Hi! I would like to introduce myself.....

biesecke

Hi, my name is Elizabeth and I would like to introduce myself to this board.  My son Ethan was born at 34 weeks due to severe Pre-e via emergency c-section.  I had been hospitalized for 4 days before that to try to stabilize my blood pressure, and obviously I went downhill, and had to be ambulanced to a larger hospital that had a NICU.  Ethan spent 28 days there, he had some breathing issues and was on CPAP for 6 days, and also was jaundiced and was on the bili light for that length of time too.  It took him a while to get his feedings on track and he initially failed his car seat test, but we were happy to have him come home at 4 wks.  He has been home for 3 weeks and is gaining weight like a champ.  Breastfeeding never took off for him (was never able to get him to have a good latch and it was stressful to me) so I pump, but have supply issues so he is also on the Neosure.  

 Just wanted to introduce myself to everyone, it's nice to see that I am not alone in this journey, that others were right there too:)

DrRx

Congratulations on your little guy! Welcome to the board.  The ladies here are wonderful and very supportive.  I'm glad to hear that all is well with Ethan! 

pathfindermon

Congrats on your lo!  I'm new to this board also and have found it great!  Everyone is very sweet and informative!

ktrkate

Welcome and congratulations!  I'm sure you are thrilled to have Ethan home.  My story is very similar to yours, so I can relate to many of the things you mentioned.  My little girl, Juliet, is 10 months, was born at 32 weeks due to severe Pre-E/HELLP and we were in the NICU for 24 days.  A few things I've learned along the way that may be helpful to you are:

 Nipple shields.  Not sure if you've tried them, but J wouldn't latch on without one until she was 4 months (actual).  It made life much easier than if I had to exclusively pump.

 If you posted/lurked on your birth month board, stay on that one instead of the month Ethan was born in. I was due in October but J was born in August.  When she was born, I started lurking and posting a bit on the August board.  After a while it became frustrating to me to hear how big those babies were getting, and the milestones they were hitting.  It didn't feel like I really fit in.  Going back to the October board was much better, although, even those babies are bigger!

I expected to have different timelines for physical milestones, but I didn't consider the whole sleeping situation.  Juliet has yet to sleep through the night.  It may be a preemie thing, or she may just not be a great sleeper, but either way, I don't think I mentally prepared myself for that reality.  I find myself opposed to any type of 'cry it out' method for her now, too, because I am hung up on the fact that if she wakes up and wants to eat, I shouldn't deny her!  

Anyway, sorry for the unsolicited advice.  Congratulations to you again!! 

tia0314

Welcome and congrats on ur champ!

jcsntms06

Congratulations on the birth of your little guy! Glad to hear that LO is home and doing well.

damabo80

Many congrats!

Fwiw, it took DD a while to learn how to BF. at 1m (adjusted), through a lot of sweat and tears, she got the hang of the nipple shield. At 3m (adjusted), she was able to ditch the shield. Each of the transitions took about 3w of hard-ass work. The pump killed my supply as well. 

Are you seeing an LC? 

biesecke

ktrkate:

Welcome and congratulations!  I'm sure you are thrilled to have Ethan home.  My story is very similar to yours, so I can relate to many of the things you mentioned.  My little girl, Juliet, is 10 months, was born at 32 weeks due to severe Pre-E/HELLP and we were in the NICU for 24 days.  A few things I've learned along the way that may be helpful to you are:

 Nipple shields.  Not sure if you've tried them, but J wouldn't latch on without one until she was 4 months (actual).  It made life much easier than if I had to exclusively pump.

 If you posted/lurked on your birth month board, stay on that one instead of the month Ethan was born in. I was due in October but J was born in August.  When she was born, I started lurking and posting a bit on the August board.  After a while it became frustrating to me to hear how big those babies were getting, and the milestones they were hitting.  It didn't feel like I really fit in.  Going back to the October board was much better, although, even those babies are bigger!

I expected to have different timelines for physical milestones, but I didn't consider the whole sleeping situation.  Juliet has yet to sleep through the night.  It may be a preemie thing, or she may just not be a great sleeper, but either way, I don't think I mentally prepared myself for that reality.  I find myself opposed to any type of 'cry it out' method for her now, too, because I am hung up on the fact that if she wakes up and wants to eat, I shouldn't deny her!  

Anyway, sorry for the unsolicited advice.  Congratulations to you again!! 

 

Thanks everyone for the welcome!   I tried to stay on my birth month board and they also had a FB group after he was born, but it made me more upset to hear all these woman talk about their pregnancies and then talk about their normal births and so I left the FB group.  Since then I check out the board on the bump occasionally, but it seems everyone uses the FB group more.  It still stings a little that I didn't get to have that normal full term experience and that my baby is different.  I would rather frequent the preemie board and the 0-3.