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Thanks Nic - LOL about the "long and boring" vibes - thanks!!
Woo Hoo on a 2nd birthday!! Let us know what the MCHN says about his speach. That is my worry too. DD can understand a lot of words, but I don't think she will be speaking soon. She can say mamma and pappa and babba, but that's it. Nothing else.
hello :)
Happy birthday Nixon... for the other day! :D Glad you all had a good day Nic.
Brendan still babbles... he says dadadada all the time and ocassionally mumumum and sometimes bububub.
He has 8 teeth now. the bottom two have finally come through, and he is back to normal! WOOOOHOOOOO! lol
take care everyone!
Hi everyoe just thought I'd pop in quickly and give a little update on our littlest one. She's doing wonderfully well. Last Thursday she was wheighed and was exactly the same weight as Jacob when he was born which means she's been putting on an average of about 200gms a week, give or take. She was 7wks old on Saturday and is really the same as any normal new born now, I'm so proud of the little munchkin :) Quite colicy still though but I expected that as Jacob was the same. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to matter what I eat or anything. But we are trying to keep the Brauers colic relief up and use breast compression so that she is getting enough hind milk to line her ittle tummy, it seems to be helping some what.
Sally, I was going to try and catch up with you these past few days as I've been staying at my parents place since Thursday arvo. But I didn't have your number or anything and as it turns out I kinda ran out of time anyway (I'm going home sometime this afternoon). Hope you are well though and Brendan is also and that he's being a good little boy for his mummy :)
Hope everyone else and their bubs are doing the best that's possible.
hello everyone :D
Today Brendan is 12 months corrected!!! I need to take a pic this afternoon, we took some last year so it'd be good to see how far he's come :D
Mrs Baj, Next time i go shopping I'll give my number to your sis!! Glad your DD is doing well. Glad to hear that she's caught up to the same birth weight as Jacob, thats excellent news! Brendan was about 2.4kgs this time last year.
Happy Birthday (again) BRENDAN!!! Woooooott!! :cheer:
Hello :)
Thanks Nadine :D
Well, we had our 12months corrected check today. And he is at a 10month old level. So a lil deflated, but he's happy so thats the important thing!! I now know what he should be doing so we have some excercises to work on.
He is now 9.4kg and 75cms!! The paed was a lil concerned about his weight, in regard to the weight/height ratio. He needs to start putting a lil more on, which as you guys know is near on impossible!
How is everyone else?
Hello Ladies
How is everyone? How are all the beautiful babies doing??
Hi Sally :hello:
Long time no see ;)
We are doing fine, thanks. I'm UTD again, expecting in Dec. DD is doing absolutely great. She is currently cutting some top molars that is just making her very uncomfy. She is talking so much and trying to repeat everything you tell her. She is eating great .. most of the time. LOVES pasta. She is over 10.5kg and really heavy to carry around :lol: Oh yeah, I'm weaning her off formula and she is currently getting one bottle of cow's milk per day ... she were a bit fussy in the begining, but it seems like she is starting to like the taste. Now if only I could have had her off dipers before #2 arived ... not much luck there, although she is seeing in day-care how the big kids are doing it and before bathtime, she will go and fetch her potty and ask me to help her on for a wee. But so far there were no pee in the pot ;) So cute. I can't wait for summer to teach her how to swim ... she loves the water. And going naked, so I would be so happy not to have to stuggle to dress her everyday (lazy mommy :p )
I'm having trouble remembering how little she was with birth .. I need to get out the photo's and really SEE how small she was. AND I can't believe that time flew by this quickly .. heck, she's almost 2
How's things with you and Brendan?
Hello Nadine!!
Congratulations on your pregnancy!! Boxing day baby too :D
DD is doing really well!!! 10.5kg thats a great weight! Brendan is hovering around 9.4, he loses some and then gains some. His eating is o.k. having troubls most days, he loves cows milk, but atm I have to add formula to it. Brendan has also cut a 2nd mlar, making 10 teeth now!! Brendan also loves being naked, we give him nappy free time every night and its so funny watching him almost run around.... hehehe I'm waiting to hear from the childrens hospital still, they are going to fix his tongue tie, but he has to gain some weight first. We still see a Dietician, an Occupational Therapist and Speech Therapist, all are going quite well. Brendan's fine motor skills are coming along nicely, slowly, but at least they are developing!!
