Bringing a prem baby home - STRESS

[rascal1979]

Hiya

Well after 9 long weeks my prem baby finally came home yesterday (on her due date!) but rather than enjoying her I'm so stressed, because;

1. Since she has been home her temp has been hovering around 36.5 to 36.7 (once it has been 36.8). SCBU always said that 36.7 was 'just about acceptable' so as she is lower that this despite having a hat, vest, babygro, cardigan and a million blankets and the heating turned up I'm stressing there is something wrong cos she is 'cold'.

What was your baby's temp like when you first brought him/her home?

1. She can only feed from my right breast - which the bFeeding counsellor said was fine until we are established more and to just express the left in the meantime - which I am doing and have been for just under a week but now I'm home I'm stressing about it. I'm trying her on the left at every feed before offering her the right and she does have a go but can't latch on. Think it might be my positioning with her so will persevere today. Stressing tho.

1. Since she has been fully breastfed she has been sickly after a feed (could be previously with tube feeding and this was more forceful sick), not projectile just kind of overflows and spits it out. Think it's wind but despite me winding and burping her and baby going to sleep, as soon as I put her down in her crib 95% of the time she spits up again. I've raised the head end of the cot as she prefers not to be completely flat but this hasn't seemed to help.

Arrrrrgghhh I've waited soooo long to get her home and now I'm stressing like mad.

Any advice or suggestions. I'm scared to ring NICU in case they say she has to go back cos too cold etc

[MrsBadger]

afraid I'm no help on the temp front, but have you tried the rugby-ball hold for the left breast ie with dd under your left armpit?

[soph28]

Don't know about temperature (my instinct is to say you are worrying too much but I'm sure someone with experience will come along soon). What weight is she now?

I think the spitting up milk is normal- some babies are constantly putting up, others hardly ever do. It is very common for NB to feed until they are overflowing- as soon as you lie them down it comes back up! At least it shows she's taking a good feed!

Congratulations on being home!

[MrsBadger]

actually, thinking about it, the thing that keeps dd warmest wasn't blankets etc but cuddling her - clothes just keep her own heat in, but your body is warm so actually warms her up from the outside.
Stick her up your jumper, or at least inside your cardi .

[rascal1979]

Mrs Badger - tried the rugby ball hold - about the same successs as cradle hold.

Soph28 - re temp my husband thinks I'm worrying too much to but I'm scared in case I'm not and it's a problem. She weighs 4lb 4oz (1.945kg)

[rascal1979]

Mrs Badger - I've done skin to skin and this did raise her temp a little but oviously can't spend all day in skin to skin.

We want to go for a walk soon too and I'm a little scared in case she gets cold - would obviously put her in a snowsuit and cosytoes inside her carry cot.....

[MrsBadger]

have you a sling? (not the Bjorn papoose type, a fabric one)

if not I'd really think about getting one, esp for walks - would also make nearly-skin-to-skin round the house easier. Might even help the spitting up as they're never completely flat.

[misdee]

didnt have a premmie, but some suggestions.

temp, how are you taking her tempterature? its always best to do 3 readings and then take the mean average as there can be mild variations in temperatures even with the same thermonitor. are you taking it at the same time each day?

re: feeding fromt right breast. dd3 only really fed from my left breast for 2years. she just couldnt get the same latch on the right and it did stress her out. eventually, she stopped feeding from the right one altogether at about a year old. and ididnt wind up lopsided.

[rascal1979]

misdee
I'm taking it every hr - and that is being restrained

Will try doing a mean temp - currently she is 36.7.

Do you think it could just be her adjusting from coming out of SCBU? (which was a constant 26-28 degrees) into our house which we have at about 24 degrees atm but usually lot less.

[misdee]

do you need to take it every hour? would it make you more or less stressed to do it twice a day (if scbu agree to that?)

dh (immune suppressed) takes his every morning when he wakes, after peeing and before medicating and drinking anything. (sorry if TMI though lol). then does his weight at the same time. that way he is giving it as much chance of temp being take under the same circumstances every morning.

there are flatuances in temp throughout the day. have SCBU given you an ideal temperature that they want? by scbu saying 36.7 was 'just about acceptable', did they tell you by how much?

