The Early Arival of Alfie....

[monst_18]

Hey Ladies

i wonder if any of you wonderful people can offer me any support.

In brief i went for a scan on 15th Sept which was booked accidentally ( should have ben for 34 weeks but came through at 26) they did it anyway and thank god because it showed flow was abscent from placenta to baby. long story short Alfie was born my emergency C Section on Friday 18th.

I love my little man beyond belief and cannot contemplate life without him now. I was dicharged on Monday and leaving him was the hardest thing in the world. I had my fist cuddle on Tuesday and it was Magical he snuggled between my boobs!

He is so strong and brave - he was 26 plus 3 and has been breathing on his own with a little halp from CPAP - He is doing so well.

We have been told today he has to have an operation to close the valve on his heart, this is linked to them being able to feed him some milk as he is currently unable as his gut is under developed. they say that this op is routine and low risk but i am feeling so sick and am terrified.

I have everything crossed he will stay strong and i love him more then i thought possible.

any words of advice would be so greatfully received!

xx

 

[nkbapbt]

Hi,

Firstly congratulations on the birth of your son, its sounds like your scan mix up was a BLESSING! As is Alfie!

My son was born at 24+4 weeks and also required the PDA surgery. It's very scary to think they can operate on such a wee little mite, but it's a very basic surgery. However, I am not saying this to scare you...but make sure you are very aware of the side affects. One of them can be that the babies can end up with a paralyzed vocal cord, its not very common but it does happen. And happened to us. It's cause a lot of issues. Just ask a lot of questions, and be really sure you know all the details.

Also ask if they will scope him by ENT if he should ever have issues crying (not very loud, hoarse sounding) or feeding issues.

Again, hon I do NOT say this to scare you. I just didn't know and it was an utter shock when they told us. They skimmed over so many things with us, and we just didnt know.

Have they tried the drugs that can sometimes close the PDA valve? If not ask them too. It can sometimes work.

Also the scar on Lakai's back from it, didn't stay little as they had said it would. It grew with him! And it's fairly large. Just a heads up. I know other preemie mom's with the same issues with their kids scars.

But in the end, its a quick and easy surgery. The babies do SO much BETTER after the surgery. And they tend to gain weight well afterwards!

It will be ok, Im here if you have any questions!

Congrats hon. =)

 

[MiissMuffet]

aww congrats on your baby, and i'm sending good thoughts your way xoxoxox

 

[Bec L]

Congratulations on the arrival of your beautiful son

I hope he continues to get stronger every day and is soon back home with you where he belongs. I am sure lots of mummy 'booby' cuddles will help a lot
xxx

 

[grumpymoo]

awwww congratulations on Alfie! i am sure he is strong and brave bless him, and it sounds as if you are too!

well done to you all x

 

[babezone]

aww congratulations hunni. i hope the op goes well and he stays a strong man thoughts are with you xxx

 

[Dona]

Congratulations on the early arrival of baby Alfie! My little Archie was born at 27 weeks and too had a PDA. He didn't have surgery and closed by the time he left hospital 95 days later. They did give him drugs to help. I have a journal that I wrote daily whilst Archie was in hospital. I know its helped a few ladies on this site, you may also want a peek through it. You can get it in the parenting section or click on the link in my signature.

It's a long, hard an emotional journey ahead, that I am not going to lie to you about, but it is so worth it in the end. These prem babies are truly amazing.

If you have any questions please feel free to PM me.

Dona and Archie xxxx

 

[premmiemum123]

Hello Alfie's mummy, congratulations on the birth of your lovely wee man.
I know this is a very difficult time for you. My lovely daughter Emily was born at 26+3 weeks too and is now home with us, discharged three weeks ago after 86 days.
Emily had a PDA however as she was breathing on her own with CPAP they decided to leave it and see if it would close on it's own which it did. Do you know why they feel the need to operate? They don't need to initially. Are you in the UK, US or Canada. I am in the UK and the policy is to wait and see what happens, then use drugs to try and close, then the last resort is surgery...so I was told by my consultant.
As it has been mentioned above, PDA is so common in premature babies and any surgery is viewed as routine however does come with side effects so best to ask lots of questions. It goes without saying, ask questions about everything and make sure you understand what is going on with your LO. Keep a diary and write down things you are told as they way you are feeling you won't remember everything.