We are going to start TTC this month. I'm rather nervous about the whole thing, but I'm sure that'll pass!!
Glad to hear from you :)
take care
Thanks Sally, boxing day AND my birthday ... how lucky am I??
I have high hopes for this baby to make it the full term. We are finding out the sex tomorrow.
Sounds like Brendan is really doing great! Congratulations. I'm glad they would be able to fix his tongue tie ... will that make it better for him to eat? I hope so. And if you give him enough time he is going to be 16 too soon and eat you out of the house ;)
I remember that he had something wrong with his tummy?? I can't for the love of me remember the english word for it :redface: How is that going?
Goodluck with the TTC. I know it can be utterly daunting, but it's all worth it at the end. And Brendan will be happy to have a little brother/sister that he can play with.
Wow, you might have to share your birthday too, at least theres more chance of it being remembered!!
We are hoping the tongue-tie is the cause of his eating issues, if not at least it's fixed. Brendan has a hernia, just above his belly button (he still has that hernia too) and they are going to check on it at 2yrs, if still there or worse they'll fix it.
Good luck for finding the sex, are you wanting one in particular? I'd love one of each :D
HERNIA (I broke my head over a stone searching for that word ... we call it a breuk in Afrikaans)
I'm glad they can fix that too.
I'm having a boy :redface: :excited: Found out this morning. And he might be a tad earlier than my due date, because he measure already 21+5 weeks!! :o He is HUGE!!! I'm totally shocked ... I thought it was another girl, but I'm happy and content with this little fellow! DH is over the moon and totally stoked. We are so lucky to have one of each sex ... I'll be sending you my extra girly-ttc-dust ;) Hope for the best
wow congratulations Nadine on finding out your little bun is a boy!! sounds like he is growing well thsats what we like to hear, bake bake baking all the way to Full term for you!! (well minimum of 37weeks!)
we are going well. We have been busy moving house and renovating (we did most of it b4 we moved in thank god)
Nixon is pregoressing really well. His last check up i was told to just monitor his speech progression over the next 3 months. and i have definatley notice a difference, in the last few weeks he is coming out with more words (maybe they are just becoming clearer also) thismorning he was laying on the lounge looking and pointing at his fingers and i swear he said (three, four, five)
Tyron is 10months old, crawling and pulling himself up, he cant wait to run around with his big bro. Nixon gets annyed with him though now he can grab all of his things! (esp his trains he's very protective of the toot toots)
Sally- good luck TTC thats so exciting!! it is a bit nerve racking when u have prob talked about it and thought about it for a while and all of a sudden the gates are open and this its time!
it would be nice to hear from some of the other premmie mums that havent been in for a while
Tiff, Carrie, Helena, Ashlee,Divvy, Mitch, Odette and everyone else
Nadine, WooHooo Congrats on your lil boy, and excellent to be measuring bigger too :D Thanks for the girly dust :D :D
Nic, so nice to hear from you! Sounds like your 2 are coming along just nicely, i'm glad Nixon's speech Is improving!! And I can't believe that Tyron is 10 months!! *shock* Hasn't that time just flown by!!
It'd be lovely to hear how the other mums are doing....
Hello! How is everyone???
Brendan has his apt to get his TT fixed!!! YAY!
He's also now 10kg! 18 months old and 10kg!! and 80cm tall :D
My lil boy is growing up!
he sure is Sally!!
we are going well.
Im taking Nixon to the doctors tomorrow because i am concerned about his snoring.
has anyone else had this problem with prems? ive been not ignoring it but probably oblivious but he has always snored and recently it seems tohave gotten worse.
ive been googling which isnt always good but come across some info which makes me think i need to get him checked.
i have video taped him also and he does have some pauses in his sleep.
so hoping we get a refferal and can get it further looked into.
will update after our docs appointment
Good luck Nic! I watched brendan last night (another sleepless night for me) and he didn't snore at all, but he definately had some issues with his breathing. Hoping the CHN will ring tomorrow.
Well Alex is now five, still small but developmentally fine. He's just a light build (i hope).
Yes he is still "premmie" and sometimes has that "premmie" look, but he's gorgeous!
Hello!
Just letting you all know that Brendans tongue-tie surgery went really really well, he was normal when he woke up and wanting his toys and bottle... LOL
He is already showing signs of improvement, he actually ate cut up meat last night with peas corn and carrots, everything was cut to the size of a pea, but when he's been on mash for so long, it's really exciting!!
