Monthly Archives: December 2011

Actual Age vs. Adjusted Age

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Huh?

That’s exactly what I would have thought before I had Bowen. Now that we have a preemie, we are beginning to understand the importance of actual age vs. adjusted age.

Most babies begin lifting their head around 4-6 weeks, but for Bowen we take into consideration that he was over 7 weeks early. We don’t expect him to do the things a 4-6 week old baby would do until he’s 11-13 weeks. Thankfully, Bowen has already begun to lift his head on his own, but we’ll have to keep his adjusted age in mind as he begins to reach all of his developmental milestones.

Hopefully he continues to make wonderful progress and we won’t have to worry too much about adjusting his age.

Actual Age: 1 month/Adjusted Age: 36 weeks 6 days

All Mixed Up

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At 4 weeks old, Bowen officially has his days and nights mixed up! He sleeps all day and is awake most of the night.

I’d love to break this cycle now, but he’s just so darn cute when he’s staring at me at 3:00 am.

First Appointment

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Today was Bowen’s first appointment with his regular pediatrician. We were a little nervous about bringing our preemie into the waiting room of a pediatrician, but the nurses were wonderful and let us fill out our paperwork in an exam room.

Bowen got a great report! He weighed a little over 6 pounds, although he was weighed with his clothes on, and was 18 inches long. He seemed to be right on track with where he should be. His intermittent heart murmur, which is found in most preemies, was hardly detectable. We’ll have another evaluation of his heart when Bowen’s 4-6 months old.

After our long stay in the NICU, Bowen is a professional at allowing doctors to mess with him. The exam didn’t seem to bother him at all, and he slept through most of the appointment.

We’ll go back in a week to make sure his weight is still steadily increasing, but looking at these chubby cheeks makes me think we’ll pass that with flying colors.

3 weeks and 4 days old / Adjusted Age: 36 weeks 1 day

What Not to Say to Preemie Parents

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I found this on The Bump. I wish I could’ve printed this out and handed it to anyone and everyone. I know people mean well, but, often times, they don’t realize how hurtful their “advice” or comments can be.

 

The Worst Things to Say to Moms of Preemies

“My friend was trying to describe to her daughter-in-law how my son looked in the hospital. She said, ‘It’s like, he didn’t even look human! You know what I mean?’ I was so hurt.” —urbanflowerpot

“I had a lot of people think I was going overboard with washing my hands and using hand sanitizer, but I don’t think they know just how vulnerable preemies are.” — Rachie_B

“’They are in the best place for them (the hospital)’ was one saying I hated. I knew they were trying to be supportive, but it felt like a kick in the gut.” — Natalie_may

“I’m sure every mom of a preemie has heard these three statements: ‘She’ll be home before you know it,’ ‘Oh, she’s so tiny’ and ‘Enjoy your sleep while you can! People say them to make you feel better, but they didn’t have that effect’”– damabo80

“The worst comments I got were about how ‘lucky’ I was to not have to worry about losing a lot of pregnancy weight and to not have to experience the last, uncomfortable stages of pregnancy.” — BostonKisses2

“People told me, ‘At least you can sleep.’ Not only could I not sleep because I was up all night worrying and pumping breastmilk, but how on Earth does that make me feel better when my son is in the hospital?” — lemen99

“I had someone say, ‘It must be nice to have a nurse one-on-one. It’s like you have a babysitter 24/7.’ The nurses were amazing, but I didn’t think of the medical professionals who spent most of my time with my son as babysitters. Also, it wasn’t like I was going anywhere, I was always at the hospital.” — katie 4253

“I’ve heard, ‘Wow, he actually looks like a regular baby.’ What did you think I’d given birth to? An alien?”– jjilly7

“My sister-in-law asked if he was mentally handicapped less than 24 hours after I gave birth nine weeks early.” — Eiriksmom

“I hated it when my son was in the NICU during the first few days and some family members would say they were mad that we wouldn’t let them come and visit.” — jenmikw

“My dad always says the next time he says my son, he’ll be ‘normal.’ I don’t even know what to say to that, he is normal, he’s just small.” — lilstar2009

“Even if you believe everything happens for a reason, it’s a very painful thing to hear. No mother can fathom a reason for their own child’s suffering. Instead, people should say something like, ‘I’m thinking about you.’” — kaylaaimee

 

http://pregnant.thebump.com/new-mom-new-dad/newborn-basics/articles/worst-things-to-say-to-moms-of-preemies.aspx

NICU Day 23 – We’re going home!

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We received the best news this morning – Bowen made such tremendous progress and reached all of his NICU milestones and was released from the hospital. We couldn’t be more excited to have our little boy home.

Bowen left the hospital weighing 5 pounds 8 ounces. He’s grown so much over the past few weeks, it’s hard to remember how small he was when he was born. Our adventure in the NICU had its ups and downs, and at times seemed like a never ending journey, but as soon as we stepped out of the hospital doors our NICU stay seemed like a distant memory.

Our new adventure at home starts now, and we couldn’t be more nervous. How in the world will we know if he’s ok without the constant ding of heart rate and oxygen monitors? How will we know when it’s time to eat without a nurse reminding us of every feeding? How will we know what he weighs without our Biggest Loser/Gainer weigh in every night? Come to think of it, I think we’ll be just fine and we won’t miss a single thing from our NICU journey.