[soph28]

just wonderen how you were getting on Rascal? Does dd feel cold to touch? Is she bluish around fingers/feet or mouth? Does she seem alert etc?

If she feels fine I would just continue keeping her well wrapped up, heating cranked up and lots of cuddles! Probably wouldn't go out- is v cold ATM. She will probably adjust in a few days.

Have you tried calling HV/hospital and asking what their suggestions are for keeping her warm?

[Surfnicky]

Hi Rascal,

I have got dts (now 26 weeks, how time flies!) who were about the same size as your dd and who were in scbu for 10 days and constantly had their temps taken. I was also told that they would only be able to come home once they could maintain their temp and when they finally could I was convinced they'd be freezing when they got home. I was so scared to even change them in case they got cold! I think you should do as other posters suggest and perhaps limit her temperature takings (tricky, i know, especially when you're in the habit) and just go by how she feels. I'm sure that if you're keeping her well-wrapped then she'll be absolutely fine. I'd agree with soph28 though and suggest that you wait a bit to take her out....difficult i know as i'm sure you want to show off your beautiful baby! I think we waited, on hv's advice, until the dts were about 5.5lbs or so....and then you couldn't keep me in!

Sounds like you are doing a fab job though - just trust your instincts and you'll be fine.

[Surfnicky]

Oh and meant to say that mine were exactly the same after a bf re spitting up. They grow out of it eventually! Just invest in LOTS of muslin cloths.

[rascal1979]

Hi Just taken her out - before I saw the posts saying maybe not!

Put her in a vest, babygro, cardigan with a hood, hat, snowsuit and cosytoes in her carrycot covered with a blanket it wasn't too cold out and it was nice and sunny - I was too hot with jumper and coat on! and just took her temp when we got back and it was 36.7.

Starting to calm down a little now......i think.....

Surfnicky - any ideas where can get muslin cloths cheap - I boughjt 2 packs from tesco ages ago cheaply and wish I'd bought more - they no longer seem to have them in stock. is it poss to by a sheet of muslina nd cut it up?

[SparklyDYSONGothKat]

I didn't do the temp taking with any of my premmies. why are you doing this?

[TinkerbellesMum]

I was banned from taking Tink's temp, not that I had because being in hospital we are taught to worry over it. In hospital they are worrying about it because they can't control their own temperature, not because they are too cold. At home they are already doing that and the temperature moving is just part of that. A wonderful MW told me that in this country we do worry too much about a babies temperature and wrap them up too much!

I'm glad you've been told not to worry about which breast to use, I was told when feeding once a day that I had to swap each time when I had the same problem. You have had good advice and it won't be long until you are pros and can feed in any position any side! I believe that we become "handed" with breastfeeding, some are lefties and some righties - nothing to do with what hand you write with - in the same way that we can only easily write with one hand normally we find one side easier than the other. Unlike writing it does become easier!

It's normal to have some milk given back to you, have you tried taking her off half way through and winding her?

Don't worry, I was the same. You spend however long in hospital asking someone else if you can do things for your own baby and feeling like someone else is the parent and all of a sudden you are out in the world on your own. Do you have anyone coming out to visit you, like a NN-MW?

BTW, watch your postbox in the next couple of days, TinkerbellesDaddy took a parcel to the post office today.

[mymatemax]

HI rascal, congrats on having your dd home.

I never bothered with ds2's temperature but tbh I would rely more on how your dd looks & is behaving than the numbers.
Is she waking for feeds & does she have a good colour, is she warm to the touch etc?

No bf expert i'm afraid but her tube feeds were measured & of course going direct to her tummy so less likely to come back up.
DS2 had reflux & was always very sick, worse once he was fed orally.

