Do you ever wonder what kind of mom..

KellyMichelle

you would have been if DC wasn't a preemie?  Sometimes I wonder if I would be as protective of him as I am.  I know that I wouldn't be as much of a germ freak.  I know that I learned alot in the NICU that I wouldn't have known otherwise though.

ijack

I definitely would be less of a germ freak, I was never one before but now I'm a little out of control

MCGMK

I know I wouldn't worry about everything little thing he did.  I wouldn't stress out about weight gain and meeting milestones.  I probably would have been more relaxed. 

ijack

I also wonder how it will translate when I have another kid. If I'll be totally lax if they're full-term and not care about the stuff I do now. I can't even imagine not caring about weight gain all the time!

mrsjrmiller

I feel like our bond is so tight because my DS was a preemie.  I feel like I got so much time to get to know him in the NICU. I stared at him for hours and we had such great chats (ok - I did all the talking...) Unfortunately, I feel like if he had been full term, we maybe it would not have been that way.  I do feel like it will be different with the next baby - who is hopefully going to be full term but that situation will be special in it's own right too... All in all I think the fact that DS was a preemie made me a mom who is immediately aware of how precious life is... not sure that would have been my focus on a non-preemie.

lstaylor73

Maybe I wouldn't be such a Debbie Downer Doomsday Sayer about babies and pregnancy.  I'd be more happy go lucky.

lauraanddave

I don't want to say that I wouldn't have been as grateful, but I think that I might not have been as quick to realize how much the "little things" in life don't matter...for example, I was happy to be woken up every 3 hours at night by a hungry baby, because it meant that DD was home and not in the NICU.  When I hear friends complain about lack of sleep, I understand what they mean, but...when DD was in the NICU and I slept through the night, I kind of hated it, because it meant she wasn't with me.

TriciaJoy

I'm sure I still would have been anxious because it's just my nature, but I think I would have been less so. And hopefully I'd hve been breastfeeding and not running to the doctor every week.. and counting every gram of weight gain etc..

I think I'd have also been less capable. I took every opportunity to learn everything and ask LOTS of questions in the NICU so when we got home, I already knew his habits and how to do a lot of things I would have probably struggled through.

All in all, I'm probably a better mom for it. Though I'd have rather been a little unsure and had him full term.

hollyoid7

I feel the same as PP. I feel like I have this bond with my boys. Not that parents with full term babies don't have a bond. I just feel like I take nothing for granted. I worry a lot about milestones. I know I have no experience of being a mom of a full term baby, but I do think I am a different person b/c of my preemie boys.

Max'smom

I am sure both DH and I would be different parents I just can't really imagine how. I think that the stress of bringing home a newborn would have been a lot more stressful on DH if he had not had his "coaching" in the NICU for three weeks. And I am sure it would have been harder on our marriage. I know our next pregnancy will be a lot more stressful.