u/Expensive_Ducks

We've been here for 3 weeks. He's been in the NICU for 3 whole fucking weeks. He's still not cueing to eat, still struggling to breath, and now his heart is doing silly things(going from 150 to 70 very quickly most of the time during feeds but not always), so they added that to the list of things that has to stop before we can go home. I know he's 6 weeks under baked but this can't last that much longer right? We can go home soon right? I've been living in this fucking hotel for almost a month eating fast food or dining out while hav8ng nothing but pjs to wear because all my dresses(I fucking HATE pants) are back home.

I just want to go home. I just want a quiet room to sit with my son and cuddle. I want to see my cats again. I want to eat a real meal. I am convinced this is the price I'm paying for such an easy pregnancy and delivery. I am absolutely being punished by the universe for not having any issues physically or mentally through my pregnancy or postpartum. I'm stuck an hour away from home eating shitty food in a room that's got a broken ac that's loud af or in a nicu where there's CONSTANT beeping, unable to take my son home because he keeps yo-yoing between getting better and getting worse. I just want to take him home safely.

Idk if I need one or not, and kiddo is still in NICU so I've not had the chance to go home and check, but I was going to buy one off Amazon any ways.

I was wondering if any of you had brands you'd recommend for a bassinet mattress protector? Or brands to avoid? The mattress is 33"x19" if that matters at all.

I'm a first time mom, and my baby is a premie in the NICU. I've been sick for days and haven't been able to see him or hold him, so when the first day I was feeling better was mother's day I got excited. My in laws were up and the expectation was they were going to visit the baby and us for a bit then we'd go out to lunch and they'd be off.

Nope, FIL rushed past me with my husband tailing him, the anxious mess he is, to the baby. So mil and I sat in the family room because only 3 people can be with baby at any time and I didn't want her to be left out and alone. Well my bad, because FIL got to hold MY baby that I've been having to stay away from for 3 days prior to this.

Then he came back celebrating in both mine and mils face. Husband looked absolutely terrified I was going to lash out at him or something. I tried to assure myself I'd still get to hold him but then Mil and I got to bed side and she spoke over me when the nurse asked and said no because he was just held and all the tubes and cords made her anxious. My voice was still gone so when the nurse SPRINTED off I couldn't call after her.

I assured myself again that I could hold him later and that it would be ok while on the verge of tears. Then we all headed to the parking lot and the in laws just left. They didn't even really say goodbye, and they didn't seem bothered at all about robbing me of my first mother's day with my baby. I broke down crying in the car and my husband profusely apologized and explained his dad had just spoken over him with the nurses too and he panicked. He was also sick for a few days prior so...what made it worse was this was also the first mother's day without my mom. She passed just days before we found out we were pregnant. So I guess there's always next year right?

Edit to add/update: Dad and I are both sick which means we're wearing masks, and both of us are rather soft spoken in a literal since atm because our voices are gone. He's autistic and struggles with standing up to his father in general for many reasons, none of which are related to violence or threars of harm or anything dangerous like that, im a DV survivor and wouldn’t have tolerated that.

With MIL my voice literally wouldn't get loud enough to speak properly at the time. We do know both of us being sick is from allergies because of the environment(our red car has consistently been orange every morning from the pollen) and the lack of color to either of our mucus.

We also have wrist bands that identify us as parents but were both wearing sweaters that covered them.

He said the nurse asked his dad, she looked right at the older man and asked if he wanted to hold him, and before my husband could say anything his dad agreed loudly and thus got to hold him.

For note, I'm pretty sure my husband's autism comes from his dad and his dad's side of the family. So I do not think anything about this was malicious or done with the knowledge it would/could hurt my feelings. So I won't be reporting the nurse or cutting off my in laws. I did sob about it in the car and let my husband know how much it hurt, and I'm pretty sure he talked to them about it yesterday since I got an apology txt from MIL.

I'm a first time mom and I've talked to lactation consults pretty much everyday since my baby was born 5days ago. I'm stressed out over trying to hit 8 sessions a day. I'm managing 5 or 6 on a good day and barely have time to do much of anything else. I have no idea how I'm supposed to hit 8 or more sessions. Then today I was told if I don't hit 8 sessions a day I'll likely not be able to actually feed my baby because my body will just stop producing. It might just be the hormones but I'm kinda freaking out. I know I can do this I just don't know how to.

