Premmie Mums #8

[Early Kids]

Thanks He's doing really well already, he had steak for the first time yesterday!! I had to cut it up into small pieces... but at least he ate it! And tonight we had roast and he ate most of what we dished up and corn on the cob too!! I'm so happy I am looking forward to the health nurse visit now!!

Brendan has his days of waking at ungodly hours too... actually last night he was up at about 2:30 3am? maybe they are co-conspirators?? lil ratbags!!

WooHooo for trying to TT though... Brendan is nowhere near being close, maybe another 6 months or more??

So glad to hear from you

[nickers]

TT thats great! Nixon is almost 2 1/2 and showing no signs what so ever of being ready for TT.
I hope by atleast FEB he will be cause i'd prefer to be TT in the warmer months! he did start telling me after he had done a poo about 2months but now he's stopped telling me again..... he sits on the potty lots but no wee's yet.

Anyway we had Nixon's ENT specialist appointment this week and without even doing a sleep study he has been booked in for surgery. I knew in my heart this would be the outcome so doing a sleep study would only confirm how bad he is and delay the process. He has to have a hearing test next Thursday which will determine if he needs grommets at the same time.
so although its going to be a tough month, its going to be so much better for him, we are booked in for the 15th, the day after Ty's first birthday.

He has been SHOCKING with his sleep the last efw weeks. he screams and screams even if you mention the word "bed time" he wants his daddy all the time, he wont stay in his room and he ends up sleeping in our bed. if i then transfer him he lasts a few hrs and then sleep walks back into our bed. Not sure if its all connected to his sleep apnea, or he doesnt like his room (his room is further away from ours and Ty's) last night we tried him sleeping in Tyrons room thinking if it was the closeness factor we could swap them. started off ok then 5min later the screaming began.........

[*mitch*]

No TT here yet either.. Alexa was telling when she had done # 1 or 2s, but now doesnt & hides & holds on to try & stop #2s... so not fun!!!
She is ful on with her speech now & is a right wee chatterbox... she is slowly getting more adentureous...hopefully not to the same extreme as her dad though!!!!!

I am starting home based daycare, so hae been home for 2 weeks with Alexa now... not sure if I am keen or mad yet though!!!... this full time mummy stuff is really draining LOL...

I am the one that needs the nana nap now!!!!

Nic... sorry to hear Nixon has to have an op... sleep apnea would be a scary thing.... hope they get him sussed all in the one op though !!!

[nickers]

just an update, Nixon passed his hearing test (just) and has been told he is speech delayed. AAnyway so the decision is that the doctor will drain his ears when he is doing the T & A surgery and if its watery fluid he will just drain but if it is thick and gluey he will then get grommets.

would you believe he just ahd a really bad bout of tonsilitis..... he's now been on AB for a month and is very sick of taking medicine, i have to bribe or force it into him so im not sure how giving him pain releif after the surgery is going to go.
it really couldnt come quick enough he is not the same little boy at the moment, he stayed with my parents last night, went to bed then woke up and screamed for 2hrs, mum couldnt console him.......
every night and day for that matter we have issues with his sleeping and he has never been like this, he has always been such a good sleeper and easy to put to bed.
really really really hoping there is a connection with all of this and he can get back to his normal self with going to bed.

[Carrie]

Hi Nic - Sorry to hear that you've been having a hard time with Nixon. I hope that the surgury goes well and that a few of the problems are solved. Both your boys are getting so big!
Kyla is doing well, I even get people telling me that she is tall, who would have thought? The only issues we have with her are behavioural - the joys of a 3 year old!

[Early Kids]

Nic, all the best for tomorrow! Happy Birthday to Tyron!! I cant believe its been 1 year...

I've uploaded some pics of Brendan with his Prem Doll. I ordered it from tummybear and it's really lovely

[nickers]

just another update.
Nixon's op was a success. He woke up very disorientated ive never seen him like it, they had to pretty much knock him back out to calm him down. But after the inital bit he came pretty good. we stayed in hosp 1 night and he enjoyed jelly, icescream, custard the lot!
his recovery wasnt as terrible as i thought it would be, and as of a few nights ago he has stopped snoring!! its amazing i got so used tot he sound its strange for him to be so quiet.

today we had a follow up appointment which doc was happy with it all. the incisions he made in his ears are closed up which is good oh and he didnt end up having grommets which was great.
he has another hearing test in 5weeks and also booked into a speech therapist in 2weeks.

