Preemies
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38W NICU Girl <3
On 3/13/12, we welcomed Ana Cru into the world. A little earlier then we expected. At my last OB visit, they said my fluid was low and they wanted to bring me in for a c-section. I was very sad and cried a lot. My husband said I told him, "I'm scared, I feel like her lungs aren't ready, I don't want her to go to the NICU". I have no memory of saying that, but this is exactly what happened. Ana Cru was delivered at 8:47 am on 3/13, I never heard her cry, she was not breathing and had to be put on a respirator and was flown to another hospital, I was able to touch her face in the incubator for a minute, but it was another 2 days before I saw her. I was discharged within 2 days of my c-section because I was healing fast and thank god so I could go be with my baby. She is now in the NICU, today is her 7th day of life. No idea when she will come home, but we are extremely hopeful. She is still on the respirator ( a little) but she is making some breaths of her own, she is also now having my breastmilk through a feeding tube <3They are attempting to take her breathing tube out this afternoon. Wish us luck! It sounds strange to say, but, I'm nervous about it. Now that she is breathing and eating (with assistance) I kinda wish they could leave her alone for a little while. but, I understand she needs to learn how to do it on her own. As of yesterday, she was breathing 40-60 BPM (breaths per minute) and the machine is only making 8 BPM. *FINGERS CROSSED*
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Re: 38W NICU Girl &lt;3
Welcome. Congratulations on your LO.
I'm sorry to be a bother, but can you tell us a little more about how your LO is on the respirator "a little". This is a little hard for me to understand.
We'll miss you sweet Debbie Girl (4.21.12) and sweet Cindy Girl (8.9.12)
FAQ: My Friend Just Had a Preemie, How Can I Help?
Congrats on your daughter.
Tell us more about her. It's pretty rare for a 38 weeker to need that much assistance. Was there an issue during delivery? Was she born with special needs?
BFP #3 via cancelled IUI ~ C (2lb 3oz; HELLP) 5/16/11
BFP #4 via the natural (free!) way ~ E (8lb 11oz) 9/13/12
Congrats on your daughter, I'm sorry her start has been so rough.
Folks, I know everyone is a little gun shy, given what happened last week with the troll, but u think it is a little premature to call OP out at this point. I agree that "a little" breathing assistance is strange terminology, but later in her post she talks about the # of BPM the machine is doing for her, which is very valid. So, I think she is just saying that the level of support the vent is giving is low. As a mom whose son was on the vent for over a month, this is a big deal and about the time they started trying to wean him to CPAP. And, to the poster who doubted tube feeding - obviously if her LO is on the vent (or CPAP even) they wouldn't be able to bottle feed - no matter what GA they are. .
OP - tell us more about your LO. Do you know why her lungs were so bad? What is her diagnosis and prognosis? I know it's overwhelming at the beginning when you are thrown into the NICU with new terminology, etc. I wish you the best.
Thanks for the update, and I'm sure it is pretty scary to not know what is going on. I'm glad the attempt to get her off the vent seems to be working, and hope that they figure out what is going on with her quick.
(And if you didn't figure out by my post, we had a pretty nasty troll in the last week or so who completely made up having a micropreemie, and had been posting/getting support for a few weeks before she was outed. Everyone is still pretty pissed about it, and on high alert (rightly so.))
Please keep us posted if you get any updates, and hang in there.
I understand, I'm so new to using a message board, I don't know what a "toll" even is. And to everyne else who has commented/read this. I do apologize that my NICU doesnt really fit into the "Preemies" catagory..I was instructed this was the board to share my NICU story. I just came here for some extra support and to give it too. I thought it would help me deal with this tough situation, and my dr. told me to reach out to other mothers...
And to try and answer the question "what exactly happened to her?" We don't know. We might never know
The basic red flags were a low fluid count, which is why they moved up my c-section and her not breathing at birth. low fluid could possibly be the reason she wasn't breathing, since it helps the lung develop, that is what we are hoping for! BUT, she has long fingers, a small cerebellum, a small chin, so genetics were run last week. So, I'm assuming it's going to take awhile to find out "what happened" thank you for your support everyone.
This happened to my friend's 38 weeker. They never did get an answer. They suspected the birth was just traumatic for her LO and that caused the issue. It was a very long labor followed by a very fast/sudden delivery. He was on a vent for a week and things just clicked.
Your LO isn't technically a preemie, but it sounds like you have some issues a lot of us can at least provide a listening ear/some feedback about. Reach out if you have questions about things. I hope you get answers.
We'll miss you sweet Debbie Girl (4.21.12) and sweet Cindy Girl (8.9.12)
Glad to hear from you!! That must be tough... as hard as it is to hear your child has an issue, at least you have something that you can work with and which should help explain it. Good luck!!!