Help, baby born and 33 weeks

[phillydad]

Hi, my wife recently gave birth to our first son at 33 weeks, 1 day. She had a previa and bleeding caused an emergency C section. Our boy was born at 5 lbs and had good scores (1 min: 6 5 min: 9) however he was first put on CPAP and then a ventilator because of fluid in his lungs. He has now been on the ventilator for 3 days. He does not seem to move around very much but this may be because he is sedated at times. I have not seen him open his eyes yet which has me concerned. Most of my questions to the staff seem to be answered with "this is normal for a baby at this age, etc" and "he is doing fine". At first they thought he would only be on the ventilator for a short period but he is not maintaining the proper blood gas levels. They put in an umbilical arterial line and a picc line. Since my wife had a previa we were expecting a premature birth but since he was 5 lbs and 33 weeks everyone thought there would be no problems. We are now starting to freak out as we don't know what is normal. Any help?

 

[AP]

Okay, you might hate me for this but it is normal!!! Preemies are so, so very different - but what you have described is very normal for a preemie of most gestations!

His weight is on his side, that is for sure, fab! It is said that girls do better quicker than boys in NICU - dont take that negatively, but bear it in mind that it might just take him a lil bit of time I seen it myself during our journey.

If he's sedated he wont move much, and he may not open his eyes for a good few days. I think it was about a week for our 27 weeker and she was very much sedated and on a vent and CPAP for a while down to infection, it was only when she was taken off the meds did she turn into a wild one!

Its normal to freak out, hormones are everywhere, neonatal is scary and this isnt what anyone wants to experience. But it's early days, and those ones are scary Things can get better!!!

Make sure both of you eat well and look after each other - this will pay off for your new arrival too.

And of course, congratulations!!!!

 

[ShadowSeer]

Congrats on you LO's arrival. I hope he is doing well.

No advice or words of wisdom, but good luck and I hope everything goes well for you. xxx

 

[phillydad]

Thanks for the replies. I spoke with the Attending today and got a little more information. Basically he is having difficulty with fluid in his lungs and keeping his air sacs open. The attending thought that surfactant would help but he did not respond as favorably as they thought. His lungs are strong (his words) but for some reason seem to be a week or two underdeveloped. His last two blood gas results were very good and they were able to drop the ventilator some which is a positive sign. They will run another blood gas soon and hopefully they will be able to slowly wean him off the ventilator. I asked him about the his eyes being closed and he said the same thing about the sedatives, etc. They also started him on some caffiene.

 

[katy1310]

I totally agree with what Atomic Pink said I don't think I have anything to add - she said it all!

Congratulations on your LO, we are all here if you need support.

x

 

[stepmum]

I have nothing further to add to what Atomic Pink said but I just wanted to drop in and let you know that these little ones are stronger than we think, I think a lot of the mums and dads in here will agree with this. Just have faith in the doctors and nurses and most of all yourselves and your new addition. Wishing you luck and happiness.

 

[ermm23a]

5 lbs at 33 weeks is a great weight! I had my son at 33 and he was only 3 lbs 10 oz. While my son didn't require any assistance other than the cpap, the neonatologists had met with us before the c-section and said to expect him to be on oxygen and possibly to have a picc line, etc.

I hope your little man is able to come home with you soon.

 

[phillydad]

Thanks. Good news so far. His blood gas test results have been excellant and they have been slowly dropping his ventilator settings. Cautiously optimistic.

 

[Starchase]

Brilliant news and congrats best bit of advice I can offer is there are good days and not so good days I was never prepared for the not so good days I thought that if u had a good day tomo will also be good,.. They are amazing wee babies but they are human and can hav off days it doesn't mean anything try not to get to disheartened like I did and baby will be home before u know it what did u call him? Xx

 

[25weeker]

Congratulations on your little boy.

Sounds like he is a real wee fighter and hopefully it won't be too long until he is off the ventilator. The ventilator can be uncomfortable which is why they sedate them but once of that they will wean him off the sedatives and then he will be more alert.

Keep us up to date on your little man's progress.

 

[phillydad]

Thanks everyone. They took our little guy off the ventilator the other day and he is now on CPAP. They have also started tube feedings using breast milk. My wife is now able to hold him. We are still concerned that he doesn't seem to move around very often, the nurses say he is just a chill baby and I have only seen him open one eye slightly then he shut it quickly. I guess he is not ready yet. Hopefully he will be off CPAP in the next day or so and then probably on high flow O2. His name is Joseph Klaus after his grandfathers.

 

[Starchase]

What a beautiful name, he will continue to amaze you everyday

Xxx