Had my baby on Sunday, 1 April, at 26 weeks!

[minx luvs pinks]

Congratulations ! i have a nephew who was born at 25 wks weighing 2.1 lbs, a tiny little mite he was, on a ventilator and cpap also... The fact that the medical staff attempted cpap with your son indicates he was making good progress often several attempts are made before they can cope with it. Although my nephew didnt contract pneumonia, i understand it is very common with preemies and can be successfully treated with antibiotics. It was an extremely worrying time tho, my sister-in-law had to be flown by emergency helicopter to leicester for him to be born and we nearly lost her (pre-eclampsia)... He is an adorable 1yr old now and they are both fine, im sure little Alex will be also!.... I read somewhere that they can recognise and are comforted by the sound of their mummys voice if you arent able to touch or hold him for a while.... The guilt, distress and surrealness you are feeling are very, very common emotions amongst pre-term mums, I got the following from the premature baby charity website Bliss which can help with info and support...

BLISS Parent Support Helpline
One of the most basic things people need in stressful times is to be able to talk to someone. That's what the BLISS Helpline is there for. It's free, and completely confidential. It's there to offer help and support in the UK to parents, relatives and friends of anyone with a baby who is in, or has been in, neonatal care.
FREEPHONE 0500 618140, Monday-Friday 10am-5pm
Outside these hours, you can leave a message on an answerphone and we will return your call with 24 hours.
If you would prefer to receive practical and emotional support by email, we can reply to you from [email protected]
We will respond within three working days.


You can contact us for:

• <LI class=body>information and support from a member of our parent support team
• parent to parent support with another parent who has been through the experience of having a poorly or premature baby.

Parent to parent support
The parent to parent support network is a free service offering short-term support by linking you up with volunteers who have had direct experience of a baby who has been in neonatal care.
This service is arranged during office hours, but some volunteers can also make calls during evenings and weekends.
Call us on FREEPHONE 0500 618140
hth. love and hugs to you and your family :hug:

 

[Susie H]

Congrats to you and welcome newest baby geek:lol:
Now the kick up the back side.
The baby produces the hormone that starts the contractions, so stop with the guilt trip, My sister in Law who would now be 50 years old was under 2lb at birth, she was born at home, and stade at home. Sadly she is no longer with us but I can asure you from the boys stories, she was a strong little hell cat of a younger sister right the way through their child hood and that was with out all of the wonderful medical advances we have with us today. Just you make sure if you cant hold him you at least hold his hand and talk to him, he's been under your heart for so long that he will miss the sound of you around him. I read in one of these medical journals that prem babies who have lots of human contact put on weight quicker and do far better then babies who have minimum contact.

 

[Rachel Mary]

Congratulations first and foremost. Secondly, its not something to feel bad about that your body didnt go to full term. It has happened and I am sure with todays modern medicine your little bundle of joy will be able to come home with you soon. Get all the rest that you can because soon you will be able to go through the joys of night feeds and sleep deprivation!!!.
Again congratulations, its a miracle unsurpassed bringing a child into the world.
xxxx:green:

 

[lucyluv]

My prayers are with you!. I went into labor at 25 weeks, my son held off till 31 weeks. My Doctor at the time kept telling me he wpuld not make it. I was devistated. When i went into labor, my blood pressure was sky high. She was to do a c-section and proceded to do vanginal delivery. My son was stock in the canal. When born my son was not breathing, the cord was wraped around his neck. I kept screaming what did I do to my baby. My family isn't religious at all and we all preayed for my little man. In the 1st 4 hours my son started to breath on his own, in 6 hours he regulated his tempeture, in 12 hours my son started to eat. I look back now and know there was nothing i did to make my son come early, But i do know that from that day for i never looked back because this little man was going to make it. My doctor also said we would be handicap, but guess What?????? He is Now 41/2 Years old, smarter than most kids his age, his development in right on target. Have Faith for your litttle and let him know there is No turning back you made it this far with Mommy, your going to make it all the way. Keep as positive as posible even though it make get hard sometimes. Touch him as much as possible to let him know you are with him. He will be fine, He had YOU as His MOTHER, He chose you. God Bless xoxoxoxox

 

[dee]

hi ya firstly congrats :hug: and just to add in to what everyone else is saying my nephew was born at 28 wks and weighed something like 2lbs and was on all the machines etc.. he was in hospital for a while until he weighed more than 5 lbs i think , he is now a strong healthy 19 yr old !!
i know you must be scared hun , but we are all keeping sending you hugs and are in our thoughts xxxx

 

[annenails]

dear JUles
congratultions firstly to you on your baby Alex.. I have had 2 premature babies one at 32 weeks and one at 34 weeks..my waters broke at 29 weeks with one and 30 weeks with the other.. I wish I could say that it is all plain sailing,but I would be lying,,just remember that Alex is in the best possible place he could be. the state of art equipment that are available these days is amazing.they told us that having a prem baby is like being on a roller coaster full of ups and downs. you will have great days and not so great days..the best thing you can do is to try and relax,because your baby needs you to be strong.to help him get bigger and stronger.take everything in that the doctors and nurses tell you and don.t be afraid to question anything that you are not sure of.ask as many questions as you have to .my 2 premmie babies are now 10 and 5 and as healthy as any full term baby..I am truly thinking of you at this time and I am praying that all goes well for your little boy

 

[michelle g]

congratulations on your bundle of joy.
babies are stronger than you think, and he is definately in good hands.
he will be home in no time. :hug:

 

[adelekeegan1]

Take care, I know what a stressful time this is for you. I really hope that your son continues to do well.:hug:

 

[Posh Paws]

Hi hun first of all congrats to you and your family and welcome to your beautiful baby .....