He is still bad with his sleeping though refuses sleeps, wont sleep in his own bed etc etc, doc told us to not crack down on him just yet while his throat still recovers

Hope everyone is well

[Early Kids]

Glad his Op went well nic! Thats great news

Last weigh was friday (last week) and I got a bit of a shock... he lost 500gm in the month. I'm hoping it was due to sickness and that he'll regain it this month.

Brendan has an apt with Speech and OT on Monday, should be good

[Nadine216]

Nic - glad Nixon's op went that great. Hope he gets better in the sleeping deparment soon

Sally - Bummer on the losing weight, I also hope it goes WAY up next month. Keep us posted on his speech and OT appointment. How are things going in the TT department?

I am too scared to say that dd has slept straight through for the last three days!!!! I am extatic. She is in her big bed and comes and wakes ME up in the mornings
She also made a poo in her potty last night and it was like christams came twice. We were jumping and clapping hands and just going crazy ... and then I was just trying with all my might to keep her from picking the poo OUT of the potty. We threw it in the loo and made her flush it. She closed the subject with a very sweet "bye-bye" while waving at the loo. We are still holding off on official potty-training, but I let her sit on the potty when she ask.
She is begining to chat up a storm and are really getting the hang of some longer words like: helicopter.

I can't believe they grow up this quickly!!

[Early Kids]

Nadine! So glad to hear from you how's bubba cooking? Woohoo for semi toilet training Thats so cute what shes doing WooHoo on a big bed too Brendan will hopefully be moved into a toddler bed soon.

We are holding off toilet training until brendan starts showing intrest. atm he has no idea. he sits on the potty and reads magazines

How have you been??

[Nadine216]

I've been good, thanks Sally... getting really really big But that is what should be happening. Dr is extreamly positive that there will be no problem with this little man staying where he is until term ... or that is 39 weeks when he will be born. So we are happy and cooking away My bp is normal, so is my urine and tbh I feel good overall. I have been getting some "dazed and confussed" spots, but I put that down to being a bit tired and the weather being hot and my ob agree. It's like being pg for the first time ... I feel kicks the I have never felt with dd (feet under my ribs) and I actually fit into my pg clothes!!

Lelani has been showing intrest in the loo for quite a while now and we have had successfull wee's in the potty, but I'm holding off because 1) she can't pull down her own pants yet, neither take of her diper 2) Although she is really begining to understand me, I feel that she is not yet "there" to really grasp what I want her to do 3) She only tells me AFTER the fact and 4) I think it might be best if I wait till after the baby is born.

he sits on the potty and reads magazines

Wonder if he gets that idea from his daddy

I moved dd to a single bed about 10 days ago ... It's bad in the sense the I can't just pop her and her bottle in the crib and walk out and 15 minutes later return to a sleepy baby without crying. NOW I lay down with her (I'm just to lazy to get up everytime she crawls out of bed) and have to WAIT till she falls asleep ... anything from 20-40 minutes. But I'm glad I'm doing this now, HOPEFULLY she will get it by the time ds comes. She is sooo smart, she knows that the big bed is "lani's" and her cot is now "bennie's bed"

What is happening with you??

[Early Kids]

Hello! How is everyone?

Whats everyone been up to?

Brendan is almost two, next wed (25th) in fact! I cant believe how fast the time has gone.
I'm not 18 weeks pregnant too, and so far so good! No issues YAY!

[nickers]

where is everyone?!

Congrats sally again on the birth of baby Tristan. Im sorry you have to go through the prem journey again but I'm sure your already noticing the difference that extra 4weeks you got to keep him inside has made.

