Sweepea_s Ma
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- Joined
- Mar 15, 2011
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Hello everyone. My VIP is currently a "newborn" turning 3 months (birth age). He is still in the NICU having been born at 29 weeks and 1 day AOG. Late last week it seemed that finally we would be able to bring my Sweepea home, as he had finally been weaned from both his supplemental oxygen (from intubation he was placed on cannula with vapotherm for a while, skipping CPAP) and had been feeding his fortified EBM completely . Last night I roomed in with him and feel shattered as a Preemie Mum because I could not even survive a 12 hour shift with him. I agreed with the nurses that it was best to send my son back to the NICU before his 5th feeding (feeding every 3 hours) because it seemed that 1.) he was not comfortable outside of the NICU and seemed to not be adjusting well; 2.) he could not complete 3 out of his 4 feedings, 3.) he was very fussy, and 4.) he may become dehydrated having not taking in 90 cc of required feeding. It hurts to feel that he isnt even home yet and I lacked the energy to take care of him and I am anxious about how it will be when he finally comes home (will he "prefer" the NICU to our home?) . I agreed to send him back the NICU area so I could rest (so I missed a feeding) then I went ahead and stayed for 3 subsequent feedings (wherein he was able to complete 2 out of 3).
My Sweepea has struggled with his nippling, with nurses and occupational therapists assisting me in teaching him how to both breastfeed and bottlefeed. I was hoping he could be competent at both, but the sessions of putting him to breast, then bottle, then gavage seemed so complex for my VIP (and stressful for me as well) that I decided it would be better for him to just concentrate on one way of feeding for now. I did not want the experience of breastfeeding to be more important then him having my milk. Sweepea used to latch well for a preemie of his size when I first started to put him to breast, but lately when I have tried, he does not latch on that well anymore and it is clear with how he opens his mouth now that he prefers the bottle. My EBM has been fortified with 3 diferent formulations already, and I get anxious each time it is revised because part of the problem with his poor nippling seemed to be that he did not like the taste and texture of the fortified EBM. I am finding it increasingly daunting to schedule my days around expressing BM, going to and from the NICU. After last night, he is nippling fairly well again but as I think of how I will handle a setback at home I feel increasingly weary.
Sweepea has issues as well with reflux, and we are trying to figure out how to set up Sweepea's crib and bassinet safely to get the 30-54 degree incline that is helpful for babies such as him. So far Dr. Brown seems to work well with him although I notice that the flow of milk is a bit fast (its been easier to burp him though since I requested the staff to use only Dr. Brown).
Sweepea has come a long way from intrauterine growth restriction, respiratory distress, PDA ligation and poor nippling and I know that these concerns are fairly common amongst VIPs, but I if you can share similar experiences and advise I would really appreciate it.
Question 1: Was your Preemie very sensitive with the transition from NICU to home?
Question 2: If you pumped milk for your Preemie, did you give him/her freshly expressed BM or did you thaw from frozen?
Question 3: If your Preemie was colicky/had reflux, what bottle worked for you?
Question 4: Any suggestions on how to safely incline a crib/bassinet?
My Sweepea has struggled with his nippling, with nurses and occupational therapists assisting me in teaching him how to both breastfeed and bottlefeed. I was hoping he could be competent at both, but the sessions of putting him to breast, then bottle, then gavage seemed so complex for my VIP (and stressful for me as well) that I decided it would be better for him to just concentrate on one way of feeding for now. I did not want the experience of breastfeeding to be more important then him having my milk. Sweepea used to latch well for a preemie of his size when I first started to put him to breast, but lately when I have tried, he does not latch on that well anymore and it is clear with how he opens his mouth now that he prefers the bottle. My EBM has been fortified with 3 diferent formulations already, and I get anxious each time it is revised because part of the problem with his poor nippling seemed to be that he did not like the taste and texture of the fortified EBM. I am finding it increasingly daunting to schedule my days around expressing BM, going to and from the NICU. After last night, he is nippling fairly well again but as I think of how I will handle a setback at home I feel increasingly weary.
Sweepea has issues as well with reflux, and we are trying to figure out how to set up Sweepea's crib and bassinet safely to get the 30-54 degree incline that is helpful for babies such as him. So far Dr. Brown seems to work well with him although I notice that the flow of milk is a bit fast (its been easier to burp him though since I requested the staff to use only Dr. Brown).
Sweepea has come a long way from intrauterine growth restriction, respiratory distress, PDA ligation and poor nippling and I know that these concerns are fairly common amongst VIPs, but I if you can share similar experiences and advise I would really appreciate it.
Question 1: Was your Preemie very sensitive with the transition from NICU to home?
Question 2: If you pumped milk for your Preemie, did you give him/her freshly expressed BM or did you thaw from frozen?
Question 3: If your Preemie was colicky/had reflux, what bottle worked for you?
Question 4: Any suggestions on how to safely incline a crib/bassinet?
try not to take it personally him being fussy out of Nicu it's a new environment for them and it takes them time to adjust. In Nicu I could feed my lo and put her in her cot awake but when I got her home she wouldn't lie in the cot awake. After a few days she get better.
