Fight For Preemies

I’m going to warn you now that I have no idea where this post is going but I know it’s going to be long. There will be something special at the end so please hang in there with me!

When I first saw the Fight For Preemies Bloggers Unite badge on another preemie mamma’s blog I thought ‘Heck ya I can do that. I have a blog AND a preemie. Something I can be a part of!’ So I posted the badge up on my blog and waited for the day to come where I can add my post among the others to hopefully bring some awareness to prematurity.

You can read our story HERE.

We made it home on February 28th after 18 days of test, meds, a LOT of phototherapy for jaundice that just wouldn’t go away and a couple ‘bradys’ (bradycardia aka drops in heart rate). We were back a week later. Timmy got RSV. This is nothing new to any of my regular readers. This was a big wake up call. The whole time we were in the RNICU and they drill into us about the importance of keeping baby germ free I guess didn’t fully sink in. I knew he was fragile but he was so big by that point. Like Layla was when we brought her home. Like a normal baby.

Our second stay at UAB was so much worse. Timmy got a taste of life on the outside away from alarms and monitors and cords and plastic boxes. He wanted to be held. This time he couldn’t even come out of the isolette. He was on high oxygen and needed to stay in there to keep his O2 levels up. He was in isolation and the nurses had to completely dress in gowns/hats/gloves/and masks before coming in his room. He cried ALL the time. He just wanted to be held. I even rubbed all of the hair off of the top of his head because sticking my hand in the hole to touch him was the best I could do and it helped him.

We came home for good on March 17th. St Patrick’s Day was a lucky one for us. It was only 4 weeks in the hospital for him and 4 weeks for me but it was intense. After that everything was different. It took a long time to find our normal again.

Now he is 9 months old and BIG. Bigger than Layla was at this age. You would never know anything was ever wrong with him. There’s a good chance that he will end up with asthma and has some gross scaly eczema all over his arms and legs but that’s nothing we can’t handle.

Even though Timmy was born later than most preemie babies that doesn’t mean 34 weeks is enough time for a baby to grow. I found this info this morning on another mamma’s blog. Her son is also a 34 weeker.

Here’s a little look at how important those last few weeks really are for your baby.

33 weeks

Around 33 weeks a baby weighs a little over 4 pounds and has passed the 17-inch mark. They rapidly lose that wrinkled, alien look and their skeleton hardens. The bones of the skull aren’t fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for the baby to fit through the birth canal. These bones don’t entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

What else is happening in the 33rd week? The fetal immune system is working hard to finish its development. Very important antibodies are passed from mom to baby. A baby is finally beginning to practice the much needed skills of sucking, swallowing and breathing. A baby will work on these over the next 4 weeks so that he can thrive outside your womb.

34 weeks

A baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds and is almost 18 inches long. Fat layers — which will help regulate body temperature once the baby is born — are filling her out, making her rounder. A baby’s central nervous system is maturing and lungs are continuing to mature as well. In the 34th week, testicles start to descend and the whit coating that protects your baby’s skin is getting thicker (this is why a lot of younger preemies are not able to be held for awhile – the skin is sensitive. Their whole system is sensitive).

35 weeks

A baby doesn’t have much room to maneuver because they are 18 inches long and tip the scales at 5 1/4 pounds A babies kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he’ll spend the next few weeks putting on weight. Why is weight so important? Preemies burn so many calories doing so many things that we take for granted – staying warm, swallowing, and breathing. Also moving at a mind-boggling pace is fetal brain development.

36 weeks

A baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. On average a baby now weighs almost 6 pounds and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. A baby is shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

So you’ve made it to 37 weeks? What’s the baby doing after that?

Your baby is still gaining very important weight to maintain body temperature, practicing survival skills like suck/swallow/breathe, and patiently waiting to meet you.

Ok, now I need your help! I am planning a project to send Christmas cards along with little bottles of hand sanitizer in custom sleeves to families in the RNICU at UAB. Every commenter will have a package sent in their name. Just leave me a comment telling me how you want yours signed (just you, from your family, something else?) or if you don’t want to be a part of this project just comment and tell me a way that prematurity is a part of your life. Are you a preemie? Your kids? Maybe a friend or family member has had a baby early? 1 out of every 8 babies are born premature.

Timmy – Feb 10, 2010

9 months old and right on track