What is life like after a planned NICU admission: Catching up with Lizzie from season 2 | S3E35
You might remember in season two we had a special guest on the podcast called Lizzie who shared her experience of pregnancy and discovering at the 10-week scan that her baby would be born with an abdominal wall defect known as exomphalos and would therefore need to spend time in NICU. We’re so excited that Lizzie agreed to come back and share from the other side, now that she and her daughter, Phoebe, have been settling into life at home after NICU!
This is a really important episode for anyone going through a neonatal stay or who knows that they will be in the near future. Lizzie had time to get prepared in advance, so we discuss whether she felt like she was ready for NICU and what hurdles and unexpected emotions came up for her. We also talk about why the difficulties might not end when you leave NICU, and why Phoebe has had to have lots of medical appointments since she came home from hospital.
Now that Lizzie’s time in NICU is over, we hope this episode can shed some light on how to manage the day-to-day experience, alongside handling the uncertainty that a NICU stay brings.
In this episode, we’re chatting about:
- Lizzie’s birth experience and the early days after her daughter, Phoebe, was born
- Their time in NICU and difficulties that arose, particularly with going home at night
- Having a baby with high medical and surgical needs in the neonatal unit
- Whether Lizzie felt she was well prepared for her NICU stay and what helped her through it
- Why the rollercoaster didn’t end once they left NICU and the impact of the transition to home life
Take what you need!
[00:52] Re-introducing Lizzie
[02:23] The early days after Phoebe’s birth
[11:12] The NICU rollercoaster
[15:24] Difficulties with going home each night
[19:48] What preparation helped Lizzie during her NICU stay?
[22:41] Loneliness
[26:27] Advocating for your baby
[30:25] Leaving NICU and the impact of the experience
[42:01] Lizzie’s advice to anyone going through NICU
A huge thank you to Emma at Cover My Bubble for supporting our podcast - you can find out more about all that Cover My Bubble offer at www.covermybubble.co.uk
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