how much did your preemie weigh when he was able to leave the NICU?

ARKISHYA - posted on 03/13/2012

She weighted 1lb, 10oz at birth. 14 wks early.

ARKISHYA - posted on 03/13/2012

Liz i agree about the formula it works wonders. My baby was born at 25 weeks gestation on jan. 19,2012. Is now 3lbs 14 oz on march, 13, 2012 and doing great. I use to breast feed but stopped for a while and when i did her weight was unbelievable. The fomular they give is great. She makes progress daily. She was 14 weeks early. Good blessings all.

Kisha - posted on 10/01/2011

I had my twins at 28 weeks. My daughter weighed 1lb 6 oz and my son weighed 2lbs 3 oz. My son weighed 6lbs when he left the NICU an entire month before my daughter, who had a problem gaining weight. She weighed 5lbs when she came home

Tiffany - posted on 09/30/2011

Mine was born at 33 weeks and was 3 lbs half an ounce. She came home after 3.5 weeks and was 4 lbs 8 oz. She failed her car seat test though so we had to rent an Angel Bed for her first month home, she didn't hit 5 lbs till she was almost 2 months old.

Our NICU/Ped has a set of milestones they have to hit, and weight factors in but isn't the only criteria. As long as she could eat all meals from a bottle/breast, maintain her body temp and oxygen levels she could come home.

Good luck mama and he will be home soon enough.

Rebecca - posted on 09/27/2011

My baby girl weighted 2 lbs and 5 ounces at 32 weeks gestation. She got to come home when she was 5 lbs. Doctor told me she could go home either on her due date or at 5 lbs.She came home with Oxygen and a heart monitor.

Shelly - posted on 09/27/2011

my baby was born 2lbs and 2.2 oz. she came home after being in NICU for 2 months and i believe she came home 5lbs 7 oz. she was born 27 1/2 weeks

Dawn - posted on 08/01/2011

my daughter was born at 25 weeks weighing 1lb,2oz she . was able to come home 3 1/2 months later weighing 4lb.4oz. now at 23 1/2 months old she weighs just 20lbs

Sylvia - posted on 07/24/2011

my daughter was born june 23 2011 she was born at 35 weeks due to pre-eclampsia she weighed 6lbs and 3 oz but dropped to 5lb and 10 oz she was in the nicu due to feeding issues and jaundice

Angelina - posted on 04/05/2011

My son was 5lbs. 1 oz. when they let him leave the NICU, but I do remember that they wouldn't let him go unless he was at least 5lbs. I believe this "rule" could vary from place to place though.

Stacey - posted on 03/29/2011

My daughter was born at 1lb 12oz. 8 weeks later she came home at 4lbs.

Michelle - posted on 03/21/2010

my son was six wks early 34 wks when he came home he was 4lbs 13ozs and really fragile at first we were scared to hold him cause he was so small but now he big and heavy he can crawl but the downside of him bein a preemie is he has a heart murmmur. but trust me ur baby will gain weight faster than u know and soon he'll be home good luck and if u ever need to talk im here.my name is michelle by the way

Christina - posted on 03/21/2010

my baby girl only weighed 4 lbs when we got to leave she was born at 31 weeks and was not on ivs or any thing she even ate from the bottle the next day we were only in the hospital for barely 3 weeks

Cherish - posted on 03/20/2010

My son had IUGR. He was in the NICU for a little over 2 weeks, and came home weighing 3lbs 7oz, even though he was born at 3lbs 12oz. But he was taken off the feeding tube, PICC Line, oxygen, and everything else. He was able to keep his temp up normally, and eat just fine with no other problems so they sent him home!

Anna - posted on 03/20/2010

83 days after she was born rose came home weighing 6lbs. 2ozs.

Anna - posted on 03/20/2010

83 days after she was born rose came home weighing 6lbs. 2ozs.

Linda - posted on 03/20/2010

I'm so sorry you are going through this. I think it is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. My babe was 33 weeks, 3 lb 6 oz, so lbw for her age. She had some brady problems and sleep apnea, but otherwize did OK. Our go-home criteria was that she was 5 lb and able to breast/bottle feed 8 times per day, and no brady events for 5 days prior to release. We were there for 31 long days. The feeding was the most stressful for me. Everyone was pushing me to breastfeed her for all 8 feeds a day, but I knew we wouldn't ever get to that point, as I was unable to produce a lot of milk (maybe due to the huge stress load!). Anyway, once I decided to go with bottle feeds (using as much breast milk as I could produce plus formula supliment to get to 24 cal) she started to get the hang of it very quickly. Turns out she had long term latching issues due to skeletal alignment problems, so we could have been there forever and never got the hang of the breastfeeding!!!!! She has been on the low end of the growth chart for weight ever since (even with calorie suppliments to her breastmilk and formula until age 12 months), but is growing nicely and fully caught up at the age of 2 years. If you are adding stress to yourself (and possibly your baby) trying to breastfeed in the NICU, talk to your pediatrian and discuss your options.

Casey - posted on 03/20/2010

my daughter had IUGR also she is now 6yrs old and doing great but we were in the NICU for 2 mo she weight 4lb 4oz when she got to come home but it was not weight for her it was feeding as long as she was eatting all her feedings she could come home, I also spend eveyday with her for like 12 hours a day! So just keep going it will be over soon and you will look back on it and it will not feel so long! Good luck

Brandie - posted on 03/20/2010

My son was a 27 weeker, born 2 lbs.5 oz, and 5 lbs when he was able to come home, but there were other factors too, he had to correct his breathing on his own, be eating on his own....there were other things , but its been 4 years, can't remember. I understand what you are going through it is not easy....just know he's in good hands and he will be home soon!! wish you the best

Kristina - posted on 03/19/2010

my son was born on july 28,2009 weighing 3lbs 10oz and he came home 17 days later weighing 4lbs 1oz...now he is just about 8 months old and is weighing well over 18 lbs...dont worry it will get better they all do things at their own pace...

Rebecca - posted on 03/18/2010

My daughter was born at 32 weeks too. Only weighing 2 lbs 5.5 oz. She got to come home when she weighted 5 lbs, and she was eating good, and gaining weight. I know it will seem like forever but being a mom that lived at the hospital for 2 and a half months. Just being able to hold my baby and seeing that she was moving in the right direction was good enough for me... Good Luck and hopefully you will have your baby home soon!

Sheryl - posted on 03/18/2010

My son was born at 30 weeks at 2lbs 8 oz. He left the nicu at 4lbs. 9oz. This is definitely one of the hardest things you will ever go thru but I promise you, you'll get there. My son is now 8lbs old and 17lbs. Once they start gaining, it doesn't seem to stop! Your first year will fly by and in a few months you'll be watching him play and be in disbelief that you were ever so terrified and worried. Every new accomplishment will be such a joy to you. You WILL get there! I'll pray for you and your baby.

Angela - posted on 03/18/2010

Hi,

My preemie is now 12 years old and came home from the NICU at 3lbs. 10.5 ounces. She was born at 28 weeks and was 1lb. 14 ounces.

Mary - posted on 03/18/2010

My baby was born at 24wks + 5days and weighed 810gm. He was finally home around due day at ~6.5lb. Unlike many other moms I actually asked to have him stayed longer as I was very worried that at home there will be no monitor or medical aid, and that something might happen if he got discharged prematurally. Luckily he is just doing very well and now 16 mth corrected age. I think most important is that your baby is truly ready to come home. Hang in there.

