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E was born at 35 weeks. It was a huge surprise for us. I didn't even get a chance to eat dinner before seeing the doctor for what I thought was just a check up. My doctor warned me that he would likely need some extra help because he is boy, and apparently boys are lazy. When he arrived he wasn't breathing properly. They rushed him off to be checked out and give him oxygen.
I got to see him briefly before they wished him off to the NICU. Once I was appropriately taken care of and moved to mother/baby they took me down to see him. He was hooked up to CPAP and other tubes. I knew this was a possibility but I had hoped he would be ok first off.
While on CPAP he developed a pneumothorax (hole in his lung) so they switched him off to a 100% oxygen hood to close the hole. Once the hole was closed they put him on nasal cannula.
Our next big battle was feeding. He was struggling to get through his feeds because he was working hard to breath and suck at the same time. They kept his OG (feeding) tube in until they could prove him could take all feeds by mouth.
He was in the NICU for 13 long days but we were blessed that he wasn't in longer. My heart goes out to families who little ones need longer stays in the hospital or who have repeated trips to the hospital.

My little peanut was 6lbs 4 ounces, which I realize is a good size. I am constantly told that he couldn't be a preemie because he isn't tiny.

I love watching E grow and learn.

If I had one piece of advice to give another preemie parent : Just remember you are your baby's advocate and to be as involved as possible in your baby's care.

@Mrs. Tiger: Thanks for starting this! Sometimes I feel a little out of place because he was only in the NICU for such a short time, although it felt like forever at the time. We still battle with feedings here and there. He is EBF at almost 9 months actual but really struggles with purées and has no pincher grasp to speak of presently. It is tough to hear from my family how he should be eating 3 "meals" a day and taking a bottle. I just remind myself that he just needs some extra time and that's ok.

I can adjust this however you need, it's hard to keep it short!

I went into labor, bleeding first, then contractions out of no where at 23 weeks. My friend dropped me off at emergency while she parked the car and I had no idea where to go, ER? L&D? I wandered around while bleeding and crying until a pregnant woman led me to triage.

When I heard Dylan's heartbeat, I thought everything would be okay and that I could go home, but that first night I got up to 13 contractions in a hour and the next day I learned I probably wouldn't leave until Dylan was born.

The suddenness of it all was one of the most traumatic parts.

During the 17 days before Dylan was born, I met with neonatologists and was given sheets of odds on how preemies do at different gestational ages. We had to decide at what point we would want to intervene to save his life or whether we would just offer comfort care. That was the worst conversation of my life and it still chokes me up. I got two steroid shots to help speed up Dylan's lung development, the biggest issue facing a micropreemie.

Dylan was born at 25 weeks and 3 days and weighed 1lb 15oz, a pretty good size for his age. I heard him cry which was comforting and got to touch him before they took him to his already-waiting NICU isolette.

I didn't get to hold him for two weeks and after that it was another two or three for the second time.

He spent 5 weeks on the ventilator and during that time had heart surgery to close a valve that commonly doesn't close in preemies (a PDA ligation). He was on some form of oxygen for another month or so. We spent 143 days (nearly 5 months) in the NICU and like many others, feeding was the main hurdle. Dylan had severe reflux and his heart rate would always drop while eating and he had very low stamina.

But we are also the lucky ones. He had a 50% chance of survival and he is now 2 (adjusted) and a thriving little boy.

What I hope is that we start talking about prematurity, even though it's scary. I would walk by the NICU in early pregnancy and think, I don't need to know about that. Then I spent 1/3 of a year there. It would have helped so much to know what it looked like and what would happen if I went into pre-term labor. So I encourage you to take a NICU tour early and to ask lots of questions, just in case.

@Mrs Green Grass: wow! I'm so sorry that you and Dylan had to go through all of that. I can't imagine how hard that was for you. I'm so happy to hear how well he's doing!

Stories like yours make me feel guilty for having had such a hard time with C's comparatively brief NICU stay and issues, and transition to home.

I also absolutely agree with you about touring the NICU and including in your prenatal care considerations for premature labor / delivery and neonatal care. It's good to know what signs to look for, when to worry / go to the hospital, and what to expect if you do have a preemie. It's way too overwhelming in the moment to comprehend it all and have to make decisions. I would rather have been prepared and never needed the information, than what we experienced.

I wouldn't mind of mine was edited down. I know I can be wordy sometimes. Hope you are getting good response for this blog post.

Do you need any more stories? Here is my post from our time in the nicu
http://www.chimonkey.blogspot.com/2011/04/nicu-diaries.html

Emmett was born at 34 w 4 days (by my OB's calculations) and about 34 weeks by mine. I had to be induced when my water broke, and he was in Nicu for 9 days. Those days were such a weird in between time where time just stopped. Still feels like it lasted forever, almost four years later!

@Mrs. Tiger: btw I saw your latest blog post about your day! If you need any help with this post I would be more then happy to help. I really can make complete and thoughtful paragraphs when I am not up nursing at 1am.

I am glad to see other preemie moms coming out to share their prospective.
@Mrs Green Grass: When we toured the hospital here I made sure to familiarize myself with their protocols for preemies. We live in a small town so they aren't equipped to handle preemies less then 32 weeks gestation. If your little one came before 32 weeks they would be stabilized and then taken by life flight to a hospital 2 hours (drive time) away. Even after 32 weeks they kept babies on a case by case basis.

In high school I volunteered at a local hospital (not the one I delivered at). I was assigned to the NICU and I am glad I did. In a way it helped me understand the flow a little bit more, everything was still scary. However I felt a little better because I had an understanding of how things work in there. Although at times it was hard because I could just see the worst case scenarios in my head, I had to learn to believe the best for my little guy.

@Mrs. Tiger: i'd love to give a writeup too if you still have room. when can i get it to you by? this weekend?

@Mrs. Tiger: i can def get it to you by saturday no problem.