Premature babies support group

wow, didn't log in to tis thread for a while n saw few mummies joining in... is a very good encouragement to all preemie mummies like us.

saw lots of posting in past few days abt suckiling when the little one go home. mine one dun need to tube feed after abt 2 wks on his delivery. in fact he was on alternate tube/bottle after 1 week delivery. when he was home, is always bottle feed + few session latching. i encountered similar problem like Yvonne said, hav to 'tell' him to drink sloooowly!! coz he's breathing fast n is like not enuf energy to finish the bottle. but after he reach his EDD then it's much finer.
The trick is pull out the teat when see he is 'breathless' n burp him; use small, soft teats (mine one initially can't take the avent coz it's bigger n a bit harder than others); n if u can, latch him; n i gave 1 slice of 'pao sen' (a type of ginseng)boiled in 1 spoon of rice water n let him drink. It's very good n help them to 'bu qi'.

Jane, dun be too upset abt gg back to work. i oso didn't extend any maternity leave n let my in law handle the little one during day time. actually it's not a bad thing coz eldery has more experience than us thus ur bb w be taken care much better, compared to us blur blur..

my boy has juz been declared by his PD he has 'graduated' fr the correcting age stage. i'm having a better relief now... although he's still a bit below ave if counted real age, but at average if counted corrected age.

telly , sorry didn't response for the past few wks. my boy's appetite oso not good, drink quite little n dun really like much solid food. his pd gave him the poly-vy-sol multi vitamin to improve the appetite..seems working a bit. u can ask ur PD to give ur bb a try
 


Yvonne
Mine is a boy.

Costa,
He is staying in NUH NICU.Thank God that I hv a very considerate & gd gynea.When my water bag burst,he asked me to admit to a 6 bedded as it will be subsidised by govt.Although I hv downgraded,he still attend to my case.
 
jolene,
glad that you got a good gynae who gave you the right advice and help....in any case, downgrading at the right time can save alot of unnecessary costs....and problems later...

so y ou go there everyday to see him...must be tiring..

irenelovej, how old is yr kiddo now? wat milk powder is he on now?
 
hi all you mommies!

u all dun need to update the table lah. i think it's too time-consuming for all of you to figure the table out. so, just write down the details here and i'll update for all.

Baby's DOB:
Gender:
Baby's Birth Weight:
Baby Delivered in Week:
Complications:

irenelovej - my baby also on poly vysol but that does not seem to increase her appetite much.

latching on - i had problems latching my baby on when she came back but i forced her lor. so now, she's an expert at latching on already.

taking care of baby - my mom is taking care of my baby. she's doing a good job! much better than me!!!

jolene - i also downgraded to C class. in the end, for my total bill, i only had to pay $11. the rest covered by medisave.

jane - i'm also such a blur mommy!! but our kids will adapt to us.
oh, and,our babies are used to the SCN sounds. so, when i knew she was about to go back, i recorded the beeping sounds of the machines at SCN and i played it frequently. hahaaa! sounds very silly, right? but i wanted her to have a smooth transition lor.

anyway, i find that my darling baby does not have colic or diaper rash, unlike most other babies. i think, this one must credit the nurses at the hospital because they diligently burp our babies and change diapers 4-hourly.
 
hi costa,
my boy is 6mths already. on fully breastfeeding. i think it's good for bb, esp for preemies. how old is ur bb? going home soon?

i was delivering in private hospital. thing came all in a sudden n didn't manage n didn't know how to do any transfer to gov hospital. bill was quite 'xiong'... anyone here was attended by gynae in private hospital then xfer to KK/NUH under subsidised? can share w me how to do tat?

telly, actually my boy also not seems to be improved much in appetite. but juz let him take the vit see if it eventually help. he doesn't drink much so we give him more solid food, mix w milk
happy.gif
 
Baby's DOB: 31 May 2006
Gender: F
Baby's Birth Weight: 1.89KG
Baby Delivered in Week: 33+
Complications: Weak lungs.

Is naughtiness a complication? muahahaha...
 
Hi, telly,

Baby's DOB: june 22, 2006
Gender: boy
Baby's Birth Weight: 750g
Baby Delivered in Week: 24 wk
Complications: Rop, CLD, GER (cant remember everything
happy.gif
)

irenelovej,

u can appeal thru the medical social worker but the first 15k considered as private patient...if i not wrong, if you were under"a" class at private, will be charged as "a" in kkh until you appeal and managed to get downgraded to "c" class...

before you get the appeal, the first 15k is considered "private"

I could be wrong in my answer.....better take wif a pinch of salt first

u let yr bb latch on or express...u sahm?
 
