Welcomed our 1st child on Friday...about 7 weeks early (1 Viewer)

[Andy Dufresne]

Thank goodness for doctors and modern medicine.

My son would have died shortly after birth if some guy hadn't the skill to fix him up.

From what I understand, the ability to help preemies has grown exponentially in a not very long period of time.

 

[elkurzhal]

Congrats!

My 1st was about 8 weeks early.

Seemed like a normal pregnancy... Jr measured a little small along the way, but within the normal limits. In November at the last ultrasound we had the estimated weight from the ultrasound was about 2 lbs. Everything seemed fine from there. Went out to a nice dinner on New years eve and wifey didn't feel well. Next day was fine, new years night didn't feel well, like crampy she said. Called the Dr, he said it was probably Braxon Hicks and not to worry about it. She woke me up about 11 PM that night in a lot of pain. Called Dr, who said to go to the hospital. When we got there her BP was like 300 over 150 or something equally crazy. Baby's BP was tanking when she had contractions. I remember the moment well. With my wife on the table, the triage nurse elbow deep, look at me and says you are having a baby. I reply, I know, but... She says no, you are having a baby, Right NOW. a minute or less later everyone is gone and I'm in the room by myself. Stunned, shocked and lost. Eventually some one comes by and hurriedly throws me some scrubs and tells me to put them on. It seemed like an eternity later they come get me and we go to the operating room, where there is a C-Section taking place... I take my place behind the screen with the wifeys head, seems like the Doctor is struggling a little, eventually he lean over and asks my wife if she did any drugs during the pregnancy? Says he has to know the honest truth. Were like WTF, wifey wouldn't even have a sip of coffee/soda let alone alcohol or drugs. She suffered though a cold and wouldn't even take a cough drop... Anyway, they get Jr. out. All 1 lb 13 oz of him, was attempting a butt first escape which was not going well. It took about 3 days for the ring shaped bruise on his rear to subside. We and the doctors were shocked that in 2 months he actually lost weight, but were pleasantly surprised that he was able to breathe on his own and keep his oxygen #'s up. We stayed 45 days. The first day was probably worst, Mama was still in bad shape and couldn't get down to the NICU, was day 2 before she could hold him. I was kind of stuck, who do you support... Taking mama home with the Jr. still at the hospital was another rough day. We fell into a routine quickly and Jr did fine. Some days were better than others. He was 3 lbs 2 oz when we took him home.

This morning he's a bright energetic 7 year old and just lost his first tooth. He's still on the small side, wears glasses. Had hernia surgery at 1 and an eye alignment surgery at 6. Otherwise healthy and happy.

Enjoy the journey, each one is different but they all go too fast.

 

[Fat Nick]

I ran out of "likes," otherwise I would've liked all these posts. Thanks to all who have shared their experiences. It helps greatly to get other people's experiences because I know doctors often say things to cover their ###es, and it can sometimes get an over-analytical person like me a little flustered when you can't get them to give any sort of odds or probabilities. Just polling you guys has shown that being early isn't always a recipe for future problems.

We just got back from the hospital and spent another 3 hours or so with him. Still doing well. He'll open his eyes and look around intently for a bit. He gets tired really easily. I caught my wife glancing at a full-term baby who was in the special care area...She didn't speak, but I could tell she was thinking about how Connor would be if he was full-term. She says she doesn't blame herself, and she's a very rational person, but I think to some extent she feels responsible. She's gone above and beyond trying to pump to make milk for him so he's got plenty of food. It was slow the first few days, but now she's able to make more than he can eat, which I think makes her happy.

Anyway...more days...more progress. Thanks again all. Time for me to get some sleep.

This is exactly what happened to us. My wife at least partially blamed herself for our daughter coming early, and it would resurface every time she caught a cold for that first year or so.

Fortunately for us she recovered quickly and the self-blaming went away but I'm not sure how to combat that.

