Premature babies support group

[telly]

hi bloom, welcome to the thread! what's your baby's birth weight? when was hour baby born? my 34-weeker was born at 1.136kg and spent 1.5 months at the hospital.

average weight gain for most babies is about 30g per day. for my baby, some days she gained only 5g. some days, her weight can increase by a good 50g.

hi all mommies! i haven't been here for more than a week!

was bogged down with work and at home, my little girl is occupying a huge chunk of my time.

costa - the nurses at SCN would spoil the long-term SCN residents. when my baby was in SCN, you can see that the nurses absolutely adored this boy who had spent 5 months there. some of them would stay and play with the boy after their shift ends. for that lucky boy, the doctors would also take him for a walk all over SCN and introduce him to the other SCN babies. it's a real heart-warming sight. so, your baby is really blessed to be loved by so many health-care professionals!

latching on - i would strongly encourage all of you to latch your baby on. my story on latching on is here: i submitted my breastfeeding story to the Breastfeeding Mothers Support Group website. here's my story:
http://blogonbreast.blogspot.com/2006/08/whats-so-hard-about-it-by-nadirah-p.html

 

[puppyduppy]

Hi telly,
nice to have you back :>

your story is really aspiring to me..as i was contemplating if i should let my baby latch on..cos i was thinking when i go back to work..bb would have to be bottlefed again...then she has to get used to the bottle all over again, after reading your story, i am seriously thinking of latching my baby on. May i ask how come there was blood in your milk? what was the cause of the lump in your breast?

 

[telly]

hi puppyduppy,

my baby was able to switch from bottle to breast easily. provided, i am not the one who's bottle-feeding her. she prefers the breast.

my lump - the doctor said it is lactational adenoma - changes which happened to the breast when one is breastfeeding. the lump is still there and i'm going for another checkup in 2 weeks.

blood in milk - it's because of the biopsy. a needle (a huge one!) had to be inserted into the lump so that they can draw some tissue out of the lump. that affected some of the milk ducts and so blood entered the milk duct and came out when i express the milk.

puppyduppy, you should latch your baby on because it's a lot more convenient than having to express your milk all the time! imagine if you have to sterilise your bottles and funnels all the time. and, going out will also be quite tough cos you got to think about where to store the expressed milk etc. actually, that was my main motivation when i forced my baby to latch on. heheee. i like going out and i cant bear the thought of lugging the breast pump and cooler bag wherever i go!

 

[stressed]

I so agree with telly. It's so much more convenient w/o lugging the @!#$ pump and bags and whatnots.

I so regret that I never insisted the nurses to cup feed her. I remember suggesting only to the nurses but I was never insistent. I will be for my #2 (if my factory ever open again). No one also suggested SNS. Dang. My dd was hooked to the bottle ever since.

Breast feeding is the hardest part of motherhood for me. But when I see the benefits in my own eyes, I never look back.

Even my mom has become a boobie convert!

 

[puppyduppy]

Good morning all,

my gal has reached 1.5kg already...so the PD encouraged me to try to bfeed my gal.

tried to bfeed yest but failed..my gal was sleeping and refused to open her eyes.i was also quite scared that i was hurting her when i was holding her against me..cos the head is the softest part as it hasnt fully developed yet. the nurse kept pushing her head to my breast, yet so dont want to open her eyes... and i felt so poor thing for her..cos its like forcing her to me...will try again tonite..sigh...

telly and stressed,
i agree its much more convenient but as i will be going back to work 1-2 months after my gal comes home...its like having to get used to the bottle again cos i cant bfeed during the day...thought it will be less disruptive to her..

 

[costa]

telly, welcome back..heh heh, now waiting for the nurses to call to say when can go back.hows yr babe?

will read yr story later...wonder if i can latch on as my boi wld be going back wif a feeding tube...

 

[irenelovej]

hai all,
see some new members here after detach for few days

i strongly agree w telly, latch ur bb full time when u r not at work. i was successfully latching my boy before i went back to work, but when i was abt to work, we bottle feed him on n off n he get confused, and eventually he preferred bottle n reject latching. so now i hav to pump full time

 

[puppyduppy]

morning mummies,

my gal had her eye test yest...everything is ok except for 1 blood vessal which is not developed yet...doc say its a mild stage 1...checking again in 2 weeks time....doc say nothing to worry about now...but still abit worried here...

any mummies bb had the same situation?

Irenelovej,
did the PD encourage u to latch on when ur boy was in nicu? he seems to be very pro latching on..

