What happens if you end up in NICU?

by Communications and IT | Multiples BOP Comment Closed

2017 Issue 2: April

A stay in NICU, long or short, is never an experience anyone wants, but as we experience multiple pregnancies, it can happen. Within NICU, there are three levels of care – level three for the most severe cases (intensive care), level two for the less needy babies who still need extra care or have specific medical conditions, and level one for babies just about to leave the hospital. The unit at Waikato Hospital is one of six level three newborn units throughout the country. This unit caters for babies from Waikato, the wider Midland health region (which includes the Bay of Plenty) and sometimes babies are transferred in by ambulance or rescue helicopter from parts of the country where a Level 3 intense neonatal unit is not available, or the nearest NICU is full. Recently I spoke to a Bay of Plenty mum whose newborn twins spent time at Waikato DHB in their Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and she shared some practical advice based on her experience.

As a parent, you will always be welcome at your babies’ bedsides, day or night. However, NICU has strict visiting hours and visitors are limited to two people per baby at any one time. And obviously, no one will be allowed to enter if they are sick.

If your babies are in Level 3 NICU, they will be in an incubator and therefore won’t be wearing any clothes. When they transition to a cot, they will be wearing clothes, but don’t worry about buying premature clothes – NICU has massive amounts of clothes available.

You can’t room in with your babies at NICU until just before you scheduled for discharge. However, you will be found accommodation as near as possible to the hospital for the duration of your babies’ stay.

Expect to express every 3 hours -breastfeeding is encouraged. NICU have a ‘pumping room’ and a lactation consultant available.

Being discharged from NICU

If your babies’ health allows, the NICU team will try to coordinate things so that they discharge both your babies at the same time.

If that’s not possible, the hospital will discharge one of your babies while the other stays in NICU. This situation can be tricky to coordinate, especially as once the hospital discharges your babies they cannot go back into the unit. You may need to arrange someone to help you look after the discharged twin so you can visit your baby still in care.

Transitioning after NICU can be difficult. It can be easy to fixate on numbers – for example, how many milliliters has each baby had at this feed?

When you are admitted, it is likely that the NICU team will take over your care from your midwife and you may not have opportunities for further contact with her. When the hospital discharges you, you will be eligible for a home care nurse for a period.

Looking after yourself

If you have an older child or children, it will be difficult especially with such a distance between you, your babies and the rest of your family. Perhaps you need to have a discussion with family and build a support network to help you during this difficult time.

If you have your babies very early, you might not have started your antenatal classes, and it can be difficult to develop relationships with other new mums, particularly as they may not be able to relate to your situation. However, you can make special and long-standing friendships with other parents with babies in NICU.

If you are transferred to NICU from out of town (for example from the Bay of Plenty to Waikato), you can get breakfast, which volunteers supply, and evening meal vouchers.

Remember that your babies’ time in NICU will end – it may not feel like it at the time, but no child ever goes to school from NICU!

Resources

Here’s a few NICU resources and stories relating to twins spending time in NICU recently:

  • The Southern District Health Board have a virtual tour available of their NICU.
  • MidCentral DHB has a phone app called Babble that caters to the needs of parents with children at the neonatal unit at Palmerston North Hospital.
  • https://www.neonataltrust.org.nz/ 2017/03/21/neonatal-twins-celebrate- their-first-birthday.
  • http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/ parenting/baby/73582091/BLOG- Double-trouble-Starting-life-in-NICU.

Please remember we are not medically trained, this does not constitute medical advice, and everyone’s experience is different – if you are concerned about any aspect of your pregnancy, contact your LMC in the first instance. One of our members kindly provided this information; her fraternal twins were born at 28.2 weeks in late 2015. One twin was in NICU at Waikato Hospital until he was 42 weeks and the other twin spent a total of 190 days in the hospital. That’s one amazing mama we have in our midst!!!

Using reusable nappies

by Communications and IT | Multiples BOP Comment Closed

2016 Issue 3: August

Written by Anita Rapson

We used reusable nappies and homemade wipes from when Ada and Hazel were little. Using reusable nappies was something that was really important to me, however during my pregnancy I was quite focused on getting through the pregnancy and didn’t really consider how life was going to be once our two bundles of joy arrived. Needless to say, I wasn’t organised enough to have any reusable nappies in the house when we returned from the hospital or for a couple of months afterwards.

