Re: preemie-l new to group
AngieRuttr@aol.com
Sat, 8 Jun 1996 11:43:46 -0400
Hi Sharyl,
Welcome to our group. Your little guy sounds like he's doing great. I just
thought I'd write a quick note in answer to your questions.
My daughter Sarina was also an extremely early preemie (25 weeks). She will
be five in August. She also did very well over the course of her NICU stay.
Of course there were the usual ups and downs with the respirator, but she
needed no surgeries, and there was no damage to her lungs, eyes, or brain.
Today, she is bright, verbal little girl, and although she is a bit on the
small side, she is certainly catching up and was not even the shortest kid in
her kindergarten class this year! Really, her only effects of being born so
early is a mild gross motor delay (its pretty subtle, most people don't even
notice it) for which she was receiveing therapy, until our insurance co.
started giving us problems (that's another story).
I think its more common than "outsiders" realize to have a very early (24-26
week) preemie that turns out fine and healthy. I know that people are always
amazed when I tell them Sarina's story. I'm sure that you run into the same
reaction.
As for the preemie clothes, I only bought about three outfits, and Sarina
outgrew them about two weeks after she was home. I saved one, and
occasionally I'll get it out and look at it. She loves looking at it with me
and hearing the story of her birth (especially the part about "And then I got
better and got to come home with you and Daddy!!!"). As for the remaining
outfits, I sold them to a resale shop. Most do carry some preemie clothes.
You could also check with your NICU to see if there are some needy families
who could use them (especially in a big city hospital, a lot of the moms are
very young or economically disadvantaged). Another cute idea is to dress up a
couple of teddy bears in the outfits.
Again, congratulations on your healthy little guy, and welcome to our group.
Angie---mom to Sarina (25 weeker, now 4 3/4)