May I join you?

gina_bo_bena

Hi Ladies!

I've been lurking a little the last few days and thought I would introduce myself and ask a few questions.  (sorry for the word vomit...)

We had our beautiful baby girl, Brynn Marie, on November 10th at 35 weeks.  My water broke the night of the 9th and 13.5 hours later she was here!  She was 6lbs 6oz and 20 1/4" long.  NICU checked her out and thankfully she didn't need any additional care and we were free to leave the hospital after 2 days.  We then had to hospitalize her for jaundice and then once her numbers came down and we got her home, her numbers went up again.  They weren't as high, but we had to have a bili bed delivered to our house.  After a couple more days on the bed she was free to come off of it (this was last Wednesday).

Breastfeeding has been, well, going.  I have mastitis (can you say OUCH?) and the fever the other night was horrible.  I'm on antibiotics so hopefully it clears up soon.  She does seem to be eating quite well, though.

Now for my questions   For what things do you look at her actual age and what things do you look at her adjusted age?  I know vaccinations go based on actual age, but what about developmental stuff?  Also, it seems she likes to just be held to sleep - do I give in because she should still be in the womb...and how long before that's a bad thing and I'm conditioning her?

So many things but that's all I can think of at the moment   TIA!!!  And I look forward to getting to know you ladies!

ps - how do I get the "preemie" badge for my siggy?

COmommy

Welcome fellow December Mommy.

The badge is located under Tools at the top of your menu bar.  They've just added a bunch of new ones.

 I have been told to expect developmental milestones to fall under adjusted age, rather than actual.  Some preemies will hit milestones on/around their actual age, but I've been told to not expect that to happen with everything. My pediatrician said she will go by adjusted age for the first year.  After that year, most preemies have caught up with development.

Mine likes to be held a lot too.  At this point I still hold her during some naps and I enjoy it as much as she does since she was in the NICU for 35 days and I couldn't hold her all the time.  You can never hold a baby too much at this stage, especially since they should still be in the womb. You have at least a few months before she will start to demand to be held all the time and the conditioning has set in.  Enjoy this time!

 

gina_bo_bena

COmommy:

Welcome fellow December Mommy.

The badge is located under Tools at the top of your menu bar.  They've just added a bunch of new ones.

 I have been told to expect developmental milestones to fall under adjusted age, rather than actual.  Some preemies will hit milestones on/around their actual age, but I've been told to not expect that to happen with everything. My pediatrician said she will go by adjusted age for the first year.  After that year, most preemies have caught up with development.

Mine likes to be held a lot too.  At this point I still hold her during some naps and I enjoy it as much as she does since she was in the NICU for 35 days and I couldn't hold her all the time.  You can never hold a baby too much at this stage, especially since they should still be in the womb. You have at least a few months before she will start to demand to be held all the time and the conditioning has set in.  Enjoy this time!

 

Why, hello, COmommy!  

Thanks for the badge info!  And thanks for the info on development during the first year - I guess I never realized it would take a year or so for them to catch up (not that that's a lot in the big scheme of things), but it makes sense.

It makes me feel better knowing it's okay to hold her a little more than what seems "normal".  I just get so worried I'm doing the wrong thing...holding her too much, or holding her to get her to sleep, etc.  Sometimes it seems if we DON'T hold her she wakes up.  I'm definitely trying to enjoy holding her, and most of the time I do, it's just hard at night.  I'm not very good about taking naps.

Hope things are going good for you and your DD at home...and thanks again.

haziedaze

Wanted to chime in about holding- you really can't hold any newborn too mcuh esp. a preemie. My DS also sleeps most soundly being held- so we hold him or wear him during the day and I've started having him in bed with me at night because it's the only way we both sleep between nursing sessions. Most sleep experts don't recommend any sleep training until babies are a few months old. All that sleep is really important for our preemies brain development, so do what works! Welcome!