Hi Costa
We din't visit bb everyday as I was on confinement.Hubby very busy & father in law don't allow us to go in the evening.But I will be visiting bb tommorrow.

telly
How do you downgrade to class C?Now bb is under class B2.Not sure how much does it cost now.He is there for 1 month already.Hiaz.....

My bb profile
Baby's DOB:8 Oct 2006
Gender: Male
Baby's Birth Weight:1.645kg
Baby Delivery in week:30+
Complication:Get breathless when bottlefeed.
 
gals,
Juz want to ask does anyone of you know why we gave birth prematurely?Did you all ask your gynea this question?
 
jolene,

Rop means retinopathy of prematurity which occurs more often in extremely premature preemies...more often divided into grade 1 to 5...1 being the best and vice versa

CLD means chronic lung disease

GER means some sucking/drinking coordination reflux problem..

u can refer to one of the websites which was mentioned on this thread...and learn more abt it.

all these terms can be found on those websites on babies..im no expert, i may not have explained it well enough for you to understand
happy.gif


good to learn more so we not blur when the nurses or docs talk abt it..

rgdg yr question, give birth prematurely cld be many reasons which contributed to tis..mine is due to womb being weak and infection,womb cant hold...

can understand how you feel? the tiredness can be overwhelming...i hv been gg to hosp almost evy day for the last four mths..i get so tired that i even fall asleep at work...until now oso same...
 
I did ask. He also dunno. But I guess it's because I walk way too much + I had spotting my entire 1st trimester + I had a 7cm fibroid in my womb too.

I worked until the day I admit into the hospital. I delivered the next day. I still can shop after work! *slap forehead* I didn't know I had contractions. By the time I admit, I was 8cm dilated. I so blur....
 
stressed,

cld it be your cervix is incompetent?
why dun check wif the gynae again?

dun tink its walking too much lah...i shopped till the last few days before i gave birth to my first boy and i was well........and worked oso until the day i gave birth...but the second time, i m much older, more tired and somehow things din turn out well..

oso, for the second kid, my cervix became incompetent..went for a cerclage to sew it and oso rested a long time and yet such a thing happened....
sad.gif
 
hi mummies!
wow, active thread here... keep it up, ladies!

Baby's DOB: august 24, 2005
Gender: boy
Baby's Birth Weight: 1.48kg
Baby Delivered in Week: 29 wk
Complications: PDA, CLD & slight GER initially

irenelovej,

i delivered at TMC & PD help to make arrangement to transfer my boy to KK by the 3rd day.
basically call to check for "bed" availability. KK's neonat will come to check bb's condition & advise if suitable to transfer using their specialised ambulance.
we parents just pay $$$. like wat costa mentioned abt the criteria before downgrading, etc.

telly highlighted a very good point to hv some background sound/music since bb is used to noise in the hospital.
i played lullaby music for my boy every night, even up till now!
 
jolene,

too many possibility/cause for premature birth.

mine was due to bleeding from placenta previa & irritable womb (that's wat the nurse at the delivery suite said). mild contractions might hv caused waterbag to burst & the rest is history.
 
Yvonne,

Thanks for confirming wat i wrote..dun want to wu4 ren2 chi3 di4(teach the wrong thing) ha ha...

talking abt music....they put a radio near my boy...and the radio was tuned to some pop music so he can be entertained by hip hop and Shakira....ha ha....not Mozart or Beethovan....

yvonne is right abt why there are too many possibilities of premature birth...coming to think about it, smtimes its good for the kiddo to come out if we as mummies are suffering...rather than lengthen the pain..

i was having bacteria poisoning and any longer i looned wld hv caused greater harm....
 
costa,
does tat mean u hav to fork out 15K (being cash or medisave) no matter how?

i didn't check for all the transferring hospital as that time already blank, blur and anxiety. my gynae n hospital didn't say tat too... maybe my boy's condition was not tat bad n xferring to kk will not save much... if considering the first 15K is fr urself. my bill was 10k

agree w yvonne, too many possibility for premature birth. mine always very good n no prob till suddenly gynae said placenta not functioning well n bb growth was at very much slower rate...

juz accept it, it's fate.
 
