caring for a premmie bub

[myrainbowfamily86]

i will shortly be caring for a baby that was born at 1685grams (3 pound 6), he will be 2.2kgs before he can be released from hospital into my care. I have not looked after a baby so underweight and im a little apprehensive. I would love to hear from other mums who had bubs this tiny. he will be formula fed and he was 4-6weeks premmie and also failing to thrive. Hope someone who has had similar issue can give me some tips on what to expect!

[laja]

it is definately an uphill battle my DD was 2kg exactly when she was able 2 come home she was BF for the 1st 4 months we had nurses come out 2 weigh her 2-3 time a week for the 4 weeks then i had 2 take her 2 the CHN every week 2 b weighed she was very slow at gaining weight i had 2 wake her for feeds ect she was not allowed 2 go more then 3 hrs during the day and 4 hrs at night i did find that once i put her on formula she did start loosing weight we later found that she has a milk allergy but once she was put on the correct formula she grew very quickly she is now 8 months n doing well still under weight but in proportion so peads not 2 worried atm it can b alot of hard work but totally worth it u will b fine just take all the support u can it was a very new experience 4 me i was use 2 big babies my 8 month old is still smaller then what my older children were at 3 months but she is happy n doing very well considering best of luck xoxoxoxo

[JJAZ]

DD1 was 8 weeks prem and on discharge weighed 2.2kg.
As our first baby we didnt know any differnt, i can imagine having other children that it would be much more difficult.

DD was on 3 hrly feeds when she came home and we had to wake for those feeds she was formula fed on discharge we too had nurses coming around to weigh her and also had trips back and forward to the hospital - I am sorry i can not really offer any advice or tips as such but just wanted you to know that your feelings are normal and perhaps there is someone at the hospital that could run you through some things you may need to know.

All the best and hope that you and your little one have an easy transition to home life.

Take care.

[kotakai]

My last 2 boys were both 7 weeks early & around that weight.

You'll need 00000 clothes. These will probably be a little baggy, but they're def wearable.

I got them onto 4 hour feeds pretty quickly. I was breastfeeding, but they ended up having CMPI & needed to go on prescription formula.

They both also had reflux which lots of prem bubs I know also had.

They liked to be wrapped (as they're so used to being wrapped all day in hospy). The best wrap I found was The Woombie. This was wonderful as it was snug on them, so they felt contained, but they could still move their arms & legs around, unlike other wraps.


Honestly, I found for the first few weeks, they pretty much slept all the time. Don't expect as much awake time as full term bubs & don't worry if they don't do things (like smile, sit, crawl etc) when you'd normally expect bubs too, they'll do them when they're ready :)


There's a wonderful forum for prems, I'll PM you the details.

[River Song]

i'll be watching this thread....as i will be having a prem bub...in about 6 weeks.

I am nervous...my DS was 4.666kg (10lb 4oz) when he was born...and i see the 2kg discharge weight and i get really scared!

any advice will be great appreciated by me as well as the OP i am sure :-)

[myrainbowfamily86]

Hi everyone, thankyou for your responses. Just to clarify, the baby I was asking about is not my own baby. I am a foster carer. I have my own baby who is nearly one and also caring for a 6 weeks old foster baby (crazy i know!) so when i take over care for the prem bub i will have 3 babies under one! arrgghhh! Luckily the 6 week old that i already have is the worlds best baby! My own son was breastfed until 7months and he was hopeless at it from day one till the day we stopped, he fed every 2.5-3 hours around the clock for 6months as he physically couldn't attach properly, therefore not getting enough milk which was making him hungry all the time. So IF my new addition prem bub is 3-4hourly I'll be in heaven :) thanks again! Also i have heard that prem bubs sometimes sleep better on their tummy's as they are used to be turned so much in the humidicribs...? my son was a tummy sleeper from 2 weeks old as he slept 100x better, but he was a strong baby and i don't know that i would want to do that with such a tiny baby that surely is quite weak?

[laja]

our DD preferred sleeping on her tummy which is cause this was how she was in the humidicrib she was on her tummy but i found wrapping her tightly n popping her on her back she got use 2 after a few days we r very sid conscious as the DH sis died of sids all the best i thought 4 bubs under 5 was hard on some days but 3 under 1 WOW u most b amazing :)

[TripleTime]

My three slept far better on their tummies but they were also wrapped for a long time. Catch 22. We slept them on their sides nested in a bath towel.

They were 2.1, 2.2 & 2.6kg on discharge. Yreat him as you would any other baby, his just on the smaller side. You may find he comes with 'instructions' from the hospital, maybe meds & supliments as well.

00000 cloths should fit him maybe a little big but wearable.

[Charlee]

Hey!

I would definately not sleep bub on their tummy, once they are out of the isolette the nurses should be keeping them on their back in the cots unless they were having issues keeping their food down. Also when they are in hospital they are monitored and this is why they can be on their stomach.

A lot of the time they tend to be fed 3-4 hourly in the hospital and fed a set amount eg 60mls so they quite often can be in a good routine before going home. Another thing though is the failure to thrive babies can sometimes be a little more hungry than usual.

Bub will definately like being wrapped, and just remember its winter and they have less fat than a big baby so may need an extra layer.

Enjoy!!:smiliedance: