My preemie newphew - *WARNING cute picture WARNING*

[JohannSebastianRat]

I became an uncle this week. My sister gave birth---however, the baby was 8 weeks premature. I didn't really know much about preemies, so I'm learning a lot.

She's in Minneapolis, I'm in Los Angeles, so I couldn't be there for the birth. I will visit soon.

Anyway, first her water broke, then she had some contractions. She was admitted to the hospital immediately, given magnesium sulfate to delay labor, and they started pumping her full of steroids, which had the purpose of helping the baby breath if he was to be born so early. A couple days later, they felt the baby was stable, so they took her off the magnesium sulfate and she gave birth within a few hours.

The baby can breathe on his own. This is very good, because 32 weeks is right at the edge of where you might need a ventilator. However, he does have some moments of forgetting to breath and the nurses have to tickle him (after the oxygen monitor alarm goes off so they know he stopped) to get him going again. He also needs to stay in an incubator so he can be warm. At 32 weeks he is not able to keep himself warm enough with his own body chemistry.

My sister was discharged from the hospital, but visits every day to touch and hold him (they get to hold him once per day). It's kind of sad... poor baby can't get much touching or cuddling right now. The baby can go home once he is free from apnea (stopping breathing) for a period of one week, can maintain body temperature, and can eat without problems. The hospital says it will probably be a minimum 3 weeks, but don't get your hope up. I feel very sad for baby. But I'm sure he knows he is loved by all those around him.

Mike

[Eileen]

Aw Mike, congrats on your new nephew. At such a young age, he is blessed to have such a caring uncle.

It's hard when they can't come home with you, but the nurses in the hospital usually take special care for little ones like this. I'm sure he'll get lots of attention and be home with you guys soon.

When he is home and comfy, we'd love to see pictures. What is your nephew's name?

[JR1030]

Mike...that can be really, really scary.  My sister's baby was due April 9 and was born January 22.  He weighed 2 pounds 8 ounces.  He was in the hospital for about a month, I want to say.  Even when he went home, he had the apnea alarm on all the time, which was scary, too.  Premies tend to have gastrointestinal trouble, so that was a challenge.  He's a year and a half old now, though, and hale and hearty...no problems at all.  I'm sending good thoughts to your sister and the baby...PM me any time if you want to know anything else, or just need an ear.

[JohannSebastianRat]

Hi Eileen,

Nephew doesn't have a name yet---his parents were caught a bit unexpectedly, as you can imagine. They thought they had another 8 weeks to decide on the name. We are told it is coming soon.

Here's a picture:



The scale is kind of deceptive. He's four pounds. He looks like a normal infant in the picture (at least to me), but it's a closeup.

Mike

[julztoni97]

He is gorgeous!  My neice and nephew were born at 30 and 31 weeks.  They both spent about 3-4 weeks in the hospital with the same issues.  My nephew just needed to gain the weight and regulate his temp.  My neice did had a brain bleed but luckily did not cause major damage.  She has a little bit of a learning disability but nothing anyone outside the family would know about.  They were really lucky.  Good luck! 

[NutKitty]

Aww...  thanks for sharing.  He is adorable!

If it helps, I was born early and had to spend six weeks in the hospital before they'd let me out.  I turned out ok for the most part.   

[Eileen]

He's beautiful! We're all thinking about him and sending good thoughts that he does well and comes home soon.

[JR1030]

Oh, he's lovely!  And he looks very healthy. 

[fluffy pluffy]

Aww,handsome little baby.  If your sister needs name suggestions,you could tell her that we're always around..  He looks pretty healthy,considering he was born extra early.  Be a good uncle to him.  Wouldn't that be amazing if he grew up to be a rat-lover. 

[liza]

Awwwwwwww!!!!! Congratulations!!!!! You are an uncle!!!! Weeee!!! How exciting!!!

He is blonde!!! Nothing cuter than a tiny little blonde baby! His hair! Adorable!

I know someone who had a premie, his lungs had not opened when the mother had to give birth to him. He was supposed to die. He was born alive but he was not breathing at all. They knew his lungs were not functioning before she had to give birth to him. The father (a scientist) agreed to use a type of drug that had never been used in humans before since his son had a death sentence hanging over him anyway. The drug was supposed to get the lungs functioning - the mother was told she was giving birth to a baby boy who had all odds against him. The drug was administered ...





...




... and I am married to that baby boy who was born 32 years ago.   He was very small (a little bigger than a hand), he spent months at the hospital, he was always shorter than everyone else but he is healthy!

Your nephew will be fine! You are right, he looks like a perfectly healthy and 'normal' baby boy. He is beautiful!
This must be incredibly hard for your sister and her husband...
 
I'm glad baby is ok though!