irenelovej,

i wud say the minimum 15k is mostly settled with cash partly due to the periodical payment policy (the business office will call every week to ask for some payment).

anyhow, it's easy to reach 15k when u're a class A patient & MOST attention is given in the inital weeks in the form of requiring more medical equipments, medication, etc.
my boy's stay hit the target within 2 weeks.
 
irenelovej,

think yvonne may be right...if you want, i can ask the business office for you...

yes, hv to accept its fate...wat dun kill us wld make us stronger...

yvonne is right...the bulk of the costs is at the beginning when our kiddos need the most attention and help, after that, it plateaus after a while

yvonne, my boi just went for mri tis morning to see extent of the ivh bleeding......
 
yvonne,

yeah, i think you need to check me more..because i m oso blur like sotong....all i noe is when i can be dem sick, the business office can still ask me "can i hv yr credit card? " ha ha....
 
juz a question: does kk do downgrading on the NICU level depending on the child condition? in Mt E, they downgrade fr level 3 (~$800/d) to level 2B ($450/d) to level 2A ( $270/d) to level 1 ($180/d) depending on child condition n the equipment required. mine was in level 2B first 5d, then 2A few days then level 1.

stressed, is MT A do the same? i heard the nurse in Mt E said NUH do not do downgrade. not sure abt others...maybe we can share. for any ppl need it later, tis w be a good place to source out info. don be like me last time, so lost on all these, and hav to worry abt $$
 
Hi Irenelovej,
Yes. Mt A the same. My dd stayed in this "sophisicated" isolette for a week.


Costa,
The doc also dunno why mine came early. Everything was ok. Cervix ok. Placenta ok. Only bb small. He asked me to stay at home. Who knows 5 days after I consulted him, I delivered liao.
 
costa,

totally agree with all my fingers & toes raised!!

personally, i feel that the administration dept has lots to fine-tune & improve.
most importantly, to bear in mind of the stress & pyschological level of the families.

actually, the most mis-handled part is admission procedure.
my son was transferred to KK ard 8pm+ & after settling into NICU, my hubby who accompanied son, only managed to do the admission thingy ard 11pm.
the admission staff worked out estimated length of stay & bill size & requested for a deposit of 75K!!!
the staff wudn't settle for anything less despite logical reasoning of WHO IN RIGHT FRAME OF MIND WUD HV 75K IN THE POCKET OR WITHIN CREDIT LIMIT & where to withdraw in the middle of the nite??!!!

anyhow, i later learnt of other parents with the same complains abt the xxK deposit & 15k criteria for downgrading.


irenelovej,

if i recall correctly, the downgrading depends on family income, bb's condition & length of treatment/stay. the social service counsellor will help to process the downgrading paperwork & subject to hospital's approval for which level given.
in my & most cases i know, it was directly from class A to C (the lowest).

sorry to sidetrack a bit here.
 
Harlo,

Thanks for everybody's contribution...

Stressed,

Smtimes, really things can be unexplained...

irenelovej,

I hv to totally 100 percent agree wif yvonne...smtimes they seem vy heartless because when they realise that you signed the wrong forms or put u in the wrong ward..they wld come all the way to look for you and ask you to sign tis and that adding on to your frustrations

tink its better to go to kkh (no, kkh not paying me for advertising) because anythg wrong at pte hospitals, they wld advise the patients to go to kkh...

agree wif yvonne tt they are too much to ask for such amounts of money in the middle of the nite..cmon, we are either sporeans or prs, do you tink we wld run away from the debt.....

a nurse ever told me that the nicu part of kkh is the one either not making profits or making losses as parents can take many years to pay the bills so i guess they r kiasu in that sense...

oso, they are worried abt foreigners who when their kid well already leave without paying...this i admit they hv to be more cautious but we are singaporeans..do you tink we will not honour the debt..cmon, please, show some heart....

tink they wld allow you to downgrade (at least most of those i know got downgraded when they admitted their new borns from private hosps)....
 
hi all!

i'll update all the details later when i get home.

GIVING BIRTH EARLY - for me, i didn't experience labour at all. my baby was very small at w32 scan. gynae was concerned so she gave me jabs on my thighs to strengthen baby's lungs and told me to come back a week later. w33, baby was still the same weight so, i had a CTG and bb's heartbeat dipped at some points. i was admitted. stayed at labour ward for a week and in the wee hours of the morning when i hit w34, i had an emergency c-section bcos my baby couldn't wait to go out so she purposely lowered her heartbeat 3 times within an hour.

