Having my bay at 34 weeks...**UPDATE -HES HERE 33+3**

[katieandfras]

Helo all hope no one minds me posting here but would like some advice if thats ok??

My waters broke unexpectdly at 33 weeks on Tuesday night and I ve have just been discharged from hospital to be induced Tuesday at 34 weeks.

iIm notsure what to expect really. The babies weight is estimated at 4lb 10oz and the doctors said that its pretty much gaurunteed baby wont come home with me?

Does anyone have any experience of potential problems in 34 weekers?

I am Group B Strep positive (am on anti biotics for this) and going for VBAC also. Im just very worried about the risks with a preemie and Group B Strep

Also, I need to go out and buy baby grows/nappies etc - Are size 1 going to be ok for a 4/5lber and would you get tiny baby clothes? What clothes do they wear in special care, I feel totally unpreared/stressed and not sure what to do

Olivers story....

Thank you all for your replies - although today was the first time I read them!

Well after being discharged I started having contractions that were painful but about once an hour (this was at about midnight) At 5am they were suddenly 30 seconds apart and there was blood when I went to the loo so called L and D and told to come straight in

Crawled through the hospital doors - literally and once the midwife examined me she said I was 10cm and ready to push! At thispoint I totaly freaked out saying I cant do this hes going to be tiny and I havnt even had an epidural!!! I only had the smallest amount of gas and air and them vomited everywhere!! I was pushing for 40mins and out he came at 7.07am! Was soooo much more painful than I imagined!

He weighed 4lb 3oz and was whisked away to SCBU so I never got to hold him

I was suprised how big he looked - even though 4lb is small he looked like afull term baby jst skinnier iykwim??

Hes doing so well and hes feeding off me already - the nurses said hes about a week ahead of what he should be andare really impressed with him! Hes in size 1 nappies folded down and is under the UV so hasnt worn any clothes yet but I do have a few tiny baby vests.

I was dishcharged today, and trying to split my time between DD at home and Oliver which is making me a crying wreck as I feel guilty no matter wat I do. He is feeding 4hourly so Im up and back an not sure whether im coming or going at the moment

Hes absolutely beautiful and the spit of his sister, will put a piccy up v soon xx

 

[wishingonastar]

Hey hun my nephew was born at 31 weeks so bit earlier than yours but here's what I remember:

You'll need early baby nappies (normal newborn will be too big for that weight). My friends baby was born at 6lbish full term and still needed early baby as the others just seemed big and wrong fit!

In scbu my nephew wore babygrows (or sometimes just a nappy) and he was born in october so cool weather. They seemed to put blankets on if necessary but its temp controlled in there. I'd say pack early baby bodysuits (short sleeve, no legs) and sleepsuits (long sleeves, long legs). These are practical and comfortable for baby. Others may advise you differently if they have more recent exp but you'd be safe with these if you're unsure

My nephew was originally having to wait til at least his due date to come out but he made fast improvement and ended up coming home about a week before

Are you receiving steroid injections for his lungs? I know that's one of the main concerns at this stage as the last weeks are often where they strengthen lungs by practising breathing in utero and two of my friends who had threatened early delivery received injections for this purpose

I'm sure other ladies on here can give much better advice than mine but hopefully its a start for you

I hope your LO arrives safe and sound and comes home in time for christmas at least

 

[peanut08]

Hi hun i had my boy at 35 weeks, i was induced at 34 + 5 days due to kidney problems in myself and he was born on the day i turned 35 weeks, when he was born we had skin to skin for a while and then they took him to the neonatal unit to have a nasal tube put in. He came back upto the ward with me on what they call transitional care, you get a nurse that comes to feed baby via the tube as they dont develop the suck, breath and swallow technique untill 36weeks gestation, one to one help with breast feeding if you want it and we spent just under 2 weeks on the ward untill he had the tube removed and we had a good feeding routine established and then he was allowed home

He was 5lbs 7.5ozs, so quite big for a 35weeker, but he still needed micro pampers nappies and the only place you can get them are boots and mothercare. While he was on the neonatal ward they put him in their clothes, they said i could provide him with clothes if i wished but they found it easier to use their own and yours wouldnt get lost or mixed up with theirs.

I did buy him 4 tesco tiny baby grows and a pack of vests but i wouldnt go mad because they grow soo fast, he had outgrown them in 2 weeks most of the tiny baby clothes we were given from friend and relatives never got more than one wear as i didnt like to mess around dressing him up as he had already been though do much.
Sending you hun and if you have anymore questions feel free to pm me xx

 

[peanut08]

and dont stress too much i was totally unprepared for his early arrival, but it gives the OH's and relatives who feel useless something to do ie micro nappy hunting

Sorry i dont have any experience re the strep b issue hun xx

 

[katy1310]

Hi

My baby was born at 27 weeks, so quite a bit earlier, but I know a few people who've had 34 weekers. The estimated weight is good, and LO's lungs have had more chance to develop. Sophie was just 1lb 13oz when she was born, and she did fine - she was 12 weeks in NICU but I would imagine you wouldn't be looking at too long at all.

As the others have said, you'll need tiny nappies - our unit provided them, and Sophie went into size one when she came home. She was 5lbs 6 when we got her home. She wore clothes belonging to the unit as well, but they said we could take our own clothes for her if we wanted. We didn't take too much in but we did want her to have a few things of her own.

The steroid shots really do make a huge difference to their lungs - I hope you've been offered them.

Keep us posted on how everything goes.

