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Preemies
babysitting a preemie
i have had 2 premature babies exactly a year apart to the day. they are were both 2 months early and are now 1 and 2 years old.
my friend had a baby back in aug. and he just went home today. he was born at 25 weeks and only a pound when he was born. i will be babysitting him starting in jan. cause her and her husband are both in school. i will only be watching him 2-3 hours at a time during the week and sometimes watching her 4 year old. the baby is still on oxygen which makes me and her a little nervous but i know we will get used to it. she trusts me with him i guess because ive had two preemies myself. but when mine were born they werent on oxygen they were just small. hes about 7lbs now so size isnt an issue. im going over there this weekend to see how everything works with him. the times ill be watching him are the normal times my babies are napping.
does anyone have any advice?
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Re: babysitting a preemie
My daughter was on oxygen once at home until just recently plus my Neice and Nephew were both of oxygen since they lived at altitude.
My advice would be to ask her to dress the LO in sleepers and NOT anything that goes over the head as the care giver. I'd also ask if she can provide you with an extra oxygen tank (if possible) and nasal cannula. Ask her to show you how to change out the tanks (its really easy!) and definitely ask for the number of the oxygen provider just in case.
Let me know if you have other questions. It is a pain but you'll get used to it and come up with tricks.
My Lauren was home on oxygen for 3 months. we caught on to it pretty quickly. The equipment, and trying to move them from place to place can be a little tricky, but you will get the hang of it in no time....
I had a doula come help me when we first got home. She had never worked with the oxygen, but in no time, she was giving her baths, changing the duoderm/tape on her cheeks that help hold the cannula on, etc.
If she doesn't have snap up sleepers etc. and you have to dress the baby in onesies, it's easy to disconnect the tubing for a quick sec, and pull it thru the neck of the onesie, so the baby isn't laying on the tubing next to their back (inside the onesie).
I also recommend with mom there, going thru the equipment, and connecting/disconnecting things so you feel comfortable if you need to reconnect anything when you are there alone. (for example, 1 time I dropped the flowmeter...it has the dial that "sets" the amount of oxygen...) but the company had shown me how to reconnect everything so I had no worries when working with the equipment. GL!