Preparing for a premature baby

[Upwind]

It seems I will probably be induced/sectioned this week or next due to IUGR and olighydramnios. I will be 32 or 33 weeks, but obviously my baby's weight won't reflect that.

Is there any thing I should be preparing now to make it easier to care for my tiny baby? Any resources I should access or products I should invest in (e.g. sling, electric breast pump)?

I would contact one of the BF organisations in advance for advice on the best things to do. You can't guarantee that the staff on the ward will be sufficiently trained to give you good advice on BF (great if they do, but no harm in going in with information anyway).

Good luck

I think that a sling and breast pump would be good.

I can't really think of anything else really except all the strength and energy you can muster.

Good luck to you and LO

My DS was born by CS at 34 weeks for the same reasons.

The only thing I think you should buy is preemie nappies. My DS was put in a size 1 Pampers and they looked huge on him.

Preemies don't usually wear clothes to start with so no need for those.

I didn't have an electric breast pump - I used a hospital electric one to start with and then used an Avent hand pump, I suppose an electric one would be easier.

I found when DS came home I loved having him in a sling, rather than pushchair.

Hope it all goes well. Good luck.

Thanks all! I will get to compiling the BF numbers & making contact and will invest in the sling and breastpump instead of Christmas presents (I have an excuse now)!

AngeGabriel - thanks for that. Do you mind me asking how long your DS spent in NICU/SCBU?

A very good pump for full time, double pumping is the Ameda Lactaline. It is very portable and runs on both batteries and mains power. You can get them at expressyourselfmums.co.uk

Hi Upwind. Sorry for not replying sooner we've been swimming.

Of course I don't mind you asking. DS spent just over 3 weeks in SCBU/NICU. Anything else you want to know please ask.

Are you having/have you had the steriod injections?

I would also suggest you go and have a look at SCBU/NICU (if you haven't already)I was pleased we did as it gave us an idea of what to expect.

I have to go back to the hospital this afternoon for the second steroid shot & while I am there will ask about visiting SCBU/NICU.

I was so stunned by the bad news that I did not really ask any questions about the practicalities when all this came out of a routine antenatal appointment yesterday! I was too busy trying to convince them that it might be some kind of mistake. By the time I had worked through my denial we had left the hospital. My baby has seemingly not grown at all in over a month so realistically I have to accept that it is better off coming out now.

Yes, check if the hospital lend out pumps before buying one, the hospital grade ones are much better/stronger than the ones you can buy.

Can you go and visit the SCBU/NICU your baby will be in? They can be quite unnerving places if you're not used to them, with lots of machines etc. Check with them what they can provide, and whether for example they'll give you a parking permit if your baby is in for a long time.

I would get:
Premmie nappies
Lots of ready meals in as you'll be back and forth to the hospital
Something (even just a muslin) you can tuck down your top to get your smell on it and then leave with your baby when you're not there.

Good luck! 32/33 weeks is a good gestation and you can bet that there will be many younger/smaller ones in the SCBU.

Hi Ange !

Hi Bramshot >

Totally agree with Bramshott 32/33 weeks is a good gestation, despite the IUGR.

Another thing I've just remembered is some hospitals provide meals/or vouchers for the canteen for food while your baby is in SCBU/NICU...worth an ask.

Is this your first baby?

Hope the appointment this afternoon goes well. Please let us know how you get on if you can.

I suggest checking what the hospital supplies before buying nappies/breast pump (although you will still probably need prem nappies when your baby comes home). My hospital provided everything whilst ds was in SCBU, even clothes (although you could of course bring in your own), and lent me a hospital grade breast pump. He was over 7 pounds when he came home so I didn't really need anything specifically for prem babies.

Really good idea to go and have a look at NICU/SCBU, there are lots of wires and alarms going off and things which are probably less alarming if the first time you see them they are not attached to your baby!

Oh and don't forget things for you like maternity pads etc while you're worrying about the baby!