It sounds like Alfie is doing really well breathing on his own. Little fighter. We will be rooting for him so please keep us updated and it goes without saying if you need any support or advice, please feel free to PM any of us. We have been through it and I think the best counsellers are the mothers who have been there. Nkbapt has been through a lot so is a great support to all mums and an inspiration with her LO more than we have.


Sending you big hugs...xx

 

[Marleysgirl]

In brief i went for a scan on 15th Sept which was booked accidentally ( should have ben for 34 weeks but came through at 26) they did it anyway and thank god because it showed flow was absent from placenta to baby. long story short Alfie was born my emergency C Section on Friday 18th.

Ooooh, snap! Except my placental bloodflow difficulties were spotted at an extra scan at 21 weeks, so I was being monitored by doppler fortnightly after that (at a new Placenta Clinic here). The ensuing reversal and eventual absent flow precipitated steroid jabs at 28 weeks and my emergency c/section at 29+1.

He is so strong and brave - he was 26 plus 3 and has been breathing on his own with a little help from CPAP - He is doing so well.

Aren't they such fighters? Our Andrew came off ventilator in the second week, and is now being weaned off Cpap. It's as if, having fought to survive adverse conditions in the womb, they continue fighting to survive once born.

I'm afraid I have no advice on the operation that you are facing (though it looks as if the others are providing plenty of support on this). But I'd love to offer you huge and our best wishes for your - and Alfie's - future.

 

[bumpsmum]

congratulations to your family on the birth of little Archie, he sounds like a real fighter. I agree with the girls ask lots of questions and dont agree to the op until you are sure its right for your lo. Im sure he will come on great and be home with you in no time at all x

 

[Foogirl]

Congratulations! How fortunate the scan caught the problems and they were able to deliver wee Alfie safely.

I'd echo what others have said about questions. Any time you aren't sure, ask lots of questions. Do a little research (but not too much as you'll drive yourself mad and become worried about things which actually aren't relevant) and write down all your questions. Otherwise when you meet with the doctors, you tend to forget as you are overloaded with information.

It sounds strange at this point, but try to enjoy the "moments" I always said one thing about having a premature baby was, although we missed out on moments like labour starting, her being born and on 3 months of pregnancy, we had a whole load of other moments. First cuddles, graduating to the cot, first time she fed, first time she opened her eyes etc. There can be a lot of great moments.

You also need to make sure you look after you. Trips to and from the hospital can take their toll both physically and emotionally. I found I needed to take time out from it every so often, just to remind myself the world was still turning and recharge my batteries.

Use this forum. You can guarantee, if something happens with Alfie, there will be someone here who either knows a lot about it, or has been through it too.

Good luck with it all.

 

[sineady]

Awwww congrats on your beautiful baby boy!!! hope the op goes well && yuor lil man stays strong!!!!! i love the name alfie

 

[dannigizmo]

Hey hun, firstly congrats on the birth of your strong little boy!!

Ur story has kinda mirrored mine with iugr noted at scan an emer c section.

All the girls have offered great advice so i wont go into too much just to say my wee Emma had the op on xmas eve after waiting since oct so if they can wait and see all the better. and ask as many questions as you want!! Do take rests and please dont feel gulity, its a bit of a journey and you have to keep up your strength. Emma was in for 249 days lol!!

Alfie sounds so strong and you will have good and bad days, they all do, we will all be here for you and when you have to take strength and comfort from your loved ones, do so.

thinking of you little Alfie xxx