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Breastfeeding Preemies in a NICU is Different

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Breast milk is absolutely the best food you can give your newborn. Not only does it provide numerous immunological benefits, but the breast milk of a mother who has given birth too early contains substantially more calorie packing fat than does the breast milk of a mother who has given birth at a full 40 weeks gestation. One difficulty in breastfeeding a preemie for some mothers is that good practices in giving breast milk to a preemie while he/she is in the NICU may well go against everything that the new mother has read or heard about breastfeeding. Here are … Continue reading →

Bonding with Your NICU Baby

Recently, here in the baby blog we have been talking about preemies and the NICU experience. Emotionally draining is an understatement. Bonding is also another challenge as you might not even be able to hold your little one for awhile. NICU babies have unique needs and consequently it’s important that you give yourself permission to observe your baby’s cues and watch them closely. Your baby might not be interested in the outside world for awhile and actually, that’s not a terrible thing. NICU preemies, particularly ones who are sick, need all their energy for recovering. Once your baby is matured … Continue reading →

Surviving the NICU: Questions to Ask

I don’t think anyone is ever quite prepared for the NICU experience. Yesterday, we talked about how it is emotionally draining and can leave you feeling very much out of control. However, it is important to become not only an advocate for your baby, but part of the medical team. I highly recommend purchasing a journal soon after the birth of a preemie. Journaling the NICU Experience I think many people find journaling cathartic. To be able to write what you cannot say and express your feelings openly without fear of being corrected or having them explained away is often … Continue reading →

Taking Pictures of Sick Kids

This blog was inspired by a recent series Valorie did in BABY about the emotional strain of having your child end up in the NICU. It reminded me of one of my best friends whose newborn spent nearly four months of his life in the NICU. My pal’s routine pregnancy became anything but near the mid-point of her fifth month. A previously undetected health condition put her life in jeopardy and she was forced to give birth more than four months prior to her due date. The end result: She survived, but the early labor meant her first-born child had … Continue reading →

Parenting Multiples: The Strain of Always Having to Share

My twins are almost three and now that I’m out of the fog of sleep deprivation and constant feedings, diaper changes, and other baby care duties–I have to say that having twins is a blast. Someone asked me recently if there was anything remarkable about the way they developed verses how singletons develop and what was the hardest part of parenting multiples. No doubt, had you asked me one year ago I would’ve answered that sleep deprivation was the hardest part of parenting multiples. By 5 or 6 months, all of my children woke once in the middle of the … Continue reading →