I want to stage a jail break

luvboston

I have had enough of being in the nicu dd was supposed to come home today but started having Brady's after the car seat test because they has exhausted her by taking her in and out 10x. Since then she has had Brady's at 4 feeds and one when they allowed her to get so upset she was shrieking and another at rest. She looks exhausted and is not as bright as usual I have had it with the nurses. It took them half hour to come give me a bottle for her today and they never came back for an hour and a half to see if we were ok. I seriously just want to bring her home on a monitor because I think we would care for her better. It's lovely outside and all I want to do is take her for a walk. She was just here to grow which she has done. Any advice? I Called our pedi but he was off today.

direy25

I hate to say this / sound harsh but it seems to me that if she's still having Brady episodes after stressful situations, she's not quite ready to come home yet. Believe me I understand wanting to get out of there, but there's no way I would have wanted to be released if he would have still been having Brady's.

DrRx

Bradys are so stressful.  Our daughter did come home on a monitor, but only because her bradys resolved with an increase in oxygen (which she was also released on) and she always recovered quickly. 

Have you asked about being able to feed on demand and not have to wait for the nurse to bring you a bottle?  I would speak with the charge nurse and try to find a way to make sure that you and your LO's needs are being met.

vulpini

That's really rough.  DS had Bradys in the NICU too and we had take-home-day estimates called off twice for them.  I kept reminding myself that it was better that he have them in the hospital on monitors than at home.  Try not to get too upset until you talk to the pedi and neo.  Ours always took into account things like stress when deciding which episodes counted against getting to go home.  I bet you'll get to go home very soon. 

Mrs. Alice

I'm sorry!  The end is so hard knowing they are sooo close to coming home. I brought mine home with monitors and they suck, trust me.  It's a major pain the butt to haul them around (ours has to be on them 24/7 except at bath time).  You are basically tethered to one room for most of the day.  I feel your pain and hoping the next few days fly by for you!

Brummy14

Hang in there. I know how frustrating this is. The last few weeks in the NICU were beyond, BEYOND frustrating. She'll grow out of the Bradys, and be ready to go home soon. Monitors are a pain in the behind (DD2 came home on o2 with a pulse-ox), so if you can wait a few more days and come home without one, that will be much better in the long run (even though it doesn't feel like it now, I know). ::hugs:: 

meliward413

I totally understand the feeling, I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs some days! Our NICU was so overwhelmed they had to bring PICU nurses down to help and as great as they were they were used to different routines and didn't always understand the need to be on time for feedings. Or we'd have problems b/c he takes his time to eat and is gassy so they gave up after 20 minutes and wanted to put the rest of the feed through the gavage...getting THAT out was one fight.

The last straw was on the day we were going home our DS had a small brady while eating and the nurse practitioner on duty said he had to stay. The worst part was that the one on duty the last week said the feeding ones didn't worry her and this one had JUST taken over. She was in the room with us at the time but didn't want to say to our faces that she was keeping him, we had to find out 2 hours later at rounds after he passed the car seat test. We were furious and ready to demand discharge too.

In the end it almost seemed meant to be in a weird way bc that evening he had a very scary brady that required oxygen. I burst into tears thinking that if they let him go that morning he would've been home. It changed our attitudes towards the waiting from being mad at the world to being more patient and knowing that they just want the best for our son. We wound up staying 1 more week and then being released on a monitor bc he was 38 wks and likely not to grow out of them for another month. I don't find the monitor frustrating I just put it on my shoulder and I like knowing it is there. He's been home 3 weeks now still having the occaisional episode but doing great. Just hang in there take deep breaths and take a few hours away with your husband. Go to dinner it seems guilty at 1st but you will see that it will calm you and you will feel better about all the frustrations and know you will be bringing your baby home very soon

epapcun

We stayed in the hospital for an extra two weeks just to monitor bradys. DD never required intervention, looked perfect from a clinical standpoint, and the doctors even said they'd never know she was having them if not for the monitors. It was so frustrating that we had to stay admitted just to count the number of episodes. However they said that they felt most comfortable keeping us in just in case she didn't self-recover, then she'd be in the safest place possible. All the doctors we talked to said the bradys will just stop as babies get closer to their due date, as long as there isn't an underlying cardiac issue, which I'm sure you'd already know about. It is frustrating, but it will pass and you'll go home (hopefully without a monitor)! Hang in there- the days and weeks are long, but you'll soon have your daughter at home forever