I'm kind of PO'd

[nursejackson]

I just got a message from the nurse practitioner that they're not discharging Naomi because supposedly she choked on her milk this morning or last night I don't remember and they had to give her oxygen. I'm kind of mad about this because I feel like this could be the nurses fault, like she couldn't have stopped her while she was eating so fast. She's been eating from a bottle for 2 weeks now and hasn't choked. I even know when she was eating too fast to pace her and make her stop. JMO! I could have understood if her oxygen dropped while sleeping or laying in the crib or had a drop in her heart rate but because she choked while feeding! Are you freaking kidding me? I just knew I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up! I knew it, but when I called last night to make sure she passed her car seat test and what time we needed to be here today they said everything was good. Grrr!!! I'm trying to stay calm!

 

[AP]

i was let down at last min being told alex was close to discharge but due to a mess up we had to wait. i was so angry i walked out the neonatal in tears. i feel ur pain hun xxxxx

 

[nursejackson]

Thank you, i wouldn't be mad if it was an actual good reason like she desated on her own or her pulse went down on her own. Here's an update, my husband talked to them:

I'm even more pissed now. But Jonathan called and talked to the nurse and to TOP things off they decided to put Noah back on a high flow nasal canula and Jonathan asked why and she said we felt he needed it and he asked WHY? because he was breathing rapidly and he asked WHY? what's the reason is it his PDA or premature lungs, what is it? and they say well it's his prematurity. BULL crap, they'll be 38 weeks saturday they are not premature anymore! Not a good reason to us!

Then they got on Naomi and he asked what happened and the nurse says I don't know and he says well how do I find out and she said the nurse that fed her so I'm assuming it happened last night. He tells the nurse do you understand our frustration that you tell us we can take her home and hours before we are suppose to come get her you decide not to discharge her. She said she did and asked if he wanted to speak to the dr. and so they get the dr on the phone and everytime we talk to this dr he always starts of by saying oh i was going to call you or oh i was going to come talk to you. So already starting with the BULL! The dr says I assessed Naomi and she looks good just had a little choking episode. So jonathan says why did she have it? and the dr says oh it's premature babies they sometimes have trouble sucking and swallowing. Jonathan says well she's been eating from a bottle for 2 weeks and hasn't had any of these episodes. so how long does this observation last? and the dr says oh we usually watch them for 5 days! OMG are you freaking kidding me!!!!!!! This is my breaking point today and I'm not sure what to do. I'm praying that they didn't do this just so they could keep her in there longer so they can get more money or so more nurses can work. This is not good for Jonathan and mines health, his blood pressures already been rising. OMG!!!!! AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Ok now I feel better!

 

[Marleysgirl]

Honey, I feel your pain.

When it came to Andrew's discharge day, he lost weight. Only 20g and probably the result of having a very full nappy, but it was enough to make the Consultants think twice about discharging him. I got very upset as we'd be working up to that day for weeks as a result of feeding problems. In the end, he was indeed discharged ... but I wonder if he would have been had I not already got the documentary film-crew there to film his discharge!

 

[nursejackson]

I know what you mean because my husband called to find out what was going on and was a little stern with them and then when we got there to visit the dr was there waiting on us to talk to us, suprise because they are never there and I think avoid us and the nurse was overly nice. He said they will monitor her and she will go home early next week and even if she has an episode they'll send her home on a monitor. It's just so ridiculous because I'm a nurse and have worked in the hospital and I know how the system works, I'm not stupid! I'm sick of this roller coaster ride, and to be honest I didn't get my hopes up for her to come home until I went to bed last night and called to make sure she was ok and passed her car seat test and when i did and they said she was fine I was like ok we're in the clear but they wait and call me at 8:30 this morning, just 4 hours before we were suppose to go up there to pick her up, ridiculous!

 

[Anna Barry]

I feel your frustration, discharge day is what you have been waiting for, for a long time, i found the last few weeks before Neave was discharged the toughest as it's all very emotional!!!! I remember taking things very personally towards the end. However the nurses will always edge on the side of caution especially around feeding and chocking as very scary if it happens at home without monitors and professional help. Neave used to drink her milk soooooo fast and desat all the time during feeding which prolonged our stay. We finally got discharged after 101 days. It won,t be long for you now. last bit seems to take forever but at least you will have peace of mind that Naomi is 100 % ready. Just wanna send you big hugs as i know it's a difficult time.xxx

 

[hayleysd]

i was only in for 5 days with my little one but by the end of it my blood pressure was sky high from them stressing me out! they had every excuse under the sun for me to stay (like "you can't, what if it snows and you can't get back!"?, he wasn't holding his temp very well but they did it after he'd just been changed and i discovered that one of the thermometers was not working right, they kept putting him in a hot cot but luckily I got a midwife who could see i had had enough and tried a different thermometer and there was a 1.5 degree difference which was the difference between home and SCBU!! on the final day they tried to tell me he had jaundice so i said we're going whether he has it or not, my ds1 had it and he was fine but let them do the blood test and it came back normal! so i feel for you, it will be worth the wait x

 

[nursejackson]

Well after my husband spoke to the nurse and dr and made a point of how frustrated we were they have been very informative. Naomi gets to come home tomorrow with a monitor and I think that if it wasn't for my husband she probably wouldn't be coming home. I just had a bad feeling they are taking advantage of our good health insurance because I live in the United States and unfortunately that's how the world works ("let's see how much money we can get out of their insurance"). Also, I'm a nurse and have experience with monitors, CPR, etc. and they all know this so for her to choke on her milk and them not want to discharge was ridiculous. She had been eating from a bottle for 2 weeks now and hadn't choked til then. Any newborn could choke on their milk, in my opinion. Noah is up to all of his feeds by bottle so tomorrow they should start to ween him off the high flow. So I'm hoping ti won't be long and he'll be home!

Thank you all for the advice and support!