Advice needed

[mummy3]

I just had my 5th preemie on the 28th june. He held on to 32 weeks by 2 mins, born 12.02am the day turned 32 weeks! He was a very healthy 4lb 1oz and 16in, even came out crying, amazing considering it was a emergency section for full abruption and he was in distress. Now he's done so well in alot of ways (I have 2 35 weekers, 33 weeker and another 32 weeker so know mostly what to expect) he is holding his temp, off the vent and CPAP, only mild jaundice.

Now the advice part, he has been unable to tolerate feeds, his tummy swelled up today and his doc called for consent to put in a PICC line to get him nutrients and they've stopped trying to give him my breastmilk again. The first time it was stopped they planned to rest for a day, his stomach had been filled with green residuals but at that time (2 days ago) his xrays were normal. This time his stomach was emptying but the xray showed it all collected in his intestine. They're on watch for something called NEC. Anyone been through similar and can give me some ideas of what to expect? Never been through this with my others and its scary.

Heres a pic of my little guy

 

[Emcee2012]

my preemie right now has NEC. She is currently in the NICU in a great Montreal hospital. Nec is an infection of the intestines. if they catch it on time and it doesnt make a hole, no surgery is needed and its fixed with antibiotics..but that can also lead to septic shock..(low BP,Bradys, O2 drops)

 

[sunnylove]

This is what happened to my baby last week. Thankfully he didn't end up having an infection or NEC. But when they switched him to the nasal cannula (similar to CPAP), his stomach ballooned (pretty common). He had bloody residuals for a couple days before he spit up some blood (it was old and brown) and they did what seemed like all of the xrays and labs in the world. The xrays showed that his inside walls were "thick," so that's when they took him off his feedings and started giving him IV fluids and antibiotics (they were looking for NEC). But it seemed like once they pulled all of the old blood off his stomach, as well as a bunch of air, his stomach went down and everything cleared up. That was a week ago and after about 4 or 5 days he was off antibiotics and the IV and is currently back on 19ml of milk. (He was only at 28 weeks gestation and 2 weeks old.)

The bleeding wasn't caused by his stomach ballooning because of the breathing machine, but I think it was why he wasn't tolerating feedings very well. They think the blood was caused by tube irritation or reflux, but it wasn't caused by anything serious and he hasn't had any issues since. Expect lots of labs and blood tests/cultures, but hopefully it's nothing serious, and it will all be over for you and your little one in a couple days!

 

[jandksmommy]

They had to stop feeds twice with my little one as she wasn't tolerating it... Stomach filled with green bile that came up the feeding tube, tummy swelled... Both times they were on watch for NEC but since they stopped the feeds right away and let her digestive system recover, she never developed NEC.

The baby in the pod next to us did develop it (quite severely) and required surgery to detach his intestines from his bowel and remove a small piece of the intestine that had 'died'. He spent about a month 'pooping' through a hole in his tummy until everything had healed. He then had another surgery to reattach intestine and bowel. He recover beautifully from both surgeries and his systems work normally. I have kept in touch with his mommy as we spent 4 months together in the NICU and he is now 10 months old and perfect.

 

[mummy3]

They had to stop feeds twice with my little one as she wasn't tolerating it... Stomach filled with green bile that came up the feeding tube, tummy swelled... Both times they were on watch for NEC but since they stopped the feeds right away and let her digestive system recover, she never developed NEC.

The baby in the pod next to us did develop it (quite severely) and required surgery to detach his intestines from his bowel and remove a small piece of the intestine that had 'died'. He spent about a month 'pooping' through a hole in his tummy until everything had healed. He then had another surgery to reattach intestine and bowel. He recover beautifully from both surgeries and his systems work normally. I have kept in touch with his mommy as we spent 4 months together in the NICU and he is now 10 months old and perfect.

This is pretty much the same as with my little guy, the green stuff from his stomach and then it not digesting right in his intestine. It did eventually after a couple days digest and they've been monitoring with xrays. His tummy did swell again a couple days ago from 24 to 28cm but thankfully the xray that time was reassuring but he needs to poop (1 time in 9 days so far) and he's been allowed to restart feeds at 4ml and we're going up very slowly. How long did your daughter take to build up?

I'm so glad your friends little one recovered so well, its a scary time

Sunny it sounds like your little guy is doing absolutely amazing for being so early How're you finding it?

Emcee, how is your little one doing now? Thinking of you

 

[sunnylove]

Sunny it sounds like your little guy is doing absolutely amazing for being so early How're you finding it?

He really is doing beautifully. He's just on CPAP now and as he's gone over 3 weeks with absolutely no major issues, the nurse practitioner said it'd be very unlikely for him to develop anything severe at this point (unless he were to catch an infection or sickness, which anybody can get at anytime). He's feeding a ton, and he'll be 30 weeks tomorrow so hopefully in the next couple weeks he can start bottle feeding. His weight has been hanging around 2 lbs, 8 ozs and 2 lbs, 10 ozs for about a week now so I'm just hoping he starts gaining more quickly. But he's done immaculately well for being a 26 weeker and the doctors and NPs are happy with him.

 

[Emcee2012]

Hi mummy! my lil one has now pneumonia..Staph is gone..and NEC is going away...they are not feeding her but baby girl is crying so much she is hungry. They are giving her sucrose to calm her down but its not doing much..its breaking my heart to see her like this

However she gained weight..she is now at 3.5 lbs..

and you?? how is your lil one now..

 

[mummy3]

Sunny that really is incredible for a 26 weeker!! Do they think he'll be off CPAP soon? My 3rd daughter took forever to gain weight, she didnt really get the hang of it until she was over 1 Got everything crossed your little guy is gaining

Emcee Oh hun Poor baby being so hungry When will they allow her to feed again? Hope the pneumonia clears fast for you along with the other infections! Thats a great weight

My little guy is stable, he seems to be tolerating his feeds as they're increasing slowly, hoping to start breastfeeding him in the next week or 2 (want to either burn the pump or throw it out the window ) He got transferred back to his birth hospital this afternoon

 

[Emcee2012]

thats great he was transfered to his birth hospital..it means he is getting better and better...

to answer your question, the doc said 2 to 3 days ...she is still gonna be hungry til then you know..however i know its for her health but doesnt make it easier..as for the pneumonia *sigh*...i just want all these infections to go away

keep us update with your baby