How is everyone?
That is awsome news, Sally!! I'm so happy for you guys. I was thinking about you just this morning. My silly head could not remember the operation date :wall:
Welcome to the wonderfull world of Finding-peas-ham-cheese-and-crusts-under-the-couch!!!! ;)
I also think that now that he can eat better, he will definatly start gaining weight also. You'll have to place a turtle on his head to stop him from growing to fast LOL
Here all is well, well, as well as can be. DD woke up at 2:45 this morning .. something is bothering her, but I can't really figure out what. If I ask her if her head hurts, she touch her head, if I ask if her tummy hurts, she touch her tummy ... and then she lifts her toes and say: "Mommy.. ouch" and I have to kiss EVERYTHING :lol: So she is turning telling me what is hurting into a game .. smart little bugger. But I do think it's probably teeth ... or tummy-cramps. We did have fresh strawberries for the first time yesterday afternoon ... but if she were allergic, she would have had a rash around her mouth, right??
We got a pee on the pot the other day. I'm not TT yet, she is still to young, but just before a bath, I will put her on her potty and she will invite me to come and potty on the "big" potty and then we just stare at each other and play with the toiletpaper till the bath is finished.
Oh my :lol: I'm chatty today!! Have a lovely day hun, and congrats again on Brendan's successfull surgery
Thanks :D 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 :D 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 :D
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.........
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 !!!
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.
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!
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 :D
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
Glad his Op went well nic! Thats great news :D
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 :D
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 :lol:
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!!
Nadine! So glad to hear from you :D how's bubba cooking? Woohoo for semi toilet training :D Thats so cute what shes doing :D WooHoo on a big bed too :D 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 :lol:
How have you been??
I've been good, thanks Sally... getting really really big :lol: 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 :lol: 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.
Wonder if he gets that idea from his daddy :p:
he sits on the potty and reads magazines
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 :pray: 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??
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!
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.
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.
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 :D
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.
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!
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
TK, I'm so sorry hunny. Unfortunately the nurses, like us, are only human and have bad days too :( Not defending her, just putting it into perspective.
If Caitlin is in an open cot there is no reason why you cant cuddle her when you want.... if you were up on the ward you'd be able to, if you were at home you'd be able to, so you CAN when in there too! Don't be afraid to stand up for yourself and remind them that she is YOUR daughter and you WILL cuddle her when you want to!
If she's in an isolette, then it's a little different, but the same still applies. She is YOUR daughter, they have to respect that too!
Also, even though she has limited suck reflex, when they are tube feeding you can also stick her on the boob, that will not only help with her making the connection between sucking and full tummy, but it will also help your supply. I used to give a breast suckle before a tube feed.
All the best hun. :hug:
Well, both my boys are sick again :( Brendan has only just got over a throat infection and both ears too :( He had a hearing test yuesterday and he is slowly improving, but still not very good :( He can hear, but his perception of where the sound is coming from is really bad, he also has fluid in both ears :( Poor bugger can't catch a break.
Thanks Leesa - yesterday was a huge culmination of all the emotions I had experienced until that point and it was nice to get it all out. Sorry that you went through a similar experience :hug:
Tiffany, thanks - she is a treasure. The weirdest thing for me is that I work at the hospital we are at and I know that there are huge variances in nurses personalities and mannerisms but dealing with them as a colleauge (I work in Human Resources) and then dealing with them as a patient is a HUGE contrast - one I probably didn't give a lot of thought to lol. I did feel a lot better after the cry and it also gave me a good nights sleep.
She is in an open cot thing (will have to take a pic) and the only cords she has are the monitors and her feeding tube. No drips, IVs etc etc. So I am going up for each feed now and we are doing a breast feed first before every second feed.
Sally, its ok - I get the perspective thing - just super hormonal and it all hit me at once. I might ask one of the other nurses to go through the info with me again - re processes, when I can pick her up so I know in my head what is happening. Not sure what an isolette is but I think she is in an open cot - as I said to Tiff, might be best to take a photo and post it. Thank you - Bonham08 speaks very highly of you and when we knew that Caitlin may be early she suggested I contact you because you are such an inspiration xox. Sorry the boys are ill... i hope a small break comes your way soon xox