Re: Re: (Adele) your successful live-birth pre-term labor experiences(pg,child,m/c ment)LONG

[Guest guest]

Dear Adele,

what an amazing story of your daughter and many many

prayrers to you in your pregancy. hopefully we will

have good stories to share in NOVEMBER (god willing!)

im praying hard we both will hold on until then. all

the info you sent about your NICU experience and your

daughter 's experiences as a premie are

invaluable. Your advice about rest, fluides and

monitoring is a great reminder. If there is one theme

that has cut across all the stories ive heard, its

that preterm contractions are often undetectable by

mom. this is scary but indicates that we should all

go to emergency if there is any question at all- and

that frequent monitoring is ESSENTIAL. i am wishing my

visits now were weekly- not every 2 weeks.

God bless you, thank you for your story and many

prayers to you.

I hope to hear good news from you in Novemeber!!!!

Best

Heidi

SU/ cerv dupl /25 wk preg

--- adelewachter adelew@...> wrote:

> Hi Heidi,

> I see that a few girls have responded to your

> question, but know

> that any new info is always useful...

> I am currently 26 weeks pregnant with my second

> child (I say second

> child although it is my fifth pregnancy. 2m/c and

> an ectopic

> pregnancy along the way- though all three were

> early- before 6

> weeks, so, having got this far along this time, I am

> convinced (and

> have faith!) that this little one will be fine.)

> My daughter was delivered by emergency c-section at

> 32 weeks. My

> pregnancy had been absolutely normal until at 31

> weeks I felt a gush

> of water and rushed off to my ob/gyn's rooms. He

> did an u/s and

> found that I was contracting (I did not feel this at

> all, even when

> they then put the monitor on my tummy in Labour ward

> and could see

> them on the printout...) and that my membranes had

> ruptured- not

> sure what happened first, the membranes rupturing

> causing the cntx,

> or the other way round. He put me on intravenous

> terbutaline to stop

> the cntx, which worked brilliantly, and put me on

> total bedrest in

> the hopes that the rupture would seal off. He also

> did 3 hourly

> foetal non stress tests and bi-daily blood tests to

> check that my

> white blood cell wasn't rising (to indicate an

> infection...)ALSO-

> most important, the steroids for baby's lungs- one

> shot straight

> away, and another after 24 hours.

> I lay in that bed not wanting to move an inch in

> case it caused

> further rupture, playing a waiting (and praying)

> game. One week and

> a day later, my white blood cell count was elevated,

> so my DR

> decided to caesar. I was terribly disappointed (we

> still had no

> idea why my membranes had ruptured) but knew that I

> had to rely on

> his judgement. During the caesar, he said that

> there was very

> little amniotic fluid left, and that I had a

> bicornuate uterus. He

> also mentioned something about a septum- which I

> have subsequently

> learned probably means that it is probably not

> simply BU.

> Unfortunately, I did not know this until I joined

> this forum, and I

> was already pregnant again. My recurrent m/c would

> also indicate

> that a septate uterus probably more likely...

> Unfortunately my

> ob/gyn doesn't seem very clued up on the variances

> of MA's, and uses

> BU as catch-all phrase for Mullerian Anomalies.

> Nonetheless, my daughter was amazingly strong and

> big for a 32-

> weeker. She weighed 2.2kg/4.85pounds and was 50cm

> long. She let out

> a hearty yowl after she was born, needed no

> ventilation and I was

> even able to hold her for twenty minutes before they

> took her off to

> the NNICU.

> She stayed in the NNICU for 10 days, b/c she need

> intravenous

> antibiotics (my raised WBC count). I expressed milk

> from day one,

> and she was tube fed my milk, and from about 6 days

> I was able to

> combination breastfeed and express bottle feed her.

> Looking back, things could have been so much worse,

> and at the time

> I was very aware of this- counting my blessings

> regularly. But, it

> was the most difficult time I have ever gone

> through. I felt very

> powerless, and at the mercy of the ICU sisters- who

> although very

> dedicated and passionate, were not big on including

> the parents in

> the baby's care. is now 18 months old and has

> absolutely no

> problems other than the usual 18 mo old tantrums

> etc. She has a

> full mouth of teeth, and is taller than most of her

> peers. Although

> from a health point of view ahe has no ill-effects

> (not one bout of

> bronchitis or bronchiolitis or any other lung

> problems)- the first

> year of her life was tough as she suffered very much

> from sensory

> overload problems which have been attributed to her

> prematurity and

> time spent in a box in the ICU. She had severe colic

> for six months,

> and had sleep problems for the first year (hourly

> wakings, being

> inconsolable when she woke up and very difficult to

> comfort.)

>

> It is largely for these reasons that I am determined

> to keep this

> little one in my tummy for as long as possible. I am

> stopping work

> at 30 weeks, and intend to take things VERY slowly.

> In terms of

> tips for helping your baby when in ICU if you should

> end up with a

> preemie, my advice would be to hold your baby as

> soon as possible,

> and for as long as they'll let you- skin to skin if

> possible. If

> you can't hold him/her, any physical contact is

> important, though no

> jerky movements, as these overwhelm their immature

> little sensory

> systems. Just rest your hand gently on the little

> chest, or arm or

> leg, and talk softly in a low tone or sing to them.

> Also put a

> little soft toy inside your shirt so that it absorbs

> your scent, and

> leave it in the crib when you are not there, as they

> have a highly

> developed sense of smell, compared with their other

> senses.

> I hope that you never need to use this advice, but

> if you do, know

> that little babies have an amazing resilience, and

> ability to

> overcome obstacles. It is so important to not let

> all the worrying

> and stress get the better of you- but to rather make

> good decisioons

> now as far as you can (monitor cervical length, get

> lots of rest,

> drink LOADS of water, rest,rest,rest)and know that

> you have the

> strength when your precious baby comes.

> My prayers and love go out to you, that you little

> one will stay put

> till it is ready to come and fill your life with

> love and

> blessings! Best of luck.

> Adele (BU???)

> dd Kate 02/18/2004

> 26 wks pg, due 11/21/2005

>

>

>

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