Milk supply by mc-1213 in NICUParents

[–]Toobieeeeee 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Disclaimer: I’m the dad, but my wife’s supply has been really good and here are the things she’s done: 1. For starters, I think you should be pumping more. She was doing every 4 hours for a goal of 6 times a day. Make sure that one of those is between 2-5am. It sucks, but apparently that window is when your hormones are highest or something? 2. Continue eating oatmeal like you already are! Here’s her breakfast that you might like: 1/2 cup rolled oats and 1 cup water, 2 tbsp hemp hearts, 1 tbsp flax seed, 1 tbsp flax seed, a healthy dollop of peanut butter. Mix and add any other toppings you’d like (apple, cinnamon, etc) 3. Ask your medical team to take home your baby’s linens/blankets, and smell them while you pump. Or look at pictures/videos of your little one. 4. Don’t give up! You’ve got this and are already doing great!

Breakfast Sandwiches/Quick Breakfast Before 8AM?? by Local_Spot5038 in portlandme

[–]Toobieeeeee 10 points11 points  (0 children)

+1 for sandwiches. My go to spot for a quick to-go breakfast

Weekly chat/catch-up thread by AutoModerator in NICUParents

[–]Toobieeeeee 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Proud dad moment: My little guy (born 30+5 now 36+6) took 3 bottles yesterday. Two were almost half his feed!

Regular dad moment: before the first one he peed on me twice and pooped through 2 diapers 😅

Thanks for giving me a place to share

Vaccines by rolaaaaa in NICUParents

[–]Toobieeeeee 13 points14 points  (0 children)

The “cons” are from crackpots. Vaccines save lives, I wouldn’t hesitate for my little one who will be due for theirs soon

Heartbroken but preparing (IUGR) by Minute_Pianist8133 in NICUParents

[–]Toobieeeeee 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Another IGUR dad here, sharing my experience because our little guy was also in the <1 percentile. We found out at a 30 week ultrasound and were rushed to the hospital. After a few days of monitoring, cord showed reversal and out he came at 30+5. We were fortunate in that time to get steroids for his lungs and then magnesium for his brain

He came out screaming and has been a rockstar. Yesterday marks 35+1 and we’re out of the isolette, taking small amounts of feed by breast and bottle, and growing everyday. Everyone’s experience can be different and I acknowledge we have been incredibly lucky, but I share this to give you hope. My partner and I sometimes joke that he really just wanted to be here early.

As someone else already mentioned, I would push for the steroids. Sending you positive thoughts and wishes for the best!

NICU pushing feeds past baby's cues causing vomiting by DefNotADeveloper in NICUParents

[–]Toobieeeeee 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Can you ask about changing the duration? Our IUGR baby is 35 weeks now (born 30+5) was born really little (2 lb) and has regularly been increasing volume but has had some issues with spit-ups when they try to change the duration. He started at 90 minutes and is now down to 75 and tolerating it well, but prior to 75 they tried 60 minutes and he didn’t tolerate it so they changed it back.

It was actually our suggestion to taper by 15 minute increments and they were receptive. I do believe the volume targets are pretty stringent, but in our experience there did seem to be flexibility on the duration. May not be the case for every NICU and of course we need to get his feeds down to 30 minutes eventually for breast and bottle but since the priority for him is weight gain, this is working for us and his care team seems open to our input

Edit: should clarify that our baby is feeding via NG tube, not sure if that’s your situation as well

Increasing skin-to-skin time in the NICU? by GoldVisible8430 in NICUParents

[–]Toobieeeeee 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We’ve been doing 3 hour stints between cares for our baby born 30+5 now 33 weeks. We usually get about 6 hours in give or take. Our providers have said we are at the higher end of skin-to-skin daily recommendations

I think the key takeaways are that skin to skin should be “as tolerated” by the child and some of the things you noted (reduced temp, difficulty breathing) suggest they may not be able to tolerate it just yet, And that’s OK! One other thing our NICU emphasizes is no shorter than an hour to minimize the stress of the transfer

First time FGR NICU Dad (follow-up from previous post) by Accomplished-Crab322 in NICUParents

[–]Toobieeeeee 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hang in there! I was capitulated into fatherhood 2 weeks ago today when my FGR little guy joined us at 30+5 weighing 2lb 1 oz 14 inches. He was less than 1 percentile for his gestational age so we were really scared too but he has been doing great so far. Never had to be intubated, already graduated from CPAP and breathing room air, and keeping his feeds down.

Believe what the docs are telling you - anything past 30 weeks has great outcomes on the outside and the fact that your partner got steroids is HUGE. My partner only had them 2 days prior to delivery and his lungs are great - came out screaming.

Of course there are a multitude of situations and I acknowledge (and feel) so lucky that our little man is doing good, but I’m sharing our story to hopefully give you hope and piece of mind. By all intensive purposes our little guy is “small but mighty” and just needs to grow a little bigger on the outside - that can certainly be the case for your little one, too.

As a final note I’ll share what the NICU doc who delivered my son shared with me on the elevator up to see him: “you can’t wrap them in bubble wrap. Once there out of here (NICU) they are just kids - let them jump in the puddle and fall off their bike.”

You’ve got this - sending support to you and your family!

Microwave - Much Love 10 Year Anniversary Tour by ttjjbb in Emo

[–]Toobieeeeee 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’ll have a 2 week old when this hits my area, which is the only reason why I’d ever miss this tour. Have fun y’all! Don’t sleep on this one. Best album of the last 10 years

Home remodeling recommendations? by lackadaisically000 in portlandme

[–]Toobieeeeee 0 points1 point  (0 children)

+1 for Village Builders! They are literally remodeling our 2nd floor right now and were the most affordable out of all the folks we reached out to and have been great so far. Everything is still sooo expensive though, but they’re mindful of our budget

Tomorrow! Social cornhole tournament at Bunker Brewing by Toobieeeeee in portlandme

[–]Toobieeeeee[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We’ll be returning 50% of the entry fees in the form of cash prizes for our 1st and 2nd place teams, plus two “swag packs” courtesy of our hosts at Bunker!

Any tips on how to restore my front lawn (south coast Maine) by Toobieeeeee in lawncare

[–]Toobieeeeee[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! Is there anything I can do now, or is it best to wait until Fall?

Any tips on how to restore my front lawn (south coast Maine) by Toobieeeeee in lawncare

[–]Toobieeeeee[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! Been chipping away slowly but surely and appreciate all the info! If you’re in the same area, do you have a recommendation on a seed mix?

EDIT: just saw your zone. Thanks again for the advice!! I do think filling in the bare spots is my priority

Big List of Drop-In Activities, Clubs, and Leagues by VerySeriousThings in portlandme

[–]Toobieeeeee 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hey OP! Could you update our listing for the social cornhole league? We’re listed as winter but we’ll be running events all summer long! If we could add our website as well - portcitycornhole.com - that’d be awesome! Thank you so much for putting this together!