NICU to SCBU
We had a big milestone today, moving out of NICU into SCBU. Robin us no longer in intensive care! Not bad for an early premie, not yet 30 weeks old (adjusted age)
The Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) is a 35 bed unit caring for babies needing short and long term observation and specialised (Level 4-5)) care. SCBU also provides a Neonatal Early Discharge (NED) program. This allows some babies to go home early on gavage (tube) feeds.
In SCBU, they don’t need to monitor Robins temperature continuously like they did in NICU, his temp is just checked once every four hours. Basically, it means they believe he can maintain the correct body temperature in the isolette, and just need to monitor it periodically in case of infection. As he gets a bit older, he will learn to regulate his temperature better, and will be able to move into an open cot rather than the isolette. This is the first step though!
They also don’t need to weigh his nappies anymore. In NICU, they weigh nappies when the little ones have peed, to ensure their kidneys are functioning correctly and the babies are able to process the milk they receive. As he has had no problem with this, the nurses don’t need to monitor his nappies anymore.
It’s a bit more crowded in SCBU, but the nurses are great, and encourage the parents to lead in the care of the babies where possible. It seems more like a start on the journey to getting ready for caring for Robin at home, where as the NICU seemed very far away from that. We still have a few months in SCBU before he can come home, but he is in there just to grow bigger, get fat and learn how to feed.
We had visits from Nicki’s friend Steve Poznic (who agrees with Nicki that Robin smiles) and Granny Suzy today.
Stats
Weight: 1330 grams
Air: Optiflow 2L/min, 21%
Feed: 10ml/hour continuous (perfuser)
Nurses: Kate
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