How to Take Care of a Premature Baby
Anna Wagoner
Ewbank
English 101
8/29/13
HOW TO TAKE CARE OF A PREMATURE BABY.
When you have a premature baby there is a lot of stress, as well as a lot to do when your baby is first born premature. Your baby will be in the hospital at least until his/ her due date. Your baby will most likely be on an IV for most if not all of his/her time in the hospital. Your baby might also have to be on oxygen depending on the circumstances. Your baby may have many different things that may need to be taken care of depending on the child: how early the baby is/ how strong the baby is/ how much the baby weighs. Also feeding is most always an issue with premature babies.
As for the IV’s, if they cannot get a good enough vein in the baby’s arm to insert the IV, they will look at the leg, but if the vein doesn’t look good enough for the IV they will then put the IV in the head of the baby. That is because the vein in the head of the baby works the best and is a lot stronger this does not harm the baby in any type of way and I know this because I have four children, three out of four was preemies, and two out of that three had to have the IV in their head. The IV is how they feed the baby until they can teach the baby to eat from the bottle. You as the mother/ father will get to try to feed the baby from the bottle when the nurse/ doctor fells the baby is ready to start trying to suck.
They do give the baby a binky in the hospital and that is most of the time how they make their decision on when to try and bottle feed. When you start trying to bottle feed you need to only try for small periods at a time because the baby gets worn out fast. Remember with every premature baby it’s always different: Different baby / different needs / different circumstances.
Now when it is time to take the baby home you have to watch your baby really carefully. A lot of the time a premature baby’s head needs to be propped up while sleeping, or the baby
Ewbank
English 101
8/29/13
HOW TO TAKE CARE OF A PREMATURE BABY.
When you have a premature baby there is a lot of stress, as well as a lot to do when your baby is first born premature. Your baby will be in the hospital at least until his/ her due date. Your baby will most likely be on an IV for most if not all of his/her time in the hospital. Your baby might also have to be on oxygen depending on the circumstances. Your baby may have many different things that may need to be taken care of depending on the child: how early the baby is/ how strong the baby is/ how much the baby weighs. Also feeding is most always an issue with premature babies.
As for the IV’s, if they cannot get a good enough vein in the baby’s arm to insert the IV, they will look at the leg, but if the vein doesn’t look good enough for the IV they will then put the IV in the head of the baby. That is because the vein in the head of the baby works the best and is a lot stronger this does not harm the baby in any type of way and I know this because I have four children, three out of four was preemies, and two out of that three had to have the IV in their head. The IV is how they feed the baby until they can teach the baby to eat from the bottle. You as the mother/ father will get to try to feed the baby from the bottle when the nurse/ doctor fells the baby is ready to start trying to suck.
They do give the baby a binky in the hospital and that is most of the time how they make their decision on when to try and bottle feed. When you start trying to bottle feed you need to only try for small periods at a time because the baby gets worn out fast. Remember with every premature baby it’s always different: Different baby / different needs / different circumstances.
Now when it is time to take the baby home you have to watch your baby really carefully. A lot of the time a premature baby’s head needs to be propped up while sleeping, or the baby