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Premature Baby - What to bring to the hospital?
I believe I mentioned they were going to try to deliver me at 36 weeks, but now it's 35 weeks assuming amnio shows that lungs are mature. OB also said baby will probably be less than 5 pounds and have to spend sometime in NICU. I'm struggling with this because for one it will be hard to go home without the baby. I'm terrified of such a small baby, and I certainly don't want to see the baby connected to a bunch of tubes and wires and/or IV. I hope it won't be that bad. I really don't think I wil have the strength to deal with that.
So really here's my question....should I even bother to pack anything to bring to the hospital for the baby??? I'm bringing my baby book and I'm hoping she will be well enough for them to stamp her foot prints in it.
So really here's my question....should I even bother to pack anything to bring to the hospital for the baby??? I'm bringing my baby book and I'm hoping she will be well enough for them to stamp her foot prints in it.
omg i cant belive they already 2 weeks old. i hope they will do better and better so you can take them home
My girls were born 8 weeks early via c-section on June 30th and both weighed 4lb3oz. They were in the NICU for 3.5 days.
The girls were transferred to the children hospital after 3.5 days....and at that point I was also discharged from the hospital. It was VERY hard to go home without them and unfortunately I couldnt check into the childrens hospital with them since they were on the premature baby station with all the babies that didnt need to be in NICU but were not old enough / strong enough to go home. I go to the hospital every day and the past few weeks have flown by. I cant believe they were two weeks old yesterday. The time flies.
They can come home when they can drink enough out of the bottle or nurse all of their meals. Right now Isabella can drink about 20% of her meal and Vanessa drinks about 60% of hers. Then usually they are so tired from drinking that they fall asleep and the rest has to be fed through the gavage tube that goes directly to their tummies (through their nose). Hopefully they can go home by end of next week :)
Anyways, in the hospital, they are wearing the hospitals outfits and diapers. We only have to bring clothes for them on the day that they go home.
The girls were transferred to the children hospital after 3.5 days....and at that point I was also discharged from the hospital. It was VERY hard to go home without them and unfortunately I couldnt check into the childrens hospital with them since they were on the premature baby station with all the babies that didnt need to be in NICU but were not old enough / strong enough to go home. I go to the hospital every day and the past few weeks have flown by. I cant believe they were two weeks old yesterday. The time flies.
They can come home when they can drink enough out of the bottle or nurse all of their meals. Right now Isabella can drink about 20% of her meal and Vanessa drinks about 60% of hers. Then usually they are so tired from drinking that they fall asleep and the rest has to be fed through the gavage tube that goes directly to their tummies (through their nose). Hopefully they can go home by end of next week :)
Anyways, in the hospital, they are wearing the hospitals outfits and diapers. We only have to bring clothes for them on the day that they go home.
I will keep you in my prayers. I would say go ahead and bring the baby an outfit. Your baby should be fine by now. My SIL is a L&D Nurse and she says she sees even 32/33 weekers go home w/in a day or two. Good Luck!
good luck , i am not sure what to bring but probably the usual but smaller outfits (premies)and i would pack it before b/c later you might fink more about your little angel then what to pack . Hope both of you can go home fast. Keep us posted.
I am delivering 5 weeks early because the baby is small for gestational age and they feel she is at a high risk for being stillborn. The OB thinks that she can thrive better outside the womb.
My sister had her baby at 35 weeks, he weighed 4lb 4oz. He wasn't even put in an incubator but he did have the feeding tube only because his mouth was to small to suck and didn't have the sucking refluct yet. So i wouldn't worry they wouldn't do it if they thought it was that much of a risk. My nephew is now going on 3 in 2 mths and he is a big solid boy who wears bigger clothes than my 5 year old.
As for clothing i'm with blueeyedtabbycat, i'd pack maybe ouple of prem outfits but you'll probably find even those will be to big for the start. My 2 kids were both 6lb babies and they were in prem clothes to start off with and they fitted just right.
Good luck and congrats.
As for clothing i'm with blueeyedtabbycat, i'd pack maybe ouple of prem outfits but you'll probably find even those will be to big for the start. My 2 kids were both 6lb babies and they were in prem clothes to start off with and they fitted just right.
Good luck and congrats.
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Hmm............I have never had a premie but I dont think baby will have to stay long especially if the amnio shows lungs are mature. I would pack a going home outfit for baby in a premie size just in case:) I am so excited for you!! I cant believe you might have your little one in your arms so soon!! Good luck with everything! Hugs!!
