Trust Your Instincts

Here is my latest blog post for Preemie Babies 101 on trusting your parenting instincts. 

Elizabeth  

My twin daughters were born at 26 weeks and spent 4 months in the hospital. One day while I was visiting my girls in the NICU someone told me to trust my instincts. I thought to myself, “Trust my instincts? What does that mean? Do I have powers now like a special 6th mommy sense?!” And the truth is I did and you do, too! It is actually amazing!

While the girls were in the NICU I noticed on 4 different occasions that one of my girls looked pale and just looked off. I brought it to the attention of the nurses right away and they took me seriously.

 It turns out that each time I noticed this, they actually ended up needing blood transfusions because their blood counts were low. I listened to my instincts, and I spoke up.

Another time I noticed that one of my girls was more fussy than usual. She just seemed uncomfortable and I couldn’t soothe her. I brought it to the attention of her nurse and she called the doctor in to look at my daughter. Her doctor discovered she actually had a hernia, so a few days later she had surgery to repair it.A NICU can be an intimidating place.  There are so many people with many different specialties. You may feel overwhelmed or feel like there isn’t anything you can contribute or add to your child’s care.  Don’t be afraid to ask questions or speak up. It may be out of your comfort zone at first, but building relationships with the nurses that you see every day will make it easier. If you notice something off about your baby, tell a nurse right away. A good nurse will always listen to  you.  If one nurse won’t listen, ask someone else.  Trust your instincts. You may notice something that isn’t right before they will since you see your baby more than they do and you are only focused on your baby. If your gut is telling you something is not right tell a nurse. If could turn out to be nothing and that’s even better.  Every time you ask a question about your baby, you learn something.

Having a child in the NICU is a challenging time. Make it to doctor rounds as often as possible.  This is when you will find out what the daily/weekly goals are and the most up to date lab and test results for your baby. You are allowed as the parent to be present during the doctor rounds on your child. This is a great time to bring up any questions or concerns you have. If something doesn’t feel right in your gut. SPEAK UP.

Use your instincts and advocate for your child. I know I am glad I did.