Lots of luck, hope all goes well.

At my hospital they had a supply of electric breast pumps you could borrow so check with yours. Also wear button up tops so that you can place the baby against your skin for kangaroo care. Definitely visit the NICU so you know what to expect.

Agree with what others have said re asking to see the NICU/SCBU. You might also ask what the feeding policy is and if the hospital has a milk bank - with low birth weight babies (under 2kg/4lb 4) I think most hospitals will start feeding before your milk comes in unless the baby is too unwell to tolerate oral feeds.

Ask, ask and ask again to get someone to show you how to hand express your colostrum -not all MWs are very good at this and if you have not laboured before delivery it might take a bit longer for the milk to come in.

I too would recommend renting or buying a Lactaline pump - expressyourselfmums have the best range - but what individual hospitals provide varies a lot. I also used to keep an Avent pump in a Milton bucket at the hospital which I used to express next to dd's incubator.

Re feeding, make sure you look at the BLISS leaflet on breastfeeding. Most of the pictures are of much smaller babies than your lo but the guidelines are equally valid. They are also UK best practice so give you something to judge your hospital's approach by.

Also (but obviously depending on how well your lo is) do ask and push for early skin to skin kangaroo care. You will need help post CS and in learning to handle your lo but persist. It is therapeutic for both of you: it helps babies to regulate their temperature and breathing and your body to produce milk.

Finally, if you do want to bf (and it does have a lot of benefits for IUGR babies) please do not get freaked out if you are told you'll get out of hospital faster if you give a bottle. Basically, it takes some babies longer than others to co-ordinate the suck-swallow-breathe reflex needed to feed well, and most units will not discharge a baby until they are confident they are feeding well. Although time in hospital seems like forever at the time, try and keep it in perspective.

Sorry about the essay, hope it helps.

I hired a hospital grade pump for nights when I was at home - direct from Medela, bit expensive but it took a quarter of the time to express.

Hmm yes, size zero nappies, and cotton wool. (We had to provide our own nappy changing stuff.)

The best slings for prems are apparently the stretchy long bits of material - I got a Moby and another mum at the SCBU got a Karime.

Good luck

I dont think theres anything you would need urgently as they are quite used to getting in people who had absolutely no idea it was going to happen. My hospitals were a bit funny about lending me a decent pump but I used my avent one until my hv sorted one for me.

After a couple of days they asked us to provide our own nappies, tescos- do the prem ones and cotton wool oh and olive oil. Most prem babies don't start off clothed and more often and not theyre not fed milk for the first couple of days and if they are its often an ounce or so which is easiest to hand express anyway.

Agree with lizzy about not letting them scare you into bottlefeeding if you dont want to.
A visit to SCBU/NICU is good as you have been forewarned.

I also had an insert for the carseat when dd came home but most of our stuff we got after she was born.
Dont forget to ask about long term parking permits too. It can get expensive.
Good luck to you both

I dont think theres anything you would need urgently as they are quite used to getting in people who had absolutely no idea it was going to happen. My hospitals were a bit funny about lending me a decent pump but I used my avent one until my hv sorted one for me.

After a couple of days they asked us to provide our own nappies, tescos- do the prem ones and cotton wool oh and olive oil. Most prem babies don't start off clothed and more often and not theyre not fed milk for the first couple of days and if they are its often an ounce or so which is easiest to hand express anyway.

Agree with lizzy about not letting them scare you into bottlefeeding if you dont want to.
A visit to SCBU/NICU is good as you have been forewarned.

I also had an insert for the carseat when dd came home but most of our stuff we got after she was born.
Dont forget to ask about long term parking permits too. It can get expensive.
Good luck to you both

whoops

Thank you all for this great advice. I've had my second steroid injection this afternoon, and on Thursday morning they are going to do another growth scan and ctg etc. My understanding is that, unless the amniotic fluid levels have significantly improved, the baby will then have to come out ASAP. Even if that low fluid turns out to have been a mysterious blip, they will be doing continuous monitoring from now on because of the IUGR and the best possible scenario really involves getting a bit closer to 37 weeks.

