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Premature birth

Connect with others and find premature birth support.

Original poster

12 weeks premature

28 replies

Neverbroken · 04/08/2019 13:44

I had my dd at 27 weeks, she weighed just under 2 lb 3. They took her off ventilation the day after the birth and have stopped her feeds due to suspected stomach infection. She is on antibiotics at the moment. Just wanted to know if anyone else has had their baby this early and how long were the in the neonatal ward for?

OP posts:
Kanga83 · 04/08/2019 14:45

Not me, but my closest friend had her little girl at 28 weeks weighing 2lbs 1oz. She was in NICU until a week before her actual due date. She's now a thriving 7 year old. All the best to you and your lo.

Nearlyfriyay987654 · 04/08/2019 14:49

My friend had a 28 weekend, 2lb12. He was in special baby till about a week before his due date.... he’s a strapping 5 year old now whose thriving. You wouldn’t have ever thought he was early!

CatkinToadflax · 04/08/2019 17:08

Firstly congratulations!

I know of a few babies born at 27-28 weeks. Obviously all babies are different and will have differences to their NICU journeys, but the ones I know were all in for around 10-11 weeks. My DS1 is a 24 weeker, hence we were in NICU for quite some time and met a lot of families along the way.

Thinking of you as you go through your journey - if you have any questions then please ask. Flowers

SinkGirl · 04/08/2019 17:18

Sending hugs. My twins were only 5 weeks early but one was only 3.5lb due to IUGR. His development was really slowed.

My friend’s twins were born at 26 weeks, they’re 2 now and doing amazingly well. They generally say that you’re likely to go home around their due date all being well. Long nicu stays are really tough (we had two months in there and it was really hard). Take the opportunity to rest as much as you can while you can Flowers

SteadyAreYouReady · 04/08/2019 17:23

Mine was born at 27 weeks. She was there for 11 weeks. Her vent wasn’t off for a few days, and we progressed to CPAP and air.
Often the last few weeks are establishing feeding so it can depend on that

Original poster
Neverbroken · 04/08/2019 19:24

Thanks for all the advice we’re only on week 2 and honestly I feel shattered. Starting feeds back tomorrow but she’s already showing signs of wanting to feed. She pulls her oxygen tube out and sucks on it. And smacks her mouth when we’re doing kangaroo care. She also has to have a brain scan in a few days. Just honestly can’t wait to have her home. I hate going home without her!

OP posts:
Original poster
Neverbroken · 04/08/2019 20:04

Also managed to get both steroid injections and magnesium too so hoping these are both good things.

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imustadmithehassomeflare · 04/08/2019 20:15

Oh OP I'm sorry, it's a rough journey! Dd1 was born at 23 weeks and we had 5 months in the hospital. All the babies we met who were 28wks+ came home around their due date. Every week they stay inside makes a massive difference!

It's great that she's off ventilation so quickly. Are you managing to express for her? Are you getting lots of cuddles?

Have you had much of a chance to talk to the consultant team about how they feel she's doing?

imustadmithehassomeflare · 04/08/2019 20:17

And brilliant that you had both steroids; no wonder she's breathing so well! I only got the first one unfortunately.

SteadyAreYouReady · 04/08/2019 20:33

Brain scans are normal, try not to worry! We did end up with some results on the brain scan we didn’t want to hear, but most 27 weekers in there were fine. No matter what , remember that whatever happens may not even effect your little one!

Original poster
Neverbroken · 04/08/2019 20:59

@imustadmithehassomeflare yeah I’m expressing not as often as they recommend but I have oversupply they’ve actually told me to store it at home now as I’ve taken up all their space in the freezer!

She’s about to have her last dose of antibiotics now for the suspected NEC.

I’ve been told she’s been doing well up until today she’s been pale and also they’ve increased her oxygen from 21% to 27% and her high flow has gone up a litre because of desats. I’m just hoping when she starts milk tomorrow that will make her stronger and somehow encourage her breathing (I don’t know how maybe this is just wishful thinking) she has been very grumpy today now I know why. Poor baby, it’s heartbreaking.

OP posts:
SinkGirl · 04/08/2019 21:10

Having food in their stomach can make it harder for babies to breathe as it means less room for their lungs to expand - when my smaller twin had breathing issues they had to massively cut his milk down.

Will keep everything crossed for you. Do try to get some good blocks of sleep / a lie in if you aren’t having to express so often.

Original poster
Neverbroken · 04/08/2019 21:41

So should I ask them to delay the feed? Initially when they were giving her milk they started on 0.2 then she was up to 1.6 until they transferred her to this hospital and suspected the NEC so stopped her on milk a week ago.

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Nodramanollama · 04/08/2019 21:46

Firstly congratulations! This time last year i gave birth to my 31 weeker. I obviously can't compare because at different weeks but just wanted to reply to you are not alone. When you have a baby early it can feel very lonely and scary. Please try and rest as much as you can. I hope your dc gets better.

Nodramanollama · 04/08/2019 21:47

Also my dc was in for 5 weeks. Hes very health and happy baby.

MrsMozartMkII · 04/08/2019 21:50

No useful words, just wanted to say congratulations on your little girl, and to send you a hug and a handhold Flowers

HugoAvril · 04/08/2019 21:56

Hi, I had my son at 27w/6days 20 years ago. Born 2lb 11 but dropped weight. I had been in hospital for 8 weeks due to broken waters so was given steroids for his lungs which probably added weight. Gestational sack was only 23 weeks size as shrunk due to lack of amniotic fluid. Despite this he did well, he came home at 8 weeks weighing 4 lb something. No issues, I just had to give him iron in the first weeks. I expressed milk and he started to properly breastfeed at around 5.5 weeks. Now a healthy happy 20 year old. Good luck, it's a worrying time and lots to get through, but 28 weeks is very manageable x

imustadmithehassomeflare · 04/08/2019 21:57

You're doing so well!

