New here, questions about NICU

abbeyandmike · September 2011

Hi! I'm Abbey, and 9 days ago (Sept 14, 2011) I gave birth to my first baby, a girl named Raelyn at one day shy of being 34 weeks pregnant. I was in labor for 3 days and she has been in the NICU since birth. She weighed 5 lbs 1 oz and was 19 inches long, and now weighs 5 lbs 6 oz. They moved her to level 2 NICU when she was 4 days old, because she was only needing help with maintaining her body temperature and needs practice breastfeeding and taking a bottle. I am just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience and could give some insight on how long their baby had to stay in the hospital. They can't tell us anything on how long she will be in, and all our family is thinking she should be out in the next few days to a week, and I want to think this, but don't want to get my hopes up and be disappointed. We are absolutely dying to bring her home, and I realize that it solely depends on her, but it would help to hear some stories for encouragement. Thanks for reading!

lemen99 · September 2011

Most of the NICU doctors well tell you that they don't know and every baby is different (which is so true), but that they aim to have the baby home by his or her due date. I think this is generally less reliable for babies born very young, and probably generally more true for babies born later.

My 26 weeker came home 3 weeks after his due date. I really took their word when they said "most babies are home by their due date, that's our goal" and was very sad when it seemed like much later.

My 35 weeker came home 3 weeks before his due date. He didn't require any NICU time and was in the intermediate level nursery mostly for blood sugar, jaundice, and feeding/growth.

A friend of mine had a 32 weeker than was in the NICU for 3 weeks, and also had a 35 weeker than was in the NICU for 3 weeks. Both boys. So I guess it goes to show that it does vary a lot.

Assume it'll be a few weeks and hopefully she'll surprise you and be home sooner. Girls usually do better in the NICU too!

kck329 · September 2011

Congrats on your little girl!

Like Lemen said, it really does depend on the baby but due dates are good goal. My 27-weeker came home about 2 weeks before her due date.

If I had to guess, eating will be one of the bigger challenges to you getting to take her home. It can take preemies a little while to figure out how to coordinate eating and in most cases it just takes time and a lot of patience.

There is a link in my siggy with a bunch of preemie resources we've collected on this board. Come back often and ask lots of questions!

sucrets4 · September 2011

My DD was 33w5d and was in the NICU for 9 days. At first they told us to be prepared for her to stay in until her due date, but she was kicking so much a$$ I was thinking it would be sooner.

Is she in an open air crib yet? That's a big step when she learns how to maintain her temp. It sounds like she's gaining fine, so that's good! Does she have an IV? Has she had any jaundice?

Once they mention 'car seat test' you'll know you're near the end. Ours was only valid for 48 hours, so once she passed it we knew we were taking her home soon! (barring other things, of course)

GL with everything!

Mrs. Alice · September 2011

The last few days/weeks are definitely hard from what I experienced. My 28 weekers came home 1.5 weeks before their due date, so 38 weeks adjusted. We started seriously talking about discharge with one at the end of 36 weeks but he had a few little episodes and was held back about a week. We all thought for sure he would be home a week or two before his brother, but they ended up coming home together. I was told to expect them home by their due date and anything earlier is just a bonus (that way I wouldn't be too disappointed).

abbeyandmike · September 2011

Thanks everyone for the support! she is not in an open crib quite yet, her bed temp is at 28.6 degrees celsius and has to be at 28.0 for her to be taken out of the isolette. They have been dropping the temp by .2 to .4 a day though, so it seems like she is very close. She did have an iv for some antibiotics, but they took the iv out 3 days ago. She also was under a bili light for a couple days, but that was last weekend and has not had any more high jaundice levels all week long. As far as eating, she is doing exceptionally well with nursing AND bottle feeding. She will take a bottle and have it done in about ten minutes. When I nurse her, once she latches on she will eat for about 15-20 minutes before falling asleep, and stays asleep until her next feeding, when we have to wake her up by changing her diaper. The nurses said this indicates that she is getting plenty to eat when she nurses and that how well she's eating will help everything else move a lot faster

kitkat145 · September 2011

My DD was born at 33w5d and had a 17 day nicu stay meaning she went home at 36w1d. They all like to tell you due date and nit give any specifics. We didn't know we were going to bring her home until the night before. When they tell you to bring in the carseat,that's a really good sign! Did she have any breathing issues at birth? Is she on an IV? Isolette or open air crib? Is she taking all feeds by bottle or NG tube? It'll be soon mama, it seemed like an eternity but now it's just a distant memory for us!

Natalie_may · September 2011

Congratulations on your little girl! It sounds like she is doing exceptionally well and she will be home before you know it! We had one of our 27 weekers home at 36 weeks and one at 41, we had a lot of infection issues. Take it one day at a time and she will get there.

mybb · September 2011

Hi and welcome! Congratulations on your little girl!

My little man was born at 28w1d and spent exactly 8 weeks in the NICU. It could've been 7 weeks but because he happened to have an infection, they wanted to watch him for 7 days as opposed to 5 days, which made him stay a little longer in the end. Once he was off of antibiotics and his temp regulated, the process went really quickly! Some nurses try to tell you some outrageous dates, which really made me sad because they were talking about having him home by Halloween when all this time, I had been thinking he would have been home by September 15th (his EDD was October 9th). The fact that she is latching on and taking all feeds by bottle or breast is a great step! Once Noah did this, he was out of there within a few days! Like all others said, once they say "carseat test", know that you will be out of the door soon! Sending thoughts and prayers up for your little one! She will be out sooner than you know it!

Wally3 · September 2011

DS was born 34w3days. When he went in the NICU we were told near his due date. He was only in the NICU for a week. He was only in a crib a day or so before he was released. It happened really quick. I didn't ask again after they told me due date -because it seemed so far away. THe nurse told us the day before get ready she thought it would be really soon. Good luck to you and your LO hopefully it will be a short stay.

abbeyandmike · September 2011

Thank you all so much for your answers and support! You all have helped alot, here is an update! She moved to an open crib this afternoon and we are more than likely rooming in with her at the hospital tomorrow night and bringing her home on Friday! We are very excited, she is doing wonderful!

New here, questions about NICU

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