Intro

ni077169

Hello, my name is Nicole and my son, Jude was born last Saturday at 36 weeks due to placenta abruption. He has been in the NICU for the last week on breathing machines, he also had jaundice.

He's made a lot of progress even in the last couple of days, and rumor has it we may be going home soon (I understand that many of you have probably had babies in the NICU a lot longer than a week).

That being said, now I am worried about taking care of him once he is home. What kind of special care is going to be required... Should I get a special movement monitor, etc...Will the NICU nurses explain this stuff to me once I leave, or will I have to fish for answers (lol).... 

Just wanted to say hi and introduce myself. Hope you and your LO's are doing well!  

Sept30Madison

He will likely need the same type of things/care as a regular newborn,but specifically ask the NICU staff what they think. 

We use the Angel Care monitor at night and the Snuza monitor during the day for peace of mind.  I would use those things regardless of whether my child was a preemie because I'm just a nervous mom.

You may want to look at getting a fisher price rock n play.  I swear by mine like a lot of other preemie moms.

I think preemies like to be swaddled even more than FT newborns, so you may want to get some easy-to-use swaddle sacks (we use the zipper swaddle pod and then wrap her in a swaddle me velcro blanket).

Sept30Madison

And I forgot to add -- Congrats and Welcome!

aessary03

ni077169:

Hello, my name is Nicole and my son, Jude was born last Saturday at 36 weeks due to placenta abruption. He has been in the NICU for the last week on breathing machines, he also had jaundice.

He's made a lot of progress even in the last couple of days, and rumor has it we may be going home soon (I understand that many of you have probably had babies in the NICU a lot longer than a week).

That being said, now I am worried about taking care of him once he is home. What kind of special care is going to be required... Should I get a special movement monitor, etc...Will the NICU nurses explain this stuff to me once I leave, or will I have to fish for answers (lol).... 

Just wanted to say hi and introduce myself. Hope you and your LO's are doing well!  

 

Welcome and congratulations on your new son, Jude!    What a blessing!  Hope you're getting plenty of sleep and not getting too stressed out!  Your NICU nurses will explain EVERYTHING when you leave.  They're usually pretty wonderful about that.  They know you're going to have a million questions when you leave.  Like someone else mentioned, preemies do love to be swaddled.  Sometimes their little tummies are more sensitive so watch for signs of that.  Make sure your friends and family use good hand washing and stuff so that your little guy doesn't get sick when he comes home.  And make sure everyone is up to date on their vaccinations -- especially whooping cough since it seems to be making an appearance.    You'll do great!!  

ni077169

Thanks ladies for the welcome and the tips. Jude loooves to be swaddled, the nurse even said that I may want to invest in a special swaddle instead of just using receiving blankets, because he likes to squirm and kick the blankets off. Any ones in particular that I should look at???

Sept30Madison

Ditto the swaddle me by summer infant.  I often use two and double wrap my kiddo at night for extra snugness and warmth.