend as well!).

3 days in NICU, 2 weeks in transitional "care" (the care part being distinctly lacking) - would have been longer to go home breastfeeding (I got given, by a staff member who was basically sticking her job on the line telling me this, the ballpark figure of another 2-3 weeks longer to go home like that). Once she started taking expressed milk from bottles (once I made the request to try her like that since we were getting nowhere trying to latch and she'd lie there licking my nipple like a kitten at a saucer of milk - v.cute but no use!) she took off like a rocket and within the space of about 3 days went from taking nowt and needing everything tube fed - to taking pretty much all her feeds by mouth and the tube coming out - then our hospital's particular criteria was all feeds by mouth for 24 hours before they'd let her come home. I'd had to stay in with her from the start - in the most hellholeish maternity ward (I was the freakshow in the corner with the tiny baby while all these other women had giant full-termers and went home after 6 hours) and was going completely and utterly insane... mentally I couldn't have stood staying in there long enough to go home breastfeeding - I was at breaking point with the fights, noise, free-range toddler siblings flinging curtains open, and lack of edible food.

We were actually advised to bring some of our bottles in to make sure she'd feed from them well enough in the few days before we came home.


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## Stanners

My daughter was born at 33+6 as well weighing 4lb 8oz and came home on day 30. Once she was able to begin breastfeeding I attempted that with her but she just became very frustrated and after picking up yet another infection and being put on another course of antibiotics her weight dropped to 4lb. At that stage it just became more important for me to know how much milk she was getting so I began to feed her expressed breastmilk and she took to the bottle a lot more easily. She went from strength to strength with her feeds that way and only has to remain in hospital longer because of her course of antibiotics. When she came home I continued to feed her just expressed milk for just over 4 months but after that my milk just naturally dried up as I wasn't getting the chance to express as often I would have liked. Olivia is 1 on Thursday and is such a happy lively little girl : ) only you can decide the best way to feed your child and don't be made to feel guilty by the nurses if you decide breastfeeding isn't for you!


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## PleaseBaby

My daughter was a 27 weeker weighing 2lb 8oz. She stayed for 9 weeks. She would have been home sooner but they wouldnt let her come out of the incubator till she reached 4lb 7oz even though it was set to the same temp as the room grrrr! She came off all cpap/oxygen at 31 weeks then all monitors at 32 weeks. She wasn't allowed to start bottle feeding till 34 weeks and in the space of 3 days she pulled her tube out and was taking 2/3 times as muchas she needed. x


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## akblaze

My daughter was 5 weeks early @ 5lb14oz. She went to the NICU at 27 hours old because her temp kept dropping even with three warm swaddle blankets around her.. She also was not eating. She was in the NICU in an isolet and on tube feedings for 15 days. I had always wanted to BF but they told me she would probably be there longer had we gone that route so I began pumping like a mad man. I have raynauds so pumping was always so excruciating.. at 6 weeks old and after having her tongue tie clipped we worked with lactation and we have now been 100% breastfeeding for over a month. I think learning to BF while she was in the NICU was really hard for us because she'd just sit and scream... all she wanted and needed was food and since she was already having so much trouble eating to begin with and needed a tube I didn't want her to waste the energy screaming because BF'ing was too hard for her at that point. It was hard transitioning to BFing at six weeks but definitely worth it and I think her and I were both in a better state of mind to work at it! You'll find what works best for you and your LO!! :) Best of luck mama!!! I hope your baby boy gets to go home soon!!!! :hugs:

Oh! And as for how long with the feedings, every baby is different.. the nurses we had told us we had about 30 minutes to try a bottle and if she didn't take it by then we'd have to tube feed her because we could only have her out of the isolet for an hour at a time every 3 hours for feedings. Once she caught on to eating though, it was so sudden.. like a switch had flipped and two days later we went home!!! The NICU is such an emotional and rough time for both you and baby.. make sure you take care of yourself!!! If you need anything feel free to PM me as it seems our LO's are very similar with the NICU stay! :flower:


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## twins33

my girls were born at 29 weeks, they weighed 2.9 and 2.10, they are off the cpap but still on forced air just with smaller prongs, they are still tube feeding, they were born on 9-21-12, I expressed bf milk while in the hospital but after that we had to go to formula, due to that we live an hour and half away from where they are at in NICCU. so they are roughly 31 weeks has of yesterday. they seem to be doing really well, the nurses told us that they would not attempt a bottle till they were 34 weeks,