 

[irenelovej]

puppyduppy,
dun worry abt the eye test result tat much if the professional has advised so. u'll always hav our support here.

the PD oso encourage latching when my boy in NICU. he started to ask me let my bb latch 1 wk bf his planned discharge. dun think he's pro-latching, but every hospital encourage bfeeding, and our bb were in NICU so they didn't hav a chance to latch when they juz born. so bfore discharge, they'll ask u to do so.

And i can tell u, after ur bb is 6mths n he still wake up at night for feed, PD will ask u to give formula. hahah... he told me tat before. but it's ur own choice n he didn't stop u from continue feeding.

so far ur supply ok? if u let ur bb latch, supply w increase coz it's a good stimulation.

 

[puppyduppy]

irenelovej,

PD kept asking me to latch bb on...she's only 1.53kg,still got a long way to go before discharge...and he seems to be very against formula now..seems very pro latching

my supply is very little still..thats why didnt plan to latch bb on...wont be enough for her.

 

[costa]

morning, ladies...

my bb has been discharged from hospital two days ago..wif tube feeding until the next review by the speech and learning theraphists...

puppyduppy,

hows everything?letting bb latch is good, i wish i can but i cant as he is on tube feeding and his sucking reflex has to be developed thru time...till then, its still bmilk thru tube and a little bit of bottle feeding....

slowly build up yr milk supply by eating more nutritious food.....and consult the lact consultation if needed...

 

[telly]

hi costa!

congrats on your baby's graduation!! how has it been so far? are u working now or have you taken leave? remember to sleep when your baby sleeps.
rest well to keep the sanity level up.

 

[costa]

telly,
back at work today....cant take too much leave..my mum is around wif the maid to oversee and overlook at things...

yes, woke up twice last nite at 130 am and 430 am to let him drink milk....

tis time gotta be more hands on....

 

[puppyduppy]

hi costa,
congrats on having you boy back at home!
everything is ok....bottlefeed my girl yest..so far she is able to suck from bottle..but only 22ml so far...

how come he still has to be on tube feeding? thought doc wont let bb go home unless he is able to bottle feed?
sorry i asking so many questions just curious and concerned.

 

[voncm]

hi ladies...

hey costa,
good to hear that ur boy boy is home. so far ok?
the tube feeding will be over before u know it.
as long as he's well & healthy.. that's wat matters, rite??

my son was down with fever... again.
so been busy & no time to login.
me also jsut came back to work today.

 

[costa]

puppyduppy,
my boi needs to be tube fed incase he overtires himself and desats which we may not be able to tell if we dun hv monitors or not observent enough....

yes, bb can go back wif tube feeding...i had learnt to insert the tube in hospital and had hands on experience a few times...

if u wanna noe anythg, u can private message me by clicking on my user name.....

he can bottle feed but slow so in order not to overtax him,was given instructions to tube feed

yvonne,
how is yr boi now? wats the feeding due to ? teething or wat?you brot him to paedi?

u took leave to take care of him?

 

[puppyduppy]

costa,
tried to message you..seems ur username dont accept private messages...

glad to know ur boy is able to come home, you must be so happy...me cant wait for my girl to come home too...

 

[voncm]

hi puppyduppy,

all the "natural" breathing & sucking motions are actually very taxing for our premmies in the beginning.
it's alot of effort for our bbs to learn these "natural" actions because they've been kind of short-changed of the "training period" in the womb.

at the same time, premmies are such great fighters, in the end they learn very fast too.


hi costa,
it seems like he kena fr my older niece who likely caught the viral in playschool last week and was down with fever over the weekends.

so like musical chair, my boy started fever on monday lor.
fever hovered ard 38C, coming back every 4 hrs after medication. finally, it broke late tuesday nite.

din bring him to the PD, i just medicate & monitor him lor.
bcos when it's only fever, PD can only treat the symptom, prescibe panadol emulsion/suppository & do nothing else.

even my younger 8MO niece was also infected & had it a little worse.
it's the usual when the kids are together most days of the week.

 

[voncm]

costa,

i took leave to look after him cos he's now super manja & sticky to me, doesn't want the maid.
also took the chance to teach my maid how to look after/feed him, cook softer diet cos he din hv much appetite since the weekends.

apparently, my younger niece further developed rashes on her body & mouth ulcers. PD says it's "cousin" of HMF cos the blisters don't look the same.
so i stayed home another day to observe if my boy wud develop the same anot lor.

