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Preemies
Transitioning Home Questions (long)
Hi Ladies! It looks like one of our twins will be discharged this Friday after a 3.5-week stint in the NICU. He is only 3lb 4oz, as of tonight, and we've purchased the AngelRide car bed to transfer him home (as required by the hospital), as he doesn't make the weight minimum for a car seat test.
A few questions...
When your preemie came home, what did he/she sleep in? We were given FP Rock & Plays as a shower gift and friends have sworn by them, but we're not sure if he'll be big enough for it. Would a bassinet better suit us? Should we move his crib into our room? (it will fit) Use our Pack & Play?
What did you do with them, when you went out to doctor's appointments, etc.? He won't be allowed to use an infant car seat or stroller until he can pass the car seat test at a later date, so I'm struggling with how I will bring him to the pedi's, especially when his sister joins us at home. Did you use a baby carrier?
Finally, what about circumcision? They had told us that they would do this prior to discharge, but no pedi will do this until he reaches at least 4lbs. Has anyone had this done after discharge? If so, when was it done? The NICU nurse we had today said it's usually 6mos to a year, and they're put under general anesthesia. (Our primary nurse is on vacation this week...)
Thanks, in advance, for any and all advice!!! I'm very much looking forward to Friday, but also completely anxious about it all...
Mr. & Mrs. ~ 09.08.07
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Transitioning Home Questions (long)
First, Congratulations! That is great news! Now to try and answer your questions...
1. When Hunter came home we had him in the Pack n Play in our room for the first 2 nights. None of us got much sleep as DH is a very light sleeper and Hunter can be noisy while sleeping. We moved him to his crib in his own room after that and we all slept better. Liam slept in the nursery from day 1 but that was a month after Hunter came home so he just "fell in line" with what we were doing. All my NICU mom friends still have their babies sleeping in their rooms so it really is a "to each their own" situation. We had the boys sleep in cribs b/c there was no reflux issues and they were so used to sleeping flat already, we didn't want to change it up and then transition later.
2. For Drs appointments, can you wear him? I know the weight limit for the Moby is about 7lbs however it may work if you play around with it. There may also be some products that are rated lower. I would also make the office very aware that you are there with your preemie for the moment you come in, we have always been brought straight to the exam room, I even filled out paperwork in there. With both babies I always bring help (DH, my mom, MIL) so someone can hold the other baby while I am with the one being examined.
3. I'm not much help here because both boys are intact but the pedi did mention that if we changed our minds she would not do it until a year old. I know from talking to other moms that the pediatric surgeons at our NICU waited about that long as well.
GOOD LUCK! I hope everything goes smoothly for you!
1) we use the RNP, but Gabe is on a monitor. So, I know if he is to scrunched it will go off. In your case I'd try a PNP in your room. Moving the whole crib seems excessive. Gabe is WAY too loud to sleep with us all the time. Most of the time he sleeps in his crib in his room.
2) Most carriers (like moby) say not to use them until 8lbs. I'd honestly see if you could have someone come with you. One of you carry him and the other carry his sister.
3) can't help you there, Gabe is intact.
We'll miss you sweet Debbie Girl (4.21.12) and sweet Cindy Girl (8.9.12)
Hi...congrats on a NICU graduation!
Our daughter (25-weeker) came home at about 4.5 pounds. She didn't have an issue passing her car seat test, but we used a Graco travel crib (basically a smaller version of a pack n play) with the bassinet attachment for her to sleep in when we came home. It is nice because it is smaller than a regular pnp and it was more like the closeness of the bed/environment that she was used to in the nicu. It also fit nicely in our room, but there was more than enough room inside the bassinet for her to sleep and to set her monitor inside the bed with her. Like a pp said to each her own...but I can't imagine not having a micro-preemie that small sleeping in another room besides ours, especially if they are hooked up to monitors and/or oxygen.
I also didn't have preemie twins (although she was our 4th child
) so I can't be of much help with how to handle the transportation issues, but one thing we always did was scheduled our appointments as either the very first appointment of the day, or the very last. This way the doctors offices were less full (i.e. less sick people), and they would take us back to the exam room to wait so we weren't exposed to the germs in the waiting room. Always let them know when you schedule an appt that you are bringing a preemie (or preemies in your case) so they can plan accordingly and make sure you are in a CLEAN room. I was very particular about germs, handwashing, ect...when we had to go ANYWHERE...I carried a can of lysol, a pkg of clorox wipes, and lots of hand sanitizer with us and re-cleaned every surface my baby would be close to when we got there. (Anal, yes...but I can proudly say that my baby girl will be 1 this month and has yet to have any sort of illness/infection and/or re-admission to the hospital since our graduation day last October!)
I didn't know Mobys had a weight limit...hmm.
