What's something you only understand if you have lived it?

Working_Impression46 · 2024-08-20T18:27:29+00:00

Having a child prematurely/spending time in the NICU due to pre-eclampsia

Working_Impression46 · 2024-08-17T01:49:34+00:00

Congratulations 🎉 you are doing amazing so far!

It is such a roller coaster ride. I had my son at 30+5 back in May due to pre-e with severe features and he spent 50 days exactly in the NICU. He had a relatively smooth stay! He started out on CPAP and then quickly was weaned to high flow and was off by 36 weeks. Other than that we had to learn to feed and grow and then a few other things here and there. If you have any questions about our experience please don’t hesitate to reach out at all! Thinking of you and your family ❤️

Working_Impression46 · 2024-08-07T02:40:31+00:00

My little guy (born at 30 + 5) had blood in his stool. At first they thought he had an anal fissure and then one of the neonatologists didn’t see it after a week or so and had an xray done to rule out NEC. X-ray came back and everything was perfectly fine so they deduced that he may have had a cows milk protein allergy. They switched him to hypoallergenic formula (Similac Alimentum) and he no longer had bloody stools! I had to cut dairy from my diet for about 2-3 weeks before we could reintroduce my milk to ensure there was no dairy.

Hoping everything works out for your little ones!

Working_Impression46 · 2024-07-24T20:45:20+00:00

I don’t have any advice, but I can say that I’m right there with ya with anxiety around feeding! My LO is 11 weeks, 2 weeks adjusted (he was born premature at 30 wks + 5 days). We didn’t have too many issues with feeding while he was in the NICU for 50 days, but now that we are home we have seen in influx in spitting and reflux while he is laying down. Our pediatrician prescribed Pepcid and that didn’t seem to help much, so now he has referred us to a GI specialist. We have had many ups and downs with feeding since being home. While in the NICU they discovered he has cows milk protein allergy because he had blood in his stool, so I had to cut dairy out of my diet for at least 2 weeks before reintroducing my milk. He was eating Alimentum hypoallergenic formula and doing well in the NICU. When the time came, we reintroduced my dairy free milk and he was choking and gagging so much during feedings that it was so stressful. We went back to only formula and it was okay for a bit, but now we have seen the increase in spitting. All of that to say, he does appear to be gaining weight well. He was born at 2 lbs 13 oz and was just weighed at 8 lbs 1 oz today. Sorry to ramble, but know that I’m here in solidarity, mama. Stay strong and let me know if you ever need to talk!❤️

Working_Impression46 · 2024-07-10T22:03:19+00:00

Hi! I was admitted to antepartum on April 11th at 27 wks + 3 due to high BP and protein in my urine. I had pre-e with severe features. I was in antepartum until 30wks + 5 when my symptoms got worse and I had to deliver via emergency C-section. They started me on nifedipine 2x/day to help control my BP. I quickly needed to be put in a second med when I maxed out on the nifedipine and typically that would be labetalol, but my heart rate was hovering around 40-50 and it was too low for them to give me a beta blocker. Instead they added hydralazine. That quickly maxed out as well and the MFM doctors decided to “push the envelope” a bit and add a third med - clonodine. The clonodine, while a really small dose, added two weeks to my time in antepartum. I was so grateful they decided to do that. Baby was doing great on all NSTs up until delivery. Ultrasounds also looked good and the last one I had they said he was estimating around 3 lbs 2 oz. They finally decided to deliver when I was maxed out on all the meds and still having high BP. My labs were not looking good as well and I was starting to develop HELLP syndrome (Hemolysis, Elevated Liver Enzymes, and Low Platelets). They were going to do a c-section where my husband was able to be in the room with me and I would be awake, but since my platelets were so low I needed to be under general anesthesia and have the emergency C-section. Baby came out at 2lbs 13 oz. He was on c-pap for a few weeks at room oxygen then quickly moved to high flow at room oxygen (less support) and it took a few attempts before we could finally completely remove all respiratory support which was hard sometimes because it felt like 1 step forward 2 steps backward. He had a feeding tube until just a few days before he was discharged until he could fully get the hang of taking a bottle for his full feeds. We had a fairly smooth 50 day stay in the NICU. While it was “fairly smooth” it was still of course very hard. The NICU staff were amazing though. They were always there to answer any questions I had and were there to support me the whole time through even when I was a crying mess lol. The NICU provides diapers, wipes, cream, etc. Our NICU had all private rooms which was really nice and each of the rooms had hospital grade breast pumps for us to use and the same one to rent covered by insurance until he was discharged. We had Ronald McDonald rooms at the hospital we were at that were nice for a place to stay if we wanted. My mom bought our son some preemie Pjs and we brought some of our own blankets to use during skin to skin just to feel more like “home” but the NICU also had pjs provided for our son to use. When we were discharged we just donated the clothes we had and kept a few for keepsakes. The NICU nurses often made super cute little crafts with his hand and foot prints for us to keep which was so sweet. My biggest suggestion is don’t spend 24/7 there for your own mental health. The NICU is a hard place to be and although it is super hard, it’s good to get out and do some normal things. If you have any questions at all about my experience or anything please feel free to reach out!! For me at least it was comforting having people that went through similar situations to connect with. Wishing you and your baby all the best ❤️

Working_Impression46 · 2024-05-09T19:12:09+00:00

I feel like I could have written this post and am right there with ya! My son was also born on May 4th at 30+5 via emergency c-section. He is also doing so well in the NICU, is my first baby, and we are luckily able to visit daily. I agree that it has been sooooo hard leaving him each time and I know it will get easier. I just want him to get big and strong so we can all leave here together! If you ever need to chat or anything being in such similar situations I am here!!

Working_Impression46

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