My wife is literally the most emotionally strong person I've ever met. She had a benign meningioma IN her spinal column a few months after we started dating. Thought for a while she might be paralyzed. She was calm and rational throughout the whole thing. She's just one of those people who thinks of others first...I sometimes I have to tell her to take a little time for her...I figured at some point she'd be upset with herself.

I think the fact that her milk came in quickly and she can provide more than enough for the little guy has helped her mental outlook a LOT. Much like Amused to Death said, she was just saying during this AM's feeding..."Just drink a little more..." while the little guy was wearing out and starting to go back to sleep. I think she'll be OK. She's a tough one though b/c even if she was hurting, it takes her a while to show it because she doesn't want it to wear on others.

 

[Fat Nick]

What team does he root for?

Well...that will be an interesting decision...I'm a die-hard Redskins (or Washington Football team with name TBD) fan from Virginia. My wife is from Pittsburgh and a big Steelers fan. I'm fine with either. I'll let him decide. Not a big baseball or basketball guy. As for Hockey...I'm a Caps fan...I can't let him root for the Pens. Gotta draw the line somewhere.

Oh, and college will be Penn State all the way since that's where Daddy and Mommy met.

 

[Fat Nick]

Congrats!

How many pranks has he pulled on the nurses?

I think it's more him playing pranks on me at this point. I'll be giving him his bottle...he'll stop breathing for a second and his blood oxygen monitor will start dinging...I'll start looking around, then he'll just let out a burp way bigger than 4 lbs. 12 oz. should burp, and be fine.

 

[Fat Nick]

Thank goodness for doctors and modern medicine.

My son would have died shortly after birth if some guy hadn't the skill to fix him up.

From what I understand, the ability to help preemies has grown exponentially in a not very long period of time.

Amen to that. After seeing what I saw, I won't ever second-guess a medical professional. Not saying that what they do is always 100% right, but it's a decision made with a heck of a lot of knowledge I certainly don't have.

 

[Wooderson]

Thank goodness for doctors and modern medicine.

My son would have died shortly after birth if some guy hadn't the skill to fix him up.

From what I understand, the ability to help preemies has grown exponentially in a not very long period of time.

Congratulations Fat Nick.

And the above is true. They are at the point where we'll equipped hospitals can at times do better care then the womb. Huge advantage to be able to help the mother and child if needed to take the child early.

 

[Guest]

Thank goodness for doctors and modern medicine.

My son would have died shortly after birth if some guy hadn't the skill to fix him up.

From what I understand, the ability to help preemies has grown exponentially in a not very long period of time.

My niece had twin boys at 21 weeks. When I got the news at work, I left without telling anyone and just drove around and cried. One weighed a pound, the other 1 pound 4 ozs. Each had 6 doctors and nurses then they were born and they stayed in the NICU for 17 weeks.

4 years later they are happy, healthy, and smart little ####s.

 

[ChiefD]

When you start changing his diapers, make sure you leave the old one over his parts until you're ready for the switcharoo. That way you won't get the firehose in your face.

I guarantee your wife won't do this at first and will get sprayed while you laugh hysterically.

I can proudly say my 2 boys never peed on me. I had that change-out down to Nascar type efficiency. Her, on the other hand, had to do the motherly cooing thing while changing the diapers, so the exposure got her wet plenty of times.

 

[pats3in4]

Thank goodness for doctors and modern medicine.

My son would have died shortly after birth if some guy hadn't the skill to fix him up.

From what I understand, the ability to help preemies has grown exponentially in a not very long period of time.

My niece had twin boys at 21 weeks. When I got the news at work, I left without telling anyone and just drove around and cried. One weighed a pound, the other 1 pound 4 ozs. Each had 6 doctors and nurses then they were born and they stayed in the NICU for 17 weeks.

4 years later they are happy, healthy, and smart little ####s.