[Crunchie]

rascal tbh I am saying that from the right place

JUST STOP IT

I had a prem baby so I do understand, my dd was a 27 weeker and 1lb 12 at birth, 4lbs 2oz when she came home.

I never took her temp - I haven't even ever had a thermometer in the house. Please please stop stressing.

As far as sick goes, again mine had bad projectile vomiting, so muslins were vital, we tried everything such as cot end up, winding you name it. In the end we just decided sicky baby and always fed her with a towel on my lap and a mussie to catch the vomit. I woudl say about 1/2 her feed came back every time.

[Crunchie]

rascal tbh I am saying that from the right place

JUST STOP IT

I had a prem baby so I do understand, my dd was a 27 weeker and 1lb 12 at birth, 4lbs 2oz when she came home.

I never took her temp - I haven't even ever had a thermometer in the house. Please please stop stressing.

As far as sick goes, again mine had bad projectile vomiting, so muslins were vital, we tried everything such as cot end up, winding you name it. In the end we just decided sicky baby and always fed her with a towel on my lap and a mussie to catch the vomit. I woudl say about 1/2 her feed came back every time.

[nottsmum73]

Hi rascal

I breastfed prem dd for about 3 months, prem babies are notoriously difficult to wind in the early stages.

NICU unit advised me not to take temp when got home as its not a natural thing to do. I got told to monitor her temp just by feeling her tummy. I bought a room thermometer and dont even bother with that now.

It is stressful when you get home from NICU because you have had so many people helping and advising you. believe me , your natural insticts will kick in soon and you will wonder what you got so stressed about.

Good luck

[rascal1979]

[puts the thermometer down and movesaway]

[misdee]

oh bless you rascal.

how is she today?

[babyjamas]

never took dd2s temp (a 27 weeker) - but then she was my 3rd and i was a LOT less worried by then (if it's any consolation ds, my first, who was a 31 weeker, i had down at the gp's the day after he came home as i just 'felt' there was something wrong - there wasn't). we were also out and about as soon as she came home - no choice really with 2 older ones. she has always been treated as a 'normal' baby (and also bf until she was 10 months) - and has thrived on it! A v chunky nearly 2 year old now.

[rascal1979]

She's fine - having a screaming fit at the moment as she has got wind - Daddy is in charge of getting it up!

Thanks for all your support. I've only checked her temp twice today! both times was on the low side but she seemed fine and felt warm.

[LiegeAndLief]

Just seen this Rascal, was wondering what your thermometer is like? How sure are you about its accuracy? We have a digital forehead one which always measures me and ds as about 36.5, and dh as 35! (and he is always hot) I would be more worried about a drop in temp than if she is constantly the same, if a little low.

But I agree with everyone else - forget about the SCBU monitoring and put the thermometer down!

(and I do understand - ds was only off his sat monitor the day before we came home and I felt sure he wasn't breathing at all without it on, despite ample evidence to the contrary...)

Hope all is well today.

[Callieco]

Hi Rascal, congrats at having your wee one home. Believe you me, if it wasn't the temperature you would probably be stressing about something else. I don't think I uttered a sentence without the word 'worried' in it until DS (31+5, home at 37 weighing 5lbish) was home for about three months - maybe longer!

On the temp front, he consistently ran a lower than average temperature in SCBU, they just said that was probably the way he was and never bugged me about it. Also, remember if you are using a digital thermometer you have to adjust the reading depending on how it's done - with mine, I do armpit readings as that's what they did in scbu, and I have to add on a degree to it. But I would agree with others, reading it every hour is way too much.

DS also brought up milk all the time, prem babies as others have said are far more prone to it because their gastric muscles (not sure of technical term ) are even less efficient than term babies' are.

I always took DS out in a sling when he was small as he got my body heat too that way (and I didn't have a pram), but I would have done it anyway as I felt more comfortable having him next to me than at arm's length in a pram when he was so little. If the day is very cold, you might want to think twice about it just yet though, but if there is someone else around who can watch her for a while, do try and get out yourself - it makes an enormous difference to your mental state, I found. Best of luck .