Michelle Thankyou for all that info you posted. I too went searching last night cos as you know I too have and elevated ANA and have become quite concerned. Although after reading a bit and talking to my GP yesterday and knowing I have my appointments coming up I'm trying to keep thinking positive.
I hope you are feeling ok but you need to know that you are entitled to be feeling cranky and upset and sad and happy and anything else you are feeling atm
What time is your appointment next Friday?
Hi to everyone else. I'll pop back later to see how Janie is going and catch up on personals a bit better
It's early... And basically a decision will be made by Janie & her doctors when they have all the information what is better for her baby. She will be closely monitored to ensure the baby stays well. Only time will tell. Basically if it's safer for the baby to be out than in it will be born. I am guessing that she will watched closely for the next week with CTG's, bloods etc. I wouldn't think the baby will be born immediately. No doubt Janie will tell us as soon as she knows.
My prayers and love are with you honey..
Last edited by Inanna; January 29th, 2010 at 12:47 PM.
Thanks for filling everyone in Deb . I am stuck in traffic on the way home, on my phone so will try to be brief. Will be having ctg's every two days, see ob in six days, and scan and ob in ten. Will reassess then, if we get that far. For now it is a watching and waiting game, whichever way it goes this baby will be prem . It's not thought we will get past 34 weeks.....at this stage i will be stoked to get that far. Thanks for all your concern, it means alot. Lots to process, but i'll bbl, definitely need to pick deb's brain
Thinking of you all Janie. Let me know if you need anything. im even happy to come over and watch N in the middle of the night if you need to make a dash. im sure your mum wont be far behind. xx hoping Max gives you the all clear for another month at least. xx
Oh Janie.. I'm thinking of you and am also happy to help you in any way at all... it's not like I have much to do and would be delighted to help!!!! So please, please, please let me know if you need anything... I'm happy to cook up some meals for you too... or N can come have a play... so you can sit back and relax. Please take it easy.
Janie - OK hun, well you better be on your best behaviour then and REST woman. Take the girls up on their offers of help. Will your mum or MIL come to stay with you? You must be worried but it sounds like you have a plan in place.
Will keep you and your little one in my prayers babe
Janie - praying bub holds out a little more. I know its easier said than done, but try to rest and relax a little hun. I have everything crossed that this little one comes after 34 weeks.
Kelly - so happy hun that you have an action plan now and I hope your ttc journey will be short and sweet.
Loula - omg woman, you have shocked and delighted me at the same time. Praying your little one is a tough cookie and just a bleeder like my Miss A was.
BIg hello to everyone else, im reading all your posts but no time to post much myself. Miss A has an ear infection again and is also boasting a fat lip thanks to her new found activity - climbing!! And tomorrow she will be flower girl.
Had my OB appt today, she said bub is head down (has been for 2 weeks now) and told me i was measuring ahead, and given how ive been feeling and bubs position, she said i should have my bags packed at 36wks just in case!
Gotta go but will be back soon to check on everyone especially the gorgeous Ms Janie.
Janie I was just bathing my kids & thinking I should remind you. Your baby's chance of survival is almost 95% if born in a tertiary hospital if it was born today...
So, even though this is going to be a longer road than we hoped - there is every chance of a very happy outcome.
What is important now is expressing some of that colostrum. If you can. I know you know all the stuff there is to know about how important colostrum is for prems - but I just want you to feel in some way in charge here. Like you can do somthing...
Thanks so much Deb . Anything you can think of would be appreciated, as I am definitely not thinking straight ATM. I am not at all up with the feeding requirements of prems this early, so I have alot to learn. Also assuming this one will be LBW, so need to learn what that entails too. And I am now thinking about birth stuff etc, so like I said, anything at all will be appreciated!
Okay well since you are well & if there are no other contraindications you should be able to birth your baby vaginally. Tjat will though depend on the placental function...
Your baby right now would be about 1300 grams. As I said the outcome is almost always a positive one. I am assuming you have had some steroids today? That will help with the surfactant that the baby hasn't started producing on his/her own yet.
Basically at 34 weeks babies have the suck swallow reflex - so that's obviously better. Meaning that the time spent in hospital is considerably shorter. With less of a need for cpap/assisted breathing and oxygen requirement. The less oxygen requirement a baby has the less likely there will be eye and ear issues. Imogen was on a high o2 requirement and she has not got eye or ear issues that we know of yet... Just to show you that your baby's chance of problems are significantly lower.
At today's weight your baby would require a very small amount of colostrum daily. However, it's like the nectar from heaven. Prems who are breastfed statistically do much better than those that are not. Now, this is not to pressure. It's to be factual. For me it was the only thing I felt I could do... So, as hard as it was (due to my own illness and high anxiety) I perservered. The most miniscule drop is seen as something like caviar in NICU! So get thee hand expressing if you can... Save every drop. Some pathology jars and label them and freeze it. Put your name and the date on it... Take it with you to hospital in an esky when the time comes.
