Looking for some advise if thats ok

[littleblonde]

My cousin had her baby last night. The baby was born at 24 weeks. She went in yesterday with pains, found out she had a uti and within hours had delivered. The baby was in a incubator last night.

Could anyone give me advise on what they are to expect over the coming months. What problems they are likely to face. Any sucsess storys. Basically anything relating.

I hope its ok that i asked.

 

[Marleysgirl]

It's absolutely fine that you asked! Welcome to the Premmie forum.

If you read through other posts, you'll find plenty of success stories - really early births like your cousin, really small babies like mine, babies who have battled against the odds and won through in the end. This is a really uplifting forum area, and gives you hope for the future.

What to expect over the next few months? Their baby will be in the Special Care Baby Unit (also known as NeoNatal Intensive Care) for a fair number of weeks, usually until the original due date though earlier discharge does happen if baby is doing well.

Your cousin will find it very tiring and emotionally draining, she needs to keep her focus on her little baby. All family and friends should rally round to make sure that she can give her baby the utmost time and attention, they can support her by keeping things going at home, making sure she eats properly, doesn't get stressed about unnecessary things.

If you - or she - want to chat to other mums at any time, want to ask advice or want to check out something that she's been told, please come on here and sound us all out.

Also - if she has time - tell her to look at the BLISS website. Bliss are the special care baby charity and, as well as advice, they have downloadable leaflets that explain what's going on within the unit - what all the terms mean, what the tubes do, things like that.

 

[AP]

Marleysgirl has it in one!

 

[CazH]

Hi Littleblonde this is what i experienced but may be different in different hospitals, Firstly the little one will start off on a ventilator when they feel lo is ready to breathe on own they will put them on a machine called CPAP this basically puffs the lungs up a little for them.

They may also have jaundice so can be put under UV lights. Also they check there crp levels daily by pricking thier heels to get some blood this tells the docs how well they are and how much oxygen is flowing and jaundice levels.

They may also give LO blood transfusions and restore there Plateletts which are the clotting cells these can boost them lots as they get extra oxygen in there bodies

Feeding wise they will prob start them off on a drip for feeds so expect little needles in there arms and legs they call them canulas which can look quite scary as they do bruise their little limbs if they have to have a lot of them like my son did. They will also give them small amounts of breast milk to get their tummy working which will become more and less often as time goes on, again this can stop if they get poorly.

Now little ones can be poppets and will seem like they are turning a corner and then the next day become very poorly. Normally if they become poorly its because of infections caused by the canulas and because they are so small the only way they can handle the infection is stop breathing so they have apneas and bradys - Ie their oxygen becomes low and there heart rate can drop, quite worrying especially seeing it on the monitors but it is very common for prematures babys to do this!!

Eventually as lo gets bigger they will be transfered from an incubator to a cot my hospital wanted them to get to 1.5kg. Then they are padded up with lots of layers hats and covers to keep thier tempreture up.

Once they are well enough they move them from Intensive Care to Special Care, monitors are removed which is scary and they may give them an apnea monitor in their bed. Eventually lo will begin to feed from mum if thats what she wants of bottle fed. This normally happens about 30weeks gestation as this is when they suck.

Signs for home time are baby feeding well off mother or bottle, temperature being maintained. Weight isnt a huge issue Freddy came come at 3lb 12ozs.

I had a massive success with Freddy and believe me we had many a touch and go moments and horrible phonecalls from hospitals saying he is not well when he picked up infections one hit him so bad he had to be reventialted and a centre line put through his chest to get his drips in also canulas put through his head. He also had lots of blood transfusions and lots of morphine too!

But now he is a cheeky 1 year old weighing about 21lb (i think) and you would never know he was born at 27 weeks weighing 2lb 6ozs.

Sorry for the long post but there is a lot of things that happen when these monkeys come out early!!!

 

[CazH]

Sorry back again forgot something else that is important and quite common although you think your the only one!!! They monitor their little hearts and some have a little duct that doesnt close, basically this duct normlly closes on newborn full terms after they are born it helps their heart with the stress of birth.

These ducts can cause them problems and have to be operated on to get them closed others they close up by themselves and some stay open with no problems others they treat with medicine.

Tell mummy to come on here as their are loads of us on here that can give her some support and guidance she is not alone x

 

[DonnaBallona]

Just wanted to say hello and welcome

I hope your cousin is feeling ok, and that baby continues to get stronger every day. The girls here have answered your questions perfectly!

Nkapbt-Lakai's mummy-is a good person to ask about a 24-weeker as Lakai was also born at 24 weeks. Im sure she'll be around soon enough.

Was it a baby boy or a baby girl? how much did s/he weigh? Let us know how baby is getting on! good luck and congratulations!

xx

 

[littleblonde]

Just wanted to say hello and welcome

I hope your cousin is feeling ok, and that baby continues to get stronger every day. The girls here have answered your questions perfectly!

Nkapbt-Lakai's mummy-is a good person to ask about a 24-weeker as Lakai was also born at 24 weeks. Im sure she'll be around soon enough.