I've got alarms set for every 3hrs, and an app on my home screen that shows me how long it's been since my last session. I'm hitting the every 3hr mark and still somehow averaging only 5 or 6 sessions. I'm missing time SOMEWHERE and idk where or how to fix it.

Hey so I'm 4 days postpartum, my baby was 6weeks early and is in NICU. The hospital I surprise delivered at didn't have a NICU so he was careflighted over an hr away. I was discharged same day after an unmedicated vaginal birth. I think I was in hospital for like 5 or 6hrs just after. Then hubby and I rushed about an 1 hr away to the other hospital where baby was taken. Since then it's been none stop. If I'm not sitting by his bed and getting info dumped on his condition, we're calling/texting family and friends with updates or entertaining them in person. It's been a lot of up and down in chairs and in and out of cars and very little stillness. I think today is the first day I haven't had to spend on updates and running around.

I've been feeling funny today, like occasionally a bit dizzy or light headed but my bleeding is normal and typically it resolves within seconds of me sitting and drinking water or even eating, which hasn't been as regular as it should be. I'm also trying to breast feed and so far I'm producing fine but getting a schedule down has been difficult.

So last night around 10pm I started feeling braxton hicks. I brushed it since they were few and far between and moving or drinking water helped ease them. Then the night went on and they got more painful. They still were intermittent with no pattern, my water was intact and I was exhausted so I tried to sleep through it. Then at like 4 or 5 this morning I give up. My husband is awake getting ready for work, I tell him he needs to take me to the hospital and he agrees. Of course were thinking I'm being dramatic, it's happened several times this is our first pregnancy and I am only 33 weeks and 5 days along.

They get me up and into a room, settled with an ob nurse and she checks me. She does an AMAZING job keeping her poker face on. We had no idea what was happening until I started to shake with the contractions. Then shortly after the midwife comes in. She double checks me. She says "You're already at 9cm so we're going to see about careflighting to the bigger hospital." Oh ok cool cool cool. So I'm delivering a baby premie rn. Like RIGHT NOW right now. Um not what I'd like but ok.

They come back a bit later telling me careflight will not take me, but they will take baby. So I'm like dope. Whatever we need to do to give him the best chance at life here cause this is...a lot. Things get cooking, I've got fast line of potassium penicillin. I don't remember if they ran them as 1 drug combo or did 1 then the other. But it fucking burned. My arm was turning pink and I was like 4 hrs to get this in? No problem. My baby needs this. I got this.

Then those finished. The midwife comes in tells me she's getting worried about how painful my contractions are finally getting and the fact my water still hasn't broken and it's like 10am. She wants to pop my water and deliver my baby NOW. She assures me the bigger hospital has this on lock and will have special antibiotics for baby when he arrives, so I'm like dope. Get this thing outta me. I'm exhausted and in pain.

Then once I'm getting into the head space, prepping for the epidural mentally. The anastisologist comes in. Dude says to me "so tell me about this lidocaine reaction you had some years ago." So I do. As I do I see his face drop slightly. I'm like ooooo no no no no don't tell me in my head. Then he tells me. "Soooo that sounds like a real reaction to the drug, and while it was....mild...ish...we aren't going to risk it here because of the placement for the lidocaine to numb the spot for the epidural."

ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS

I nod. I get it. Big risk of a severe allergic reaction, because honestly a welt and then complete numbness in my chest from a shot to the arm. So like yeah...not supposed to happen and could be bad if it happens in my back.

I look to the nurse desperately "IV drugs tho right? RIGHT?" She shakes her head at me. No...not a chance. I was already beyond 7cm which is the hospitals cut off for the IV drugs. Especially with baby being this early and his lungs underdeveloped.

What felt like hours later(it wasnt). After screaming and begging for anything to help with the pain. Even begging to have a c section, he was already too far down the birth canel so that was denied. I delivered a healthy(for being premie) baby boy. He was careflighted to the big hospital 30mins later and I was discharged to go see him a few hours later.

So to the guy who invited the Braxton Hicks contractions, I hope you choke on a random dirty sponge once a day for eternity for making the world's biggest lie.