preemie-l Hello and New Mom Questions
Leslie Ramsey (lramsey@cappubs.com)
Wed, 5 Jun 1996 00:49:19 +1000
Hi,
As a new subscriber to the list, I thought I'd introduce myself and throw
out a few questions. My name is Leslie Ramsey; my husband is Philip. Our
twin daughters, Julia and Melanie, were born May 14 at 32 weeks. Due to
severe lung development problems, which we knew about from week 20, Melanie
only survived about 30 minutes--an outcome we expected, but it still has
been difficult to deal with.
Julia--or Julie, as we call her--is beautiful and thriving. She's up to 3
lb. 7.5 oz. now from a birth weight of 2 lb. 13.5 oz. She's on room air and
is building back up to full feedings (now 3 ccs every four hours) after a
bout with an infection in her second week, which forced the doctors to put
her back on IV feedings. So, in general, she's doing well.
The unfortunate news came yesterday. I know all preemie parents live in
fear of that call from the hospital in the early weeks. Well, ours came
yesterday. The doctors had told us to expect all kinds of potentially
dangerous development: infections, NEC, etc. But no one prepared us for
the news that Julie had broken her leg! No one knows how it happened (my
theory is that our little Rockette just kicked the side of the isolette too
hard), but they've got her in traction now (legs secured to a pillow and
immobilized) and expect no long-term damage from it. I worked hard at being
calm about it for several hours until the doctor told me that she would be
in traction for two to three weeks and that we wouldn't be able to hold her.
That's when I lost it. As I'm sure you all understand, I live to hold my
baby in my arms and I'm desperate to start nursing. Do any of you have any
experience with long periods of time during which you weren't able to hold
your babies? What did you do to cope/compensate? Three weeks seems an
impossibly long time to me.
Oh yes, I have a couple other practical questions:
1) When she comes home, at about 4-5 lbs., will I need preemie diapers
(disposable), how many and for how long? I know I can buy Preemie Pampers
by the case (180 diapers per case) but is there anywhere else I can get the
small diapers?
2) The nurses have told me not to buy too many preemie clothes because
she'll grow to newborn size very quickly. What will I need and how many
pounds will she have to be before she can begin to wear newborn clothes?
Remember, I'm a brand-new mom and don't know any of this stuff!
Thanks for your attention and help. If anyone would like to take a look at
my beautiful girl, her dad has created a Web page for her at
http://www2.gvp.com/philip/julie.htm.
Leslie Ramsey
Manassas, Virginia
lramsey@cappubs.com