Was it a baby boy or a baby girl? how much did s/he weigh? Let us know how baby is getting on! good luck and congratulations!

xx

Its a boy weight 1lb 8. Baby is breathing by himself although they do ventilate at night so baby can rest and has gained 1lb.

Thanks to everyone. I will pass on your excellant advise. Keep you posted and will be back if i need to

 

[grumpymoo]

Hello

I cant be of much help, but the Mums on here seem to be giving you fab advice etc already!

Wishing your cousin and her little boy all the very best

 

[Dona]

I agree about asking Mummy to pop on here. Im sure she will have lots of questions as she goes through her journey.

I did a journal every day whilst Archie was in hospital for 95 days. He was born at 27 weeks so a wee bit later that her wee boy. She is more than welcome to read it. I few ladies on here got something from it. You can access it via the like within my signature.

 

[littleblonde]

I agree about asking Mummy to pop on here. Im sure she will have lots of questions as she goes through her journey.

I did a journal every day whilst Archie was in hospital for 95 days. He was born at 27 weeks so a wee bit later that her wee boy. She is more than welcome to read it. I few ladies on here got something from it. You can access it via the like within my signature.

Thanks i will let her no. If she dont want to join then she can read all your advise from mine.

Thanks so much to you all, your all great

 

[AP]

oooooh and tell her not to google. The best thing i did was come here and read stories,namely Dona's as my alex was about the same gestation and it gave me strength and helped me know what was to come. googling only brings up thingss you just dont want to hear.

 

[littleblonde]

oooooh and tell her not to google. The best thing i did was come here and read stories,namely Dona's as my alex was about the same gestation and it gave me strength and helped me know what was to come. googling only brings up thingss you just dont want to hear.

great advise. Google scares me

 

[AP]

I was stupid and on google in my hospital bed

and here of course!

We'll welcome your friend with open arms!!!

(You're such a sweet friend hunny!)

 

[nkbapbt]

GRRR I had this huge reply typed and my little stinker 24 weeker erased it some how on me with one finger!

Anyways, Im a mom to a 24 weeker, Lakai as someone already mentioned. My son was born at 24+4 weeks and weighed 1.63lbs. He was born on Nov 2, 2009 and came home on March 9, 2010.

I am amazed that your friends baby is only being ventilated at night, that is truly remarkable due to his age. I have never ever heard of that before with a 24 weeker...or even a 26-27 weeker and Ive done a TON of preemie research..as I did go looking on Google (I agree..tell her to stay away from it!!). So your friend has a FIGHTER on her hands! Bless him.

I have to ask for my own personal curiousity....is the baby being intubated and extubated each night? In other words, are they sticking the breathing tube into his throat and taking it out when needed?

I just ask because it's not a pleasant process. I can't imagine that would be easy for momma and especially baby!

Im nosey, pay me no mind.

Anyways. I think everyone has covered everything I would have said! We have an awesome group here. I truly urge your friend to join.

I will say having a 24 weeker is not easy, its as preemie as they typically come. There are a lot of possible issues, my son faced most of them, from bleeding in his brain to heart surgery. The hardest thing will be that no one can tell you this is how your baby will turn out, no one can tell you for sure if your baby will be "ok". When we found out Lakai had a very serious brain bleed they told us HORRIBLE things, like he would be delayed, disabled and basically never normal. They told us stats and numbers, shared other outcomes from other babies they had seen with similar bleeds and issues.

They even asked if we wanted to stop his life support, numerous times. And this was in a wonderful, cutting edge and caring hospital!

I can happily say my son is 11 months corrected (so the age he would be going from his due date) and over 14 months actual (going from his actual bday) and he isn't delayed, he has no disablities...while he does have some feeding issues, you would NEVER guess he had any issues in the NICU. Even the doctors who seldom say "miracle" have called him such on numerous visits.

The point Im trying to make is...its very trying and hard, its easy to loose focus and faith. Its a test of your strength and ability as a parent in some ways..but there are positive stories out there!

And each day is a step in the right direction...home.

If your friend wants to talk to someone who also had a 24 weeker, she can FB me (Nicola Shylo Kraft) or email me [email protected] or at [email protected] <--- which is the email for my NICU foundation that I created in honor of my son to help in situations just like this.

If you would like to read about my journey..My ask a Mum who had a 24 weeker thread...=) Lots of info there

And Lakai's Story from the very beginning day by day basically. Its a long read!

If you have any questions you can PM me too! =)

I will be thinking about this little guy LOTS so you better come back and update us!

 

[DonnaBallona]

^^knew you'd be able to sort her out some words of wisdom bird

 

[littleblonde]

GRRR I had this huge reply typed and my little stinker 24 weeker erased it some how on me with one finger!

Anyways, Im a mom to a 24 weeker, Lakai as someone already mentioned. My son was born at 24+4 weeks and weighed 1.63lbs. He was born on Nov 2, 2009 and came home on March 9, 2010.

