Re: Advice needed on when to start TTC: UU/BU/SU (child ment)

[Guest guest]

hi amber

> 1) You said your boy was born at 33 weeks. That must

> have been difficult. How is he now?

we've been VERY lucky and our son is doing great - he stayed in the

NICU (neonatal ICU) for 2 weeks and then in the peds floor for 6

days - it was hard because it was completely unexpected and because

i don't think you can never really prepare to be 'thrown' into

parenthood that way - but we were fortunate that he never had any

big issues and delays - we love him as we've never loved anyone

before and we treasure him because his entry to this world was so

hard - i think though that he doesn't remember anything about those

1st weeks and he's a happy guy.

Then: http://www.gabimike.com/Jul162001/4.jpg

Now (just turned 4): http://www.gabimike.com/Jul062005/64.jpg

> 2) My RE (high risk specialist) says the median term

> for a uterus like mine is 31 weeks (I don't know if he

> means a UU, BU or SU - but on my medical

> advice/summary letters he calls it a UU and sometimes

> at BU). He has recommended a cervical stitch and

> finishing work at 29 weeks. If you had your time

> again, would you have had a stitch or gone onto

> bedrest to avoid pre-term labour?

my pg was completely uneventful and normal up to the morning of the

day my son was born so i didn't have the time to make a decision -

i woke up with a funny menstrual-like feeling in my lower back and

started bleeding - my problem was not incompetent cervix and i don't

think the stitch (i think it's called a cerclage) would have worked

anyway - besides i think IC is not a problem related to SUs and even

though i didn't know it at the time, I was SU, not BU. the problem i

had was a placental abruption and i read somewhere that it happens

sometimes to SUs (it can also happen randomly i think at the time

i've seen like a 1/200 statistics about it but i'm not 100% sure).

as for bedrest i got to the hospital at 11am and they put me on a

bed and monitored me there for hours to see if the bleeding would

stop but it didn't so i guess bed rest was not for me either under

those circumstances - my son's heart rate dropped at 3pm or so and

drs decided it was safer to take him out so i had a c/sec at 4:09pm

last year a friend of mine had a placental abruption too but she was

monit

ored and put on bed rest for a few weeks - luckily for her the

bleeding subsided and she made it to 40 weeks and had a healthy boy -

i know it's no fun to have a preemie but even if you made it only to

31 weeks that's good enough - a good friend of my son was born the

same day just 30 mins before him at 30 weeks - she had to stay at

the hospital a little longer but she just celebrated her 4th b-day

and is doing great.

if i had the chance to choose anyway i'd give up work and be on

bedrest anytime for whatever time it would take just to make it to

36 or 37 weeks (full term) - and even if i couldn't make it that far

EVERY DAY counts so i wouldn't mind being in bed - bored and scared

to death as i would be - if that meant a little more development

and 'readiness' for the little tenant inside

good luck ! and pls keep us posted

gabi