Category: Prematurity

Prematurity wasn’t a topic I ever thought I’d be covering on my blog. Our first baby arrived almost on his due date so when we fell pregnant again we didn’t think he would be any different. His due date was in January and so we assumed we’d have until after Christmas to get everything sorted. Little did we know that he was planning on making an early entrance!

At 8 weeks early we were thrown into the world of prematurity, one that we had no experience or knowledge of previously. He came due to Group B Strep and an infection occurring after my waters broke at 30 weeks so even though we had the heads up that he would be arriving sooner, we were still left in shock and in limbo. My blogs on prematurity cover everything we felt, everything we went through and tips to help other parents who may be going through the same thing. There was so much I wish I’d known beforehand and I wanted to cover these so I could perhaps help another couple where we had been left clueless.

Prematurity is scary and it is tough but premature babies are just the best!

How Can You Support A Family With A Baby In NICU?

Posted on January 3, 2018November 14, 2024 by Emma Reed

It can be difficult for people to know what the right things to say or do when a family welcome a baby prematurely. I must admit that before we had William I was pretty clueless about the ins and outs of NICU life and even though I have known of couples who have had a baby pre-term it felt as though if I asked lots of questions I may have seemed as though I was prying and I didn’t want to offend by asking the wrong thing. Now I have been in those shoes I know what a scary, lonely time it can be and for me, I found talking helped. I think we can all be a little too polite at times and perhaps if we spoke about situations a little more we could all offer and receive more help and support.

So, what does a family with a baby in NICU need and how can you provide that support?

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Our NICU Journey- Week Three (part two)

Posted on December 18, 2017November 14, 2024 by Emma Reed

Our NICU journey continues:

That night in NICU…

I was told about prem baby’s and their little noises but wow, I wasn’t prepared for quite so many groans, grunts, snuffles and squeaks! I wasn’t sure if I was going to get any sleep but you settle after a 2am feed and you go through until 4:30am then wake again at 6:30am. You show me that you can breastfeed on demand and wake for it ok. Your temperature seemed ok throughout the night– I checked the back of your neck, your chest and your back just to be on the safe side… I may have also checked your breathing a little too much!! I can see how I am going to be once you are home.

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Our NICU Journey- Week Three (part one)

Posted on December 13, 2017November 14, 2024 by Emma Reed

Another week, more hospital NICU visits to come and I begin to notice the toll it’s having on all of us. The tiredness, the worry, the stress, the juggling of normal life with hospital life. You can only fully understand all of this if you have been in the same position, it’s a whole other world. Having Jake around is a lovely distraction from the seriousness of it all but trying to balance his needs with yours is a skill I am only just about managing.

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Our NICU Journey- Week Two

Posted on December 6, 2017November 14, 2024 by Emma Reed

One week has passed in NICU and so much happened that it was all a whirlwind. We had the elation of your arrival, the relief of you doing so well but also the sadness of leaving you behind as we went home each day without you. I’m not sure what to expect this week but I have a funny feeling it’s going to be even more emotional as time goes on.

Today (Tuesday) you would have been 33 weeks if you had still been inside me. You are still teeny but still doing so well. After one week you have come out of your incubator and today I can’t find you! I walk into intensive care and there is a space where your cot is. A nurse spots me looking a little bewildered and she tells me that you have been moved to your very own room! How have you come so far in such little time? You are now in one of the cubicles as the four cot room– which should be the next step– is completely full. You are still on monitors to check your heart rate, pulse, and respiration but you are proving to us that you are such a little fighter. You are also off the caffeine which was being used to regulate your breathing. You will have to be closely monitored to ensure this remains the same but I am so happy that it’s another step in the right direction.

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Our NICU Journey- Week One

Posted on December 1, 2017November 14, 2024 by Emma Reed

So, you arrived early. I expected it, I just knew my body hadn’t felt right, I’d been saying this since week 24 and after my waters broke early I mentally prepared myself for your premature entrance into the world. We had the tour of Neonatal during my first hospital stay… it took me aback. We were shown the incubators and told that was where you would go straight after birth if you came early, it took all my strength not to cry. As a blogger, I have read many stories from others I follow of their premature babies being in NICU and I have been moved by what has been written but nothing can prepare you for for the reality of it all. To see tiny babies lying inside what is essentially a plastic box, being helped with their breathing via ventilators or under UV lights for jaundice is something that makes your heart sink. We were shown the two types of ventilators and the nurse explained why you may be on them and how they work… I couldn’t really take that information in because I didn’t want to picture you on one. We were told how the unit worked and how you would be under 24/7 care. I was shown the expressing room, where I would have to go and sit to pump breastmilk for you to be fed through a tube. Not the image I had for you to start your breastfeeding journey. I think I nodded along and tried to take the information in but it was a bit too much to process at once.

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An Eventful Birth Story: PPROM, VBAC and Prematurity

Posted on November 28, 2017November 14, 2024 by Emma Reed

If you have been following my blog you will know that I have been openly documenting my pregnancy journey and all topics that come along with it. What I thought was going to be a straight forward time and something lovely to write about suddenly changed at week 24 when I had a bleed. What followed was a second bleed, the loss of my mucus plug, the diagnosis of Group B Strep and then the preterm premature rupturing of membranes (PPROM) at 30 weeks leaving me in hospital to be monitored and the chances of infection being very high; a normal pregnancy had suddenly changed to one that was risky and quite scary. One that would lead to a premature birth…

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What To Expect If Your Waters Break Early

Posted on November 11, 2017November 14, 2024 by Emma Reed

At 30 weeks pregnant, the last thing I expected to happen was to have my waters breaking this early. The pregnancy has been a little up and down due to the presence of Group B Strep but as this was known about and I was monitoring myself for any changes I just assumed everything would be ok up until my due date.

I first felt something at around 7pm but as I hadn’t experienced my waters breaking during my first labour I just assumed that I’d had a little urine leakage… just an oops moment! However, ten minutes later and I felt the same thing.

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