Premmie Mums #8

[Sally2]

Gosh, we should really get onto Charlie's birth story as soon ( but not too soon ) we will have to write another one
Congratulations Rhyb on your beautiful girls, have been following your story on here as it's not often you see triplets!
We joined the baby buddies group for our due date, but found because we had been away from all the girls ( even though we'd been with them all the way through on belly buddies ) we just didn't have enough in common to join in the discussion. They all left such beautiful messages when Charlie was born, but we were so out of touch for the next three months that when their babies were due, I was sooooo jealous about their 'perfect' births, getting to take their babies home from hospital straight away etc I just couldnt discuss mundane, everyday baby things with people I thought didn't get what we had been through for the last 11 weeks.
It is such a different journey through the NICU/Special Care nursery to a 'regular' delivery. Hopefully, fingers toes and ears crossed, we get to experience that this time.

[Early Kids]

I hope so too Sally! I have everything crossed for you guys xxx

[*Beema*]

Thankyou all for sharing all of your Birth Stories, I hope you get to write yours soon Sally!!!

A couple I started reading and though... hmm this sounds familar and I realised that I had already read them

BW, I hope that one day you may be able to celebrate your story in the general section, give it time hun, birthing your child is the biggest rollercoaster ride, throw in having a prem and it just adds in a few more loop to loops we wouldn't have been expecting.

Have a lovely weekend all, we are staying inside or in the pool, with 43 all over the weekend here

[butterfly_warrior]

Thanks, Beema. I have found that in many ways, being able to celebrate Sam's first birthday the way I wanted has helped me heal. Not fully, but a little bit. When I take a step back and remind myself that there was three years of waiting and longing before Sam turned up... after IVF and all the miscarriages I spent my entire pregnancy terrified I would wake up and it would all be a dream or that someone would take it all away. And then, when he was born, they did take him away. I think I got to hold him for less than a minute before he and DH were whisked away and then it just felt like I'd been forgotten... As much as you know in your head that things had to happen that way because Sam was premmie, it still doesn't change the fact that it was upsetting and horrible.

I can only imagine how much worse it must be for mothers of babies born even earlier.

Anyway, nasty headache so I'm going to grab my medications and head to bed and hope to sleep it off.

BW

[kitten2b]

Maria (34.4weeks 2.050kg) was taken away from me as well, I know DH was with her but it was still traumatising. I had a retained placenta as well, my veins collapsed and had to be taken to theatre an hour after delivering her, no body told DH what was happening to me as I had started bleeding whilst he was in NBIC. He had authorised them to give her formula until my milk came in (like me he didn't know any better). They had given me an epidural so I could have the D&C and it was only supposed to last 3 hours, well 12 hours later I still couldn't feel my bum which mad it hard to get down to the unit and see maria. They did give me a picture of Maria up in the ward, and they did push me past her after I left recovery but I couldn't see much. Up in the ward I was in a room on my own, no nurses really came near me, I had no idea what I was meant to do, no one told me I had to express until about 8 hours after she was born, and then I had the MW from hell who just grabbed my boob and squeezed.

With Sofia (34.6 weeks 1.800kg) I was much more prepared, 1. I had been through it all before 2 years earlier. 2. I never really felt I would get to term even though I was going through the birth centre again and hoped to at least get to 37 weeks. I had a plan this time, the drip was put in as soon as I got to hospital (veins did collapse again), at lot of care was given to make sure the placenta came away quicker, but this time they gave me Sofia to hold whilst they were doing it. Even though she was tiny I was able to have skin to skin contact and she even tried to breastfeed at 15 minutes old - (she is still breastfeeding at 2 years old). She was much healthier than maria as was I, and would have been transferred to Level 1 care a week earlier if there had been beds. The nurses were really supportive, I knew most of them from when Maria was in there, I was a good milking cow and came out of hosspital with 5 litres of milk, I was able to give Maria a vial a day with her cow milk there was so much, Fia ended up using hardly any of it.

I also feel a bit of a fraud posting in here, the girls are fine, small but so are DH and myself, Maria does have some sensory issues and is very clingy until she is happy in a group, then is very outgoing.

[Early Kids]

Hi Louise! Don't feel like a fraud, just because they are doing well now doesn't take away those first few weeks

[tk1999]

Hi Louise! Don't feel like a fraud, just because they are doing well now doesn't take away those first few weeks

:yeahthat: