Topics Discussed This Month
I couldn't even carry him/her full term; the least I could do is...
advice from the preemie-l discussion board       http://home.vicnet.net.au/~garyh/preemie_forum
Olga writes, "Call me crazy but let's hear you finish the sentence.  Maybe we can all share the guilt...It's kind of cleansing to put it to print.

I couldn't even carry him (her) full-term; the least I could do is...

--Love them.
--Hug them.
--When they were small, hold them all day long.
--Never let a day go by without letting them know how much they are loved.
--Teach them responsibility.
--Spend hours with them doing homework.
--I still don't go shopping without bringing them a surprise.
--Let them know that they are two of the most wanted, most loved boys in the world. -- Peggy (mom to Jim and Jesse 30 weekers-17 1/2 yrs)

--Try to breastfeed
--Pump breastmilk as long as possible
--Love him more than anything else in the whole world
--Hold him every single day while he was in NICU
--Let him sleep with us
--Not let him cry in the night
--Tell him he's beautiful even if he's just a baby and had to get glasses ('cause he is beautiful anyways...inside & out)
Never leave him alone. -- Cheryl M., Mommy to Lucas, former 29 weeker now 15 1/2 mos.

--Notice that EVERYTHING she does is a MIRACLE.
-Thank God I have her when she wakes me from a deep sleep in the middle of the night.
--Hug her and kiss her all the time.
--Make others realize what a special gift God has given our family.
--Give her as much love and encouragement during those times when she's not feeling good as I possibly can.
--Wash my hands REGULARLY to keep her as healthy as possible.
--Have a special birthday party for her next weekend because she has been the strong little fighter she is (60 people invited!).
--Teach her all I can, as she grows, about how proud she has made me for being the strong willed little girl she is.
--Love her with all my heart!!!!!!!!!!!! -- Andrea
Mom to Alexandra, 28 wkr.

   --Hug and kiss him all the time.
--Let him sleep with me everynight.
--Only go back to work 2 days a week (still haven't yet) when I'm a single mom and broke but I can't stand to be away from him.
--Let his brothers hold him and love him all the time.
--Never let him cry longer than it takes for me to get to him!
--Walk around the house for hours sometimes holding him while he's having trouble falling asleep when my house is a wreck and my arms are killing me!
--Sing to him.
--Rejoice anytime he does something new! He's almost 10 weeks old now and he's FINALLY starting to make little faces at me when I talk to him! YEA!
--Kiss him and hug him all the time (did I mention that?)
--Thank God everyday that he's done so well and is happy and healthy!
--Do anything and everything that I can to make sure that he is happy and wants for nothing! -- Jenny, (mom to Josh 33 weeker)

--Spoil him rotten.
--Hold him all day.
--Spend all day with him just playing.
--Quit my job to be home with him.
--Do the best that I can to "teach" others about premature babies so maybe someday they can avoid the same situation.
--Spoil him (oh, did I already mention that : ))
--Have huge parties for him to celebrate "anything" that he does.
--Run to him at the first notion that he is about to cry. -- Karin

--Breastfeed - definitely! Which was not quite a nightmare but it was not the enjoyable experience it "should" have been because I never produced enough milk, and I couldn't take my lupus meds while nursing, which made me sicker.
--I also like what Karin said about educating others. I never thought about that before, but certainly I've done my share of warning expectant moms about the signs of preeclampsia. -- Libby

--Stay home with him and not work.
--Not let him cry.
--Let him sleep with us.
--Not expose him to any kind of day care. -- gmocha3
Page 7                   arrowback to index                     arrowgo to next page