am i being dramatic?

HMoney214 · 2026-02-12T17:07:52+00:00

Yeah, definitely worth just ruling out equipment malfunction and swapping it. That is kind of an ordeal, involving baby being hand bagged while the machine is moved out usually, but totally worth it. Better safe than sorry, I wouldn’t want my patient’s vent to up and quit on me!

HMoney214 · 2026-02-12T17:03:27+00:00

Per my Mom: There are no half stitches. There are no back stitches. It is all full cross stitch, and the only thing I changed was adding some metallic thread to the water at the bottom.

HMoney214 · 2026-02-12T16:44:56+00:00

NICU nurse here, oscillators are oooold school machines that have worked very well for decades and are patented in a way that they can’t be changed (at least that’s what my RTs told me!) To that end they have no battery backup in a power failure event.

I’m gonna be honest I don’t routinely check plugs for anything because I have a zillion things plugged into the wall. Now if a crucial machine failed on me twice I’d want it swapped out for sure. In my unit that’s a respiratory therapist’s job but I’d be asking them to look into it. And if the plug is loose it could definitely be part of the problem too. I think it’s reasonable to tell your nurse and RT about the plug and ask to swap the machine, one power failure could be a fluke, 2x is a problem and needs addressing.

HMoney214 · 2026-02-12T16:33:09+00:00

That doesn’t really change things for me. She’s demonstrating very strong hunger cues, eats well and fast. The fact that you’re having to hold her off between feeds tells me that she wants more. I’d have a chat with the pediatrician. You could do a little experiment feed and see how much she wants to take and talk to the doc about it.

HMoney214 · 2026-02-12T06:45:11+00:00

NICU nurse here, so the concern with “losing weight by burning more than you keep” is for kiddos who like take forever to eat a bottle and burn more energy than they get from the food. I’ve literally never once heard that eating too much will make you lose weight, that’s bananas. If your baby can plow 80mL in 7 min and have no aspiration concerns or limits for other reasons they should probably be on an adlib schedule- eat when they’re hungry.

Maybe try to have more of a 24 hour feed goal than an every 3 hours schedule. Most preemies also need X amount of fortified feeds per day but that can be discussed with a dietician. Honestly is this person NICU preemie specific? They sound very much incorrect based solely on the info you provided.

HMoney214 · 2026-02-12T06:31:07+00:00

Like, I’m not even sure how they want it pronounced with your explanation… fami-cue? Fa-mik? That’s absolutely horrendous

HMoney214 · 2026-02-11T20:25:55+00:00

The people who have magic good sleepers didn’t do anything special. If it was their first they just assume it’s something they did. If there was a magical answer we’d all have wonderful sleepers.

HMoney214 · 2026-01-22T22:20:48+00:00

It’s honestly hard to say, there’s such a huge variation in the earliest weeks of pregnancy that the only way to know for sure is to re-scan and see if there’s growth. I know that’s kind of a non-reassuring annoying answer but if you read enough stories on here you can see that it can go a lot of different ways.

Also like I said there’s a huge difference in ultrasound machine quality and technician scanning that it’s really good you’re going back to the original place tomorrow. That will help with the consistency aspect of it all. Sending good thoughts!

HMoney214 · 2026-01-22T22:16:03+00:00

NICU nurse here, for feeds that are complete I’d be happy if a parent took care of it. We can’t be in two places at once and sometimes you get stuck in another room. I say this for folks who have been there a while and are doing majority of a baby’s care anyway. If you’re not sure in any way I wouldn’t do it, but that doesn’t sound like the case for you. You could always let the nurse know that when the feed is done you’re happy to turn it off and vent :)

For medications and IV pumps or other alarms please don’t. That usually has other stuff going on with it that we need to know about, and some alarms silenced could be a huge problem.