 

[costa]

yvonne,
poor boi...so better separate the kids from each other...hope that hes feeling better....since its a "cousin" of hmf, does it have a name for it?

really vy heartbreaking when kids fall ill....how many days leave did you take?is he better now?

puppyduppy,
sorry, i hv enabled my profile to allow for private message..u can private message me now....again...if you have anythg i can help you with...

 

[voncm]

no idea abt "cousin's" name... PD just says it's not HFM.
so it's sort of quarantine period tis week, he's home alone wif maid.

thanks, he's alot better. appetite almost back to normal.

i took 2 days off, including the extra day to observe. are u worried abt taking time off when bb is sick?

actually, it's more taxing in the nites cos he now knows how to manja (more like bully) mummy & complain at the slightest dislike.

 

[voncm]

no idea abt "cousin's" name... PD just says it's not HFM.
so it's sort of quarantine period tis week, he's home alone wif maid.

thanks, he's alot better. appetite almost back to normal.

i took 2 days off, including the extra day to observe. are u worried abt taking time off when bb is sick?
u hv ur mum & maid to help out, so will be alrite.

agree totally it's very heartache & taxing when kids fall sick, esp when they can't voice their discomfort.

for me, it's worse in the nite. my now knows how to manja (aka bully) mummy & complain at the slightest dislike.
only wants me to cuddle him to sleep, wakes & cries the minute u put him on the bed.


how's ur boy adapting to home? mother & maid managing fine?

really kudos to u for mastering the courage to insert the tube!
that's why mummies are such great beings!!!

 

[costa]

yvonne,
sort of worried i cant handle if my kid is sick but prepared to take leave if needed..just like my elder son last time forever sick, one...

 

[irenelovej]

costa,
congrates!! ur boy is home now.
i'm very glad of u till i dunno wat to say....

still remember last time when my boy can be discharge, it was such a great good news to us. we can't wait to bring him back n we went to hospital early in the morning to wait for doctor to come for signing the documents to discharge him.

remember to take care urself too coz when they juz back fr hospital, ur load is gg to be way high compared to previous.

puppyduppy,
i guess PD wan u to let bb latch on once she's able to in order to let her accept the latching. or else when they grow a bit elder (like 2-3mths), they'll reject the breast, coz feeding via bottle is much easier than latching which needs more energy. as long as u can, give it a try. the supply will increase through latching on. n when ur gil get used to it, u save lots of tedious effort of washing n sterilizing pumps n bottles...

 

[puppyduppy]

morning mummies!

thanks all for the encouragement on latching...will try to latch her on again...:>

costa,
hows your boy at home? everything ok?

yest my girl was sucking the bottle so fast that the area around her lips turn blue...i panicked, nurse teach me to pull the bottle out, let her take a few breaths before letting her suck again.

sigh...not only our babies have to learn alot of things...we mummies also gotto learn even more as we gotto be extra careful and observant with our little fighters.

 

[puppyduppy]

i have to say this again..im so glad that i chanced upon this forum...learnt alot of things from here...appreciate all the encouragement and support and advise from all mummies here.Think i would go mad if i had to handle this by myself...

Thanks again all mummies!

 

[costa]

irenelovej,
thanks for your encouragement...

me too, went early early to get him discharged..
yterday really panicked, was on the bus going home when my mum called me and said that the feeding tube was dislodged...and i was so kancheong and din noe wat to do..

lucky i was near home liao and calmly took out my elder son's paedi's card and thought to myself if the feeding tube was dislodged..the most i bring him down to the paedi to ask him to help put the tube in

but when i reached home and saw wat was going on..i took a blanket out to wrap him then inserted the tube back..heng ah.....

and later managed to draw out some liquid which turned the litmus paper pink (indication that the milk has reacted wif the gastric juices to turn the litmas paper a different colour)

tink that i am so steady...actually not, i called the nursing sister's hp to double confirm wat i had done....really am a kancheong spider...

i will be more a hands on mum now and not be so lazy....like last time....

puppyduppy,
one thg we have to learn is to observe the baby's colour, turning blue, choking and maybe face turning vy red...just stop watever we are doing and take a rest...try to learn as much fm the nurses as possible....

one thg to remember is we dun have monitors at home..we hv to rely on our eyes and gut feel...

anythg you wanna noe and i can help, do pm me...

 

[puppyduppy]

costa,
so the tube actually came out?
wow you so steady and calm....i would have rushed to the hospital if it happen man...wouldnt know wat to do...the nurses teach u how to use litmus to check on gastric juices?

yah am trying to learn as much as i can from the nurses...they are really very experienced...

