May have to give birth at 32 weeks

[ebartholow]

I am looking for stories or advice this is my first pregnancy. and i am having to give birth at 32 weeks or 34 weeks. I know mine will be a c-section. but we are still unsure exactly how. they were talking about putting me to sleep but i would like an epiduril. but my biggest concern is I dont know what to except. and I dont know what to pack in a hospital bag for the baby. and what do i except from nicu. please any little advice will help.

[lprose12]

well Im glad they changed your induction from 24 weeks!!! if you having a c-section, then expect to be in the hospital for 3 days or so. Never expect anything in particular from the NICU. Every baby is different. I would say your baby would probably be in there from 3 to 5 weeks, give or take a week, and depending on how they do. Did they give you the betamethasone shots for the babies lungs? Demand those before they section you. Especially if they are scheduling it. they can plan the shots to be most effective for when your baby is born. Other than that hold onto your hats the NICU is a roller coaster! Oh I always pack myself brand new pajamas for after birth...nothing feels better than taking a shower and putting on brand new stretchie clothes after giving birth!

[ebartholow]

not to bad then at first they told us 3 months we could be in the hospital no they havent said anything about those shots. what exactly are they ? i know i had the rh factor shot. yes they are scheduling it. thats whats everyone says I'm really worried about when i will be able to hold her or see her. lol I'll def be doing that since we'll be three hours from home.

[lprose12]

its a steroid shot that helps develop lungs and actually decreases brain bleeds in preemies..honestly I would refuse the induction until getting them and ANY OB should be offering those to you. They give them 24 hrs apart and are in effect for a few weeks, but the closest to birth the better, so if you gave birth 48 hrs after the first shot you would be good! As far as holding it depends on how stable your baby is, mine was born at 30 wks and I held him when he was 3 days old. The shots are betamethasone, and it is a series of two. good luck!

[ebartholow]

i dont know if they will do the shot with my heart condition since its a steroid but dosent hurt to ask. did you at least get to see him ? before you could hold him ?

[MxMomma21]

I just delivered my twins at 32 weeks via c-section... They allowed me to see the boys right before they took them to the NICU. They were in the NICU for 22 days which was a pretty short stay from what they told me... The drs will tell you to aim for your due date... The babies have to stay in the NICU until 35 weeks gestation. They may or may not need a ventilator(one of my boys had one for a little over 24 hours the other was breathing fine without help from birth) They will have a tube In their nose to helpwith feedings. Everyones NICU journey is different but all of them have one thing in common... The unknown And extreme fear.
Things to bring~ for baby- you can decorate their NICU room/area... Bring a quilt/blanket for on top of the incubator(they give you one but you can personalize the room with your own) bring some onesie like shirts(they wearthem in the incubator when they are starting to wean out of it. Bring some sleepers but make sure they button not zip because of the monitor leads. My boys would go through at least 2-3 a day.
For you- make sure you bring slip on shoes( after a c-section you don't want to bend down to put on shoes to go see the baby) pants that are not tight around the waist. Most of my comfy pants had the waist band directly where the incision was(underwear too) maturnity pants/shorts are the bast way to go because they do not rest at the incision point. I wish someone would have told me about the pants thing... I wore yoga pants and they worked good.

Another thing... They will usually wheel you down to see the baby from the recovery room before they take you to your room. And bring a disposable camera to place bedside in the NICU and a note to place next to it fo the nurses to take pictures of your little one when your not there!
Ok and one more thing... Many people tell you not to worry about the size of the baby BUT when you deal with the NICU the more te baby weighs the better and less one in the NICU. They have to weigh a certain amount to be out of the incubator no matter how well they are doing. So eat as much protein that you can as well as drinking boost or ensure... I drank boost(the chocolate kind) up to 3 times a day... If you put it in the freezer and make it slushie like you won't taste the protein as much. For me it really helped! My boys were 3lbs4oz and 4lbs 10oz. I had Twin to Twin transfusion syndrome which made one baby a lot bigger than the other. Each day you keep them in is 2 less days in the NICU! If you can go to 34 that would be great! But each day counts! My boys are 10 weeks old and doing amazing!!!!! Good luck!!! I hope this helps a little!!

[MxMomma21]

And abOut the steroid shots ... You get one then another 24 hours later they are good for 2 weeks. They will rarely give 2 rounds. I had a round at 28 and another at 30. They hurt(not the needle the medicine) but sooo worth it. And I was able to hold my little guy when he was 24 hours old and then my bigger guy at 2 days old!!

