Talk me though your really premature birth.

[WorzselMincepieYummage]

I am currently 24+5 with a baby who's likely to be born soon due to pprom. He's currently breech and the consultants said if i go in to about before 28 weeks i'll be able to have a vaginal breech birth which i am happy with, if he doesn't turn after 28 weeks then i'll have to have a section and i am fine with that too.

I am just wondering how really prem labours work.. i know thats probably a stupid question but do they take as long, are they as painfull and will i be able to move around etc etc.. will i even have to push ?

My daughter was born at 32 weeks and my labour was as i imagine a term labour to be, i couldnt move around due to monitoring but everything else was the same. it took 4 hours, she was 4lb8oz and i went though all the stages and it really bloody hurt. This baby is likely to arrive long before then so i excect it to be different but dont really know what to expect.

Another worry is that if i need pain relief then i dont know what to have, i had meptid and gas & air with dd but i was so off my head for a lot of the labour i dont really remember it. I need to be able to remember this one as our baby's likely to be very ill or be born asleep so i want to be able to remember it, not feel completly spangled, I am going to need my memories.

Would it be worth considering an epidural so i dont feel anything which is likely to alter my perception or is it likely to happen so fast i wont need anything ?

x sarah

"all i could think what i'd missed out on, waddling, waiting to go in to labour, being excited, annoying phonecalls from everyone, squirming gungy newborn delivered on to my tummy, breastfeeding, eye gazing and all that - i really mourned the pregnancy i never got a chance to have"

I didn't know other people felt like that, too.

Nothing helpful to add as dd was born at 31.5, but wish you very, very well.

Hey Tinksmum - you're due so soon!! So pleased for you!

MummyW, how are you today? ((((HUGS))))

Racingsnake, are you following me around? I didn't know Wigglesnake was so premature... some day we should swap our childbirth stories in the tearoom.

(Sorry MummyW for the hijacking)
xxx

reindeer, I think we all do to some extent, I get cross with people who don't realise what a gift they have going to term - hearing your baby cry at birth (not waiting till they're old enough to cry), sleepless nights because baby wants to be in your bed (not because they're in an incubator and you're worried).

Thanks Jacksmama

TinkyBoo, why are you awake at 4 am????

Gah. I was just about to add a terribly self-pitying post about wishing I'd heard Jackbaby cry at his birth... cue much whinging and whining that properly belongs on the birth trauma thread - then caught myself, realizing which thread I'm on!!
Right.
{feeling stupid emoticon]

Ok, so why are you awake at 4 am????

Goodness me ladies.. what on earh are you doing up at that time !

Reindeer, this thread made me realise that i wasnt alone in mourning 'the pregnancy' too, I think we all do to some extent

Yes, I think it might really help to realise that I am part of a group who feel like that, not just an individual failure. Someone said earlier 'a member of a club you never wanted to belong to'.

However, on the positive side, after dd was born everyone commented how slim I was (only reletively, compared to all the full-term mums!), I have no stretch marks ... actually that it all the positive stuff.

But it is something. My mum (midwife) says that most of these magical birth / bonding stories are wishful thinking and selective memory. But then she would say that, wouldn't she?

I didnt get any stretch marks either and am highly unlikely to this time too.. whoop!

Always look on the bright side eh lol.

Good morning Wozsel!
(Well, it's morning here anyway .)
How are you today?
Did you have an ok Christmas? Did someone cook you a turkey?
xxx

We have eaten nothing but Turkey and chocolate for 4 days and i still have a fridge full of the stuff !

Christmas was tiring but great, DD has fully transformed in to Snow White, shes even got us acting out the roles, Dfs Prince charming and predictably i am the wicked queen .

Did you have a great day ?

Nothing to report regarding Baby W really.. i drove myself to the shop earlier as DFs ill and it was bloody terrifying i've not been behind the wheel of a car for weeks but i think i am going to have to take myself to the hospital tomorrow otherwise df will be infecting everyone, god knows what hes got but he stinks of sulphur !

