Bringing Home Preemie

[Nutshell]

Hello. I have a daughter who just turned 2 months old. She wasn't due until March 19th. She came 3 months early weighing 1lb 10oz. She has been in the hospital ever since she was born. Now she is coming home sometime this week and I am completely terrified. I have a son who will be 2 on the 14th and I was nervous when we brought him home and he was completely healthy. My daughter is healthy now but has been through several ordeals during her first 2 months of life. She has been on a ventilator, had numerous blood transfusions, 5 chest tubes, and a total of probably 50-60 IVs with numerous amounts of antibiotics due to a staph infection. She had several apneas (heart rate drops and oxygen sats drop) over the months but they have gone away now. However, I am so scared of bringing her home and not having the machines the hospital has. I am so excited she is getting to come home and at the same time I am scared to death. If anyone has gone thru this please help me with this anxiety. I also suffer from generalized anxiety so that doesn't help matters. I am on meds for it and they do work but not to the extent I need them to.

[worried_mommy]

Well my DD came home as a preemie, though she didn't go through nearly the ordeal your lil one did, poor lil peanut...and mommy!

A few things I know that helped us out:

1. Remember to turn the temp up a bit in your home if you normally keep it cool. Our Ped recomended 21 degrees ( or 72 F)untill she reached 5 lbs.

2. Tell all would be drop by visitors in advance that you will not be allowing anyone to drop by and handle the baby. That way there is no guilty feelings on your part when you have to turn away visitors.

3.As Im sure you already know, preemies eat even more often then most newborns (didn't think that could be possible!) So you may want to keep lots of easy to grab snacks on hand, so you don't get too warn out yourself :P

4. Infant massage! It worked wonders for our DD, she gained weight very rappidly. Skin to skin contact is very important for all infants and especially for preemies, it has been proven to aid in weight gain.

5. A good day and night pattern with lights has also been proven to aid in weight gain. Though bright lights can be hard on a preemies sensitive eyes.

6. Sometimes they don't like things being around their mouths, because of feeding/breathing tubes, so getting them to eat can be hard at times. Helping to get them used to have their mouths touched with a pacifier or just a gentle touch helps with feeding.

7.Sterilizing is always a good idea with a preemie too, untill they are big and strong enough to fight off infections themselves.

8. RELAX, and take care of yourself!! You deserve it Mommy! Enojoy having your lil one home and your 2 y/o.

I'm sure you knew most of this already, it's just a few of the things I remembered from my lil one comming home. HTH

[Zayazmama]

Nutshell, I am glad that you will be bringing home your little sweetie soon. I agree with worried_mommie on the stuff. I had my son 12 weeks early too. I was soooooo scared when I brought him home. Not only was I a first time mom, but he didnt come with any directions. lol.....

The temp thing I totally agree with. And I sterilized EVERYTHING for quite a while with him. Visitors were a no-no, as they dont have the immune system that a normal full-term baby would have, so they can get sick quite easily, especially if all these people are coming in and out. I didnt take him out of the house for more than a month either. DH stayed home with him when I went to the store or somewhere. I was working from home the day after he was born (had to do something to keep me occupied while he was in the NICU, even though I spent countless hours there with him), so that was never an issue, thank goodness. They do eat more often. I think that when my son finally came home he was only eating an ounce or less, I dont remember the exact - I know it was from one of those skinny plastic bottles that measure cc's on them.

I know of a book if you dont have one already that will help you to understand what is going on, and may give you some pointers on stuff with caring for a preemie. It is called "Your Premature Baby", by Dr's Manginello and DiGeronimo, or you may want to check with your hospital's education department. They probably have books you can check out. Hun, good luck to you!

Jen

[Nutshell]

Thank both of you so much. She was suppose to come home yesterday but her new doc decided to keep her another week. He wants her to gain 3 more ounces. Now she gets to come home next Wednesday. I am really scared and nervous. Was either of your babies on an apnea monitor? I think she is going to be. I have already told people they can't come to the house. I am actually quitting my job to stay home and take care of her. I think I am just really scared.

[Zayazmama]

Nutshell.....sweetie, everything will be okay. It is so nerve-racking when they first come home, I know. I was scared to even do anything. Fortunately my son didnt have any outside problems and we didnt need any extra machines, etc. My suggestion would be to set up shop (so to speak) in your room next to your bed for the first few weeks. Just to have her extra close to you. But I guess you probably already had that idea.

Just try to relax (yeah, right huh?) and just enjoy her. I mean, in my opinion, preemies really arent THAT different from full term babies. They are just a lot smaller, eat less amounts, and require a little extra care.

I am certain that you and your little sweetie will be just fine. Make sure you try to keep a hat or beanie on her head whenever possible. They say that most body head on an infant is lost through the head. Before you know it, she will be home and the transition will be complete!

Good luck to you!!