My daughter was born this thursday at 30 weeks, she weighed 3 lbs 2oz and is expected to be in the NICU for about 6 weeks. I just got discharged and am trying to learn what I can about preemies and anything I can do to prepare or care for her (besides what the doctors and nurses have already told me), I don't really know where to start. I noticed some babies in the NICU were wearing little onesies. No one said anything to me about dressing her and I guess I'm wondering if that is more of an uncomfortable hassle for her at this point or not, or when people start dressing their preemies? I plan to ask the nurses but I'd love to hear what some parents who've had this experience think. Any other recommendations are welcome too! Thank you!
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Congratulations on the birth of your daughter!!!
The best clothing type we found was the snap up sleeper, so the wires could slip through the gaps in between the snaps. We didn't dress LO until a few days before discharge because he was in a warm isolette and we were doing skin to skin every time we held him, but that doesn't mean you can't dress her if you want!
A couple things that made life a little easier for me: a huge Camelbak water bottle, comfy slippers, huge thick sweats, nursing tanks, a nursing cover (for pumping, it was nice to cover up, even though there were privacy screens, it made me more comfortable), and lotion! We were extremely diligent about hand washing and hand sanitizer before touching LO so my hands were painfully cracked.
Good luck to you and your family
if you need anything, there are many preemie mamas on the 'bee! I will keep your sweet girl in my prayers.
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The nurse told me that I could bring clothes for her after she got all of the wires removed. In the beginning she had all sorts of things attached to her so it was easier to just be in a diaper. I never brought clothes until it was time to go home though, didn't want the extra laundry and they had stuff.
Good luck. It's pretty overwhelming at first, but once I had a routine down it got easier.
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Congratulations on the birth of your LO! I can't offer advice, but am keeping you and baby in my prayers!
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When E was in the NICU they said I could put him snap sleepers when I was ready. I waited for a little while but it he felt more like mine once I was dressing him.
Congrats on your little one momma! Just ask your nurses they will tell you!!
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Congratulations on your little one! My daughter was born at 30 weeks (and 5 days) as well. I actually did not bring any clothes for her until she was ready to go home. The NICU had little shirts for them and she wore only a diaper on the bottom. When she was in her isolette her temperature was regulated so she really didn't need anything and once she was in an open crib she was swaddled while she was sleeping, otherwise someone was holding her, so she didn't need clothes then (I did a lot of skin to skin).
Good luck and sending positive thoughts your way! Feel free to wall me if you have questions or if you just want to talk! -
Our LO was a 41 weeker but spent 7 weeks in the NICU due to some medical issues. We met the most amazing staff, especially the nurses and I hope you have the same experience. The nurses were the best people to answer questions for sure. Like PPs mentioned you may be able to dress her in snap up sleepers that accommodate the wires etc. also we could bring receiving blankets etc to make his space our own. Congrats on your LO and wishing you all the best!
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Congrats on the birth of your LO!
My son was born at 34 weeks and was in the NICU 10 days. He kept getting jaundice so we couldn't really put clothes on him until he was almost ready to go home. I suggest clothes with snaps so they don't interfere with the wires. I think Carter's has the largest selection of preemie clothes.
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@Mrs. Pom Pom: Congrats on your daughter, I am sorry she decided to join you guys so early!
I wrote a post on this: http://www.hellobee.com/2014/09/12/tips-for-an-extended-nicu-stay/
Mrs. Blue wrote a post: http://www.hellobee.com/2013/10/09/parenting-in-the-nicu/
and before I had D I asked the boards for NICU tips and got lots of good feedback. Please ignore the scarier personal stuff about D which is not applicable to you guys! http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/requesting-nicu-for-dummies-tips
I hope her 6 weeks pass quickly and uneventfully. How are you feeling?
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My girls weren't in the ICU but were in the 4-5 lb range when born and had more frequent monitoring while we were there. The nurses all loved this preemie set I put them in. The top is held by Velcro so it was super easy for them to open it up to check on them.
http://www.stephanbaby.net/collection/paisley-collection/paisley-jacket-pants-set-preemie.html -
Thank you everyone for your kind words and tips!
@Mrs. Tiger: I read those posts (and many of your posts) in the hospital and they helped motivate me to write down my experience, so thank you! I'm feeling all sorts of things, I'm anxious to recover myself, relying on other people for everything's gets old quickly and I can't wait to have my mobility back and feel like I can be on top of all this. Pumping is my main focus right now and I'm producing a ton of milk so that's a huge relief. We have family here to help and my son has been amazing so I'm really very lucky so far. I'm a little anxious to get through these first days and weeks so we can start kangaroo care and breastfeeding, I think the strangest part of this for me is the lack of bonding.
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NICU nurse here! We put our babies in clothes as soon as their IV's are gone and they are stable usually. I would avoid zippers because she will have leads (the stickers) on her chest until she goes home so it is easier buttoning around the wires than having a zipper. We also allow families to bring in blankets to swaddle and to use as linen in the isolettes/ cribs to dress up their rooms. I think the preemies look so cute in their outfits so I love when parents bring them in instead of the too big hospital white shirts.
Congrats! Hope her hospital stay is smooth and quick.
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In our NICU babies could wear clothes after 3lbd and if they didn't need bili lights for jaundice. Our NICU had clothes but we also brought in our own. It's nice to do some normal things like that. I have a post of NICU must haves it you want to check it out. I'll link later, but you can search for it on my blog.
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Congratulations on the birth of your sweet baby girl. I hope she continues to thrive and gets home with you quickly and safely.
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@Mrs. Pom Pom: did you have a c section? It was hard in particular for me relying on other people driving me to/from the hospital. I'm glad pumping is going well! I think it's easier if you've breastfed before. Bonding will get easier, especially once you can hold her or the nurses let you take care of some of her "cares" like colostrum swabs, diaper changes, bath, etc. You can ask the nurses for books to borrow to read to your son about what's happening, although I hope hrs oblivious like k was. Good luck and don't hesitate to ask if you need anything, I'm in the MD suburbs of DC.
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@Mrs. Tiger: I did have a c section, there was a placental abruption and she was breech. I was able to change her diaper today and help with the feed, I'm still so nervous handling her, but I'm sure that will get easier. My son is definitely oblivious! Thank you!
if you need anything, there are many preemie mamas on the 'bee! I will keep your sweet girl in my prayers.
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