I will be able to have my tours of the SCBU and NICU and will have a chance to ask them about about their policies on feeding. I will source some preemie nappies etc. And a stretchy sling Somehow reading this thread has reassured me greatly - I was just so shocked yesterday, but now I am thinking that I will probably get to meet my LO very soon, and the odds are in our favour

Hi Upwind

Glad you appointment went well today. It sounds very similar to me. I had all the things you mentioned and I also had a doppler scan which measures the flow across the cord to the placenta.

Glad we've helped you to think more positively about it all. I still remember how shocked I was when they told me DS had stopped growing at about 28weeks. I was about 32 weeks at the time.

Will be thinking of you, please keep us up to date when you can.

My baby was born at 31 weeks and was (and still is) absolutely fine. She has just put lipstick on the guinea pig. She was old enough to breathe on her own, and that was without steroid injections (no time!). As others have said, there will be much smaller babies in SCBU.

We needed nothing; everything was provided. Some of the hospitals quoted above sound rather mean. We were asked if we wanted to use our own clothes, but that tends to mean having to organise the laundering yourself, rather than just putting clothes in the laundry basket. Also choosing little outfits helps pass the time.

You may be there for some time - we spent five weeks in hospital. I was given a bed for all that time, a parking pass, all meals, use of a kitchen with endless supplies of tea, coffee and toast, MW help with expressing, pumps to take home if I went for a visit ... Nothing was too much trouble. It was never suggested that I should bottle feed once my milk had come in. It was one of the happiest five weeks of my life, once I knew DD was going to be OK.

I would suggest things for yourself if you may be staying in - books, magazines, changes of clothes, a really beautiful dressing gown (you'll be wandering the corridors at 3am to BF).

Good luck!

Wow reindeersnake it always amazes me how different each hospital is with what they provide etc!

I think I was very lucky.

Hi Upwind, glad things going well. Sorry should add take batteries (if it runs on them) for your camera so you can get lots of pictures. Really helps to have one when expressing. Also accept offers of help from loved ones. You may be in a while and if someone offers to cook a meal or do your washing it will be one less thing to think about. Good luck

My DS was born at 35 weeks (and was a whopper) and spent a week in SCBU - they provided everything, although DH did go out and buy nappies and clothes a couple of days in. I wouldn't buy anything till you've had your baby and know how big they are, as the weight prediction isn't terribly reliable.

I managed to stay either on the ward, or rooming in on SCBU all the time, so just used their pump after the third day - I hand expressed before that as it is apparently more stimulating to the breast, and more efficient for the tiny, thick amount of colostrum. I wish I'd had a vibrating alarm clock though, as the ward staff wouldn't wake me to express in the night. DH bought me in a cool bag and blocks so that I didn't have to trek all the way to SCBU in the night to put my expressed milk in their fridge (it was a long way and I'd had a PPH so was very wobbly).

Aitch had her DD2 at 33 weeks due to IUGR, and she only spent one night in SCBU, and was bigger than the scans said irrc

babyprem does beautiful little clothes, u will need little hats, cause it helps keep the heat in, prems get clod very easily so id go for extra blankets and cardies. premnappies are a must!!!!get some front opening nighties /pjs as it will be a big help for doing skin to skin. you must do it , the tiny babys do so much better when they get cuddles, its lovely for you too! good luck with the birth.X

Just want to say a huge good luck upwind. My ds was born last year from IUGR. He was born at 2lb 7 at 34 wks is now a healthy and boisterous 14 month old. He spent 3.5 wks in SCBU.

As others have said I was able to hire out a breast pump from the hospital. Buy a lovely, cuddly baby blanket you can wrap round him when you visit. It's so nice to have something you can take home that smells of them, and it helps to express without them.