To ask for your positive stories of premature birth (29 weeks)

[walrustusk]

Hello,

My cousin and his wife have just had twins very early at 29 weeks and they're currently in NICU. I'd love to share a thread with them about people's positive stories of premature births please! And any useful advice!

Thank you!

My friend’s baby went home this week after being born at 29+4 and very tiny. 10 weeks in the NICU and some ups and downs, but doing so well now.

My GS was delivered at 30 weeks for IUGR and was very very poorly for a few days. he only weighed two and half lbs. However, he thrived thanks to fantastic care from the staff and of course from his lovely Mum and left hospital at 6 weeks old weighing around 4 lbs. He has no long term problems, and apart from colds hasn't had a single illness ( hasn't needed to see a GP even once) He's now at school and 5 years old, he was reading before he was 4 and writes well already. He's normal height and weight. His speech and language were quite serverely delayed but are catching up

DD1 was born at 32 weeks and went into surgery on day 4. She's now in her third year of university and about to turn 21.

My 29 week twins stayed in hospital for three months. They are absolutely fine now, full of beans and you would never now they were premature. As for advice: the Bliss website is very helpful, so have a look at that. Take lots of pictures in the early days as they change unbelievably quickly - I wish I’d taken more, but I was too ill myself to do it. If mum wants to breastfeed, make sure someone shows her how to express properly, but if she doesn’t / can’t, don’t worry because the hospital will have special formula designed for premature babies. Best of luck!

My sisters twins were born at 27 weeks. They stayed in hospital until their due date and it was a tough journey at times but they’ve just turned 3 and are both happy and healthy.

A good friend of mine had her babies at 27 weeks... they are now very healthy and happy 6 year old children!

My friend’s DD born at 26 weeks graduated in medicine this summer

My God-daughter is a neo-natal nurse. The skill, commitment and knowledge they have is amazing and they are so desperate to send healthy babies home.

My niece was born at 25 weeks under very traumatic circumstances. I still cry when I think of my brother phoning me in tears after he’d been told to say goodbye to his wife & child (he had 4 small children at home too). That baby turned 2 in September & has absolutely no lasting effects. She’s been cleared from all her doctors(heart, brain etc) and is flying. Modern medicine is truly amazing.

My best friend is a NICU nurse, and the stories she tells are lovely, it's not like the 80's as most of the babies now live healthy lives, she has become friends to many mums of these babies.

My very large fully grown 32 year old mate was born at 24 weeks :)

I have twins sisters who were born at 28+3. They are now 16 years old now. Less than 10 weeks in neo-natal. You wouldn't know they were born early. Perfectly normal (and irritating teenagers!)

Wishing you cousin all the best with their new arrivals x

My friend's strapping 15 year old son was born at 24 weeks.

It's a marathon not a sprint, and they are in the best possible hands. Remind them that looking after themselves makes them able to look after the twins. My DS wasn't as early (33 weeks) but was in hospital until his due date which was a loooong time. Hospital food is expensive and rubbish, friends and family can help by cooking meals for when the parents get in or doing packed lunches for while they are there.

My friends wee boy was born at 23 weeks and is now a lively 4yo

My 27 weekers are now happy and healthy 10 year olds. Medicine and nnu doctors and nurses are incredible. Sending love for the difficult journey ahead.

Friends 27 weeker twins are now thriving 12 year olds who are both doing brilliantly. My own premmie (albiet 35 weeker) is a bright healthy almost 4 year old whom know would would ever guess was early and spent time in scbu.

You know your family obviously but if you haven’t already, do properly consider whether your family member would find a thread like this helpful. It may be lovely and reassuring for them but it may not. This is just me but with medical situations I only want fact based risk assessments from professionals and I really don’t like and feel quite unsettled and irritated by this sort of thing ie only asking for positive and from people you don’t know. I know you’re trying to be kind and they may well love it but it’s just a note of caution based on my background, albeit not to do specifically with prematurity. I hope they all do really well.

My 28 Weeker cousin turned 26 this week has won 3 prestigious awards in her (relatively new) field of work and regularly travels round the world in said job. She was poorly for a few weeks and closely monitored but never looked back once she left that hospital before her due date.
My Dd1 was a 32 weeker and is 8.5 and is practicing hard for her ice skating Christmas show.

I was born at around 29 weeks. I was the first to survive in Australia that small. The technology wasn't so great then to accurately assess my age, but that's how old they think I was. I looked like a hairless Chihuahua pup. I had photos with my mother's wedding ring on my ankle, etc. I had a broken leg from being yanked out in a hurry, and they didn't know what they were doing then. They assumed that I probably wouldn't survive, and that if I did, I'd have all kinds of physical and intellectual impairments, but so far, so good.. I'm 46 with three healthy kids and doing just fine. They have MUCH better technology and know much more about babies now.....of course twins complicate things - (My younger two are twins) but they will probably be bulletproof!

My twins were born at 30+2 weeks. In SCBU for a few weeks. Now both 15, and have had no health issues because of their prematurity at all.
One is a County Football GK, and the other a very talented Ballet Dancer.
Staff in special care baby units are highly trained, and some of the most amazing people I have ever met.

My twins were 31 weekers. A couple of days in nicu and five weeks in SCBU. No problems at all.

Both of my children where born prematurely (29 and 31weeks) wonderful happy little children now aged 9 and 6. No medical complications to speak of other than they both wear glasses, whether this is to do with their birth/oxygen etc nobody will ever know. Both are academic and working at greater depth though on the down side they both suck at sports

My nephew was born at 26 weeks and was 1lb 5oz. He's now 11, doing great at school, fit and healthy (no ongoing health issues at all, he did have mild asthma when he was a toddler but seems to have outgrown it as he's grown, touch wood). It's absolutely incredible really - neonatal staff are amazing and able to do so much now to treat/prevent any issues.

My colleague had a very prem baby back in the 80s - it was in all the newspapers as he was the youngest gestation baby to survive in the UK at the time. He was whisked off to a hospital hundreds of miles away as they were the only place able to care for him. She was left having to get several trains and buses to see him once a week as it was all she could afford even after a local fundraising campaign (no assistance available back then, probably isn't now come to think of it). He's a towering, healthy adult now, girlfriend, good job. Thank goodness there are more neonatal facilities these days!

A girl in my daughter's class was born at 27 weeks. She's also the youngest in the class (she was born mid-August). She's literally only just four (adjusted age) and can read better than anyone else in the class, she's also very funny and outgoing. A little small for her age but nothing else noticeably different about her.