Cassana - posted on 03/17/2010

My son was 11 weeks early weighing 3lbs 6oz and spent 8 weeks in the NICU, He weighed 7lbs 4oz when he came home. My daughter was 13 weeks prem weighing 2lbs 3oz and she spent 11 weeks in NICU. She weighed 4lbs 3oz when she came home. x

JessieRaye - posted on 03/16/2010

My son was a 26 weeker 1lb 15oz. He came home after 83 days in the NICU. His weight was 5lb 4oz. Dawson motto is slow steady progress. He is making is milestone in the pace he wants. It is entirley up to him with a little help from his mommy. OKay a ton of help from his mommy. I am a tough mom who uses positive reinforement. I nursed Dawson up until he was 16 months. He was making small weight gains but I wanted to nurse him because of the benefits from it. He was placed on a high calorie diet. First it was carantion instant breakfast in his milk. We added butter to everything eat eats. Then we got a high calorie drink. Dawson didnt like this because of the thickness and flavor . It was very hard for me to get it in is diet. So I started putting it in the meals i made for him. Basically sweet meals because it was flavored vanilla. Pancakes waffles biscuits. I give him anything he wants to eat. We get the meal in first then he can have his cookies,cakes,candies. Be very careful becuase he has three cavities because of his high fat diet. The dentist wants 3 meals a day and no snacking or drinking btwn. This does not work for the kids you need extra calories. I was not brushing his teeth as often as i should . Everytime the put something in there mouth try to have them follow up with a toothrush. At first we did really well with this but got away from it.

Regina - posted on 03/11/2010

My daughter Charli was born at 28 weeks weighing 795 grams 1LBS 12oz and came home 8 weeks later weighing 2070kg. She is now 13 month corrected and weighs 12kg;-)

Kim - posted on 03/11/2010

My hospital told me around about 2kgs is what they aim for to let your baby go home, my son was 1.95kg when he went home ut they look for other factors like breathign by themselves, able to maintain body temp etc

Laura - posted on 03/09/2010

i had my daughter at 26 weeks gestation 12.8.2009 and weighed 2 LBS she was in the NICU for 2-1/2 months when she was discharged she weighed 6 LBS 3 Ounces.

Melissa - posted on 03/09/2010

Christopher was born at 23 wks and only weighed 1 lb 5 oz and when he left the hospital 108 days later he was 6 lbs. For us it was not that he had to weigh a certain amount, he had to be eating a certain amount of breastmilk and formula. Has the hospital given you a target weight he needs to be or have they set other targets, like eating x amount of formula/breastmilk at each feeding? We also added high calorie formula to the breastmilk for extra nutrients and calories. Also because Christopher was not eating the amount that the hospital wanted him to he came home with the NG tube. Once home he did gain steadily, though still not at the rate the hospital thought he should. Now at 5 he's super tall (46inches) but super skinny at only 38 lbs.

April - posted on 03/09/2010

My Luke was about 4 1/2 pds after 3 weeks in the NICU. He was 33weeks gestation when he was born. I supplemented breast milk with the preemie formula. It seemed to take forever to get him up to six pds, but once there he took off!

Rosemary - posted on 03/09/2010

Hi, I had my son at 27wks and he was 2lbs 5oz at birth. He was in the NICU for almost 3months he came home a week before his original due date. When he was 6 days old he had to have surgury due to a small hole in his small intestine. He was very sick had many blood transfusions and many other issues as well. But, when came home he was 5lbs 5ozs. He is a very healthy 7yr old now! I know how you feel on just wanting your baby home with you. Both my boys where preemies and I didn't get to go home with them when I left the hospital. Just spend all the time you can in the hospital with your baby.. research shows that the more time you are with them and they can hear your voice the better they are....

Stephanie - posted on 03/09/2010

My daughter was born at 30 weeks and weighed 3 pounds 8 ounces. She was able to come home exactly 4 weeks later at 3 pounds 15 ounces. She was also on a high cal. formula for quite awhile, but you would never know it now, she is one of the tallest in her class. Good luck to you, it is a very frustrating and scary time in your life but before you know it they are grown up and it is hard to remember how small they were.