[nancycccslp]

Speech pathologist here.
8 weeks is officially early, but not by a whole lot.  Barring any major issues, that's what we used to call a "take-home preemie" in the hospital.   Feed 'em, fatten 'em up a bit, smooth out that breathing, and out they go!  Typically do extremely well.  Mag sulf and then steroids bought that baby some time and some lung maturity; exactly what he needed.  Figure at least 5 weeks in the NICU stabilizing and getting used to our world; the occasional up and down, possibly an infection to keep it interesting, then home and on to crying and driving everyone nuts like he's supposed to do. 
Not trying to minimize what your sister and husband are going thru; I had to leave my first in the NICU too; I didn't cry on the way home, I HOWLED.  16 years later, I can still remember exactly how that felt.  Very, VERY few times in my life have I felt that level of despair.  Oh, and my NICU baby is 16 years old, 5'9" tall, and just finished acing his SAT's in preparation for college. 
That baby is absolutely beautiful.  And his color is excellent.  Keep us posted and gentle kisses to your sister.  Plenty of us have been there; it is an awful experience but she will find inner strength she didn't know she had. 

[RatAttack59]

My nephew was six? weeks early - and over seven pounds.  He spent a few extra days in the NICU just to be sure, then came home.
His sister, older by seven years, had a sloped head from being breech, so ba they did brain scans.

Both are FINE!  Taylor graduated high school and is headed to Temple this fall.  Her brother is on-track and should probably be in the gifted program.

Scary, yes.  But it can work out - apnia and all.

And oh boy is he a cutie!  Hard to remember mine that small (uh, young.  My smallest was 8 lb 2 oz.  Whole other set of issues....)

[SouthPaw]

Congrats, and he is cute! 

My nephew was born 5 weeks early... spent a few days in NICU, underdeveloped lungs so he was on a ventilator, then they moved him up to the special care nursery for a few more days. All in all I think he only spent  a week in the hospital (maybe a day or two less, but definitely no longer). Which was actually really good, when he was first born they were estimating he'd be there for about 3 or 4 weeks, but he was a trooper and just kept on improving. He's 2 1/2 years old now and is healthy as can be. 

Sending good thoughts! 

[tonivan]

That nephew of yours is beautiful.  I bet you are one proud uncle!!

I worked in a small NICU 18 yrs ago and that little guy looks like great at this point.  What you described sounds right on for treatment...and I am betting that they are in a very good NICU being in Minneapolis.  Is he at the childrens hospital?

[star2]

Congrats on the new nephew!  He's adorable    I can't wait to hear what they name him!!
My brother was about 8 weeks early.  He was 5 lbs.  Now he's 6'3

I don't know how early my newest cousin was (she was adopted and the birthmom didn't even know she was pregnant) but she was 3 lbs 1 oz.  She's now 9 lbs at just over 3 months, and she's doing fantastic!!    She does have to be on a monitor though to make sure her heart rate is stable.

[pinkie1205]

My ex's sister was diabetic when she got pregnant.  About 7 months into her pregnancy her kidneys failed.  The doc said, okay what do you want me to do?  Save you or save your baby?  His sis said doc, you go in there and save us both...
Well she had a baby that was born more then 2 months early and spent a long time in the hospital.  She was on a breathing tube even after they brought her home.  The doc saved them both and now the baby is a healthy 13 year old I want to say?  Last I saw her she was chunky and very smart and very spoiled. 

Anyway I think your sis has a lot to look forward to with her new little boy   He is very beautiful.

[JohannSebastianRat]

That nephew of yours is beautiful.  I bet you are one proud uncle!!

I worked in a small NICU 18 yrs ago and that little guy looks like great at this point.  What you described sounds right on for treatment...and I am betting that they are in a very good NICU being in Minneapolis.  Is he at the childrens hospital?

Hi, I don't know what hospital, but it's the same one my sister was already planning to deliver in, so it must not be the children's hospital. They were told that if the baby required a higher level of care, he would have to be transferred. Fortunately that wasn't the case.

He now has a name: JOSEPH. I like it.

Mike

[nancycccslp]

He looks like a Joseph.  It suits him. 

[andrea1970]

My mom was a NICU nurse for several years -- babies like Joseph were called "feeder/growers".  They were there basically to eat and grow -- fundamentally stable.  They were the babies the nurses liked to have at least one of since they weren't likely to arrest/die on their shift.  So your sister may find the staff seems somewhat blase about the most stressful time in her life -- but you have to remember these babies are routine to them.  The nurses may be more involved with the much more unstable babies -- the ones that start to code every time another baby farts.

Good luck to your family

[fluffy pluffy]

He looks like a Joseph.  It suits him. 

I agree. Your nephew needs a macho name.