I was lost in a world of abbreviations and nappy terminology that I didn’t understand, probably exasperated by my lack of sleep and the general anxiety I was experiencing at that time. So I hired a box of reusables for six weeks. It cost me about $50 and included 6 pre- folds and 1 snappi, 7 pockets and inserts, 10 fitteds, 9 covers, microfleece stay-dry liners, boosters and extra inserts, wet bag, and cloth wipes.

None of this made any sense to me and I remember sitting in our lounge, surrounded by the contents of the hire kit (none of which correlated with the list that I had supposedley received), balling my eyes out, when my mother visited and she looked every bit as overwhelmed as I felt.

But eventually, with the power of Youtube and Google, things began to make more sense.

How we used the nappies

I started the reusable nappies from when Ada and Hazel were around twelve weeks old, initially just one each a day. After I returned the hire kit, I had a better idea of the style that suited us and was ready to buy our own. We started with four “All-in-Ones” and gradually built up our collection. By the time the girls were ready for toilet training, we had 22 in total (I sold the initial 4 small sized nappies on Trademe). This was about the right number for us.

We always used liners. At one point I bought nappy liner fabric and made my own liners, which we used for a few months. However, after a few complaints from my partner, I just ended up buying the flushable liners (although I never flushed them).

We also didn’t use reusable at night time. We just didn’t try it – I’m sure it wouldn’t have been a problem or anything.

Washing and Drying

I found that washing the reusable nappies was probably easier with twins because it meant I was doing a full load every one to two days, whereas with a single baby things might have got a bit stinky or I might have had to do half loads. We had a bucket with a lid in the laundry. Everything got a rinse out, then chucked in there while waiting to be washed. I had some tea tree essential oil and I’d add a drop to the bucket every so often. Unlike Kate suggests in the earlier article, only the nappies went into a nappy wash. We are also somewhat lucky as we have our washing line under cover as well as fireplace in our garage (weird, I know, but it sources our wetback), so the nappies dried quickly all year around.

Review of nappies

Here’s a few thoughts abouts the different styles and brands of nappies we used, although I did find that what worked when Ada and Hazel were tiny, changed by the time they were three:

Imsevimse all in ones: these were the first (and the most expensive nappies) I bought and I’m not sure you can get them in NZ anymore (I got them from Nature Baby). We used the small size and then progressed to the medium size. They were great – so easy to fold (no need to stuff anything), felt super soft, the velcro on the front meant they were easily adjustable and we never had any leaks.

Punga Tails: I got these on sale as a pack, which made them very cost effective. I got the snap version of these pocket nappies, although the sizing was never quite right because of the placement of the snaps.

Cherub Tree: I found these quite easy to use and I had both velcro and snap versions. Overall, they were very similar to the Punga Tails nappies. But, lets just say that I never loved stuffing the inners.

TotsBots EasyFit: These all-in-one nappies worked quite well for us. Although, I’m not quite sure why, but if any nappies were going to leak (which didn’t happen very often), it was these ones. Wearing their TotsBots

Bambino Mio: Overtime these became my favourite nappies. They didn’t seem quite so bulky, were super quick to dry and never leaked. They were also super cute!

Homemade wipes

We used Wendyl Nissen’s recipe for homemade baby wipes, but I skipped the rosewater and got chux cloths in bulk and reused them. Sometimes I added olive oil or an essential oil but mostly I forgot!

Where’s the safest place to play in the Bay?

by Communications and IT | Multiples BOP Comment Closed

2017 Issue 1: Feb

Jacquelyn Collins has initiated a massive project to collate a list of fenced playgroups throughout the whole country. Her work has created an amazing resource, not just for parents with young children within the region or those new to the area, but also helpful if you are travelling somewhere new or are looking for a safe place for the kids to run around mid-trip. The Bay of Plenty list includes:

• Lees Park, 77 Otumoetai Rd, Brookfield, Tauranga

• Merivale Playground, Cnr Surrey Grove and Fraser Street, Tauranga

• Kea Street playground, Kaka Street, Tauranga (or by foot from Kea Street)

• Karaka Street Reserve, Karaka Road Reserve, Otumoetai, Tauranga

• Bethlehem shopping centre, Bethlehem Town Centre, Tauranga

• And in Waihi, Gilmour Reserve, is right by the lake – which my girls love!