Well, I use a BabyHawk (https://www.babyhawk.com) & while your guy is smaller than mine was at discharge (we were five lbs something oz) they are approved for preemies. They are even used by a NICU in Florida for their growers & feeders. The girl who runs the business is super nice & friendly. I asked my question on their FB page and got an answer right away as well as feedback from other preemie moms wearing them.
That's all I can think of right now (not quite awake & pumping). Congratulations!!!
Oh, and we used a cradle - he seemed so little in it but kept him swaddled and all was fine.
Congratulations! Two of our girls came home on Tuesday...don't expect to get much sleep the first night. You'll be excited and nervous and scared so try to get a nap in when you bring him home if you can (I couldn't and slept for three hours all day...although we brought two home at once). It's been great and kind of weird....our girls are finally in their cribs!!!
Anyway, we put them in their cribs right away which they have done fine with. Had we brought one home, which was originally how it was suppose to go, we would have put her in the bassinet of the PNP in our room.
Did you make your Dr's appt yet? Try to get the very first AM appt or very first after lunch appt (if your pedi closes for lunch). If they can't accommodate that tell them you have a newly discharged preemie and would like to be put in a room as soon as you get there.
Good luck and congrats again it's very excited bringing your baby home. My third girl is still in the NICU and is just now a little over 3lbs....so this post might come in handy if she is not yet 4lbs when she comes home.
Congrats! My DD came home under 4lbs, too (just barely - 3lb 14oz), and they let us do her car seat test in a Chicco Keyfit before leaving, since it's rated for 4lbs and up. Sounds like your place is more strict. She had no problems passing.
Ditto the PP on asking to be put in a room right away, that's actually standard practice at my pedi's office for the first couple of months and I continued to request it through cold and flu season (DD was born in 2009, which was the H1N1 flu year). If they couldn't give us a room, we waited in the car until they called us in. I just explained she was a preemie and they were fine with it.
I used our Moby right away, I really didn't know there was a weight limit on it. I did fold it in half, though, so it would fit her. But really, if you're just going to/from appts, I wouldn't sweat it too much, you should be able to just carry him. Do you have any idea of when your other LO is coming home? Your DS may be big enough for a car seat by then and you wouldn't even have to worry about it.
We put DD right into her cradle in our room, but eventually had to move her to her swing due to reflux (I don't think RNPs were around yet). She slept in the swing for about 4mos, then we moved her to her crib. I would have preferred to have her sleeping in the crib, but the reflux made that impossible.
I can't help you on the last question, I'm on my 2nd girl...penises are beyond me ;-)
When your preemie came home, what did he/she sleep in? We were given FP Rock & Plays as a shower gift and friends have sworn by them, but we're not sure if he'll be big enough for it. Would a bassinet better suit us? Should we move his crib into our room? (it will fit) Use our Pack & Play? Our guys slept in their cribs. Actually, they slept in the same crib for the first week or so. If i were you I would move the crib into your room for now. Not for the baby, for you. We were pretty nervous for the first few days and I think it would have helped having the crib in our room.
What did you do with them, when you went out to doctor's appointments, etc.? He won't be allowed to use an infant car seat or stroller until he can pass the car seat test at a later date, so I'm struggling with how I will bring him to the pedi's, especially when his sister joins us at home. Did you use a baby carrier? Can you get bassinets for your stroller? Our guys used these until around 4 months. It is really the best for their backs as they lie completely flat.
Finally, what about circumcision? They had told us that they would do this prior to discharge, but no pedi will do this until he reaches at least 4lbs. Has anyone had this done after discharge? If so, when was it done? The NICU nurse we had today said it's usually 6mos to a year, and they're put under general anesthesia. (Our primary nurse is on vacation this week...) This was an issue for us because one of our boys almost didn't make the cut off (although some pedis will do it under 4 pounds). We did a lot of research and doing it as an outpatient is a fairly serious surgery requiring general anesthesia. Our babies both ended up having it done in the hospital but if they didnt, we would have put it off for at least 6 months, at which point I would have researched the risks extensively to decide if it was something we still wanted to do.
Thanks, in advance, for any and all advice!!! I'm very much looking forward to Friday, but also completely anxious about it all...
I totally understand your anxiety but you will be fine. We kept reminding ourselves that the hospital wouldn't have discharged the boys if they weren't 100% ready. That gave us confidence.Ds came home in the carseat at only 3lb 12oz. They were able to use two receiving blankets to provide extra cushion and support and fill in the gaps (this IS permitted by the manufacturer). They ran the carseat test under these conditions and he passed. You might still be smaller than our ds was when you bring LO home, but probably not by much, so have them show you that technique so you can use that eventually.
When we brought ds home, we tried having him sleep in a pack n play and then a little bassinet we got. He would only sleep on us though for the first month or two!