may go preterm
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???
Re: may go preterm
thank you
i will def check out those links!
i only bought a couple outfits, just in case he needs them. i know babies outgrow things so fast.
i also hope to breastfeed, or at least pump for him. i do know that preemies that get mothers milk gain weight better and i know that its much more beneficial for them to have their mothers milk. when i was pregnant with my DD i read that mothers milk is tailored to babies needs. however, with my daughter i never got milk, so i am hoping that i get it this time. i have been referred to an endocrinologist to check my hormone levels, the lactation specialist was one of my nurses at the hosp this weekend. she said that sometimes a lack of milk production can be a hormonal imbalance or deficiency and they should be able to track down what the issue may be if i have one.
i have a lot of research to do, but i try to space it out so i dont stress myself out too much.
My little guy was born at 31w 4d due to PPROM. He was 5lbs 10ozs. He was in the NICU 25 days. I was able to get both steriod shots in and I think it helped. He was on O2 long enough to get down to the NICU (it was a floor below l&d) and then just room air a few days. He was mainly there for jaundice and to learn to eat. Yes, the NICU experience isn't fun and it was hard leaving without him but I now have a beautiful and healthy baby boy. I would consider it a very happy ending!