DOWNGRADING - i actually was seeing my gynae at the private suite at kk which means that i can only get the private wards. but i didn't sign up for the package.

so, when i knew my baby was coming out earlier and she was gonna be small, i immediately opted for ward C. (one of my friends who experienced the same thing advised me to go for ward C also)

the good thing is, at labour ward, there's no class differentiation and at NICU/SCN, no class differentiation also. so, i was only affected when i was admitted to the wards after the c-section. (i hated almost all the C-class nurses. they have C-class service and attitude)

anyway, for our babies, it really does not matter which class we are in. they are still going to get high quality care from the nurses.

DEPOSIT - agree with what costa said.a nurse at kk's NICU told me that SCN and NICU are not money-making sections. a lot of parents cannot pay their bills. so, i suppose, that's why the biz section had to be heartless and demand all sorts of payments upfront.
 
this is horrible! DD had UTI and I admitted her into KKH. Regret man.

I don't want to elaborate further except that the followup appts they want me to adhere to can stretches to 2 months. I went to see my PD and he can do everything within 2 weeks! #$@%!

Make me have sleepless nights only. Chey!
 
stressed, do u mind share w me wat's the bill size?

telly, my boy oso having poor appettite. in fact getting poorer.... i oso dunno y n how...although his PD said as long as gaining weight is fine, but still worrying...
 
oops. i didn't update all the details. i fell asleep early last night.

irenelovej, my gal has always had a poor appetite. now, she's been on solids for a month or so. and she's eating around 1 tablespoon of cereal per session. (she eats twice a day - morning and afternoon)
her weight gain is very poor. she was only 5.5kg at 7.5 months real age.

she's seeing her neonat on nov 20 so i'm planning to discuss her poor appetite with her neonat.now, she's oredi seeing a physiotherapist. i bet she'll have to see a dietitian too.
 
hi telly,
y ur dd has to see physiotherapist?
i dunno if tis is true. as our bb are IUGR bb, their intestine might be affected...see how little they eat when they juz born. tat might explain y they appettite is so low. his PD is a very steady neonat, so to him, eveything is ok.

is ur dd neonat good? can recommend to me?
 
hi irene,

my dd's neonat is dr quek bin har. i dunno whether she's good or not lah but i have faith in her.

i think she's one who'd rather err on the side of caution. she sent my daughter for lots of tests to ensure that everything's okay. i feel comforted by all that especially when my daughter passes one test after another.

my daughter's seeing a physio cos at 5.5 months real age (4 months corrected age), she shows little interest in flipping over. so she sent her to see the physio. one week later (having diligently done the exercises the physiotherapist recommended), my daughter was flipping over already.

i really like my daughter's doctors and nurses in kk. i think they are a great bunch. (i'm not getting discounts off my bills for saying that)
 
hello mummies,

wow. see all the activity going on :)

i been so busy today. because planning to go on leave from next tuesday onwards :p. got to clear this arrange that etc etc keke...

this weekend will be cleaning house and preparing bb to come home :)) excited but also nervous really.

Telly, below is my baby statitisc ;-)

Baby's DOB: 12 August 2006
Gender: Male
Baby's Birth Weight: 985gram at birth
Baby Delivered in Week: 26 weeks
Complications: CLD with GER (i think...keke)
 
Hi gals
How long does your bb stay at NICU?My boy can't be discharged yet as he is unable to bottlefeed at the moment.He get breathless when he's been bottlefeed.Hiaz.....not sure how long he has to be there.He is there for 1 month liao.
sad.gif
 