This is freaking incredible. The medical community in general and the insurance industry in particular do not consider viability outside the womb until 24 weeks. I know this first-hand as we knew early on that our last pregnancy (the one I wrote about earlier in the thread) was in trouble from about week 11. My wife's doctors wanted to put her on hospital bedrest as soon as the insurance company would allow it, which was after 24 weeks. Her doctors also provided a timeline of likely outcomes depending on delivery date:

< 24 weeks: Death very likely (thus the insurance companies' stance)

24-28 weeks: Survival in question, neurological issues/delays likely (risk minimized as delivery is delayed)

29-33 weeks: Survival very likely, mixed chances with neurological issues/delays

34+ weeks: High likelihood of no neurological issues/delays

This is also why you hear 34 weeks as the induced labor/c-section timeline for high-risk pregnancies

While we were in the NICU, we met another couple who had twin boys at 23 weeks. One died after a week in the NICU. The other is facing similar issues my daughter faces, but it's an impressive feat he's even alive.

That your niece's twins were born at 21 weeks and are alive, let alone healthy, is truly a miracle.

 

[Fat Nick]

Morning all! I'm back to work after spending the last week at home with the wife and little Connor.

Connor is doing great. He's up over 5 lbs...has a doctor's appointment today. My guess is that he's 5 lbs. 9 oz. or so...up from 4 lbs. 12 oz. at birth a little over 2 weeks ago. He's taking his bottle like a champ, and is very active when awake, but sleeps well. Doesn't appear to be any issues that we can see thus far...just a happy, healthy, small little man.

Thanks to all who offered their stories. I sincerely appreciate the peace of mind they gave me in knowing that premature births are much much more medically treatable these days than in the past. Now onward into parenthood...ready or not.

 

[RUSF18]

Missed this the first time around but congrats on your boy and continued good health!

 

[Bottomfeeder Sports]

What team does he root for?

Well...that will be an interesting decision...I'm a die-hard Redskins (or Washington Football team with name TBD) fan from Virginia. My wife is from Pittsburgh and a big Steelers fan. I'm fine with either. I'll let him decide. Not a big baseball or basketball guy. As for Hockey...I'm a Caps fan...I can't let him root for the Pens. Gotta draw the line somewhere.

Oh, and college will be Penn State all the way since that's where Daddy and Mommy met.

This is pretty much the definition of child abuse!

Oh, and 'grats and good luck.

 

[saintfool]

Morning all! I'm back to work after spending the last week at home with the wife and little Connor.

Connor is doing great. He's up over 5 lbs...has a doctor's appointment today. My guess is that he's 5 lbs. 9 oz. or so...up from 4 lbs. 12 oz. at birth a little over 2 weeks ago. He's taking his bottle like a champ, and is very active when awake, but sleeps well. Doesn't appear to be any issues that we can see thus far...just a happy, healthy, small little man.

Thanks to all who offered their stories. I sincerely appreciate the peace of mind they gave me in knowing that premature births are much much more medically treatable these days than in the past. Now onward into parenthood...ready or not.

sorry i missed the news the first time around. good to hear everything is as it should be despite the early arrival. congrats!

 

[NCCommish]

When you start changing his diapers, make sure you leave the old one over his parts until you're ready for the switcharoo. That way you won't get the firehose in your face.

I guarantee your wife won't do this at first and will get sprayed while you laugh hysterically.

I can proudly say my 2 boys never peed on me. I had that change-out down to Nascar type efficiency. Her, on the other hand, had to do the motherly cooing thing while changing the diapers, so the exposure got her wet plenty of times.

Very good advice.

 

[Fat Nick]

When you start changing his diapers, make sure you leave the old one over his parts until you're ready for the switcharoo. That way you won't get the firehose in your face.

I guarantee your wife won't do this at first and will get sprayed while you laugh hysterically.

I can proudly say my 2 boys never peed on me. I had that change-out down to Nascar type efficiency. Her, on the other hand, had to do the motherly cooing thing while changing the diapers, so the exposure got her wet plenty of times.

Very good advice.

I had my first leaky hose incident on Saturday. He was pointed up at his face, and he basically blasted himself in the chin, then soaked his little outfit. He wasn't a happy camper. Nor was I when I got to clean the puddle off the changing table...but maybe it'll teach him a lesson (sarcasm...calm down). My wife nearly had a code brown explosion that same day. She said she was changing him and felt "wind" on her arm and managed to throw a wipe over it as it erupted. I had to laugh at that one.