BTW- I forgot why you were being delivered so early...............???
BTW- I forgot why you were being delivered so early...............???
my little one was born at exactly 36 weeks. I had a c-section, so I was in the hospital for 5 days, but she was allowed to go home with me. I don't know if she would've been ready before then.
She was 4 lbs 13 oz when born, and 4 lbs 7 oz when she went home. She had to pass a carseat tolerance test before they let her go, and I assume your little one will be the same. She did have some trouble regulating her body temp and spent some time under heat the first few days. After that, we just kept her wrapped up and kept an eye on her temperature. While she did end up having feeding issues due to being early, and she was a very sleepy eater, she was able to use the disposable nipples they had there.
I would pack some things for her and hope for the best. Bring a preemie outfit to take her home in. Have your infant seat ready, because they may not release her until she passes the test. Honestly, other than the going home outfit, my dd didn't need anything else from home. While in the hospital, she wore their shirts and diapers, even though they were all way too huge on her. They just folded the tops of the diapers down. I think the diapers in the hospital were size 1, and DD wore preemie diapers for a couple of weeks before graduating to newborn then 1.
*** be sure to take the nasal aspirator from the hospital. If you can, snag more than 1. They work better than anything you can buy in a store.
as for being terrified of having such a small baby- it's amazing how quickly you become used to having such a tiny thing. DH had never even held a baby prior to holding her, and even he did great. The poor thing had no fat on her at all- folds of skin draped off her bones. And her feet looked HUGE, but luckily once there was fat on her, they looked normal. it's amazing how quickly they put the weight on. DD played catch-up very quickly. She went from 3rd % to 75th percentile by 3 months old!! At one point, she was almost putting on a pound a week. If possible, you may want to try breastfeeding or pumping to give her that extra boost since she will be so early. I honestly contribute her thriving to breastmilk (not to say she wouldn't have done OK on formula- i just think she did as wonderfully as she did and caught up as quickly as she did because of breastmilk).
She was 4 lbs 13 oz when born, and 4 lbs 7 oz when she went home. She had to pass a carseat tolerance test before they let her go, and I assume your little one will be the same. She did have some trouble regulating her body temp and spent some time under heat the first few days. After that, we just kept her wrapped up and kept an eye on her temperature. While she did end up having feeding issues due to being early, and she was a very sleepy eater, she was able to use the disposable nipples they had there.
I would pack some things for her and hope for the best. Bring a preemie outfit to take her home in. Have your infant seat ready, because they may not release her until she passes the test. Honestly, other than the going home outfit, my dd didn't need anything else from home. While in the hospital, she wore their shirts and diapers, even though they were all way too huge on her. They just folded the tops of the diapers down. I think the diapers in the hospital were size 1, and DD wore preemie diapers for a couple of weeks before graduating to newborn then 1.
*** be sure to take the nasal aspirator from the hospital. If you can, snag more than 1. They work better than anything you can buy in a store.
as for being terrified of having such a small baby- it's amazing how quickly you become used to having such a tiny thing. DH had never even held a baby prior to holding her, and even he did great. The poor thing had no fat on her at all- folds of skin draped off her bones. And her feet looked HUGE, but luckily once there was fat on her, they looked normal. it's amazing how quickly they put the weight on. DD played catch-up very quickly. She went from 3rd % to 75th percentile by 3 months old!! At one point, she was almost putting on a pound a week. If possible, you may want to try breastfeeding or pumping to give her that extra boost since she will be so early. I honestly contribute her thriving to breastmilk (not to say she wouldn't have done OK on formula- i just think she did as wonderfully as she did and caught up as quickly as she did because of breastmilk).
i haven't had a pre term baby so i'm sorry i don't know whether you should take anything. BUT, i was worried about having a pre term labour this time around and did some research. from 34 weeks, the baby's chance of survival is almost as good as that for a full term. the only medical assistance that MAY be necessary is an incubator ( if baby hasn't put on enough weight to regulate its own temperature ) and a feeding tube ( if its sucking reflex hasn't developed sufficiently ). at 35 weeks, these are both very much IFS, just think if you went into labour naturally at 36 weeks, they would not try to stop it or give surfactant to mature the lungs because they are sufficiently developed. 5 lbs is quite a good weight, pookie had her twins at 32 weeks, they both weigh 4lbs and are doing well.
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