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High-Risk Pregnancy
Desmarie13
member
preterm labor ... long
Desmarie13
member
i was in the hosp this weekend, was released yesterday. apparently, unbeknownst to me, i was in labor! i went in thinking my water was leaking, come to find out - i was having contractions 4 minutes apart and had no idea. i felt nothing but a little bit of back pain.
they found i have an infection and was extremely dehydrated. both of which had caused me to go into preterm labor.
soooo - they stopped the contractions with some meds, dosed me up with fluids (i took 2 bags in under 2 hours) and a bunch of antibiotics. they also gave me betamethasone (or something like that) its a shot to increase organ production in the baby so that if he is born preterm, they can be confident that his organs will all be fully formed.
they are under the impression that i will be delivering between 34 and 36 weeks. that leaves me MAYBE 3 -5 weeks!!! i feel so unprepared. luckily i bought the pac n play a month ago and have had it set up. so yesterday when i got out of the hosp, we ran to target and got an infant carseat and a couple premie/nb outfits.
im nervous that he will be born too small to come home with us. im confident that the drs know what they are doing and he will have fully functioning organs. but i dont know how well i will do with having to leave him at the hospital, im so neurotic about leaving him alone, in a hospital without his family. i dont forsee myself being able to ever leave his side! i got to bring my daughter home when i was discharged from the hospital - i dont know how i will be able to leave my son 
has anyone had any experience like this? HONESTLY how has it turned out? the good, the bad and the ugly.... im not someone that likes sugarcoating but i do like a happy ending! has anyone ever had the beta watever shot - how did it turn out???
i feel like im going crazy lol
This discussion has been closed.
Re: preterm labor ... long
I had a very similar situation. Pre term labor at 29 weeks which was stoped and I was sent home after having the meds and steriod shots. DD was born at 34 weeks, she came home the day after I left the hospital mostly due to the fact that I already had the steriod shots. Be greatful that you already had them incase he does come early, he will have a much better shot at going home with you! A friend of mine at her son at 34 weeks with out steriods and he still went home with her, there is always a shot but every baby is different.
My hospital had rooms for the moms to stay in the whole time their baby was in the NICU so they didn't have to leave them if they didn't want to, I don't know what I would do if I already had a LO at home.
I would just suggest taking it easy and staying hydrated. The longer LO stays in the better shot he has at going home with you!
Did you get put on bed rest?
they did not put me on bed rest per se, but it was a suggestion that i take it easy. i put myself on bed rest, as has my family. i have a lot of family support, luckily. while my husband is at work, i stay at my mothers house and either my mother or my sister help me with my daughter.
while im in the hospital either my mother, my sister or my daughters biological father and his mother will take care of her. i already discussed with them that they will need to work together while i am in the hospital. they did very well this weekend, it was a great practice for us all. i just hope it doesnt happen again for at least another month!
ty for your story! it is really comforting to know that your LO got to come home very soon after birth. i think that my biggest concern, is that he be healthy enough to come home.
My son was born at 34w6d. (I did not have the steroid injection) He stayed in the NICU 3 days and left the hospital 2 days after that. He never had any breathing problems. He had jaundice (very common in preterm babies) and trouble eating/gaining weight but I was able to breastfeed and supplement with finger feeding. You would never know that he was preterm now.
My friend had her baby at 33 weeks. He had to stay in the NICU for 3 weeks. He also had trouble eating/gaining weight and needed a feeding tube. So, every week does count, but the long term outcomes are great for these babies.
I was able to stay in the hospital the whole time he was there, but I could not always be with him when he was in the NICU. It was difficult, but necessary. Good luck to you.
Hi there! For me at the beginning it was very tough having to leave the hospital without DS. He did get the steroid shots at 34w, was born at 34w4d and had no problem breathing on his own when he was born, (lungs fully developed) but he would fall asleep while being fed and that was the main reason why he stayed in the hospital for 12 days. He also developed jaundice at the beginning so he had to stay under the bili lights for a couple of days. One thing though: The nurses/doctors at the NICU are THE BEST EVER! I felt very confident that they were taking good care of LO. At the end when we got discharged, I was afraid of taking him home with me, lol...but everything went great from then on, although breastfeeding did not work too good because I had low supply, but that was another story!
Hopefully yor LO will be still baking for a while. GL!
ty all for sharing your stories with me! its very comforting to know that there are plenty of preemie babies that turn out to be just fine. especially since i got the betamethasone shots to aid in his lung development!
i ddi some research and now that i know the risks and things to look for after he is born, i feel a little more relaxed. knowledge is power!
Lo spent 12 days in the nicu. She needed a little assistance breathing... Had the nose things in for a few days. Other than that, it was just to grow and eat.
She is perfectly healthy and fine now at 6 months old. Good luck!!