Your breastmilk is a superpower in the face of NEC (and chest infections, and pretty much everything else!); they will start her on a very small amount and monitor really closely. She's progressing, which is amazing; if you're anxious about this idea her tummy will fill up then tell the consultant so they can reassure you!

It was the most annoying thing to be told this, but if you can, try not to fixate on the numbers. There are SO many factors that influence the oxygen she'll be in - position, how tired she is, how much handling she's had, infections, and the way she's being nursed - in my experience some nurses were very trigger happy and would whack the oxygen right up any time SATS dropped below 92%, then rarely reduced them, whereas others worked in a totally different way.

OhNotNowBernard · 04/08/2019 21:58

This came up in active and caught my eye. My little sister had NEC in 1989, I remember her getting jaundice and her stomach visibly changing colour. She was born at 28 weeks.

She’s 30 now

Original poster
Neverbroken · 04/08/2019 22:49

@Nodramanollama thank you so much. I was very very scared when I went into labour. Then I was scared into pushing literally by the doctor. It was whirlwind.

@MrsMozartMkII thank you it is much needed!

@HugoAvril
She did drop weight from 980g birth weight to 872g I was told this is normal she is now back up to birth weight

@imustadmithehassomeflare
They said as well that because her chin drops it blocks her tubes so hoping this is the cause and can be rectified

@OhNotNowBernard they put her on antibiotics as a precaution & her stomach was soft the next day. They haven’t said anymore about it so hoping no news is good news

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SinkGirl · 05/08/2019 06:35

Sorry, I didn’t mean ask them to delay feeding her - neonatal staff are fantastic and know what they’re doing. I just meant don’t worry if they are giving her less than they were it building up slowly if her o2 levels are struggling.

I know it’s so hard but please get some rest whenever you can - I didn’t as we didn’t think my boys would be in so long and I was an absolute mess by the time they were both home.

annie987 · 05/08/2019 07:05

I had twins at 28 weeks. My son was 1lb 8oz and my daughter a hefty 3lb 4oz!
She came home at 36 weeks and him at 39 weeks and 2 days.

My advice to you would be

  • eat properly
  • express every 3 hours without fail and every 4 hours at night (I had a massive over supply and had to buy an extra freezer at hole but I was so glad that my supply was ready when they were. And the extra was soon used up for bottles with meds in when they came home. Many of the other mums expressed sporadically and their baby outgrew their supply)
  • keep a journal while you’re in there (when you come out it’s all such a blur. I love re reading my NICU journal now they are safely home)
  • do as much kangaroo care as you can (one nurse told me I was spoiling my babies - so glad I ignored her)
  • ask questions! This is the biggest one for me. The staff were so used to doing their job that often I didn’t have a clue what was happening but didn’t ask.
  • look after Dad. My H found it all very hard. He was still at work so couldn’t see the babies until after work by which time I was tired and irritable. He got quite ill from it all.
  • try not to get obsessed about coming home. You can’t change it. I got so frustrated as the weeks and months ticked by! I really resented it. But...
  • enjoy every second. When we came home I found it very hard and longed for the days and support back in the NICU! Hard to believe!

Every crossed for a quick and easy ride and a speedy journey home.

Original poster
Neverbroken · 05/08/2019 14:49

@SinkGirl ahh I see. We’re starting feeds again today at 0.2 fingers crossed!

@annie987 that’s what I’m finding hard at the moment finding time to juggle everything between expressing, trying to eat properly and also being with her! When I’m there I don’t want to leave her side. So I end up spending most of the day not eating or expressing. Then when I come home I’m that tired I can’t be bothered to cook so just end up nibbling fruit or snacks. Going to try and tighten up with the expressing.

They told me this morning she’s up to 1.1 kg / 2 pounds 6 ounces!

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Original poster
Neverbroken · 05/08/2019 14:51

They’ve said they’re aiming for double her weight or a bit more so I’m thinking 5+ pounds.

OP posts:
SinkGirl · 05/08/2019 19:21

Yes, they generally try to get them over 5lb. I do hope that once she’s bigger and grown more that getting the weight up will be the only obstacle. That’s a great size for that gestation! She’s doing great.

I never had a great supply but by pumping two hourly I got it up to a reasonable amount (1.2 litres a day). Then once DT2 was discharged at 8 weeks he quickly developed whooping cough and ended up in paeds HDU for two weeks. I had to stay with him 24/7 and didn’t even have a bed. I didn’t pump as often and my supply took a massive hit - I kept pumping every 2 hours until they were 7 months old but I only ever made it to 300-400ml a day. Definitely make sure you’re eating and drinking enough and try to be consistent with the expressing.

This is a marathon - if you don’t take care of yourself and rest, you’ll fall apart. Proper food, a shower every day, a good stretch of sleep. You need to look after yourself too. I didn’t do this so I’m a hypocrite but I speak from experience. Your baby is in wonderful hands - there were babies in nicu whose parents couldn’t be there are much and the staff took excellent care of them. Make the time you have quality time with lots of cuddles if you can. I spent so many hours just sitting there looking at my twins because I felt I should be there all the time but it didn’t help any of us.

Hang in there and talk to the staff. I felt they’d think badly of me if I stayed at home one morning or afternoon but of course they wouldn’t.