NICU: 7 Extra Items You Need Now!

Don’t be without these Seven Extra Items if your newborn is in NICU!

After a not-so-normal delivery, my daughter and her husband welcomed Baby Sunshine into their lives! We all were excited but the baby started with an extra 14 days in the hospital fighting an infection.

My daughter needed a lot of extra care while her newborn was in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.) Her husband thought of some wonderful aids to help her through this time and although I hope you don’t ever need them, if you do, you’ll be glad you have them!

These also make a great GIFT BASKET for a friend who is in the hospital postpartum with her infant.

  1. Thera Pearl Hot/Cold wraps
  2. Flat panty line pads
  3. Ultra Soft toilet tissue
  4. Fragrance Free Sensitive Skin Baby Wipes or flushable personal wipes
  5. Prep H cream
  6. Sport events cushion cut to fit the toilet
  7. Fingernail clippers and/or emery board

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy for details.

NICU: What you need NOW! and why

Don’t be without these Seven Extra Items if your newborn is in NICU! After a not-so-normal delivery, my daughter and her husband welcomed Baby Sunshine into their lives! We all were excited but the baby started with an extra 14 days in the hospital fighting an infection. My daughter needed a lot of extra care while her newborn was in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.) Her husband thought of some wonderful aids to help her through this time and although I hope you don’t ever need them, if you do, you’ll be glad you have them!

Thera Pearl Hot/ Cold wraps

Thera Pearl wraps were wonderful for relieving pain. We had three so that we could switch them in and out of the small room refrigerator to put on my daughter’s bottom, back, or chest for comfort. The Thera Pearls can also be heated in a pillowcase (follow the directions: in the microwave we were using it only took 45 seconds to get to the right temperature for comfort!). The soothing warmth felt so good on her lower back, chest or shoulders.

 

NICU: The baby was doing okay, but my daughter got sicker

Initially, our little  Baby Sunshine  received a “shotgun” of antibiotics to fight the infection. When more lab work results came back, the antibiotics were targeted more specifically. The doctor knew she had an infection since my daughter had a fever of 103 when she delivered. Because of the quick medical response, Baby Sunshine did not exhibit symptoms of the infection.

My daughter also received an initial dosage of 3 antibiotics to fight her infection.  Instead of recovering normally, specifically feeling a little better every day, my daughter felt worse. She could not sit comfortably, she couldn’t lie down comfortably, she couldn’t stand up comfortably. She couldn’t sleep because her bottom hurt so badly. Her episiotomy had gotten infected and no one realized it at first.

Panty Liners

Having very flat panty liner pads (rather than the thicker, more absorbent pads provided by the hospital) relieved pressure on this sensitive area.

Fragrance Free Baby Wipes

The Fragrance Free Sensitive Skin Baby Wipes or flushable personal wipes helped keep her bottom and episiotomy area clean without irritating it.

Ultra Soft Toilet Paper

This was also true for the Ultra Soft toilet tissue. Even in the maternity wing of a good hospital, the toilet paper is not very soft. Having this Ultra Soft toilet tissue was great.

My daughter was nursing the baby, so she had to walk from her room to the NICU (about 200 steps) every 3 hours. Prep H Hemorrhoid cream has some Pramoxine HCI for pain relief as well as helping tender, swollen tissues not to rub against each other. An event cushion that we custom cut to fit on the toilet seat and sitz bath edge was also helpful.

 

 

 

This custom cut event seat cushion helped during sitz baths.

NICU: The baby was a patient but my daughter had been discharged and was getting sicker!

A nurse thought that maybe my daughter had hemorrhoids and that was why she felt so bad, couldn’t sit down, everything “down there’ hurt, etc. We got an appointment that day with the vascular surgeon at the hospital. My daughter did not have hemorrhoids but her episiotomy was infected.

The vascular surgeon coordinated with the delivery doctor for a topical painkiller (Lidocaine 5%), a stronger pain medication and an antibiotic.   Within 12 hours of beginning the antibiotics, my daughter started to feel and look better. 

Fingernail clippers and/or emery board

The fingernail clippers or emery board are for the adults that kept wanting to hold newborn Baby Sunshine but didn’t want to scratch her. The newborn’s skin is very tender at this stage. We found that our nails needed an extra bit of sculpting to keep from catching on her skin.

We are very thankful everyone is doing well now.  We hope your labor and delivery experience goes well as you welcome a newborn into your family.  [clickToTweet tweet=”We are thankful for our newborn. What a privilege to be  part of the miracle of life! #newborn #baby #NICU #hmschchristnmom” quote=”What a privilege to be part of the miracle of life! “]

© 2017 homeschoolchristianmom.com

  1. Thera Pearl Hot/Cold wraps
  2. Flat panty line pads
  3. Ultra Soft toilet tissue
  4. Fragrance Free Sensitive Skin Baby Wipes or flushable personal wipes
  5. Prep H cream
  6. Sport events cushion cut to fit the toilet
  7. Fingernail clippers and/or emery board

Let us know about other products or aids that helped in your recovery in the comments below.

Let’s connect:

Join me! Homeschool Christian Mom FREE Facebook group with tips on grading, scheduling and more!

Youtube: Homeschool Christian Mom These videos discuss homeschool scheduling, working with your Littles, thinking long term, and many other topics.

For additional home schooling support, work with me!

Alexa skills: Subscribe to Homeschool Christian Mom News

Twitter   @hmschchristnmom

Instagram

Do you need some extra homeschooling help? Use this link to get on my calendar and let’s chat! Move from being a hesitant homeschool mom to a happy homeschool family. Let’s chat!