i need advice on what to do with my preemie!!!

[dippy]

hi all.... ill give u a brief on my lil girl first so we know what were dealing with.

is a 26 weeker is now 41 weeks corrected- 15 weeks actual.

is at home with a weight of 4 lbs 1 oz (1.845kg)

is on phosphate joulies-domperidone-sytron and gaviscon.

ok...so my question is what do i do with her...?

how much milk on average should she be on (is a sicky baby-vomits?

can i sit her in a bouncer or swing as shes tiny in it and they are made for normal full weight babies (6lbs +)? are they safe for her back?

am i meant to be encouraging playtime when awake as in lying on tummy, use a roll etc or is she still too small for that?

im sooooooo confused i mean what can i do with her?

what did you do with your babies once you bought them home?

also her head is funny shaped since shes been in the neonatal unit and iv put a head hugger around it but she wont sleep any other way other than flat on her left which is most the day and because of her vomiting its better for her to stay like that. i have encouraged her to keep her head straight but it falls flat to the left.

a plan of action would be nice lol....thanks in advance xxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[25weeker]

Hi

I am pleased to here you got your lo home.

When I bought Holly home she was 5lb. I done a couple of mins tummy time every day with a muslin rolled up. I read to her, talked to her and lay her in her play gym and pointed things out. She wasn't very interested at the beginning but eventually started to take more notice.

I didn't really use the bouncer at the beginning because she just didn't look comfortable in it but I know some mums use a swing.

My lo lay head to the side as well and it was really extreme side lying where you would think she was on her tummy! I was really worried and spoke to the doctors and they said it will resolve as her neck muscles improve. Now at 8 months (5 corrected) she still puts her head to the side when she is sleeping but the rest of the time she lies normally.

I am breastfeeding so can't advise on amount of food but there will be someone who can.

Try and relax and enjoy the cuddles because it isn't long before they don't want them. My lo hates cuddles now as it restricts her from nosing about!

 

[Agiboma]

hi dippy

so happy to hear your LO is home i remember you from the pregnancy boards we both had IC, sorry i have no advice, just wanted to tell you a big congrats

 

[katy1310]

Hi and congratulations on getting your LO home

Sophie was born at 27 weeks and came home weighing 5lb6. We used to put her on her gym a lot when she was first home and she would lie and bat at the toys for ages. We also have a swing for her which we've used really since she came home - it's always seemed comfy for her even when she was really really tiny.

I was combination feeding when she first came home and any time she had a bottle it was 80ml she had. She has always fed every 4 hours since she came home and we just kind of followed her lead with the amounts - if she started to get hungrier quicker than 4 hours we increased the milk. She is now fully formula fed and we just either increase it to the next level on the tin or work out how many scoops to how much water just to increase it a little bit if it seems like a big jump on the tin.

I'm not sure what to advise about the way your LO lies - Sophie never did that. She does have reflux so we prop her moses basket up with a book under the back rocker and some small rolled up blankets under the head end of the mattress.

Sophie still hates tummy time but we still do it every day. We've done it ever since she first came home but only for a couple of minutes at a time when she was very tiny. She still doesn't really do anything when she is having tummy time on her mat but if we put her on our chest she does push up now so she can look us in the eye!

It wasn't long before Sophie became much more interactive. She's now 6 months and gets bored quickly if she's not got lots to look at and do!

 

[AP]

how much milk on average should she be on (is a sicky baby-vomits?
There are guidelines but its hard to go with considering preemies can throw the rulebook out the window. As long as shes putting weight on steadily, dont worry.

can i sit her in a bouncer or swing as shes tiny in it and they are made for normal full weight babies (6lbs +)? are they safe for her back?
Neonatal suggested we took a bouncer or swing into neonatal, I can only imagine it should be ok with supervision?

am i meant to be encouraging playtime when awake as in lying on tummy, use a roll etc or is she still too small for that?
She might not be too interested just now, but it will come. Try tummy time when changing her etc.

As for head shape we had a lil issue like that too. You'll find once tummy time improves and she becomes more active, it will get better.

When we got Alex home we had to remember she was still a newborn in reality. We gave her a playmat and a bouncer with toys that dangled and caught her attention.

I'm afraid she was more interested in Cheryl Cole than anything else

A bouncer will help with her sickyness, sitting her upright with support is ideal (you can get bouncers with head huggers, we had a comfy Graco one)

Katys suggestion about putting things under the mattress is great.

The tummy time thing, well, Alex wasnt really interested, and groaned and moaned everytime she was on her tummy unless we kept talking to her and taking her mind off it. When she began to roll, she kept getting stuck on her tummy, til she learnt how to roll back, and now she whizzes around and spends all day on her tummy crawling

Again like Sophie, she soon became interactive. Now I never hear the end of it

 

[Marleysgirl]

As far as the milk goes, how much, give her as much as she'll take! Our Paediatrician suggested we always put 20ml more in the bottle than Andrew was drinking, so he could increase his consumption if he wanted.

Andrew spent a fair amount of time in his bouncer chair (the angled chair, not a door bouncer) when he came home, with a head hugger at times. We had an archway over the seat with toys dangling, so he had something to watch.

He wasn't fond of tummy time on the floor or bed, but adored tummy time on Daddy's chest, where he could be face to face with someone.

There are special shaped pillows and huggers you can get to help your baby to hold her head straight when sleeping, or even to try and get her to roll the other way - we just used a rolled up towel around Andrew! His head evened out after a few months.

 

[dippy]

omg...thank you all soooooooooooo much ladies. what would i do without you. honestly u lot r always a real help. id be lost without you.

well im trying tummy time now and try and get her to sleep on her right/straight after 1 hour of having a feed so that its digested. and everything else she is jus not interested in. im sure she'll be fine i suppose i have to leave her to it to do in her own time.

im guna leave the swing till she weighs abit more and will start using her bouncer.

but once again thank you alllll !!!!! ur all great !!!!

 

[dippy]

btw hi abigoma hope u and lil one r well!!! and the rest of u should get a degree in care for preemie babies

 

[AP]

We're so much better than the docs

 

[Agiboma]

yes I agree sb22 on a side note my Lo is @ a level 2 hospital now and the doc told me that all the NICU moms that come to level to " are like premie nurses" we are onto of everything and Need to know everything he said " I should relax and enjoy my baby" well I believe the nicu turns every mum into a nurse by force

 

[AP]

And Dads too! OH was so so interested in every lil tiny bit and even started asking how to be a neonatal nurse