The stuff I DON'T know!

Ok, there are a few things I don't know too much about since my girls were in the NICU for 17 days and it was kind of all done there for me.

1. The umbilical cord - how long before it falls off? And, I can't give the baby a bath until it's gone right? Just a sponge bath? (I think the girls' cords fell off within the first week, but they didn't have a full submersion bath until after we got them home)

2. Do you start them out on a 3 hour schedule? Mine were on 3 hours in the NICU and then switched to 4 hours at 15 days old...they stayed on every 4 hours forever after that.

 

the cord will dry up and fall off on its own, usually about 1-3 weeks. you will be instructed on care of it at the hospital before you leave most likely, but mainly you just keep it clean and swab with rubbing alcohol once a day until it falls off no submersion bath until it is gone

newborns don't really get dirty unless they have a major blowout and or spit up alot like mine, so a nice sponge bath once a week or every few days is adequate for the first month or so.

mine were on a 3 hour schedule for a long time, just take cues from the baby, if you are going to BF feeding usually occur on demand for awhile and are more frequent than formula fed b/c it is digested so much faster.

you will do fine, it will all come back to you soon enough! lol :icon_eek: :laughing:

 

QUOTE(twinzmom2b @ Nov 1 2007, 12:21 PM) [snapback]476922[/snapback]
Ok, there are a few things I don't know too much about since my girls were in the NICU for 17 days and it was kind of all done there for me.

1. The umbilical cord - how long before it falls off? And, I can't give the baby a bath until it's gone right? Just a sponge bath? (I think the girls' cords fell off within the first week, but they didn't have a full submersion bath until after we got them home)

2. Do you start them out on a 3 hour schedule? Mine were on 3 hours in the NICU and then switched to 4 hours at 15 days old...they stayed on every 4 hours forever after that.

It'll dry up and fall off about 1-3 weeks after birth. Some doctors have you swab it with alcohol and others don't. I will warn you that it may be kind of gross while it's drying out, there will probably be some moistness and a smell. Pus, a really foul smell or redness is a sign of infection.

2. It depends. I was advised with all 4 of mine to feed on demand or every 3 hours whichever occurred first for the first few weeks, then go to a feed on demand schedule only after that. (Which ended up being a 3-4 hour schedule naturally).

Good luck!

 

Just to make things more confusing for you, when my twins were in the NICU, the nurses there gave them full baths even before their cords dried up. I was told that the research today shows that there's no problem getting the cord stump wet so long as you dry it off after the bath like you do the rest of the baby.

 

There was no way of getting my two on a schedule from the get go.. until they were ready! They ate every 1½-2 hours. I fed and did everything on demand until they told me their schedule.

 

QUOTE(Trishandthegirls @ Nov 1 2007, 02:39 PM) [snapback]477033[/snapback]
Just to make things more confusing for you, when my twins were in the NICU, the nurses there gave them full baths even before their cords dried up. I was told that the research today shows that there's no problem getting the cord stump wet so long as you dry it off after the bath like you do the rest of the baby.


I was going to say the same thing. The hospital and our pedi said that it was OK to give full baths, and so we did from the get go w/o any problems here!!

Good Luck!
Suzi

 

Don't worry too much about the stump -- I did nothing at all to care for my babies' cords, except to make sure the diaper was folded down and not chafing it. No rubbing alcohol or anything (I think doctors are moving away from this now, although I did it for my older one). I didn't do a full immersion bath until after they fell off, though.

My two came home from the preemie nursery on a 3-hour schedule, and we continued it -- and they are still on every 3 hours during the day (and sleeping 12 straight at night). From what I understand, it takes them longer to sleep through the night if you feed them less frequently than this, because they don't get enough food in during the day....so, I'd say at least every 3 hours, but more often is fine, too, if they demand it (cluster feedings in the evening, for instance).

It does all come back! I thought I'd forgotten everything about the newborn stage, but it's like riding a bike...

 

we fed ours religiously every 3 hours (low birthweight but term babies)...our stumps fell off after 2 weeks (in fact DS's circ healed faster than his cord!) - if its a boy and you circ (plus the stump) means no immersion until they both heal...

 

QUOTE
2. Do you start them out on a 3 hour schedule? Mine were on 3 hours in the NICU and then switched to 4 hours at 15 days old...they stayed on every 4 hours forever after that.


Like pp said, in the beginning it's best to feed on demand or every 3 hrs, whichever comes first. And once the baby is awake enough to let you know when s/he's hungry, feed on demand by all means.

 

1. The umbilical cord - how long before it falls off? And, I can't give the baby a bath until it's gone right? Just a sponge bath? (I think the girls' cords fell off within the first week, but they didn't have a full submersion bath until after we got them home)

James' fell off after about 8 days, Evan's took quite a bit longer and when it did finally fall off it was kind of funny under there - turned out he had an umbilical granuloma. Not dangerous at all, just strange and had to be fused with silver nitrate at the doctor's office a couple of times. I was told at the hospital and by my family doc that you can bathe your babies just fine with or without their cords. They said that alcohol isn't necessary to clean it either.

2. Do you start them out on a 3 hour schedule? Mine were on 3 hours in the NICU and then switched to 4 hours at 15 days old...they stayed on every 4 hours forever after that.

My babies ate every 2 hours (minimum!) when I was breast feeding and when we switched to bottles of expressed milk and formula (at 2 weeks) they would go maybe three hours during the day (if we were lucky). To this day they eat every three hours (well, longer if they have a solids snack in between bottles) but that's only during daylight hours. They haven't eaten at night (I call "night" 6:30 to 6:30) since they were 3 months old. I know that many people, including the famous Baby Whisperer, promote a 4-hour schedule but I know that my babies need a certain amount of nutrition in a 24-hour period and I'd like them to get it during the day. If I had them on a 4-hour schedule we'd still be doing night feedings. Your babies will let you know what they need.

 

i'm too tired to remember about their umbilical cords but - i think, and my pedi agreed, that a four hour schedule, esp. for preemies is WAY too long! THeir stomachs are TINY. If you are bfing you will want to feed more often to ensure that your supply is established, and if you are formula feeding -well, i know that it makes them FEEL fuller, but i don't know if they can actually take more in.

It feels brutal at the beginning but the time really WILL pass quickly!

 

it took about 3 wks for our girls' cords to fall off, they didn't get a full bath until then.

We came home on a every 2-3 hr schedule, but honestly it ended up being 3 hr because it took soo long to feed them both in the beginning. I would bf them and then they would get droppers (then eventually bottles ) of my expressed milk, then I would pump and we'd start all over again.

We are now on a 4 hr schedule (still fully breastfeed/EBM), 8, noon, 4 and 7:30pm and once at night and loving it. The girls slept 8 hrs last night. My MIL tried to get me to change it to every 3 hrs, but this works for us. You need to do whatever works best for your family.