 

[costa]

puppyduppy,
the tube has to be stuck on the cheek near the nose and a little bit came out and my maid cldnt put it in and my mum all along is the scared type..
so wat to do, i cant lose face infront of the maid and then i told the maid to wrap him up in blanket so he wun struggle and then just do it quick

actually, i am not steady and calm, i was literally so kancheong when my mum told me but later i tried to calm myself down n also msged the sister nurse whos vy helpful

u never noe how quick yr gal can come home, so learn as much as you can.....

 

[puppyduppy]

costa,

yeah i know wat you mean...now when i see the tape to stick the tube getting loose i dont dare to stick it back..will ask the nurse to help...
kudos to you for being brave and able to insert the tube into your boy....i wouldnt be able to do that...i also the very scared type...

 

[costa]

puppyduppy,
dun tink i am so brave, i oso kancheong spider but the nurses gave me encouragement and i was brave enough to admit to the nurses that i really dun noe how to do it...Because the day the nurse taught me was the day i had a bad flu and tau gong gong

i oso dun wanna lose face infront of the maid by showing my weakness and never be too dpdt on the maid..tis is my experience after being shown "face colour" by my old maid last time...

just ka ka insert it downwards and straight in..its not painful..just a wee bit uncomfortable....the longer you deliberate there, the more painful it wld be...so just insert it in and quickly tape it down...

yup, the reason why the fluid fm the tube wld turn pink when in contact wif the litmus paper is the fluid had interacted wif the gastric juices to turn it pink..tis is to ensure oso the tube din go the wrong way....haha..if you tell the nurses of yr bb that you noe all this knowledge, they sure vy impressed, one, ha ha

 

[puppyduppy]

costa,
i very chicken one....even carrying my gal from the cot i dont dare.must ask the nurse to help...think with time and practise i hope i will be steady and do it myself.

haha..will wow the nurses with my extra knowledge later..haha

so everynight u will have to wake up to feed ur boy?

 

[costa]

puppyduppy,
ha ha i must have misled you, u tink i very zhai..that day the mee see said i lifted my boi's head can tell that i vy inexperienced and they always ask if its my first kid..ha ha...

yup, i wake up evynite a few times to check on my boi..not like last time, so lazy everythg let the maid do...

 

[puppyduppy]

costa,

i have to prepare myself to wake up many times anight too....cos im the super kancheong type..sure will run to her with every sound she makes..haha

 

[costa]

puppyduppy,
it wld be for a few months hopefully for us, when the bb is bigger and can digest more each time..hopefully we wun be the icon of China - Panda bear...
ha ha

 

[voncm]

wow costa!

u passed the 1st hurdle with superb flying colours!

told u that u DEFINITELY can!

u're a very good "live" example for the mummies here...
don't worry too much abt not being able to handle bb at home.
when the time comes, the mummy power will take over. even the mummy will be surprised by her own ability!

see how well u handled... really very zhai orh!
the next few will not be too much of an issue for u liao. welcome to the premmie motherhood!!

 

[irenelovej]

mine one 7mths+ still wake up at least once for night feed

some of my frens one hav this habit till 1 yr+. that's y when i told PD abt this, he asked me to give my boy formula instead of breastmilk. but no use one, he still wake up

 

[voncm]

hi irenelovej,

mine 15mths liao & i still wake up few times a nite!!!

it used to be where my boy wanted milk & won't settle for anything else up till 9mths old.
nowadays, he makes noise when cannot find pacifier, aircon not cold enuf, etc.

frankly, i've become such a light sleeper since he was born.
it's become a habit liao to wake up a few times every nite just to check he's ok, esp when he didn't make any noise now!!

 

[costa]

yvonne,
thanks for letting me be so hao lian ha ha....actually, i just wanted to show off to the maid that i can oso do things ha ha.....

thanks, really hope that i can manage other issues...when i see my neighbours' kids making noise when teething,fever etc...i really worry in advance...

yvonne/irenelovej,
my days of a good nite's sleep wld be over for good, little bit of noise i wake up and cant sleep well......my days of long beauty sleep are gone forever...ha ha.....

 

[voncm]

costa,

u too ke qi.. must take credit when it duly yours!

after becoming expert in NICU/SCN issues, u're now into the next phase of the journey liao lo...
it'll become more & more enjoyable.

 

[irenelovej]

ya, agree w Yvonne. esp when ur child reach around half years old, then lots of fun.... every of us still face a long journey to go... keep it up

 

[stressed]

Hi Costa,

CONGRATS on your baby's graduation!!! It's good that you can maintain coolnes coz the bb also can feel the tension from your kan cheong-ness.