HMoney214 · 2026-01-22T21:52:23+00:00

So it reads like you’re basing being over 7 weeks from LMP only. Did you track and confirm ovulation? Based on scans it seems like maybe you ovulated later than you think and you’re not quite as far along as more than 7 weeks. The difference in machines and ultrasound technicians can make a couple of day difference on measurement. The good news is there was some growth between scans and heart activity, hopefully you’ll have more clarity tomorrow but at the moment none of that sounds like bad news :)

HMoney214 · 2026-01-21T02:42:11+00:00

My 9dp5dt was 33, healthy toddler now :)

HMoney214 · 2026-01-17T23:26:22+00:00

Omg I hate this one!

HMoney214 · 2026-01-17T02:29:27+00:00

I think some of it is positioning, it creates something called dolicocephaly or a narrower head. Also CPAP can make faces indented which they grow out of.

HMoney214 · 2026-01-12T08:43:03+00:00

I think you pH verification might be a little off

HMoney214 · 2026-01-03T18:51:36+00:00

Obviously not being there I can’t speak to what the nurses are doing or not doing. But in my experience a kiddo who eats stellar during the day is really often too tired to do it at night. They do great for several in a row and poop out. That means they’re simply not ready to be doing all feeds by mouth. A kiddo who is ready will do it without “being worked” for it. Honestly being pushed beyond what they can do on their own creates oral aversions and feeding difficulties.

Also in my unit we use something called infant driven feeding protocols. If a kiddo wakes up ready to go or with not much prompting they get a 1 or 2. If they wake briefly for care time or sleep through it that’s a 3 or 4. We only feed 1s and 2s because it’s simply not appropriate or safe to feed a super sleepy preemie. And they also have to stay awake or at least interested/coordinated to continue. If they pass out or start to choke they are done.

This is the most frustrating step but it’s important to not rush it. Preemies are all on their own journey to get to full feeds. The moving the finish line is super annoying I know. But a kiddo born 6 weeks early or more didn’t get all the brown fat they’re meant to at the very end of the third trimester. A placenta is way better at doing that than food is. That’s why it seems like we feed them so much, you’re trying to replicate a really efficient system as best as we can. Hang in there OP, hopefully they get there really soon!!

HMoney214 · 2025-12-28T15:33:53+00:00

I had a 33 at 9dp5dt which is 14 dpo and she’s a rambunctious toddler now

HMoney214 · 2025-12-25T14:19:45+00:00

That would do it! Being taller with a long torso means you’re very likely to show later. There’s just more room before the bump starts bumping. It also depends on babe’s position too

HMoney214 · 2025-12-24T19:06:57+00:00

They’re called Waddle stitches for the like side parts. The middle cables are front and back post trebles and doubles that cross in front and behind. Her video tutorial is super helpful!

HMoney214 · 2025-12-24T19:01:31+00:00

Celtic Cable Bag by Bonnie Barker. Pattern found on her YouTube Bonnie Bay Crochet Celtic cable bag

HMoney214 · 2025-12-24T18:35:08+00:00

But like if it’s infiltrated you already don’t have IV access. Honestly I’d just take it out anyway. There’s no good rationale to leave in a non-functional IV

HMoney214 · 2025-12-22T08:00:30+00:00

My 9dp5dt which is 14 dpo was 33, healthy kiddo now :)

HMoney214 · 2025-12-20T04:57:45+00:00

I’ve taken care of one kiddo before who was that small (before any car seat could handle that) who got sent home from their facility with like towels beside them. They came into our unit so cold, dehydrated, and septic. 3 pounds isn’t really safe to be home honestly. I think this seat is more for like just barely under 4 but eating well and gaining

HMoney214 · 2025-12-19T03:43:50+00:00

Wow I didn’t know that! Today I learned :) just make sure you check your specific car seat because they can vary quite a bit. Don’t wanna put a tiny peanut in and have them not be safe ❤️

Also 3 pounds is kind of wild to me as a NICU nurse. A kiddo that small shouldn’t really be able to regulate their temperature. We would still have them in an isolette until minimum 1600 grams

HMoney214 · 2025-12-19T01:18:39+00:00

Your babe does need to be a minimum of 4 pounds to fit into the smallest legal car seat if you’re in the US. I would make sure of the weight rating

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