27 weeker now 30+2 weeks

[babygirlava]

my daughter was born at 27 weeks she was 2lbs 8 ozs. i had two steroid injections at 24 weeks and then at 25 weeks. she had to be on the ventilator for four days then c-pap (which is horrible) she was put on nasal canula for only two days and then back on c-pap. she is almost 4 weeks old now. and i'm watching all the 26 weekers around her get right onto canula. this is not fare there moms didnt even get steroids. and i feel that this isnt normal. i had another 27 weeker and this didn't happen to her. also she has tons of a's and b's (apnea and bradycardia) is this normal. when we hold her she stops breathing and turns a dusky color. the nurse says she gets to comfy when we hold her. it just seems like we are gonna be on the high side forever. she is now 3lbs 5ozs. i'm afraid she is gonna be 4lbs and still on c-pap.

[Yao Sun, MD, PhD]

I'm sure that the steroid shots that you received helped your daughter: try to imagine how sick she would be today if you had not been able to receive the prenatal steroid treatment.

Each baby is an individual, and your youngest daughter will not be like your other premature daughter either medically or as a person.  It is a good sign that your daughter was able to come off the ventilator by 4 days of life.  Although it may seem like a long time to be on CPAP, it is not unusual for 27 week premature infants to require respiratory assistance for many weeks or even months.

Your experience with your previous premature baby will continue to be helpful with your youngest daughter, but you will need to be flexible about your expectations in order to accomodate the individual characteristics of each of your children.  

Congratulations on your growing family!

[Yao Sun, MD, PhD]

There should be a neonatologist or neonatal nurse practitioner there at night: I would not hesitate to try and set up a meeting with one of them on a night when you can visit.  Try to arrange this with one of your daughter's nurses or the unit social worker.

It is not uncommon for 27 week premature infants to receive many transfusions, depending upon how sick they are.  A lot of blood gets drawn for laboratory tests, and some premature infants do not make new red blood cells very easily.

I hope your daughter continues to grow and improve.

[babygirlava]

thank you dr. yao sun this is helpful. i have other children so i can usually only visit my baby at night and the doctor is usually busy. and i don't want to bug them with all these questions. my daughter just seems like she is not doing good. today they had her up to 30cc of breast milk every 3 hours and took her off the iv. by the time i got there tonight she is on another 24hr hold from feedings and her belly is distended once again and she is back on iv fluids. her bradys have lowered some which is good. but the nurse said that we need her to digest food. she has only pooped a few times since birth and twice was with a supository. i know her and my first baby are different and i guess i do need to realize that. its just hard to see 26 weekers fly right by her. and all these set backs are fustrating. her nose looks horrible but she was switched from bubble c-pap to arabella due to break down on her little nose. she also has fluid on her brain which they are going to monitor but they did say its with in normal limits it just needs to be monitored. her pda is closed now. but the nurse said the abdominal x-ray was abnormal and that they will know more in the morning when they repeat it. she has also had 4 blood transfusions and is still anemic she has b+ blood type. i dont know if that blood type is more likely to be anemic or what. is it normal to have that many transfusions?