 

[costa]

yvonne,
ha ha, thanks for praising me...i wld be so happy during the wkend.....

i still find that i do things by trial and error sometimes...

also scared that i may do wrong things....

i really hope to enjoy this second chance at parenthood.....

stressed,
thanks....all mums are wei da especially after tis different journey...

irenelovej,
yes, all of us still have a long way to go and do hope to keep learning from you all....

 

[choco_latte]

Hi mummies,
I'm new to this thread. Was just reading your thread, trying to find some solace in how other mummies of preemies have coped. Haven't had the mood to visit the forum since I delivered, and I don't know where else to turn to. I was shocked when I delivered my twins last week at 24wks+ due to sudden contractions. But my younger twin did not make it past that traumatic first night, being smaller. My elder twin is now in NICU and doc is trying to trsf her to NUH as she estimates she'll be in NICU for approx 3 mths. We are very devastated with the loss of our younger twin, but are now trying to be strong and focusing on our elder twin (0.64kg) and what we can do for her. Every time I think of my twins and how I used to feel them both kick in my tummy, I will cry easily. Paed said our babies are on the smaller side at birth being twins, so I also worry abt the size of my elder girl (as I see that the weights of your babies are higher). Really praying hard for my elder girl to get well. So many things to worry abt, but most of all, I want my baby to be well... What do you mummies do to cope while your babies are in NICU, esp the first weeks?

Has anyone has delivered in a pte hospital and then trsfd to NUH's NICU? How's the NICU there and did you manage to get downgraded?

 

[telly]

hi chocco_latte,

*HUGS to you*

i cannot imagine how painful it is for you to lose one twin.

i hope you will be able to get a transfer to NUH or KK as soon as possible. it's so much better cos NUH and KK's NICU/SCN units are really very good.

when i was making the daily trip to KK, i sought solace in a board where parents of graduands of NICU wrote in and talked about their child/ren's progress. reading all those 'progress reports' gave me hope that everything is possible! there are babies as small as yours who made it.

i cried buckets too in the early days. but i really tried my very best to be strong and positive for my dear daughter when i visit her. i took lots of pictures and would scroll through her pictures as i lay down and try to sleep.

it's not easy. but, this too, will soon pass.

 

[irenelovej]

chocco_latte,
so sorry to hear u lose the younger one...hope u'll be strong to cope with the elder one, there's still lots to go thro', must be strong ok...

all mummies here faced the experience of our newborn staying in NICU, u r not alone.

well, when bb is in NICU, there's really nothing much u can do for him/her, coz mostly they r on drip/tube feeding n taken care by the experience nurses. wat we can do is visit the bb n give them ur breastmilk. it's extremely much better than formula for such small young bb.

i was delivering in pte hospital but i didn't do any xfer coz mine one didn't stay there very long. u can ask the doc/nurses there on the procedure to xfer. when my boy was in Mt E, the nurses told me NICU in NUH is more ex than Mt E coz they didn't do downgrade. so, i guess KK is more economical...any mummies here can share abt this?

u can join us as n when u need help. u'll hav all our support here.

 

[puppyduppy]

chocco_latte,
im sorry to hear about the loss of your younger twin. You have to be strong and stay positive for your elder girl.

I also cried tons when i delivered my girl at 29 weeks...but i told myself i have to be strong for my girl...so everyday i go down to see her and talk to her..

i also delivered in a Pt hospital...also had the thought of transferring to KK, but i felt that i didnt want to shift her to kk if i didnt really have to...like irenelovej said,
Mt E has downgrade system, so once bb stablize, the cost is not alot.

 

[stressed]

hi Choco_latte,

It's ok to cry. In fact it's good to cry so that it relieves the stress. But just nmake sure you don't cry in front of your baby coz they are very sensitive. They know when their darling mommy is sad.

I also cried alot when my 33 weeker dd was in the NICU. Every time she admits to the hospital, my heart bleed. Today she will be admitting to NUH for a day surgery. She's now 6mos btw. I wanna cry but I dare not do it in front of her.

 

[voncm]

hi choco_latte,

sorry to read the lost of your younger twin. twin pregnancy is definitely tougher.
do be strong for your elder girl. she will need all of your support & love so u must take good care of urself too.

we're here to hear you out, share your worries & joy, questions & experiences.

i wud encourage u to hv bb transferred to NICU at NUH or KK as they are definitely better equipped and the neonats are premmie specialists.
cost wise is also cheaper.

 

[voncm]

hi stressed,

how's ur little girl?
sorry if i missed ur posting... what's the reason for ur girl's day surgery?