If you know of any other playgrounds (fully or partially fenced), I’m sure Jacquline would appreciate the details so she can add them to the list. There is a website (https://kiwiplaysafe.wordpress.com) and a Facebook page (search for Kiwi play safe).

Financial impacts of multiples

by Communications and IT | Multiples BOP Comment Closed

2017 Issue 3: June

A 2010 report from the UK found that by comparison, families with twins, triplets or more, are poorer than other families (TAMBA, 2010, p. 3). This report also found that parents raising twins or triplets reported higher levels of financial stress than families with singletons, regardless of the overall size of their families (TAMBA, 2010, p.8).

Financial stress was also identified in a New Zealand survey of families with multiples in 2013. This survey found that 82.5% of respondents said that the direct financial impact of the birth of multiples had either some negative impact or a significant negative impact, with a further 6% indicating they experienced severe negative impacts (NZMBA, 2013, p. 5).

“It is a disadvantage to have two children born at the same time in New Zealand. If you have two children born at different times, you get two lots of one-year parental leave and two lots of 14 weeks paid leave. But if you have two children at the same tie (twins) you get one lot for the two children!” (NZMBA, 2013, p. 7)

Sobering stuff, isn’t it? We have collated some of the advice from parents of multiples provided in the 2013 Autumn issue of Multiples Matters on ‘balancing the budget with multiples’.

Before your twins or triplets arrive

“I try not to buy into all the marketing hype, as you don’t necessarily need two of everything in my eyes. Although not entirely related to budgeting, having twins has forced us into leading a simpler lifestyle, i.e. less going out and going away – this also means that we can downsize to just one car.”

“Accept hand-me-down clothes and go to second-hand clothing sales. Stock up in advance whenever you can and store things away,”

“I have found it cost effective to hire equipment, rather than wasting money buying equipment that you might only need for a short time, such as breast pumps, Jolly Jumpers, and portacots. We use car seat rental schemes.”

“Join your local multiple birth club. Getting your membership in as early as possible will only improve your changes to making some major savings. Though there is a small fee to join most clubs, the Huggies nappies will make up for that instantly.”

Life with multiples

“I have been better at using cloth nappies over the last two years with my twins than I ever was with my first child. It just became something new to add to the routine. Let’s face it, with so much washing to do, another load isn’t a big deal: nappies on at night and hung out in the morning (or whenever I have a moment).”

“After doing a big search on the Internet, I found the perfect baby carrier: really easy to sew and use. It’s really comfortable: http:// myinnerneedtocreate.blogspot.co.nz/ 2011/05/handmade-mei-tai-baby- carrier.html“

“My twins turned five in January and started school. I found this the hardest money-wise – two school fees, books, etc. I should have started putting a few dollars away each week for the last year!”

General running of households

“We stay in regular contact with our bank, and have renegotiated our mortgage, accounts, insurances, and overdraft facilities to get the best deals possible to suit our changing financial state.”

“Pay bills by the due date – don’t incur interest, late fees or penalties. Even better, set up an automatic payment or direct debit to ensure payments are made on time.”

“We have a great veggie garden; the kids love it. We grow more than we need, so either give it away to friends and family or blanch it and put it in the freezer for winter.”

“In an effort to get rid of chemicals (and spend less) I have been using white vinegar and baking soda and water for everything. The results are great.”

And, don’t forget there is assistance available

$ Discounts are available for premium members, including formula discounts, discounts to Bay of Plenty based companies and Multiples New Zealand discounts (http:// multiplesbop.org.nz/premium- members/discounts/).

$There is government assistance available for parents and caregivers of multiples from Work and Income, Inland Revenue and the Ministry of Education. Multiples New Zealand summarised details of this assistance, including factsheets on each of the different types of assistance: http:// www.multiples.org.nz/index.php/i- need-help/government-assistance

$Services like Tauranga Budget Advisory Service have free clinics and online resources designed to help individuals, couples and families budget across the Bay of Plenty.

$And if you are struggling, although we are limited, Multiples Bay of Plenty may also be able to assist. Please contact Nicole at support@multiplesbop.org.nz

References

NZMBA (2013). The financial and emotional impact of multiples – NZMBA survey. Multiples Matters (March), 5-8.

TAMBA (2010). The effects of twins and multiple births on families and their living standards. Retrieved from https:// www.tamba.org.uk/document.doc? id=268