Side-note - a few days before he came home, one of the nurses pulled us aside and said basically, "I'm not going to tell the doctors he's ready for discharge yet, because that would mean Doctor "Smith" will do his circumcision tomorrow. She does them quick and sloppy. I'm going to wait till the following day and see who is on call." How bad do you have to be at circumcisions that the nurses specifically avoid sending kids to you? WTF? Fortunately for us, our neighbor is the head OBGYN at the hospital, and when we asked how he was at them, the nurse said, "His circ's are like artwork. He takes his time and is very meticulous...about everything" So we just called him and asked if he'd come in and give Connor the snip snip, which he gladly did. Seemed odd that nurses judged how babie's twigs looked post-circ, but given her comments, I'm glad she spoke up.

How do they actually do those things anyway? They look horribly painful right afterwards, but the little guy didn't seem too bothered...

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Thanks to all who offered their stories. I sincerely appreciate the peace of mind they gave me in knowing that premature births are much much more medically treatable these days than in the past. Now onward into parenthood...ready or not.

Rule #1 of parenting - never disagree with the "parenting" your S.O. just did with your kid in front of the kid (unless, of course, it's abusive).

Once kids learn they can play you against each other...it's a battle ever after.

 

[fantasycurse42]

Getting pee on you (as well as ####) is pretty normal with a little one... Doesn't make it any less annoying, but it just comes with the territory.

My son at 16 months needed it redone... He originally had a circumcision (which even though they are tiny, I imagine it still has to hurt), and then had an excision 3 months ago... I had to pin him down, with help from the Doctors assistant - He was unhappy, the aftermath for the next week was the worst as we had to pull it back multiple times a day, and apply desitin to it. After a week I don't think it bothered him as much, but we need to continue with the desitin until he is 2.5 - 3... Every time we change him it is now a fight, I don't blame the little guy, but it is a pain in the ###.

 

[Fat Nick]

Getting pee on you (as well as ####) is pretty normal with a little one... Doesn't make it any less annoying, but it just comes with the territory.

My son at 16 months needed it redone... He originally had a circumcision (which even though they are tiny, I imagine it still has to hurt), and then had an excision 3 months ago... I had to pin him down, with help from the Doctors assistant - He was unhappy, the aftermath for the next week was the worst as we had to pull it back multiple times a day, and apply desitin to it. After a week I don't think it bothered him as much, but we need to continue with the desitin until he is 2.5 - 3... Every time we change him it is now a fight, I don't blame the little guy, but it is a pain in the ###.

So...what exactly causes them to have to go back and do more work?

 

[fantasycurse42]

Getting pee on you (as well as ####) is pretty normal with a little one... Doesn't make it any less annoying, but it just comes with the territory.

My son at 16 months needed it redone... He originally had a circumcision (which even though they are tiny, I imagine it still has to hurt), and then had an excision 3 months ago... I had to pin him down, with help from the Doctors assistant - He was unhappy, the aftermath for the next week was the worst as we had to pull it back multiple times a day, and apply desitin to it. After a week I don't think it bothered him as much, but we need to continue with the desitin until he is 2.5 - 3... Every time we change him it is now a fight, I don't blame the little guy, but it is a pain in the ###.

So...what exactly causes them to have to go back and do more work?

The guy I saw (Dr Dix Poppas, seriously) said that over 15% need to redo. For my son, he has a gigantic fat pouch in his pubic region. This causes his penis to get sucked in when he is laying down. That is what he suspects caused it in my guys case.

I'm sure there are a multitude of reasons, bad doctor on the initial job, fat pouch, or just bc whatever. For a week it wasn't fun, but now it looks normal and isn't a huge deal (not his penis, that is the huge deal ). You want this taken care of at a young age.

ETA: 15% reattach, not everyone redoes.