Whats next?

[preemomof2]

I'm 19 years old and at age 14 I had a still birth. I thought my life was over at that point. But with prayer, I graduate school at age 18 (17 out of 170) with a 3.5 GPA. I went on to begin college and ended up gettin pregnant again.
I thought okay I dont kno what I did wrong in my last pregnancy but this time I'm doing everything right. I thought I did until one Thursday morning 6/3/2010 I woke up to severe chest pains. To the hospital I went. When I got there my blood pressure was high and I had a high level of protein in my urine. By the way the chest pains were only heartburn.
I never had a blood pressure problem, and just the week before and during each of my other doctor visits my blood pressure was great, so it was kind of weird. If I had never went to the hospital I would have never knew I had preeclampsia. I was shipped an hour and a half away from my house to another hospital.
Majority of the time I spent alone but it was okay because my mother is a single parent with 2 other children and a grandson. Three days later on 6/6/2010 I woke up to a severe headache.. My mother said she talked to me at 7 something in the morning and I told her that they were about to perform the c-section. She said she asked me if I wanted her to come over and if I was scared. She said I told her no she didnt have to come over and that I wasnt scared. One of my friends told me the same story. This I don't remember at all but at 11:29 I deliever and from the moment I got into the labor and deliver room til now I can remember everything. That was really weird.
Anyways, I had to wait 24 hrs until I could see my daughter (27 6/7 weeks gestation (12 weeks n 1 day early)). The doctors who delivered K'Lynn said that she came out fiesty which is good. I kinda knew she would because the 3 days that she was on the monitor she wouldnt stay still.
K'Lynn was born weighing 830 grams and 35 cm long. She came out crying and within 24 hrs on CPAP instead of a ventilator. Knowing all of this made me so happy for her.
Then I had to see her for the first time. My little girl is to tiny. It was amazing to know she was alive but it hurt to see her that way. She had all these wires coming out of her and didnt look 14 inches at all.
I was so excited to see her never the less. Being that she's almost 2 hrs away from me I only got to see her 3x before I had to leave her. Leaving her was the most painful thing in the world. I cry and cry and cry some more everytime I think about her because I'm so far away from her. 3 days went by and I was on my way back to see her. It was so good seeing her again. Until I had to leave and go back home. I cried.
I can't stop crying. I scare myself because I'm the type of person that has to research and research. I just would love to know how did the beginning go for all of you guys. I dont know what to expect and the research jus scares me. Every little bit of information helps good or bad.
Also how long did it take to bring your child/children home? What things were expected out of them before they could get released?

[sarab]

I am sorry to welcome you to our NICU "club", but glad you found us. Congratulations on the arrival of your precious little K'Lynn! It sounds like she is one tough cookie, having already graduated to CPAP.

As you've already discovered, having a baby in the NICU can only be described as a roller coaster. Please know that there are many here who know the incredible range of emotions you will be experiencing in the coming days and weeks, and are here if you ever need a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on. Being two hours away can only intensify the stress, I'm sure.

As for how long she will be there, that will depend on how she is progressing as the weeks go by. Generally they tell you not to expect her before her due date, though many of our members have had their babies come home sooner. Both of my preemies did very well, though neither was born as early as yours, and both came home at 35 weeks gestation. Our hospital expected them to be maintaining their own temperature in an open crib, having no apnea/bradycardia spells, eating and growing well, etc., though every NICU is different.

How are YOU doing? Do keep in mind that preeclampsia can strike up to six weeks postpartum, so keep an eye on your pressures. Here is a helpful list of things you should be watching for: http://www.preeclampsia.org/symptoms.asp

Please feel free to ask any questions you may have, and do update as time permits. I will be thinking of you, and hope that K'Lynn continues to do well and progress so she can be home with you soon.

[preemomof2]

Thank you. Today I talked to K'Lynn's nurse and she is off of CPAP and is on High Flow. This is so good. However she is still so tiny. Does there have to be a weight that she has to reach before she comes home. I want to be able to hold her without being scared.
I had one episode of high blood pressure since I've been back home. But they put me on some medicine for it and it has been normal.
Thank you again.

[dohertyab]

That's amazing that she is doing so well with her oxygen, especially since she is so little. We brought the twins home just after their due date, but they were a little bigger than yours. They were just ove 1000 and 1100g. The NICU is a roller coaster with good days and bad days. Statistics seem to suggest that girls do a little better than boys, so you have that going for you.

I can't figure out how to paste links from the forum here, but if you go to the search engine on this page and type in NICU in the subject line there are lots of threads about what former NICU moms wished they had known and what to expect. It's a good place to start if you like to research. The women here really have helped me.

Also remember you can't do her any good if you don't take care of yourself and you need to make sure you're healthy too. Long deep breaths and people to talk to helped me the most. Keep up updated on everyone's progress!

[preemomof2]

How hard was it taking care of a baby so small. How did u hold your baby? Where you able to sleep at all and when you started sleeping how often did you wake up. I think about her coming home so small and I'm scared.

[tracym]

She'll be bigger when she comes home :)

My baby came home at 35 weeks gestation at just over 4lbs. I had to wake up to feed her every 3 hours. I swaddled her all the time, and held her for feeds and whenever I wasn't pumping, washing parts, sterilising, preparing bottle or tube feeds with medications and supplements and getting a minute to get something for me to eat...which didn't really give me any time between feeds anyway. It's hard work, but usually only for a short time and then you'll get time to actually enjoy her.

Congratulations :)

[mommy2maddie]

I just wanted to chime in and say congrats on the birth of your daughter. The NICU can be very scary at times, and if you need us we are all here for support!!

[sam10]

Congratulations on your sweet little girl! Welcome K'Lynn!

Babies born so early are so tiny. I got used to it though and found that term babies or near term babies looked huge. I was scared to touch Henry, as he was so small. I understand how you feel! The NICU nurses who took care of him were so helpful and showed me how to change his diapers and take his temperature. Next time you are in the NICU ask the nurses to show you little things you can do. Over time they will teach you everything you need to know.
Are you pumping milk for your little one? I put the little bottles into the freezer and then brought them to the NICU for later use. It helped me to feel I was doing something important for my little baby.

[l412angel]

Ugh you must have so many questions! Please know that we are all here to help you! I am praying for you and baby K'lynn!

[preemomof2]

Thanks everyone.
To Sam:
Thanks for the advice. The next time I got to see K'Lynn I will ask the nurse to help me with that. Being that the NICU and not being able to anything just yet is kind of hard because it seems like I'm useless to her. Being about to do something will probably make me feel better. Thanks again.
To: Tracy
Seeing her so small I can't really image how big she'll be when she leaves. I look at other babies now or even at size preemie clothing and I think wow that looks huge.