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## chelseav1213

thank you ladies! so happy to hear all your stories! glad all your LOs are doing well and home/ doing well in the NICU :) I'm thinking if I want to BF he will be there much longer.. today I bottle fed him because his grandparents were visiting & he got his first bath today (first by mommy & daddy- the nurses had given him one before..) so he was really tired & only took about 15 ml :( hes supposed to take 60 ml but that seems like so much! He usually takes about 30-45 ML and the rest in the NG tube and he gets too tired but it doesnt seem like thats changing much.. does anyone know how to help him along with his feedings? also do they have to completely stop having bradys before they go home? he always brings it back to normal by himself but he does still have a few in a day.. very scary!!


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## GoldieLocs

My first daughter was born at 35 weeks, she was 6lbs 10 oz...and had to spend 72 hours in NICU. It was not a long time at all, but while we were going through it, it seemed like the longest days of our lives.

Seeing her hooked up to all those devises was just horrible..and the beeps from the machines haunted my mind for a long time.:hugs: to all of you going through this right now.


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## EmSmith1980

Anya was born at 23+6, we were in hospital for 19.5 weeks. She was unable to breathe alone so was vented for 5.5 weeks, then bipap/cpap for around 8 weeks then 02 via nasal cannula which she came home with for a few months. She has a few minor issues, but is doing amazingly well, she will be 2 years old this month. Xx


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## Honeybear1976

Omg Anya has done incredibly well. 23+6 is so early bless her. I hope she has a fantastic 2nd birthday :)


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## meant2bamummy

chelseav1213 said:


> thank you ladies! so happy to hear all your stories! glad all your LOs are doing well and home/ doing well in the NICU :) I'm thinking if I want to BF he will be there much longer.. today I bottle fed him because his grandparents were visiting & he got his first bath today (first by mommy & daddy- the nurses had given him one before..) so he was really tired & only took about 15 ml :( hes supposed to take 60 ml but that seems like so much! He usually takes about 30-45 ML and the rest in the NG tube and he gets too tired but it doesnt seem like thats changing much.. does anyone know how to help him along with his feedings? also do they have to completely stop having bradys before they go home? he always brings it back to normal by himself but he does still have a few in a day.. very scary!!

With our girls, the nurses suggested tube feeding after their baths because they were just exhausted! For us, it seemed like the girls were the same way, taking 30-45 mls and then they would NG the rest. Then they just randomly one day started doing a full feeding. The pediatrician would only let them do 2 bottle feeds a day, then eventually every other feeding could be bottle. This was so that they didn't get too exhausted. Remember, the more they do, the more calories they burn. Then, one day we came in and were told to bring our carseats the next day because they were taking their full feeds by bottle. In the course of 1 night they went from half bottle, half NG feeds to full feeds by bottle. It is crazy how quickly it happens. I think we immediately turned and ran out the door because we were SO not ready and still needed to buy stuff for home. Basically, though, in a matter of a week, the girls went from the odd partial bottle feed to full feeds by bottle. No worries momma, it will come!!


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## akblaze

chelseav1213 said:


> thank you ladies! so happy to hear all your stories! glad all your LOs are doing well and home/ doing well in the NICU :) I'm thinking if I want to BF he will be there much longer.. today I bottle fed him because his grandparents were visiting & he got his first bath today (first by mommy & daddy- the nurses had given him one before..) so he was really tired & only took about 15 ml :( hes supposed to take 60 ml but that seems like so much! He usually takes about 30-45 ML and the rest in the NG tube and he gets too tired but it doesnt seem like thats changing much.. does anyone know how to help him along with his feedings? also do they have to completely stop having bradys before they go home? he always brings it back to normal by himself but he does still have a few in a day.. very scary!!

