Questions for Midwife

[Matthew54]

Hi everyone,

Am finally home with my 34 weeker. My husband and I are so grateful (and exhausted). My midwife is stopping by tomorrow and I’m trying to put together a list of questions to ask her. Would appreciate any additional suggestions! My brain is a bit mush at the moment.

1. When can we have visitors over? When can they hold him?
2. When can baby go on public transport?
3. Are Milton tablets or microwave sterilizers better?
4. What should we do if Dad/Mom gets sick?

[MoserRothOrangeandAlmond]

Congratulations on the birth of your baby.

I'm not sure what are struggling with, therefore unsure what answers you would like.
Is baby 34 weeks now or born at 34 weeks ?

Midwife probably won't be able to answer the sterilising question as sterilising is sterilising and it would be up to your own preference.

The getting sick situation all depends on if your breastfeeding or not

[Matthew54]

@MoserRothOrangeandAlmond

Congratulations on the birth of your baby.

I'm not sure what are struggling with, therefore unsure what answers you would like.
Is baby 34 weeks now or born at 34 weeks ?

Midwife probably won't be able to answer the sterilising question as sterilising is sterilising and it would be up to your own preference.

The getting sick situation all depends on if your breastfeeding or not

Hi!

My son was born at 34 weeks. Feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the information out there on google about what to do/expect with him.

[MoserRothOrangeandAlmond]

Having a baby can be overwhelming. How old is baby now?
My niece decided to make an appearance at 35 weeks. Came home at 36 weeks weighing 4lb 11oz. Advised to be vigilant with hand hygiene and limit visiting for a few weeks. Not to go to shopping centres for the first few weeks. Otherwise treat like you would as a normal newborn.
My little one was on 15 days early but only weighed 5lb7oz so was small and we just followed the same advice xx

[Matthew54]

Baby is now 12 days old. We’ve spent the majority of his life in hospital (first had a 72 hour old, we’re readmitted due to jaundice and meningitis for several nights shortly afterward).

We know generally to limit visitors, etc. But we’re just looking for any sort of additional specificity we can get. We haven’t had much luck finding resources for late preterm babies and don’t know wha to ask.

[NoIncomeTaxNoVAT]

A bit like @MoserRothOrangeandAlmond , i had a 38weeker but she spent 2 weeks in NICU / SCBU with GBS sepsis after birth so we were also very worried about coming home. She was then readmitted to paeds following a BRUE about 36hrs after coming home to make things worse.

What really helped us was that our HV service basically assigned us a HV with experience in prem / poorly babies - she did weekly visits until baby was 12 weeks old and was an amazing source of support for us / able to answer all our random questions. Have you met your HV yet? If not, then this might be worth investigating.

We also had access to SCBU outreach nurses who we could text with any questions for a certain period after discharge.

Congratulations on your little one! Its a scary time but you'll soon settle into the swing of things 💐

[Amber17]

Congrats on your new arrival! We took our 32w baby home at 36w. Took her out to the shops, into town etc from day 1. I don’t let random members of the public touch her but family have held her from the start so long as they’re not unwell and they’ve washed their hands.
Your midwife is unlikely to give you specific advice on these things - it’s about how comfortable you are with risk. My baby is now 5 months and hasn’t ever been ill so doesn’t seem to have ever caught anything from being taken out and about and not kept protected at home. But getting out of the house was really important for my mental health after that hospital stay.

The questions I would have after discharge if I had another preemie would be: who is weighing them and how regularly? Do the GP and HV want to do 6-8 week checks at actual or corrected age?

[MoserRothOrangeandAlmond]

What @Amber17.
There isn't anything specific it's really about what you perceive as risk and what you are comfortable with.
My Parents, in-laws and siblings/siblings in law held our baby from day 1, we all visited our niece in SCBU and held her.

Unless baby has any specific health conditions they will say treat as a normal newborn

[MoserRothOrangeandAlmond]

That was meant to say what @Amber17 said btw x

[Matthew54]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the guidance. Our health visitor was okay, but mainly just gave us pamphlets and told us to never leave him unsupervised.
Community midwives seem more keyed in and will be visiting once weekly.

[FraterculaArctica]

I posted on your previous thread, so pleased to hear your baby is now home and hopefully doing well.

Just to agree with others you won't really get any advice about limiting visitors/contact. My 33+4 weeker came home at 16 days old - I had a 5 year old and a 3 year old at the time who were both exposed to all the bugs in school/preschool. Lots of premature newborns will be in that situation with older siblings and do just fine. We didn't go on public transport but that's just because we live rurally. I wouldn't let any random in the street touch him in the pram, but I wouldn't worry about restricting visitors if they're healthy.

[Matthew54]

@FraterculaArctica

I posted on your previous thread, so pleased to hear your baby is now home and hopefully doing well.

Just to agree with others you won't really get any advice about limiting visitors/contact. My 33+4 weeker came home at 16 days old - I had a 5 year old and a 3 year old at the time who were both exposed to all the bugs in school/preschool. Lots of premature newborns will be in that situation with older siblings and do just fine. We didn't go on public transport but that's just because we live rurally. I wouldn't let any random in the street touch him in the pram, but I wouldn't worry about restricting visitors if they're healthy.

Thanks! I work in risk and it’s hard because it’s primed me to look for “rules”. And it sounds like beyond general ones like sterilize, don’t be an idiot with illness, etc. there really are none.

[SiouxsieSiouxStiletto]

Are Milton tablets or microwave sterilizers better?

I can answer that one for you, neither is better. Both do the job of sterilising the bottles, which is

[SiouxsieSiouxStiletto]

Sorry hit post in error!

Both do the job of sterilising the bottles which is what you'll need to do if you are FFing.

Have you read Safe preparation, handling and storage of powered infant formula?

[SiouxsieSiouxStiletto]

Forgot to say huge congratulations @Matthew54

[Matthew54]

Reviving thread - Buddy keeps peeing up the back of his onesies and absolutely soaking himself. We’ve checked the seals and the size guide and he’s absolutely in the right size. Does anyone have any suggestions? Should we just wake him up every two hours to change?

[SiouxsieSiouxStiletto]

Have you tried a different brand @Matthew54? Sometimes different brands suit different babies.

[goinginsaneinthemembrane]

@Matthew54

Reviving thread - Buddy keeps peeing up the back of his onesies and absolutely soaking himself. We’ve checked the seals and the size guide and he’s absolutely in the right size. Does anyone have any suggestions? Should we just wake him up every two hours to change?

Try a different size and different brand. There were some brands (Boots own brand and Eco by Naty) that my DD always leaked through.

How long is he in the nappy before leaking?

[Matthew54]

@goinginsaneinthemembrane

Try a different size and different brand. There were some brands (Boots own brand and Eco by Naty) that my DD always leaked through.

How long is he in the nappy before leaking?

2.5-3 hours.

[FraterculaArctica]

They can get soaked if the nappy isn't a good fit. Changing that often is fine (often necessary because they poo that often anyway) but he shouldn't be soaking through. Try a different brand as others suggest.

By the way I found a BLISS DVD we were given in NICU on pediatric first aid for premies - if you would like it PM me and I'll post it to you. My youngest premie is now 3.5 years so I'm going to bin the DVD otherwise.

[PinkMimosa]

How are things now @Matthew54?

[Matthew54]

Hi!

We’re doing better! He’s still only 9th percentile for weight, but he is gaining. We’re slowly finding our routine. I have also begun to take him places. We had our first DLR ride!

I am still agonized over his weight gain and potential for illness, but I’m trying to live a life with him as much as possible.