I am amazed that your friends baby is only being ventilated at night, that is truly remarkable due to his age. I have never ever heard of that before with a 24 weeker...or even a 26-27 weeker and Ive done a TON of preemie research..as I did go looking on Google (I agree..tell her to stay away from it!!). So your friend has a FIGHTER on her hands! Bless him.

I have to ask for my own personal curiousity....is the baby being intubated and extubated each night? In other words, are they sticking the breathing tube into his throat and taking it out when needed?

I just ask because it's not a pleasant process. I can't imagine that would be easy for momma and especially baby!

Im nosey, pay me no mind.

Anyways. I think everyone has covered everything I would have said! We have an awesome group here. I truly urge your friend to join.

I will say having a 24 weeker is not easy, its as preemie as they typically come. There are a lot of possible issues, my son faced most of them, from bleeding in his brain to heart surgery. The hardest thing will be that no one can tell you this is how your baby will turn out, no one can tell you for sure if your baby will be "ok". When we found out Lakai had a very serious brain bleed they told us HORRIBLE things, like he would be delayed, disabled and basically never normal. They told us stats and numbers, shared other outcomes from other babies they had seen with similar bleeds and issues.

They even asked if we wanted to stop his life support, numerous times. And this was in a wonderful, cutting edge and caring hospital!

I can happily say my son is 11 months corrected (so the age he would be going from his due date) and over 14 months actual (going from his actual bday) and he isn't delayed, he has no disablities...while he does have some feeding issues, you would NEVER guess he had any issues in the NICU. Even the doctors who seldom say "miracle" have called him such on numerous visits.

The point Im trying to make is...its very trying and hard, its easy to loose focus and faith. Its a test of your strength and ability as a parent in some ways..but there are positive stories out there!

And each day is a step in the right direction...home.

If your friend wants to talk to someone who also had a 24 weeker, she can FB me (Nicola Shylo Kraft) or email me [email protected] or at [email protected] <--- which is the email for my NICU foundation that I created in honor of my son to help in situations just like this.

If you would like to read about my journey..My ask a Mum who had a 24 weeker thread...=) Lots of info there

And Lakai's Story from the very beginning day by day basically. Its a long read!

If you have any questions you can PM me too! =)

I will be thinking about this little guy LOTS so you better come back and update us!

Im so pleased that everything turned out so well for you considering how scary the experince must of been. Im gonna let her no everything you have told me. I have mentioned the site to her, but she hasnt used a forum before. But i will let her no that she can ask you all any question.

Her baby is spending a few days in bristol childrens hospital as the kidneys where not working as they should. But a day later and they are better already. The baby has no other problems as of yet and mummy got her 1st cuddle today.

Its amazing me how well he is doing. The doctors are very pleased with his progress so far. She was told he mayt not survive birth but he did and came out at 1lb8 and by the end of the 1st 24 hours he had put on a 1lb.

I have been feeling a bit guilty about things lately as i keep thinking about my little one tucked inside, and then i feel guilty if that makes sense. When the family ask me how i am after we have talked about there baby i feel like i cant say. But i think this is probably my hormones.

Thanks to you all for your kind words and advise. If nothing else it has helped me advise them more. You all seem a wonderful group of ladys , and if anyone i no is ever in a similar situation (i hope not) then i noi i can send them your way. Its so nice to here so many sucsess storys , when i normally find a lot of what i read ends in sadness. Its impotant to no what can go wrong but it great to read how your Little ones are doing so well.

 

[littleblonde]

I was stupid and on google in my hospital bed

and here of course!

We'll welcome your friend with open arms!!!

(You're such a sweet friend hunny!)

When i had bleeding on my 1st trimester i made that mistake, ad it scared me , especailly wikipedia. I have since found out that anyone can answer on that. But i have conveinced myself i have all sorts of problems and infections.

 

[nkbapbt]

Google is not a friend to a scared pregnant woman or preemie parent! Its beyond full of negative information, I swear they have some "positive" information filter that sends positive info into cyber outer space. I had myself so f'ing scared when Lakai was in the NICU I swore I was never going to have a "normal" baby. Honestly? Preemie information in general can be very negative, as are most preemie forums! Which is SO SAD, I love it here because the focus is on the positive!

Ive been BANNED from a preemie forum because I was posting positive updates about Lakai's outcome and the admin claimed I was "bringing other moms down". I couldn't believe it!

I think that the positive preemie outcome parents, either give up trying to post online...or they find niche places like this or just don't bother posting.

I try my best to flood the net with Lakai's story in hopes people in my shoes when I was in the NICU will find hope in his story. I wish more preemie parents with our outcome would start blogs/websites and spread their positive stories. So parents don't do what I did, and scare themselves silly reading negative after negative outcome and story.

I suppose in the end, negative is all how you see things. Im sure my story isn't 100% positive to everyone...but it's beyond what we could have ever hoped for and were told we would ever get.

 

[AP]

Ive been BANNED from a preemie forum because I was posting positive updates about Lakai's outcome and the admin claimed I was "bringing other moms down". I couldn't believe it!

wtf???????!!!!!!!!!!!!!

you and lakai fill me with hope!