Any moms who had NICU babies?

My DS was in the NICU for 12 days as he developed pneumonia from delivery. He is my 2nd child and I can't even believe the difference between my two kids. We called my DD the "angel baby" as she was so mellow and happy from birth and still is. My DS, on the other hand, is so hyper-sensitive. Screams screams screams when you change his diaper and if he's not sleeping he most likely is crying to be fed or almost crying trying to get the gas out. I was wondering if him being in the NICU maybe made him more sensitive etc as he was on a vent for 4 days, was sedated, had tubes down his throat etc. Has anyone else had similar experiences??

BTW, he's three weeks old now.

Re: Any moms who had NICU babies?

I just wanted to say that my daughter screamed during diaper changes and for hours most evenings, and she wasn't in the NICU. So I wouldn't think about the what ifs, this just may be his temperment.

Note: She still does complain about diaper changes, but is otherwise a very happy toddler!

Re: Any moms who had NICU babies?

Hayley was in NICU for 10 days.She was so calm and slept so much when she came home. She was not sensitive to noise at all. I could vacuum while she was sleeping in the same room. I think she got so used to the beeping of all the machines there.

eta: she had a breathing tube, had all sorts of IV's and tests done too

Message edited 10/1/2006 8:34:20 PM.

Re: Any moms who had NICU babies?

My DD was in NICU and she had a lot of trouble when it came to sleeping. She WILL NOT sleep if it is quiet. We had to get her a noise maker and that worked well. With me i realized she was feeding off my moods, we almost lost her 3 times while she was in NICU and i found if i was relaxed she was a lot calmer. If i was upset which i was most of the time because of her condition, she was upset. Every baby is different on how they cope to their surroundings. Another thing i found was that she had her days and nights confused for a long time after NICU because they always had the lights on around the clock. THe swadle me's were a life saver because she was always wrapped up when in NICU because they wanted her temp to stay up. I know it's rough going thorugh the whole NICU thing, best of luck.

Re: Any moms who had NICU babies?

Andrew was in NICU but he can sleep through it all. Quiet or Loud.

All I can offer is

Re: Any moms who had NICU babies?

My DD was in the NICU for 14 days...she doesn't have any sleeping issues...actually, I was surprised that at this early age (she's now 4 weeks), that if I put her down awake, she just stares into space and falls asleep without so much as making a sound! I attribute it to her spending so much time alone in the NICU and isolette without anyone to comfort her, she kinda got used to it.

Also...she was a preemie...and being that she's not technically full term, they said she might start to get more vocal as she grows closer to full term, but so far, she's pretty easy going and quiet.