Jenny - posted on 03/09/2010

My son was born at 29 weeks weighing 2 pounds. He spent 72 days in the NICU, came home the day before his due date weighing 5 pounds, 6 ounces. Is he getting high calorie formula? My son got expressed breast milk with formula mixed in to make it 27 cal. per ounce. My son has always been slow gaining weight. He was born with IUGR and we were told he would probably always require extra calories.

Koryn - posted on 03/08/2010

My son was born at 35 weeks at 5.5 lbs and was in the NICU for 3 weeks and weighted 6lbs 1 oz when he left. He is now 4 1/2 and completly healthy however he has a low weight for his weight and some developemental delays

Bonnie - posted on 03/08/2010

My son was born at 28 weeks gestation at 2lbs and 14ozs. Right away the ICU Nurses put him on what they called HMF (Human Milk Fortifier) It is a formula powder packet added to breast milk full of calories, to make a preemie gain weight. He never did lose any weight but gained it while being on this. He was born June 6 and came home on June 30 weighing in at 4lbs 12 ozs. He is now almost 5 and still only weighs about 35 pounds, but is as healthy and energetic as any 4-5 year old would be.

Shannon - posted on 03/08/2010

My son was born 07/09/07. He was 30 weeks gestation. He weighed 3lbs 8oz. I believe he had to 5lbs before he could come home. He didn't come home for 2 months...but he had some medical problems. He had heart surgery in Philly at CHOP. He spent a month at Lehigh Valley and a month at CHOP. Your son will be home in no time. My son is going to be 3 already and he is full of energy and caught up real fast. I wish you well and hope the best for you and your son....Before you know it he'll be running around and you'll be chasing after him!!!

Lisa - posted on 03/08/2010

My first son was 4 lbs 7 oz when he came home and my second son was 4 lbs 1 oz when he came home. The NICU staff did rounds everyday n told me about his progress n what to expect. With my babies, he had to keep down n digest 2 oz every 2-3 hrs, after thier feeding tube was taken out, and hold their own heat, be able to cry when they are hungry, and gain weight lil by lil each day as long as they wernt losing any weight. My second son was in the NICU for 18 days, he was on a feeding tube for most of that time and then on breast milk and high calorie formula to help him gain weight, but I spent alot of time their each day while my other son was in school, and I think that helps the baby emotionally to know mommy will always come back and cuddle with him and be there. They also say skin-to-skin helps babies who are premature,u could probably ask your docter about it.

Shaakirah - posted on 03/08/2010

when i was in the NICU with my baby, there was another baby that needed to pick up weight and they were giving him a drop of canola oil with each feed as per instruction of the paediatrician

Tracey - posted on 03/08/2010

My child was born weighing 3 pounds at 31 weeks. She left the hospital at 5.2 lbs, which is the criteria at my hospital. Every hospital seems to use a different weight range, but as long as they are gaining consistently they usually let them leave. There must be a way to boost his calorie intake.

Becky - posted on 03/08/2010

My Son Oscar was born at 32 weeks weighin 4lb 10oz. He went down to 4lb 3oz in the first week and by the end of the third week he was back to his original weight and was allowed to go home.!! He is 5 months now and weighs 1st 4lb!!!! xxxxxx

Crystal - posted on 03/08/2010

Hey I know the journey in the NICU seems never ending, but I promise it will happen and then you can look back on all the memories. My oldest daughter was there for 6 months and she weighed 5 lbs 6 oz when I brought her home. My second daughter was there for 4 months and she weighed 6 lbs 5 oz when I got to bring her home. They base going on on so much more than just weight they use to say 4 lbs and they could come, but they have to be eating good before they will let them go. Is your baby eating bottle feeds yet or still have a feeding tube if he does not have the tube it may be a good idea until he gets bigger and stronger. I hope I have helped.

