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Preemies
schtephanie
member
New here, baby born at 31w5d
schtephanie
member
in Preemies
Hi all, new to this board and just looking for other moms to talk to with similar experiences/preemies. Our baby boy was born Friday at 31w5d via emergency c-section due to pre-term labor (most likely caused by undiagnosed bicornuate uterus discovered during the delivery). He was 4 lbs even and is breathing on his own, but he'll be in the NICU for awhile until he can regulate his own temp and learn to suck.
So tomorrow is my discharge day, and I am having major anxiety about leaving him here and going home. Logistically, I know I need to go home and heal and I can't live here all hours of the day, but I at least want an idea of when I am going to heal and can get on a schedule of visiting every day here. Anyone experience this, how long did it take you to heal and get into a routine of visiting your NICU baby?
Thanks for sharing, and I actually feel better just typing this out! It's just so overwhelming right now!
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Re: New here, baby born at 31w5d
Congratulations and welcome! This board is a really supportive place. Sounds like he's doing great. It is hard to leave them in the NICU, but you just have to remind yourself that he's getting the care he needs and he'll be home with you soon.
I was lucky in that my parents came to stay with us for a month after my DS was born and they drove me back and forth to the hospital during the day while my DH was at work and I was still recovering from the C-section. When my DH came home at night we went back to the hospital for a second visit.
Congrats on your baby boy! What an overachiever - already breathing on his own, that's awesome! I had a vaginal delivery, so I don't have any special info on c-s recovery, but my discharge day was one of the worst days of my life. I was a MESS and it was so hard. I made a list of things I still needed to do at home and tried to focus on how I could best be a mom by taking care of one of those things each night to prepare for him coming home. I explained to DH that I wanted to be there all day and he accepted that and was supportive. Not everyone can handle the NICU all day every day. We were only there for 15 days, so if it had gone on for weeks and weeks I might not have had the all day schedule the whole time, but I needed it in the beginning. We would get up usually before rush hour to drive in around 7am and then leave after the night shift of nurses came (7pm). We did sleep in once or twice (once I could actually sleep) until after rush hour to go in. You will find the rhythm that works for you after a few days. Tell DH what you think is ideal and see how he feels; it's not uncommon for men to feel bored at the NICU, so prepare to bring magazines/books with you and be sure to go get lunch if you're staying all day.
Hang in there. We're here to support you and you can always ask questions/vent on this board. Hope your little man continues progressing quickly!
Congratulations on the birth of your son and welcome to the boards. Although my experience was a tad bit different, I didn't have a c-section, I still know how hard it was leave the baby. I cried all the way home. I really wanted to stay with her all the time. I wasn't able to drive myself to the hospital for 2 weeks. DH went back to work a week later, so I really had to rely on others to take me to the hospital.
My DH would go by the NICU in early morning hours before work and then after lunch I would have my aunt take me to the hospital and spend a few hours with DD before returning home. Then DH and I would run back to the hospital after dinner and stay a few more hours. I was pumping ever 3 hours, so that gave me hope that she would be home, plus I knew I was doing what I could for her at home, plus taking time to heal. I know my sisutation may not be like everyone's else, but you should really try and heal, so when the baby does come home, your really on top of your game.
Good luck and I'll keep you and DS in my prayers for a speedy NICU stay.
Thank you, it's just incredibly reassuring knowing that other people have gone through this. We are trying to make some kind of schedule right now with my parents and his to get to and from the hospital. At this point I can't imagine being able to drive anytime soon!
Thank you so much! We are in Houston too (Pearland, we'll be going to and from the med center). I love your son's name, btw!
I am pretty much planning on crying all the way home too. But y'all are right, there is nothing I can do more than heal and be there for him when he comes home. Thanks so much.
It is the worst thing to leave the hospital without your baby. And then to not be able to drive. Make sure you take care of you because once your sweet baby comes home you'll need to be all rested up and healed! I can tell you that was one thing about the NICU that was good...getting lots of sleep after the ordeal that you go through.
I hope it all works out. My DH was off work so we would go to the hospital everyday together. Stay as long or as little as you want/need. Believe me, some days I would be the happiest person alive after we left the NICU and other nights I would cry the whole way home. Any time that you can be there is GREAT for your baby.
I cried all the way home from the hospital and then even more when I sat in Lily's nursery. I would find myself crying at various points throughout the night. It does get better, I promise. Its still hard, but they are in the best place they can be right now.
My current schedule is that DH and I come to the hospital around 9am and he stays for the first feeding and then goes to work. I have a parenting room at the hospital so I go there and go in for her feedings every 3 hours. Then DH comes back at either 3pm or 6pm depending on what we have going on at home and we feed her one last time and then go home. Now that she's getting close to being discharged, I am going to spend the night here. Lily is now on cue based feeding which means we feed when she's hungry vs. the every 3 hour schedule she was on so I want to be here in the middle of the night when she wants to feed. And then on the weekends we come and go as we have the time. The hardest part for us is that our hospital is 45 minutes from home!
Good luck! Sounds like your LO is doing great!!!
How long did it take you to heal--- I think I can heal once he's home with us. But I can tell you that every time I see my son at the NICU, my day gets better for me. And soon days became weeks. I'm on the 4th week now and I think I have 8 weeks to go depending on his progress.
Anyways, the first week I was home, I wanted to see my son as much as possible and as long as possible in the NICU. By the second week, I was tired and really needed to listen to my body. Remember your body needs to heal too. So if you're tired and need to sleep. Sleep.
Also, once I got home I pump like crazy. Doctors told me that I needed to pump and bring the milk to my son. They all told me that it's best for him and it's something that you can provide for him while he's in NICU. So, I pump and pump while I'm home.
Everything you see your son, you'll find strength and perseverance to heal.
Hi!
Congratulations on your little one. My son was born at 31w4d weighing in at 4 ibs 1 ounce. I had a c-section and was feeling pretty good about the 6th day after the surgery. By two weeks I felt as good as new. We lived 5 min from the hospital and I had my mom in town so she drove me to the hospital the first week. I switched up my NICU routine all the time. Sometimes I'd get up early and go to the early morning touch time or I'd wait and go at night so I could rest during the day. Sometimes I was there all day. Having a baby in the NICU is very hard and all the while you're trying to heal from your surgery and it's exhausting, especially if you're pumping too. It's a very overwhelming time and hopefully when you just start to get into a routine, your son will be sent home. Good luck to you. Just FYI my son was in the nicu for 28 days in case you're wondering.