Sulphur?? Eeeeeewwww....
{holding nose emoticon]

We had a fabulous day. We were completely snowed in on Christmas Eve so my MIL couldn't make it to ours, but DH was able to get her on Christmas Day. We ate ourselves silly [trouser buttons popping emoticon], had fabulous presents, and Jackbaby was so tired by 6 pm he slept from then until 9 am the next morning, LOL!

at driving - must have been scary... do you have another scan tomorrow?

If you happen to be bored at any time ( - don't know why you would be but hey-ho) you could pop in to this thread. It reads like a play... some day we hope to make a movie out of it!

Rotten eggs it is, the whole upstairs reeks. I think i might be spending the night on the sofa.

You got snowed in !? i am JEALOUS ! I dont ever remember a white christmas

No scan tomorrow, it's just day assessment tomorrow and then the dopplar scan on wednesday then on friday its the big 28 weeks !

whoop whoop !

Oh yes, the West Coast got the hugest snowfall we've had since the 60's. There were metres of snow piled up in parking lots and the sides of the streets. The temps have gone up quite a lot since Friday and now it's all melting... not looking nearly as nice, pooooooo...

So what happens at 28 weeks?

Well i dont know really..Nothing specific i suppose but they talk as if 28 weeks is some miracle time when it all starts glowing rosy.. I know thats not the case but hupefully after then baby wouldnt have to fight quite so hard because he'd be a bit more developed if you know what i mean, his can put all his energies in to growing and then using his lungs, i imagine the further along i get the less effort he'll have to just puting to just staying alive. 24 weeks seemed like a massive milestone and 28 weeks does too, 30 weeks will because thats when i prom'd with DD and they told me then that most babies born at that gestation do fine. 32 weeks would be amazing and if i get to the section date at 34 weeks we're in completly unknown territory so i dont know how i'll feel then, i cant think that far ahead though really.

slushy snow, not i am not jealous of that i have to admit !

Oh the slush was awful today, I took my parents into Vancouver (about an hour's drive west of where I live) to do the scenic drive around University of British Columbia, and that was fine, you can see the ocean from UBC, gorgeous - but when we tried to park in some side streets to walk the beach we nearly got stuck three times in a row. Blergh.
Where do you live that you never have white Christmases?

I'm not sleeping well at the moment because of the pain I'm in. I slept really well last night in hospital but I'd gone to bed on Co-Dydramol so I think I know what I need to do!

I think not hearing your baby cry because of their age is suitable for this thread, it's all part of the premature birth experience.

racingsnake I'm cutting new stretchmarks because I'm further on, but I'm over the moon because it means I am further on. I agree with you about your mother. My first daughter was born alive at 20 weeks and it was the best birth experience of the two. I had the magical bonding, hormone rush etc when she was born. It wasn't selective, Mum comments on it saying I looked like I'd been given the most amazing thing in the world. It doesn't happen with every birth, but it does happen, it's to do with being in the right zone and building up the hormones naturally over the labour. I had such a surge I was desperate to put her on the breast, it's like my whole body was telling me what to do and I believe it's all part of it. When a mother is exhausted after the birth it makes sure she is going to protect and nourish the baby.

I guess I'd better explain why I was in hospital again. I started having contractions again last night, got to two minutes and as I've had mini-shows every day since Christmas day we thought we'd better get checked out. I was registering on the chart but same old story, I wasn't dilating! So up to the ward, nil-by-mouth because I'd had Heparin within 12 hours so would need a GA until I'd passed 12 hours. They put me back on the monitor before I went to sleep and it was showing quiet (although I could feel them, I think the ward CTGs, which are older, don't pick up the contractions so well). This morning everything seemed quiet so they put me back on and I was having contractions!

I had a scan booked for this morning anyway so I went to that and to see my consultant. FiFi has only put on 2oz in the last 2 weeks so is now officially IUGR and on close monitoring (three scans/CTG a week and a repeat growth scan in two weeks). If I don't go into proper labour or her weight doesn't get worse then I will be delivered three weeks today.

I think the IUGR is what has kept her inside so long, I don't think my body realises that I have gone so long as she is so small. She is only 4lb 15oz which is well off the bottom of the chart and probably not going to put on more than about half a lb in the next three weeks.

