any nicu mamas?
Show your support
- be active in your kiddos care. This might look different depending on severity of your baby's CHD. But ask to be involved in cares and baths etc if it's safe for you to do so! You got this mama! ❤️❤️
thank you so much! i didn’t know if i could ask to be apart of those rounds & i felt silly to ask 😭 or that i can still partake in some of his care like the baths etc. ofc it’s case by case and there’s a possibility that i can’t BUT still i was unaware of it still being possible
Hello, we had our baby arrive 6 weeks early and she was in nicu for a couple of weeks on gas and feeding tubes. To start with I felt very unsure how involved we could get. Talking to the nurses who were looking after her was the best thing- they were able to help us understand how we could be involved and better still were able to provide us support and encouragement whilst we learnt as first time parents! This meant for example we did our first nappy changes, top and tail washes, tube feeds, skin on skin contact, and bath all with support from the nurses. As an anxious first time mum this was actually really helpful! From personal experience, the nurses want you to be involved so I'd definitely recommend having open conversations and asking them what you can do and seeking that support where you want it!
@gabby of course! Most teaching hospitals encourage parents to be active in rounds, it's actually called "family centered rounding" so you can absolutely ask if that is their practice when you do your walk through! As for cares it's definitely case by case but we try so hard to include families so that you have as much bonding time as possible ❤️ Also, never feel silly for asking anything, you'll never know what you might get to do if you don't ask!
@Claire thank you so much
Hi mama! I don't have personal NICU experience but I can give a couple tips on what I've seen work best from the healthcare side of things. -Learn everything you can about your kiddos specific needs, CDH has such a range of severity that sometimes isn't known until birth. Read up on the generals/ask your OB and then once baby is born and you know his specifics learn all you can! Texas children's is a teaching hospital, sit in on rounds and ask your doctors questions, they will love to teach you! -Advocate for your kiddo. Linked to the above learning, but advocate for what is best for your kiddo, never be afraid to ask for a second opinion! -Take care of you....you're going to want to spend every minute with baby, but you can't pour from an empty cup and ICUs are hard places to get any rest. It's always bright and loud and there's constant activity going on. Take time in the day to go on a walk outside away from the florescent lights, take a nap (or even go home to sleep!)and get some real food.