Ask for a tour of NICU/special care when you next have a ctg. This will help you feel less shocked when you get there. It is a busy place with lots of women/men in the same position as you. You will meet some amazing women with some amazing stories. Just familiarise yourself with the smell & the sounds. Ask lots of questions. See a LC if you can... Ask the midwife at your CTG about birthing vaginally - remembering that it is possible (but definitely not a given) that once your baby is born he or she may be worked on straight away so you may not see her or touch her... It will depend on how well she is doing. Remember that this is "normal" for premature birth. Just prepare yourself mentally for that.
Remember that you are in great hands. You and your baby are being carefully monitored.
Do you know if your baby is a boy or a girl?
Meet with the paeds at NICU if you can. Ask for this... Don't be put off by they are busy etcx. They are usually really happy to talk to you.
Big cuddles... Ask anything honey I want to help you. ;hug;
Thanks Deb, that is all stuff I want and need to know. I have just been chatting to my LC about various things, and how babies born before 34 weeks are usually fed. She has filled me in a little, but any other info you have would be great. The sonographer was concerned only with measurements, but did offhandedly remark as we were finishing that bub looks to be just over 1kg now. Please don't feel that you could be in any way pushy with breasfeeding info, I really need to know how to get this to happen in SCN, especially if bub is born without a suck reflex.
I haven't been given steroids as yet, as apparently new research is showing that repeated doses may cause neuro problems in the baby..........as we don't know yet when I will be delivering, Max doesn't want to give me a dose until we know that the birth is imminent.
Thank you so much for all the tips, I'll BBL.........
Why it's important to have the colostrum stored if possible is that if your baby is born before 34 weeks he/she will be fed via n/g tube. Actually at 34 weeks he/she will most likely be tube fed at least for the first 24-48 hours. He/she will have an umbilical line inserted and this is how he/she will be accessed for any drugs needed and for fluids. It takes energy to digest so for the first day or so if he is born before about 34 weeks (depending on weight) they won't be pushing to feed...
Basically your baby is treated as if he/she is still gestating. So the environment is warm, with little stimulation. Everything uses energy - so handling, movement and of course digestion. So as little as possible until your baby is stable.
Do you need to know about ventilation & cpap? I can help you with that too...
But I don't want to bombard you.
It is a great sign that you are being given at least the next 10 days... That's great. We just want you to rest as much as possible. The more rest you get the less strain on your body.
Try not to get stressed or anxious - turn to us in here. I am going to PM you my phone number and if you need anything at any time of the day or night - I am here.
You tell me what you would like to know about & I will do my best to give you accurate information.
I'm exhausted after my first three days at work and just not in a good head space at the moment. Too much stuff hitting too close to home at the moment. I'm going to crawl into bed and hibernate for the next month I think... or at least the weekend.
Oh Janie.. as I've already said to you.. please rest up and let me help you out too!! I'm so happy to do absolutely anything you need... cooking, cleaning, looking after N... some food shopping.. whatever. I'm not far away and don't have anything else to do anyway!! It would be my pleasure to help!! So call ANYTIME!!
Deb- Its been amazing to get an understanding of the life of a prem.. I can't even imagine what it's like. Janie is very lucky to have your knowledge and help!
Oh Kelly, you've made me cry! Thank you again . Deb, i would like to know about ventilation/cpap, i have very little knowledge in that area. You must have read my mind, i was thinking earlier of asking to swap numbers with you i would love that, thank you. All that feeding info is wonderful, thank you. I also have a fantastic friend with a three month old who is willing to donate ebm. I really can't express how grateful i am that she is willing to do that for us, i feel very lucky. I'm sure i will think of other questions, thanks for your help so far. And thank you so much to everyone else for your kind words and support, it really means a huge amount to me
No doubt Janie will tell us as soon as she knows.
. I am stuck in traffic on the way home, on my phone so will try to be brief. Will be having ctg's every two days, see ob in six days, and scan and ob in ten. Will reassess then, if we get that far. For now it is a watching and waiting game, whichever way it goes this baby will be prem 
. It's not thought we will get past 34 weeks.....at this stage i will be stoked to get that far. Thanks for all your concern, it means alot. Lots to process, but i'll bbl, definitely need to pick deb's brain 
and is also boasting a fat lip thanks to her new found activity - climbing!! And tomorrow she will be flower girl. 
So, as hard as it was (due to my own illness and high anxiety) I perservered. The most miniscule drop is seen as something like caviar in NICU! So get thee hand expressing if you can... Save every drop. Some pathology jars and label them and freeze it. Put your name and the date on it... Take it with you to hospital in an esky when the time comes.
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