Scarlett was also taking 60ml every 3 hours in the NICU. She would poop after about the same amount as your LO (30-45ml) and the rest was tube fed to her. The nurses we had also recommended tube feedings when we did her bath because she was just exhausted. It's so much work when they are early to eat and uses up so much energy that could be used to help them keep growing. That is why I decided to pump and bottle feed as well. I didn't want her to waste any of her energy struggling to BF. Bottle feeding was hard enough!!! As far as things to help along the feedings.. we'd just try and try to get her to take the whole bottle.. the nurses told us to wake her up with a cold towel rubbed on her head and try to burp her to get her to wake up a little but it was often a losing battle. They kept saying one day she'll just start taking all her bottles, like a switch flipped and I didn't believe it.. but they were right! I wasn't on here while my LO was in the NICU but wish I had been because it is a great source for support. Your sweetie will get there, it'll seem like forever, but he will!!! I hope he gets home soon!!!! :flower:


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## chelseav1213

Thank you ladies its great hearing all your stories very inspiring! I do have to say this site has helped me a lot this week.. today he took 54 ml for them 45 for me and 45 for them so hes doing a lot better today.. hopefully were getting to that day where everything just clicks :D counting down the minutes until his next feed so I can call and see how how he did! Today I had to leave early because OH has a bedtime :/ but I call them a lot to check on him... I wonder if they're annoyed with me yet calling every few hours :)


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## akblaze

chelseav1213 said:


> Thank you ladies its great hearing all your stories very inspiring! I do have to say this site has helped me a lot this week.. today he took 54 ml for them 45 for me and 45 for them so hes doing a lot better today.. hopefully were getting to that day where everything just clicks :D counting down the minutes until his next feed so I can call and see how how he did! Today I had to leave early because OH has a bedtime :/ but I call them a lot to check on him... I wonder if they're annoyed with me yet calling every few hours :)

Aww that's great he is doing better today!!! LO would have days that she did wonderful and then days that weren't so good. Hang in there!!! I'm sure they are perfectly fine with you calling for every feed!!! I also called a lot since I went home at night after a bit and I was told that they were happy because that's something they keep track of! I'm not sure why.. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he keeps doing better!!!! Hopefully soon we can see some going home pictures!!!! You're doing a great job mama!!! :flower:


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## Sam182

27+3 and he came home after 82 days, six days before his due date. He came home on O2 and remained on it till he was 6 months


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## Albatross

My boys were born at 30 weeks and stayed in 6 weeks. They came home bottle-fed, i tried breast feeding them and had some success with one of them, but the other was just not getting the hang of it. We tried a bottle and they both did really well - so we switched to that.

The nurses kept telling us that it won't make any difference when we go home if we breast feed or not, which in our case was complete rubbish and really really annoyed me. I would prefer them to have been honest with us rather than saying what they have to say, it would have made the decision on breast or bottle a lot easier. 

In the end I am happy with our decision, I don't think I would have managed to breast feed both boys for long when we got home anyway.


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## dizz

Albatross said:


> The nurses kept telling us that it won't make any difference when we go home if we breast feed or not, which in our case was complete rubbish and really really annoyed me. I would prefer them to have been honest with us rather than saying what they have to say, it would have made the decision on breast or bottle a lot easier.

All I got time and time again when I asked for honest advice about possible ways forward regarding breast v bottle was a look like a rabbit in the headlights of a car and a , "You know I can't talk to you about that!"... the one staff member who did give me a ballpark figure about the likely different length of stays did so very much after looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening and very much put her backside on the line doing so (and I'm grateful to her for her honesty). What the hell happened to informed choices?! Grrr!


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## twins33

went to see my girls yesterday and the nurse practioner came back and said that our girls have hydrocephalus, will that prolong their stay, we did not get a chance to ask questionjs


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## Honeybear1976

Twins- I dont know whether that would lengthen their stay much, Im sure they will give you all the relevant info next time you go in, maybe make a list of questions so you dont forget to ask the ones you really want the answers to.
This breast vs bottle length of nicu stay isnt strictly true. It depends on lots of things baby is doing not just feeding. My 2 preemies both came home 5wks before their due date and both exclusively breastfed. They both had some bottles of my expressed milk when I couldnt be there for the feed so they are able to bottle feed in hospital if you express and then bottle and breast at home or just breast. No mother wants her baby in nicu longer than is necessary and if a mother tries bf and it isnt for her then thats a choice but I dont think its right to tell mothers its formula to get out quick coz that isnt true.


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## embojet

Molly was born at 29 weeks, and stayed for 7 weeks. She came home on a tiny amount of o2, weighing 4lb 10oz.


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## WantsALittle1

Born at 31+3, in the NICU for just under 5 weeks (discharged at 36+2). The major issues were bradys/desats and feeding. Her NG tube was taken out three days before discharge, and was the last major hurdle. 