Geraldine - posted on 03/08/2010

hi my wee girl was born at 23 weeks gestation and came home from hospital 6 months after she was born weighing 5 pounds...its hard but hang in there x

Clara - posted on 03/08/2010

my son weighed 3 pounds 6 ounce when he 32 weeks he was able to go home with 3 pounds 8 ounce. i would say that it just depends on how well your baby is reacting to treatments.

Rebecca - posted on 03/08/2010

my daughter was 36 weeks, weighing 4 lbs 5 oz at birth she was in the NICU for 2 weeks, came home weighing 4 lbs 9 oz. she had a moderate case of jaundice while she was there that held her coming home up a bit, but also the staff kept all babies on a 3 hr eating schedule. some home, mothers intuition i guess i knew she was on a 4 hr schedule, they were waking her up to eat when she wasn't ready at all. when their schedule interfered with me trying to breastfeed when I did get to see her I spoke up. See I live 1 hour away from the hospital she was in and they didn't have anywhere for me to stay close, so i didn't get much time. She is now 3 1/2 years old small for her age maybe by todays standards unless she's taking after my mom but today you wouldn't know she was a preemie, smart as a whip!! so maybe talk to the staff see what all you can get out of them for what care your little one is getting and see if they will work with you.

Sandra - posted on 03/07/2010

My son Angel was a preemie due to my preeclampsia during pregnancy. He was born at 32 weeks, but the size of a 28 week baby with 1240grams. He was on breast milk the whole time. One month and 2 days later he was home with almost 5 pounds.

Pamela - posted on 03/07/2010

My baby was 30 weeks, 2lbs 6 oz. She came home 38 days later, weighing only 3 lbs 11 oz. I was scared to leave with a baby that small, but she had made it to the feeder/ grower stage and they could not do anymore than I could. Happy to bring her home but scared to death. But when a baby comes home really does not have to do with weight. It's what the state of health. Eating and going to the bathroom regular are big steps.

Kaylie - posted on 03/07/2010

My son was born in July at 31 weeks gestation and weighed 2 pounds 5 ounces. He came home when he was 6 weeks old at 4 pounds 3 ounces, but it was hard getting him to gain weight, at first. Once he finds a formula that he can tolerate, he will put on weight pretty quickly. Always remember that he is in a safe place with people who know exactly what to do to take care of him - that's what I had to keep reminding myself. When God takes something out of your grasp, he is simply preparing you to recieve something even better. Just have faith, your little guy will grow in his own time, and you'll have him home before you know it!

Pamela - posted on 03/07/2010

My preemie son was born 10-31-09 at 28 weeks weighing 2lbs 1oz. He spent two months in the NICU and came home 12/30/09 weighing 5lbs 8oz. He's 4 months old (1 month corrected) and weighs 10lbs 3oz. He's on Similac Neosure.

Beth - posted on 03/07/2010

My first daughter was born at 31 weeks she weighed 3 lbs 12 oz when we brought her home 3 1/2 weeks later she was 5 lbs. They told me that she could come home when she was maintaining her temp by herself and eating what she was suppose to be eating. I would think that they would have your son on 22 cal formula or are you breast feeding? If you are breast feeding i would switch to pumping and putting it in a bottle for now and ad a fortifier to it. That is what I did with my second daughter she was born at 36 weeks weighing 6 lbs 5 oz and she was in the NICU for 3 weeks she just had to pick up the eating thing having a baby at 36 weeks they are called lazy babies cause that is the time that they are lazy in the womb.. If you have any questions feel free to ask i have been through it twice.

Brandy - posted on 03/07/2010

I have Four children and all of them where preemies they all had to stay in the NICU until they where at least 5 ilb. I don't think they should come home any sooner then that But the rules have changed senice right before my last child was born she got to come home sooner but died a week and one day later the hospital failed to tell me my child had a brain problem so i dont think they should go home any time sooner then 5 ilbs.