Oh Tinsel, I hope FiFi will put on a bit more weight!! Having said that, I was born at 37 weeks weighing 5lb 5 oz.
Is Tink the first daughter you're talking about? I don't know your whole story and I'm almost afraid to ask [scared emoticon] because, while I obviously haven't read every post you've ever done ("I am not a stalker, after all" emoticon ), the only child I've seen you mention is Tink... don't answer this question if it's nosy or distressing you, ok?

Got to dash but wanted to send you lots of positive "keep growing baby" vibes to you Tinkerbellesmum- and I hope you get an extra couple of weeks if possible and the contractions settle down. DD was born at 5lb 8oz which was a bit small for her gestation but she seemed enormous to me after DS (3lb), and as she was over the 36 week mark she only needed a few whiffs of oxygen (no CPAP etc) so it was a very different experience to that of an earlier prem. She did need a week in SCBU because she was grunty at birth, and so they have to investigate (so she was on TPN & antibiotics for a couple of days through a line in her head, until they could rule out infection) and she didn't take to feeding straight away so was ng tube fed for 5 days- but then with the aid of cup feeding and then nipple shields we eventually got her breastfeeding and we left the hospital together on her 8th day of life
Hope you manage to get some rest, even if only cat naps.

Worszel- how are you doing? Still sending lots of positive vibes your way!

(ok that post was longer than I'd anticipated, I really can't do "succinct"! )

I had a little girl before Tink, Lily-Hope, she was born alive at 20 weeks. I do speak about her on here sometimes but obviously she doesn't come into many discussions. If you search her name you'll find a post with a link to The Mirror. I'd post it myself but I'm not on my own PC.

I can't believe how she's not much bigger than Tink was and she's already 4 weeks older. She won't get much bigger than 5 1/2 lb. I'm expecting some NNU time, but I will make sure she comes to me first! She's not going anywhere till Mummy has had a cuddle and she's had a feed (more importantly, of course!)

Got to tell you this, I have a little girl looking over my shoulder:

Father Christmas smiling
Father Christmas say cheese
Sad Father Christmas
Father Christmas singing

(((((HUGS))))) to you TinksMum, I guess that answers my question. Gosh, people on here have gone through such horrible times, it makes my own concerns seem really trivial somtimes!!! Which is good because every once in a while a different perspective can be useful! I hope you're feeling better, and less pain today!!

Worzsel, we'll be away overnight, will check in tomorrow evening (by which time it will be 2009 where you are!) - have a peaceful couple of days, hope DH and DD are feeling better, and love to you and Baby W!!

Just found this thread after nosing around in the forum for something else. I have an update from Worzsel that I put on her thread in the Pregnancy forum so I'll just do a quick cut and paste.

Hi all I'm a friend of Worzsel and have been given the task of updating this lovely thread . I know that a lot of you have been popping on regularly to show your support and that it means a lot to Sarah, so please keep following her story.

So, to the update ...

Sarah went to hosp yesterday morning after what she suspected was a show and also contractions in the night. The contractions stopped during the day but came back last night, so they were going to take out the stitch and let Sarah have a go at a breech birth. However it seems that the plans have changed and a CS is imminent, with a decision being made shortly as to what type of cut will be used. I know that Sarah is ready for this to get started now, but understandably apprehensive about the CS as they've suggested a classic cut in the past.

So in short, three things to pray for ladies:

• Nice strong lungs
• A fighting fit little boy
• A successful CS staying well away from a classic incision!

I have everything crossed, no one deserves everything to go right like Sarah does, so hopefully today will be a great end to a very shitty year.

Thanks so much for the update, wishing Sarah and baby W the very best. FWIW I was advised that my CS could be a classical section - I think it is standard to advise you of this. In the end it wasn't necessary.

((((((((Hugs)))))))))

Birth Announcement!!

Little baby George - 2lb 2oz, born at 10:58 by EMCS after placental abruption. Both mother AND baby doing well, George is breathing on his own!

I shall leave the rest for Worzsel to update, don't want to steal her glory!

Wishing little George the very best for the journey ahead.....and his brave mummy

xxxxxxx