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July 2012 Moms
myluckypig
member
if your baby was in the NICU please come in!
myluckypig
member
My SIL just had a baby yesterday and he was admitted to the NICU after about an hour. The nurse said he was having trouble transitioning his breathing (Whatever that means). But basically he is breathing too fast. They haven't gotten much information other than that and the nurses are just telling them that everything will be okay and he just needs extra monitoring. Of course she is freaking out as is BIL and MIL.
Did any of your babies go through this?
I know absolutely nothing about the NICU nor does my SIL because it is something she never even thought about.
She is really worried about breastfeeding. Do you have any suggestions for her that I can pass on?
ETA: He is not a premie. he was born at 38 weeks.
Did any of your babies go through this?
I know absolutely nothing about the NICU nor does my SIL because it is something she never even thought about.
She is really worried about breastfeeding. Do you have any suggestions for her that I can pass on?
ETA: He is not a premie. he was born at 38 weeks.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: if your baby was in the NICU please come in!
My son went in the NICU for similar reasons after he was born. It is definitely scary, so my thoughts are with your family!
The NICU nurses were incredibly supportive for whatever we needed, and took amazing care of him.
The biggest suggestions for BF'ing while he is in there is to try and get on a schedule. I had a c-section so as soon as I could walk the next day I was going in every 2 hours or so to breast feed (which sucked...but we would do anything for our babies right?). Our hospital mandates that NICU babies get formula, but as long as he was being nourished I was okay with that. She can also get a pump for her room to use if for some reason she can't make it over there, to make sure her milk comes in okay.
I know it is easier said than done, but she should just keep thinking of the positives that the LO is getting all the care he needs and has the best of the best taking care of him.
I hope that he only has a short stay, and gets to come home soon!
B went to the NICU for breathing issues. He had a pneumothorax, or a collapsed lung. It sounds soooo much worse than it is. It's pretty common because the switch from fluid to air, or in our case, because B sat in a dry womb for so long. He was born on Thursday and by Sunday morning, the pneumo was gone, but he had to stay for monitoring because of the antibiotic. You never know how a newborn will react to antibiotics, so it's better safe than sorry.
NICU nurses are awesome. I feel like it's a real calling to be one. They know they're dealing with very emotional mothers and are usually incredibly empathetic. I assume your SIL will be up there a lot, so if she had a vaginal birth, the best thing you can do for her is bring her a pillow. NICU chairs will kill your hooha.
As for breastfeeding, PUMP PUMP PUMP. I pumped every 2 hours. She should be allowed to pull the curtain and pump in there, or there will be hospital pumps set up in a special room. After the baby is in a crib, she will be allowed to nurse him. Lactation consultants are ALL OVER the NICU because they really want NICU babies to breastfeed if at all possible. They will store expressed milk in their fridges so the baby can have it even when you're not there. My LC told me to eat oatmeal and oatmeal cookies as often as possible while I wasn't able to nurse often to make my production stay constant. Without the baby nursing and emptying your boobs, the production can dip, especially if it's just coming in.
Btw, babies with lung issues in the NICU may have to go without eating for a bit. They're afraid the baby will aspirate the fluid. B went 24+ hours without eating and then got 10 ccs and had to work his way up to 50 at a time, then could eat whatever and whenever.
ETA: I know you didn't ask this, but in addition to the pillow if you want to do something for them, bringing lunch or giving them money for food or parking is awesome. We were spending $50-60 a day to eat lunch and dinner there, plus parking. Being there for 10 days, it begins to really hurt your wallet.
both my babies had respiratory distress syndrome at first. Sydney was off oxygen within 2 days and Ayden it took a little longer (like 4-5 days). It didn't seem like a big deal.
also, the LC's were AWESOME with the NICU moms and gave even more attention than the regular moms had. So she should soak up all the 1:1 time she can get with the LC. the NICU was very supportive of BF-ing, even though it just didn't work out for us.
I had a friend that had a baby in the NICU for similar reaaons. He was there a week until he grew out of the problem. Most likely it is something the baby just needs time to grow out of. 38 weeks isnt a premie but it still is early.
It is a really stressful and scary time to have a LO on the NICU. Praying LOs stay is uneventful and short.
Please let us know as you hear about him. NICU life is hard, so they are all in my prayers.
I definitely will. I really hope he is able to leave soon. My SIL naturally has very, very high anxiety and is a big worrier. This situation is crazy and stressful to ANY ONE but especially to someone who has anxiety problems.
Our Twin Baby + a Big Girl Blog
And with the delivery trifecra of one twin vaginal, one c-section with general anesthesia for twin B, Spencer and Sidney joined us at 35 weeks exactly on June 18.