How long did/ will your preemie reside in NICU?

buggles

Following delivery?

Can they determine how long or estimate in advance once they assess the baby? Or is it a day by day observation?

mek10976

DS was born at 32 weeks and was in the NICU for 27 days.  They gave us a rough estimate of him going home between 35-37 weeks.  He came home at 35/36.  Be prepared for them to tell you one day that DC will go home in a day or two, then things will change overnight and you will have your hopes dashed for a little while.

For us, our experience was DS would makes lots of strides, and then have a set back.  That seems to be the pattern of NICU babies.  Good luck.

tierelieber

With us, they did not tell us any estimation because they don't want to get your hopes up. They will have an idea, but the NICU is truly more of a day to day experience. It all depends on the baby- preemies all advance at their own pace. There are always a lot of advances and a lot of set backs, which is what makes the NICU experience so difficult emotionally. DD stayed for 34 days, which is a lot shorter than a lot of the babies on this board.

SaucySarie

They usually say expect them to stay until their due date, but they could always go home sooner.  Anna stayed 55 days and Ayva and Justin stayed 57 days.

jlc071903

They can give you an estimate, but remember life in the NICU is filled with ups and downs...for instance our girls were ready to come home, then got thrush (a really bad case of it) and ended up staying there for a month longer...point being, you NEVER know...they usually just say that babies go home around their due date, some go home earlier and some go home way later.

KellyMichelle

My DS was a 26 weeker and was in the NICU 11 weeks.  We were told about 3 days in advance that he would be coming home.  Generally babies go home between 37-40 weeks gestation, but it is different for every baby.   The general requirements are - maintaining temp, gaining weight, taking all bottles well, no apneas, good bowel movements/ wet diapers, pass carseat test, pass sleep study.  Each NICU has their own requirements though.  With my DS he was ready with everything except bottles.  It took him a while to figure them out, but once he did he progressed quickly.

lstaylor73

68 days, they came home one week before their full term 40 week EDD.

 Going home always depends on the individual baby, but they usually tell you to expect the baby to be home by their EDD.

MCGMK

My DS was born at 25 weeks.  I was told he would go home around his due date.  Because of many complications, he spent 4 months and 1 day in the NICU.  He came home 3 weeks after his due date.

tmp-303869625008161

Ditto to what everyone else has said, around the EDD. My son was born at 27 weeks 3 days and spent 98 days in the NICU. He came home 10 days after his EDD. His biggest problems were how much O2 support he needed and learning to bottle feed. He literally did not figure out the bottle until 1 week before he came home. Within 2 days he was up to full oral feeds and 3 days later they told me it was time to room in for a night and take him home.

ijack

They'll tell you that your baby will go home around their due date, but the older a baby is when it's born, the earlier it gets to come home. DD came home just shy of 37 weeks, but twins born at 33.5 weeks at the same NICU went home at 35.5 weeks (twins also go home earlier usually).

TriciaJoy

Robbie was born at 26w, he came home on his DD. 96 days.

Mrs. Destructo

My guys were 30 weekers, one came home after 5 weeks the other came home after 8 weeks.

It really does depend on the baby - my identical twins had vastly different issues in the nicu, resulting in a much longer stay for one of them. 

Mrs Manners

DS was born at 33 weeks and was in the NICU 13 days. They will tell you they "typically" come home around their actual due date. For us, he came home much earlier than that (around 35 weeks).

njkaren

Brandon was born at 26 weeks, 1 day and spent 12 weeks in the NICU. If they tell you how long they think when the baby is first born it is only an approximate amount of time. It is more day by day observation.

MademoisellePlusse

My daughter was born at 29 weeks 4 days and spent 61 days in the NICU.

Mommy2Gav

My 33 weeker was in NICU for 21 days. They wouldn't give us a stern answer as to when he could come home because things change so much from day to day. ?They best we could get from them was what he needed to accomplish so he could come home. ?We were able to track his milestones and it kept us from being disappointed.?

lauraanddave

DD was born at 32 weeks and came home after 20 days, so around 35 weeks.  We never really asked when she'd go home and tried to over-estimate it.  I think it all depends on the baby and the NICU really is a day-by-day experience.  DD was a feeder/grower and was otherwise healthy, so she would have been in the NICU longer if there were other issues to treat and resolve.

RubyRed7

Ruby was born 8 weeks early, and came how after 5 weeks in the NICU. She came home on a monitor though because she was still having bradycardia spells linked to her reflux. The bradycardia spells stopped just after her due date!

 

Mrs.DMC

33 weeker, 15 days in the nicu. They will tell you by your due date. Every baby is different so you never know.

kim1730

We were told 7-14 days for our 35 weeker. He was released on the 11th day

ootmother2

born 27 weeks, 3 days

NICU for 91 days

Aidge

DS was born at 29 and 6. ?They told us to expect him to come home on or near his due date. ?He spent 7 weeks in the NICU, and came home once he could regulate his own temp, was all bottle/breast, and was apnea and bradycardia free for at least 7 days. ?

jehprb

DS was born at 32w3d and they told us to plan on staying 4-6 weeks assuming there weren't any unexpected complication.  He was there for 30 days on the dot.

gymrat

They told us to expect it to be our duedate. My son came home fast at 54 days and my daughter came home the week of her duedate after 89 days.

Kd&J

Its been 76 long grueling days for us so far. Her due date is today and still no word on a coming home date. She is having a tough time nippling. Crossing our fingers it will be soon.

Tianacheron

my dd was born at 28 weeks and came home after about 65 days