can i come in???

[xUniquex]

well it's of no suprise that i'm here really!

After an emergency stitich at 21 weeks my yellow bump turned blue on Monday 23rd August after an emergency section due to labouring against said stitch and baby being breech.

He arrived at 32 weeks and 5 days gestation,weighing 4lbs 14ozs and is perfect in every way!

He was a bit grunty to start with,but did cry after delivery and needed no O2 support.He's now 4 days old and on full feeds via NG tube,came out of the incubator and went into a hot cot the day after he was born and just needs to learn to BF and regulate his temp now.

Any helpful advice is greatly welcomed,we are fish out of water in the NICU,have a little one at home and finding it really hard to balance expressing,caring for our eldest son and travelling to and from the hosp,which is 30 min drive away!

https://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo264/yogipear/101_0212.jpg

 

[AP]

Congratulations, what a great weight and he looks lovely and healthy hunny

 

[xUniquex]

thank you!
He does seem to be in great condition, i was so worried he would be shocked by the delivery and be unwell... i feel so lucky that he's on no O2 support, i think thefact i had steroids last week made all the difference!

So desperate to get him home, i'm worried about bonding with him,it seems so surreal,i dont feel like i have had a baby!is that normal?

 

[AP]

Totally normal hunny, it will be difficult to get your head round at first, but sounds like hes doing so well that he might not need to be in for very long!

 

[Lottie86]

Congratulations

Wow he's doing amazingly well and what a brilliant weight Not needing any O2 support at all is fab!!

I can't imagine how hard it must be having another one at home to look after as well

 

[Laura2919]

Congratulations Hun. Good news on not needing any help just the tube.

 

[Anna_due Dec]

Fab weight I hope everything goes well. As far as getting a handle on things you just have to push through. There is nothing that really makes it better, just keep focusing on the end result, coming home healthy. I don't know if the hospital you are at has a creche but if so they are such a life saver when you have other kids. My son spent quite a bit of time in there but yet always hated leaving, he wasn't upset about his extra playtime what so ever.

 

[nineena]

Aww congratulations hun and what a gorgeous little boy u have there and as the others have said at such a good weight too He sounds like he's doing amazingly esp to be not needing any additional support and already on full NG feeds.

I think you're amazingly strong to be coping with looking after children at home too, it's difficult enough having your LO in hospital when u have no other commitments. NICU can be a very difficult place to be and therell be times when u think u cant do it anymore but somehow the time does pass pretty quickly. We've only had Ella home for a week and her time in NICU already feels like it was a long time ago.

thinking of u all and hope he's home with u soon xx

 

[maisiemoo]

Congratularions, he's lovely!

My little girl was born at 33 weeks and as soon as BF was established they discharged her at 35 wks. Although we were told she would be kept in until term, they do assess it on a case by case basis.

Compared to others, we've had a short stay but I was also worried about bonding at the time, more so from the perspective of Olivia bonding with me as the nurses can be very involved. This was unfounded, as despite everything she knew who her mummy was.

 

[Agiboma]

he is beautiful congrats

 

[keldac]

Welcome and congratulations! He's gorgeous!!!
He sounds like he's doing fantastic. I hope he comes home soon x

 

[katy1310]

thank you!
He does seem to be in great condition, i was so worried he would be shocked by the delivery and be unwell... i feel so lucky that he's on no O2 support, i think thefact i had steroids last week made all the difference!

So desperate to get him home, i'm worried about bonding with him,it seems so surreal,i dont feel like i have had a baby!is that normal?

Congratulations on the birth of your beautiful little boy - he looks absolutely gorgeous and sounds like he is doing so well.

Just wanted to reassure you that it's completely normal to feel worried about bonding with him. I had those worries too. I wasn't allowed my first cuddle with Sophie till she was 3 weeks old and even after that, they were few and far between for weeks. I worried like crazy in case she thought the nurses were her mummies and in case she didn't know who I was. Once we got her home though, I started to really bond with her and when you see them starting to recognise you it's wonderful. She follows me and her daddy with her eyes when we leave the room and she totally knows who we are.

This was actually one sensible conversation I had with the HV...I said that I was worried about whether she'd think the nurses were her mummies because they did everything for her, and she said to me if you think about it, what did they actually do other than check her temperature, do her bloods etc, sort out all the monitors, CPAP etc...it was her daddy and I who did her nappies, gave her tube feeds when we were there, stroked her, visited every single day, I expressed milk for her etc etc. She said DH and I were the constant people in her life, whereas the nurses were changing all the time. She heard our voices day after day.

I have just been through a spell of really worrying in case missing out on that first cuddle would have upset her (I know she was far too tiny and had to be whisked straight away to NICU but I still worry in case it was too traumatic for her) but my friend said to me that the doctors saved both her life and mine that day, and that it's much more important to Sophie to have her mummy than to have that first cuddle. That has made me feel much better.

If you need to talk about anything you're feeling, just PM me, because honestly I've gone through every emotion the last few months!

xxx

 

[poppykat]

Congratulations on your beautiful boy

My daughter was born at 34+6 and I'll be honest the bonding took time. Special care is a surreal place and it is very hard to deal with the fact that strangers are looking after your baby. But he will know you are his mummy and when you get home and start looking after him full time I promise you the bonding will come!

I saw your other little boy is only 11months old, so does it mean they will be in the same class and school year at school?! x

 

[xUniquex]

Congratulations on your beautiful boy

My daughter was born at 34+6 and I'll be honest the bonding took time. Special care is a surreal place and it is very hard to deal with the fact that strangers are looking after your baby. But he will know you are his mummy and when you get home and start looking after him full time I promise you the bonding will come!

I saw your other little boy is only 11months old, so does it mean they will be in the same class and school year at school?! x

yes they will be int he same school year!! Crazy!!!

I just want him home.. i don't even feel like i have had a baby,its so surreal,i know he exists but he doesnt feel like mine because he is so far away!

 

[Foogirl]

Congratulations!

It sounds like you're going through a lot of what I did. It took a while for me to really accept I had had a baby. All very surreal. But it absolutely did get better.

The best piece of advice I can give is to look after yourself during this time. It is so easy to be run ragged between hospital visits and everything else, but you really need to take time out to make sure you heal too.

This is a whole new experience for you and you'll find a lot is different from the first time round too!

We're all here for advice whenever you need it.

yes they will be int he same school year!! Crazy!!!

Crazier that there are just shy of 13 months between my sister and I and yet there were two school years between us! She was the youngest in her year (born mid feb) and I was the oldest in mine (born early March).