My daughter was premature 30 weeks so not as prem..... when she was born she had pneumonea on both her lungs and was quiet poorly as they only caught this as she refused to breath on her own.... each time we took her out of her incubator we were only aloud to hold her and put her straight back .......

She had tubes and wires everywhere and the feelings which were rushing around in our heads were them of the other people who have had prem babies.

We had to take each day at a time as she had problems feeding breathing and just being around ..... it was a very hard time.....

the nurses that work in these special baby care units are fantastic 6 weeks later our daughter was cleared of pneumonia and started to feed we got our first real cuddle with her which was only for 2 mins but it ment the world to us .......

She started to gain weight and was getting stronger each day and after 10 weeks we were alowed to take her home ...... what a great day that was....

She is now a healthy 4 year old who is bigger than most of her friends you would never have thought she was prem ..... and gives all the usual 4 year old tantrums ....

I send you and your family big hugs be strong and most of all look ahead to the day you can take your son home xxxxxxxx :hug: :hug:

 

[Nail creations]

Welcome to baby Alex sending you all lots of hugs:hug: :hug: take care xx

 

[crashell]

Hi my beautiful son Alex was born 3 days ago at 25+6 weeks. I was taken into hospital with contractions and was given Nifedipine to ease the contractions and steriods to mature Alex's lungs and managed to hold off until 24 hrs exactly. Alex was delivered normally and taken straight to NICU.

The feelings of guilt and desperation that I have are overwhelming. I feel I have let my baby down by not being able to get to full term and protect him and now I can't look after him whilst he is in hospital. I keep wishing I could wake up from this surreal dream and still be pregnant with 14weeks to go.

So far we are on day 3 and the doctors and nurses in NICU are generally positive. He's managed 1 attempts on CPAP but is too much for him and went back on ventilator.

Does anyone else have experience of a premature baby with pneumonia? I don't know how serious his illness is or what to expect.

I would appreciate hearing your stories and any kind words of wisdom that you have to help me stay positive for my gorgeous boy.

Jules

hi july, :hug:,aww congratulations to you and your husband and well done,
dont even let the fact that your son came early bother you,,believe me if there on there way theres nooooooo stopping them:lol: ,
my mum had 5 of us. 2 were born qiute a few years after the rest of us,
and talk about complications . 1 was born at 28 weeks and was tiny ,and the other at 25 weeks but weighed 3 1/2 pounds and was 18 inches long huge:lol: .they can end up been in hospital for quite a while but all is well in the end..any wayyyyyyyyy 1 is now 19 years old and the other is 15, and they are just perfect,, things will be just fine and as soon as he is strong enough you will be sat at home having cuddles after cuddles:hug: ,,just let us know when he,s home.oh by the way how much was his birth weight??..
i my self havent too long left and after 2 girls we are having a boy this time i am soooooooo excited,, xx

 

[Teri]

Congratulations on the birth of your little boy!

My step sister had her little girl at 26 weeks, she is now 4. She absolutely cracks me up as she is smaller than all the other children her age (not alot though!) but she gives them what for if they try and take her dolly away!

Lots and lots of :hug: to you and your family.

Teri x:hug:

 

[katherineiv]

Congratulations...... my friend had her boy at 27 weeks, he is now 9

hope everything goes ok.

 

[nicky's nails]

aww congratulaitons on your new son hun, i will keep you in my thoughts and prayers hunny,

i have had experience of both prem and full term babies, and have also lost a son (full term) so know exactly the feelings you are going through, just remember to keep talking to him and if you can touch him or hold his hand, they can recognise their mum i totally believe that, please do not feel guilty, you do not need negative feelings like that around you, keep it positive, and that will help

keep us posted xxxx

 

[pinkmummy]

Congratulations on the birth of baby Alex. Keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers. Don't feel guilty at all, you kept him safe for 25+ weeks, that's what's important.:hug::hug:

 

[joolz]

congrats and :hug: to you my little girl was born at just past 27 weeks you think theyll never grow, they do though( like mad )and 9 years on shes almost as tall as me ,fighting fit and healthy,its hard at first but it does get better as the weeks go by. best wishes to you bothxx

 

[Buggy]

my friends baby was 24 weeks and suffered a stroke. she grew into a healthy baby girl.

all the best hun and congrats. xx

 

[Noodle]

Congratulations on the birth of your little bundle of joy.

I sympathise with your anxieties, and send hugs and wishes to help you stay strong :hug:

 

[bexi]

hey

my mums god daughter was born on 1st April 1986 - she was severly premature - she's now an annoying (tee hee) 21 year old who is cheeky to me all the time despite the fact that i'm a month older!

Do not fear doctors and nurses (despite their bad press sometimes) are the best possible hands for babies to be in.

The geeks on here (including myself) are clearly all thinking of you and our thoughts i hope will help keep you strong for your little baby.

Best of luck PLEASE let us know how everyone is,

all my thoughts, love and hugs

becki xxx

 

[*Han*]

Congrats hunni xxxx