The Only Thing That Could Calm This NICU Newborn
When Desiree Phillips of West Virginia was just 20 years old, she got a shocking diagnosis of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). For those not familiar, it’s a condition where your ovaries are constantly battling cysts. Common symptoms can include: weight gain or struggling to lose weight, brittle hair and nails, facial hair and irregular periods. But, the most shocking and difficult part? Desiree was told she could never get pregnant.
Against all odds…a month later, she found out she was pregnant.
Fast forward five years after her first daughter was born, Desiree became pregnant again. Tragically, the pregnancy ended in a miscarriage. After a year she was pregnant again and gave birth to a second daughter.
Despite what doctors had told Desiree when she was younger, she seemed to have proved them wrong. So, she and her husband tried to have a third child, but they were having a difficult time getting pregnant. Eventually, they came to the point where they decided their family was complete.
For a few years, Desiree had been having issues with birth control, so she and her husband agreed that he would get a vasectomy. One Friday they went in for a consult…and three days later Desiree discovered she was pregnant.
Desiree's third daughter, Londyn, was born at 34 weeks and stayed in the NICU for two weeks. Once Desiree and Londyn came home, their situation remained difficult.
"She cried all the time," Desiree said. "She never slept. She couldn’t eat. She would choke and vomit and…refuse to eat."
Londyn's doctors initially thought she had reflux so they started her on medication. During this time of trial-and-error, Desiree says they were "awake about 22 hours a day."
"I was a complete zombie," Desiree said. "And she couldn't rest because she was either starving or in pain."
The doctors then thought that Londyn had an immature gastro-intestinal track. Additionally, little Londyn was associating pain with eating so she began refusing to eat.
One day, the baby hadn't eaten in over 8 hours so Desiree took her to the hospital. The doctors there decided Londyn needed to go to a larger hospital about two hours away. She was put on a feeding tube and doctors finally figured out she had a bowel obstruction in her small intestine. They stayed in the hospital for a week and Londyn was sent home with a feeding tube.
Even with an answer, Londyn still wasn't sleeping well…and Desiree and her husband weren't either. So that's when they decided to get SNOO. Londyn immediately loved it.
"She slept like a prayer," Desiree said.
When they had to return to the hospital for G-tube placement, they brought SNOO with them.
"It was such a blessing for her to finally have something that gave her some comfort even while she was having pain," Desiree said. "It's just a godsend."
Londyn was recently diagnosed with cerebral palsy and needs continual medical care. For some appointments, Desiree and her husband have to drive four hours away to a larger hospital. For those appointments, they stay overnight and bring SNOO with them.
"She sleeps phenomenally as long as she has her bed," Desiree said. "Her bed is just her comfort."
Typically, Londyn sleeps 12 hours a night. Before SNOO, the family was lucky if Londyn slept two hours in a row.
"I was having breakdowns between not being able to help her and being so sleep-deprived…I was an emotional mess," Desiree said. "I felt like a person again once I was getting sleep."
Even Londyn's doctors noticed. When Desiree took her in for her well visit, they mentioned how rested both Mom and daughter looked. They asked Desiree how long she was going to keep Londyn in SNOO and Desiree laughed.
"Probably until she's thirty," she said.
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