 

[stepmum]

Hi, my baby was born just under 33 weeks..my waters broke at 32+3 so only a week or so difference from your LO.

My LO didn't have a very long stay, was 16 days in total but it did feel like forever, he didn't get to come home with me either however you are encouraged to spend as much time with them in NICU/SCBU as you want...we would drive in at silly hours in the morning and the nurses were fine with this. We also called the unit all the time and they would always give us updates.

They will probably keep LO in to make sure they can maintain their temperature correctly and are putting on enough weight and have mastered the suck reflex. Nearly all babies including full term lose some weight initially in the first week so thats a main factor in keeping them in, to make sure they put it back on again.

Oliver was born at 4lb 13oz and if they are estimating 4lb 10oz this is a really good weight for that gestation :thumb up: we used Huggies Newborn Size 1 for Oliver straightaway as we weren't aware of Micro Pampers at the time and we had loads of the Huggies already but the Huggies were fine for us (the weight range is between 4-11lb)

I did go out and panic buy loads of tiny baby clothes but I would advise against this initially..get a few obviously but don't go overboard as they grow really quickly providing they don't have any other problems. Oliver was in newborn in no time and I ended up wasting a fortune in Mamas and Papas. Plus they didn't allow us to dress Oliver for the first week whilst he was still in an incubator, he just stayed in his nappy. As someone said previously as well, the units have a supply of clothes that you can also use. If you do buy clothes, just buy baby grows and vests and make sure the babygrows have poppers right down the front as the ones that have them at the crotch are awkward to get on any baby let alone a small one.

I'm sorry I can't offer any advice regarding the strep as I have never experienced this.

Hope this helps and hope everything goes ok

 

[bumpsmum]

Hi Hun how's things now? My lo was 33+4 and was 3lb 11 and only had CPAP overnight and home after 17 days each baby varies tho I'd say little hats and vests you'll be surprised by what gets donated and bought for your lo xx

 

[lozzy21]

I had my LO at 35 weeks and had she not developed jaundice we would have both been home after her 48 hours of antibiotics. She ended up in SCBU because of needing iv fluids to help with her jaundice, when i was discharged from maternity i got a bed in the transitional care ward and once she was off the IV she came in with me. We were in for 6 nights in total.

My cousin had a similar experience, her LO was induced because of pre eclamsia at 35 weeks and i think they came home after 5 nights, again because LO needed treatment for jaundice. They needed no help breathing and all though they couldn't latch onto the breast they could feed from a bottle just fine.

It all depends on how your LO is when they are born, you can have babys born at 40 weeks that need help with breathing and feeding and you can get babys born at 35 weeks that while small can breath and feed just fine.

 

[PleaseBaby]

Amelia was born alot earlier but she wore a vest mostly. Asda do packs of tiny baby vests for up to 6lb and they are fine. Tesco do pampers prem nappies maybe just get one pack and see how you get on with them. Hope everything goes smoothly x

 

[Millnsy]

My daughter was born at 34+4 at weighed 5lb 8 oz so was a good weight for an early baby. She was in neonatal unit for 36 hours mainly because she had trouble maintaining her temps. Then because I had a C section and wanted to breast feed we were both on the transitional care ward for another 6 days. If your baby is born at a good weight, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't be able to be with he/she on the ward but I suppose it depends on the hospital and if they have the transitional care ward. I'm not sure if the reason I was able to stay in with her was because I was breastfeeding or because of the C section but we both had a bed the whole time we were there. It did take a long time to get her to latch on, about 6 days from memory and she was cup fed during that time.

I'm not sure if that helps or confuses you??

REgarding clothing, I agree that supermarket early baby grows will probably fit for at least a month or so so worth getting some. Tesco and Asda tend to have lots and if you have a large BOots near you, they have some lovely premmie clothes, including cross over vests that don't need to go over the head so worth a look.

MY daughter is now 20 months old and thriving, so I'm sure everything will be amazing.

Good luck!

 

[bumpsmum]

Wow congrats hunni so pleased to hear he is doing so well fab weight too he will be home before you know it! So what's this wee fellas name then? X

 

[stepmum]

Congratulations Hun

What a fab weight! Also looks like you've picked a fab name too

Wishing you and LO a very short stay.

 

[katieandfras]

His name is Oliver, we had it picked out all along as goes so well with Emily! Im still in shock and just hope he can come home soon

 

[gemini xo]

Congrats on the birth of your son. I had Joe at 35 + 3 days, he was 5lb4oz and was in special care for 3 weeks as he took awhile to feed. I also had group B strep with him, is there any proof of this can cause premature labor?? I have it again with this pregnancy and I'm at high risk for going early again.

x

 

[katieandfras]

Congrats on the birth of your son. I had Joe at 35 + 3 days, he was 5lb4oz and was in special care for 3 weeks as he took awhile to feed. I also had group B strep with him, is there any proof of this can cause premature labor?? I have it again with this pregnancy and I'm at high risk for going early again.

x

I have no idea? I know its more dangerous for pre term babies but I didnt have antiobiotics in labour or anything as was too late to start giving them as was 10cm when I got to hospital!

Im so proud of Oliver as hes feeding every 4 hours on the boob and not having any top ups so he is suprising everyone

I really just want him home with us

 

[Srrme]

Congratulations on your handsome little man!

 

[Chiclets]

It sounds like little Oliver is doing really really well! I hope he's home with you soon. It's super hard to split time at home & at the hospital & can be emotionally hard.