To chime in on the BF/bottle issue, I gave up my dream of exclusive breastfeeding and stopped pressing it when she was in the NICU. My girl would struggle and get worn out trying to breastfeed, fall asleep (and thus be un-bottleable) and that would go down in her chart as a 'failed feeding' and she'd have to get the NG tube. Every day she needed the tube was a day longer in the NICU. When I stopped trying to BF her and succumbed to the bottle, she had the tube pulled and was out in 3 days. Now that we're home, she is still not breastfeeding well--she gets tuckered out, falls asleep, and doesn't finish the feeding. I have to pump right afterward to keep my supply up, and then of course as soon as I've pumped she wakes up and wants to feed and my breasts are empty. Bottle has just been easier on both of us (her and I). She has to be starving to want to breastfeed, and I have to be engorged to produce milk at a rate that will keep her interested. Breastfeeding dream dashed, but at least we have her home...


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## twins33

I did not get a chance to bf my girls, I expressed for the week I was in the hospital but other than that we are having to go to bottles, due to the fact that we have no way to transport the milk, we live an hour and a half from where our little ones are. I wanted to bf so bad though. but for us bottles are better considering our drive time. Spoke to our pediatrician and he is not concered about the fluid in the brain and explained that if they are only monitoring there is a good chance it will go away on its own, and if not they will have us sign paperwork for the necessary treatments. I hope they come home soon, they have reduce their cannula to 2 liters instead of 4 liters, so that is wonderful, and their picc lines are out. It is such tough and long journey though. I only get to see my two angels once a week.


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## Lottie86

Findlay was in for 17 days and Iona Orlaith was in for 331 days :flower:


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## mommy0629

Born at 32 weeks and 6 days and was in the NICU for 14 days to establish feeding and weight gain


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## mommy0629

WantsALittle1 said:


> Born at 31+3, in the NICU for just under 5 weeks (discharged at 36+2). The major issues were bradys/desats and feeding. Her NG tube was taken out three days before discharge, and was the last major hurdle.
> 
> To chime in on the BF/bottle issue, I gave up my dream of exclusive breastfeeding and stopped pressing it when she was in the NICU. My girl would struggle and get worn out trying to breastfeed, fall asleep (and thus be un-bottleable) and that would go down in her chart as a 'failed feeding' and she'd have to get the NG tube. Every day she needed the tube was a day longer in the NICU. When I stopped trying to BF her and succumbed to the bottle, she had the tube pulled and was out in 3 days. Now that we're home, she is still not breastfeeding well--she gets tuckered out, falls asleep, and doesn't finish the feeding. I have to pump right afterward to keep my supply up, and then of course as soon as I've pumped she wakes up and wants to feed and my breasts are empty. Bottle has just been easier on both of us (her and I). She has to be starving to want to breastfeed, and I have to be engorged to produce milk at a rate that will keep her interested. Breastfeeding dream dashed, but at least we have her home...

My experience was pretty much exactly the same.


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## chelseav1213

Here are some amazing stories here.. well good news for us little man starting taking all his feeds and was moved to the next step down NICU which means hes close to being home!! :D he was gonna come home in a few days (had no bradys yesterday & was taking his full feeds) but they gave him his hep b shot (because he was about to leave) and he stopped eating all his feeds :( he got sleepy. Hopefully it was just because of the vaccine and hell feel better soon and start eating it all again! Hes so close to coming home! I cant wait :)


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## Srrme

Elias was born at 28.6 weeks gestation, and spent 60 days in the NICU. He came home before his due date.

Fenix was born at 34-35 weeks gestation, and spent 21 days in the NICU. He was in longer than expected due to establishing feeds.


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## Pink Sarah

Owen was born 36 weeks 6lb13 and they all said he would be fine at that age. He had respiratory distress syndrome he had cpap the o2 he had 2 sessions phototherapy and didnt have sucking reflex so they decided he was actually 35weeks


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## Pink Sarah

Ooops sorry naughty phone i hadnt finished!
he was in scbu for 2 weeks one day the were talking about brain scans and 2 days later he could come home!! I chose to express and still am as he found the bottle easier and i didnt enjoy trying to bf, i think it was because too many people kept watching and trying to help.
how are you and lo getting on? Its such an emotional time.


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## Bon18

My boys were born at 33+5 they were in the NICU for 22 days, initially they were on cpap but after a week they were fine. We just had to wait for them to put on weight and establish feeding... I came home breastfeeding one and expressing for the other who had trouble latching.


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