We are travelling along ok. Im going to make an appointment for Nixon to see a dentist. Actually i am already dreading it though because he does not cope well with being put into a position he has no control over..... he has complained of a cold tpounge/ sore tounge a couple of times but i wonder if he means he has a sore tooth.
last night he took 2hrs to get to sleep and he let me look in his mouth and pointed tot he roof of his mouth but i couldnt see anything abnormal.

Nixon had a hospital stay last month. he had a viral infection which he had high 39 tempts for 6 days straight. i had taken him to the gp twice, hospital once, medical centre once before actually getting admitted the second time at hospital after he was severly dehydrated. he spent 3days in hospital. he has been a lot more needy and clingy since coming home from hospital

he is still having/needing a day sleep and today he did not have one, as predicted 5pm he falls asleep and has been a horror ever since. so i put him to bed at 730pm and he is still upset. It sounds so horrible but im just really past his carry on some times, i thought he would be getting out of this by now but he seems to carry on more....


i hope everyone is well.

[tk1999]

Hello - just a quick intro from me - I gave birth to my daughter Caitlin on 09/08/09 at 34w1d due to PE complications.

Looking forward to getting to know you all better.

[Early Kids]

Hello tk1999! Congratulations! All the best for a smooth journey through the NICU/SCN.

I'm Sally, mum to Brendan (30+1) now 2yr 5m and Tristan (34+3) now 7+3 weeks. Both are doing well now

[tk1999]

Thanks Sally.

Caitlin is doing so well - her required number of good blood sugar levels have been achieved, she is not having any interventions other than her feed tube and is amazing me with everything she does. We are currently working on getting her to associate full tum with breast (limited suck reflex so far) and I am busy expressing to try and get her over to full EBM feeds via the tube now that her sugars have stablised.

I had a big big cry tonight - one of the NICU nurses spoke to me in a manner that made me feel like a 4 year old - I would have thought that working in such an area she would have realised the range of emotions I am going through and maybe given me the infomation about NICU/SCN processes (ie not picking them up unless they are already awake, apparently I don't have to go up for every single tube feed ( um well what if I WANT TO!!) - anyway, I broke down and told DP I would see him back on my ward... I was going to snot that nurse... I mean far out - I am a first time mum, with a prem bub and she treats me like a two year old... it is so hard being here in the mat ward and hearing all the newborns crying and knowing that my girl can't be with me just now.

[ladybird11]

Thats horrible TK....

I found one nurse to be like that when my DD was in hossy too (she was born at 31 wks from severe PE complications too). I can't remember what she said - but I lost the plot and burst into tears.

Emotions are already high up due to the quick and surprising birth - and you're already on tender hooks so to speak.

I'm sorry you came across a horrible nurse hun. Hugs. Stay strong!

[tiffanny]

Firstly Congratulations TK,
First time mummy and you got an early arrival kinda makes them special in their own right . I too had my DD due to PE complications @ 31+3. You will find (in no way am I defending the nurse) that the nurses you will encounter over your journey will vary from the downright nasty to the extremely sweet and totally understanding. I had a nurse similar to that and told her that whilst yes it was her JOB to enforce the hospitals policies and so on- I was DD's mother and the buck stopped with me. I wanted to know everything that was going on. Crying is good and I was always encouraged to do so, it is an emotional rollercoaster you have just been thrust upon. I was encouraged to ask as many questions that I could think of. So I encourage you to do the same. Knowledge is more power to you hun it will help you understand what lies ahead for you and you family.

Is your DD in a humidicrib or an open cot? If in an open cot, I would be asking why cant I hold my DD afterall isnt bonding the most crucial thing paticular with a preemie, Kangaroo cuddles (skin on skin cuddles-usually bub will be rested on your naked chest under your top with blankets on top) are supposed to be most beneficial for them as they can hear mummy's heartbeat and studies have shown that they are more settled and their vitals stabilise when close to the mummy. When is a preemie baby awake?? Excuse me but very rarely!! Like you I experienced the maternity ward blues. Being there without a baby is so so hard. So I adopted the theory- "my baby cant come to me but I can move heaven and earth to go to her". You have every right to be there for you DD's tube feeds. I was the only mother in our SCN that was. Even the overnight ones.

I hope you have a lovely gentle rollercoaster with Caitlin.

Tiff xox