Speaking of Noise In The Nicu....I have a ?

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Hello all!

I have a silly question....

I am currently taking pre-reqs for Nursing & would LOVE to work in the Nicu.

Here's my concern - I have an in-home daycare and have up to 8 kids at any given time...I have a couple of 1 year olds who cry nonstop...all they are wanting is to be held...I can't hold them non-stop with all the other kids...The nonstop crying is driving me bonkers & I'm having a hard time handling 10 hours per day / 5 days a week of crying...

I have 2 healthy kids of my own that were fortunate to not have any trouble at birth...they had times of normal crying, but it wasn't nonstop....

I'm very concerned that if this is driving me crazy, will I be able to handle working with babies in the Nicu? All I know is what I see on "TV" and I know that the shows aren't always accurate....

Is the Nicu a "cry-fest"....if so, how do the babies ever rest and get healthy?

Thanks so much for any feedback!!

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Specializes in NICU.

Unless we're in the intermediate/level II nursery (with the feeder/growers), most the level III babies don't cry nonstop. I'm not saying that none of them cry (especially those gut and cardiac kids ..... they can sure belt it out!), but for the most part the babies in level III are premature and small, so they sleep just about all the time and when they do wake up and get fussy it's when you're messing with them, and they calm down fairly easily. Or they're intubated. Or they're just very sick and we keep them sedated.

After working a week in the level II with loud feeder/growers, we usually joke about how we're ready to get back into the unit and take a couple of vented babies!

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It is not a cry fest if done correctly, if the babies are crying there is a reason. The only long term crying is with drug exposed babies, GI and long term BPD'ers. In the NICU if babies are crying non-stop you need to find the reason, as increase in stress, HR and BP put them at risk for IVH's .

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Specializes in NICU.
It is not a cry fest if done correctly, if the babies are crying there is a reason. The only long term crying is with drug exposed babies, GI and long term BPD'ers. In the NICU if babies are crying non-stop you need to find the reason, as increase in stress, HR and BP put them at risk for IVH's .

Right, those are your criers - the drug, gut, and BPD kids.

Sometimes in the step-down area of a NICU with the feeder-growers it'll get a bit crazy with the crying, but that's very rare. It seems to happen when we have an unusually large proportion of PO AD LIB to scheduled PO/NG babies - they all seem to want to eat at the same time when they don't have a schedule!!! Then we'll be saying, "Geez, it sounds like newborn nursery in here! Way too much crying to be sick babies - you all must be healthy so let's get you outta here!!!"

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Then we'll be saying, "Geez, it sounds like newborn nursery in here! Way too much crying to be sick babies - you all must be healthy so let's get you outta here!!!"

This is the same thing I allways say!

If they are healthy enough to make so much noise...they must be ready to go home.

The noise in our unit is more from the staff and the monitor alarms than from the babies.

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Hello all!

I have a silly question....

I am currently taking pre-reqs for Nursing & would LOVE to work in the Nicu.

Here's my concern - I have an in-home daycare and have up to 8 kids at any given time...I have a couple of 1 year olds who cry nonstop...all they are wanting is to be held...I can't hold them non-stop with all the other kids...The nonstop crying is driving me bonkers & I'm having a hard time handling 10 hours per day / 5 days a week of crying...

I have 2 healthy kids of my own that were fortunate to not have any trouble at birth...they had times of normal crying, but it wasn't nonstop....

I'm very concerned that if this is driving me crazy, will I be able to handle working with babies in the Nicu? All I know is what I see on "TV" and I know that the shows aren't always accurate....

Is the Nicu a "cry-fest"....if so, how do the babies ever rest and get healthy?

Thanks so much for any feedback!!

Not that this is your question, but 1-year old's that cry all day long non-stop...that doesn't sound healthy for the children.

I am very sure you run an excellent care center at home, but those kids would probably be better served in an environment with fewer children. That would be what is better for the children...it wouldn't drive me bonkers, it would drive me nuts with worry about the psychological damage.

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Specializes in NICU.
Then we'll be saying, "Geez, it sounds like newborn nursery in here! Way too much crying to be sick babies - you all must be healthy so let's get you outta here!!!"

So true!! I used to work in a newborn nursery before I transferred to NICU and I must say that was some pretty good birth control right there lol. We'd have 6-8 babies each and those kids were SCREAMERS, my gosh!

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I FOUND THE NICU AT OUR HOSPITAL TO BE VERY QUITE, YOU CAN HEAR A PIN DROP 80% OF THE TIME. THE FOCUS IS ON BIENG QUITE AND LETTING THE BABIES REST. i LOVE IT WE HAVE HANDS ON TIME SO WE ONLY OUCH THE BABIES ONCE EVERY TWO-THREE HOURS AS ORDERED.

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So true!! I used to work in a newborn nursery before I transferred to NICU and I must say that was some pretty good birth control right there lol. We'd have 6-8 babies each and those kids were SCREAMERS, my gosh!

How in the world did you manage 6-8 babies EACH!! On the days I have 4 its usually a living nightmare. 2 hrs of hands on, and then if I'm lucky time to chart. But usually its time to start all over again!!

The noise in ours is usually from the monitors and the nurses. Usually the babies only cry when they are getting hungry. But the monitors are enough to drive you nuts all by themselves!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Hello all!

I have a silly question....

I am currently taking pre-reqs for Nursing & would LOVE to work in the Nicu.

Here's my concern - I have an in-home daycare and have up to 8 kids at any given time...I have a couple of 1 year olds who cry nonstop...all they are wanting is to be held...I can't hold them non-stop with all the other kids...The nonstop crying is driving me bonkers & I'm having a hard time handling 10 hours per day / 5 days a week of crying...

I have 2 healthy kids of my own that were fortunate to not have any trouble at birth...they had times of normal crying, but it wasn't nonstop....

I'm very concerned that if this is driving me crazy, will I be able to handle working with babies in the Nicu? All I know is what I see on "TV" and I know that the shows aren't always accurate....

Is the Nicu a "cry-fest"....if so, how do the babies ever rest and get healthy?

Thanks so much for any feedback!!

If the babies are cryng non-stop, then I would highly recommend that you recommend that they go to a Pediatrician for an evaluation. There is a whole laundry list of things that could cause that.

As a mother, I'll be honest, if two of them are infants, 8 children is too high of a ratio. Just because you CAN legally take care of that many, doesn't mean it's the best thing.

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Specializes in NICU, Telephone Triage.

First of all, I want to say it sounds like you have too many kids to take care of for 1 person! I feel bad for those crying babies. Do you have to care for so many at once?

In the NICU most of the babies are sick, probably on a vent so you don't hear them cry. The noise is also the equipment we use. If babies are crying a lot, it's a good sign that they're usually ready to go home.

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Specializes in NICU, Telephone Triage.

Also, I don't think it's normal for those babies to cry all day, especially if they are healthy babies. They must want their mom. Can you wear a sling to carry one and put the other one in a swing or are they too old for that?

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