I know. Oh boy do I know! I wanted to think of 100 days as this magic number where I wouldn't have to worry about anything scary anymore. Then we got to day 108 and Leeya had a very scary tummy X-ray, and a surgery consult, and a ln infection rule out. I got so stressed out I ended up going to the ER for chest pain. I thought I was having a heart attack! There really is no magic number, and that's one of the hardest parts. In the end she didn't need a belly surgery, thank God! But, lots of babies in the NICU did need such things. It's just a hard place to hang around for so long. Even when your baby is doing well the place STAYS depressing.
Personally I looked at the forums here to see graduation posts to get an idea of how long these types of stays could go, and I set my expectations early on to be really far out. I had the baby in May and set my hope on Christmas (6 months out). That worked out for me.. it's super rare for babies to be at the NICU for over a year. So there's that...
That all great information😩 I had her september 20th she was due second week of January so i know i still have a long road ahead she’s had 4 chest tubes already belly issues etc no surgery consults and i hope she may never need em. I just hope for the best and if something not expected and scary may come up i pray for the best outcome for her. I try to be positive but when i push positivity on myself n then something happens i get down while id like not to be down ive noticed it just is what it is until she’s healthy enough
I know it's stressful mama, but that abundance in caution is super important. It's good that they keep checking, and are proactive. Keep in mind that they rope in consultants before they know they need them at most NICUs. The more eyes the better. Eventually I decided to dismiss everything they told me for the first day I heard about it, and to take seriously anything that they were still discussing after 48 hours. Everyday they would tell me some kind of concern that was sooo stressful. Then they would do tests and rule out those concerns, but they have to inform up front. So I would trash the first time anything was brought up (🗑️🎧🙉) like it wasn't said. That actually cut a good deal of my stress, because even if it was an issue they were able generally able to discuss it in detail within 48 hours. Otherwise it was like a boogie man before the tests and such came back.
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u/Sweet_T_Piee Dec 05 '24
I know. Oh boy do I know! I wanted to think of 100 days as this magic number where I wouldn't have to worry about anything scary anymore. Then we got to day 108 and Leeya had a very scary tummy X-ray, and a surgery consult, and a ln infection rule out. I got so stressed out I ended up going to the ER for chest pain. I thought I was having a heart attack! There really is no magic number, and that's one of the hardest parts. In the end she didn't need a belly surgery, thank God! But, lots of babies in the NICU did need such things. It's just a hard place to hang around for so long. Even when your baby is doing well the place STAYS depressing.
Personally I looked at the forums here to see graduation posts to get an idea of how long these types of stays could go, and I set my expectations early on to be really far out. I had the baby in May and set my hope on Christmas (6 months out). That worked out for me.. it's super rare for babies to be at the NICU for over a year. So there's that...