<table border=1><tr><td>Nick</TD><TD>Baby's DOB</TD><TD>Gender</TD><TD>Birth Wt</TD><TD>Born in
Week</TD><TD>Complications</TD><TD>In hospital for </TD></TR><TR><TD>yvonne (voncm)</TD><TD>24 August 2005</TD><TD>Boy</TD><TD>1.48kg</TD><TD>29</TD><TD>PDA, CLD, slight GER</TD><TD> </TD></TR><TR><TD>telly</TD><TD>16 March 2006</TD><TD>Girl</TD><TD>1.136kg</TD><TD>34</TD><TD>Inguinal Hernia - Had surgery</TD><TD>KK
NICU-2 weeks
SCN-4 weeks </TD></TR><TR><TD>stressed</TD><TD>31 May 2006</TD><TD>Girl</TD><TD>1.89kg</TD><TD>33</TD><TD>Weak lungs</TD><TD> </TD></TR><TR><TD>costa</TD><TD>22 June 2006</TD><TD>Boy</TD><TD>0.75kg</TD><TD>24</TD><TD>ROP, CLD, GER</TD><TD> </TD></TR><TR><TD>jane (neoah)</TD><TD>12 August 2006</TD><TD>Boy</TD><TD>0.985kg</TD><TD>26</TD><TD>CLD witg GER</TD><TD> </TD></TR><TR><TD>jolene (joleoh)</TD><TD>8 October 2006</TD><TD>Boy</TD><TD>1.645kg</TD><TD>30</TD><TD>Breathlessness when bottlefed</TD><TD> </TD></TR><TR><TD>irenelovej</TD><TD></TD><TD>Boy</TD><TD>1.6kg</TD><TD>34</TD><TD></TD><TD> </TD></TR><TR><TD></td></tr></table>
 
good morning everyone...

hmm. my boy had 2 desat while bottle feeding on saturday (reason unknown??)...hence he is not ready to go home today yet. doc say got to monitor for 5 more days. today he has eye review... Patience patience....

jolene -don't be despair...think your boy suck too fast is it? i understand from the nurse that there is tactics to bottle feed. one must be able to catch the way to 'nuture' the baby on when to stop and when to start sucking..they call this 'pacing'. don't worry...soon our boy will be able to go home. have patience. my boy is in NICU (2 mths), SCN (1 mth)....
 
Jane,

harlo,how are you?

was at the hosp on sat and sunday...desat is common..so relax...oso better to let them take care until he is bigger..at least it wld be easier for you to handle...

yup, pacing is the word for the feeding tactics..although speech theraphists seem to tink differently from the nurses
 
hi cosat.

today feel better...after all the anxiety yesterday. almost faint when i saw the tube... but thinking it over, like you say (and everyone telling me), better be sure my boy can really 100% bottle well before i bring him home sweet home.

i did not see you over the weekend...hows your boy? i saw the nurse playing with your boy on sunday (when i bypass and stop to peek at your boy outside the window)..he so cute :)
 
jane,

coming to give some thought as to why they put the tube on for your boi, i think i can shed some light...

the nurses ever told me that they put the tube in BUT will still bottle feed as they are afraid that after bottle feeding...and the baby cant take it and gets agitated and THEN try puttig the tube..it cld be too late and worsen the bb's condition....

so moral of the story is they put there just in case they cant bottle but if the bb can bottle, they just leave it there

ask the nurses for the reason, i cld be wrong but i think that was wat they told me before..

ha ha, you tink my boy is cute..wait till you spend longer periods wif him...
happy.gif
 
hello costa,

i see...what you mention is within reason... me is ok with the tube (afterall, it is a means of providing food for my boi).

they have since taken out the tube (cos my boy was fighting and pulling out the tube numerous times).

i saw your boy smiling at the nurse...they seem to be having such fun...(dunno playing high five or wat..).

u know, some of the SCN nurse really nice...they will talk to the bb...ask them wait etc.. :)
 
harlo,

my one cent worth of opinion nia...when i oso machiam confused when wat i hear is different from wat i see...

my boi actually went inside and sat at the corner but later, he was told to come out as it was an isolated area..which i agree oso lah..
 
hi hi,

don't be so shy... glad you share with me what you know... (guess somehow we understand what each other is going through as our baby both has a different starting in life)

i see. your elder boy very excited to see his brother?

oh, going to be lunch hour. think i have to eat full full then can loon keke...

cheers hehe
 
jane,

my elder boi must see his xin1 qing2 (mood)..smtimes ok, smtimes not..temperamental like his mum...heh heh...

yup, lunch is cmg...enjoy yrself and see you tonite...
 
hey there, can i join in this thread...i just gave birth prematurely to a girl last month, 29 weeks. still in shock over it as it wasnt expected. my baby is doing well now, just have to put on more weight. anyone delivered at Mt E. Think the bill is going to be so expensive.
 
puppyduppy,
u are welcome to join us here...why dun you ask mt e for a rough estimate for your bill....
tink yr gal shld be okay....

maybe you tell us more details as in the above table so that one of the gals can fill it up like gestational age, weight etc problems...

again, we welcome you here...
 


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