[ebartholow]

yes this helps a lot thank you. and i'm so happy your boys are doing great.

[ebartholow]

yea the shots are one thing i am worried about cause with my heart condition they dont like me having steroids

[MxMomma21]

Your welcome and thank you!!! I will be thinking of you and your baby!!! With te steroid shots... I know babies delivered at 29 weeks with NO steroid shots and are happy healthy kiddos now. They help but are not necessary!! 32 weeks is good 34 without steroids is great! I wouldn't worry to much about them... You have too many other thing to worry about. Don't let it get to you! <3

[lprose12]

the 35 weeks gestation for going home depends on the hospital. My son who was born at 30 wks only spent 29 days in the NICU and went home at a gestation of 34 weeks 3 days. He was doing everything he needed to so he was let out early for good behavior! Also he was only 4 lbs 10oz. So it really depends on the NICU rules some NICU's say 5 lbs required others dont. Maybe request a consult with the neonatologist where you will be delivering! Since I knew I would deliver early with my first I was able to get a consult with the neonatologist and he told me exactly how the birth would go, and what to expect with their NICU. Definitely take advantage of knowing you will deliver early, I rupture at 29 weeks, but lasted 1 week so I got to consult with lots of docs and get the steroid shots before I had my son. After I delivered my son, they wheeled him over to me in his issolette and I was able to touch his forehead before they took him down to the NICU.

[ZsaZsa]

Popping in from Oct. DD and Multiples. My twin boys are due Oct. 5th... I think your due the 6th right? Anyways I am on hospital bed rest since 28w6d...today I'm 30w2d. I have a thinned cervix and some contractions so will be here till at least 32weeks...after 32weeks the docs are pretty comfortable that while they will be in the NICU for sometime that their overall well being should be good. Although 34weeks would be better GL! Im glad you made it this far especially with your first post of giving birth around 24weeks! Good job, Mama!

[sharn]

My twins were born at 32 wks 5 days. They only spent 12 days I'm the NICU. I did not have the steroid shots since my delivery was due to a placenta rupture and had no signs of preterm labor. They are 14 months old and doing great. I held Emma the day after they were born. I couldn't hold Megan till the 2nd day since she was in oxygen for about 24 hours.

[GeorgePerez]

I just delivered my twins at 32 weeks via c-section... They allowed me to see the boys right before they took them to the NICU. They were in the NICU for 22 days which was a pretty short stay from what they told me... The drs will tell you to aim for your due date... The babies have to stay in the NICU until 35 weeks gestation. They may or may not need a ventilator(one of my boys had one for a little over 24 hours the other was breathing fine without help from birth) They will have a tube In their nose to helpwith feedings. Everyones NICU journey is different but all of them have one thing in common... The unknown And extreme fear.
Things to bring~ for baby- you can decorate their NICU room/area... Bring a quilt/blanket for on top of the incubator(they give you one but you can personalize the room with your own) bring some onesie like shirts(they wearthem in the incubator when they are starting to wean out of it. Bring some sleepers but make sure they button not zip because of the monitor leads. My boys would go through at least 2-3 a day.
For you- make sure you bring slip on shoes( after a c-section you don't want to bend down to put on shoes to go see the baby) pants that are not tight around the waist. Most of my comfy pants had the waist band directly where the incision was(panties too) maturnity pants/shorts are the bast way to go because they do not rest at the incision point. I wish someone would have told me about the pants thing... I wore yoga pants and they worked good.

Another thing... They will usually wheel you down to see the baby from the recovery room before they take you to your room. And bring a disposable camera to place bedside in the NICU and a note to place next to it fo the nurses to take pictures of your little one when your not there!
Ok and one more thing... Many people tell you not to worry about the size of the baby BUT when you deal with the NICU the more te baby weighs the better and less one in the NICU. They have to weigh a certain amount to be out of the incubator no matter how well they are doing. So eat as much protein that you can as well as drinking boost or ensure... I drank boost(the chocolate kind) up to 3 times a day... If you put it in the freezer and make it slushie like you won't taste the protein as much. For me it really helped! My boys were 3lbs4oz and 4lbs 10oz. I had Twin to Twin transfusion syndrome which made one baby a lot bigger than the other. Each day you keep them in is 2 less days in the NICU! If you can go to 34 that would be great! But each day counts! My boys are 10 weeks old and doing amazing!!!!! Good luck!!! I hope this helps a little!!

Surely very useful information. My wife is pregnant and I will ask her to read your post. Thanks for sharing information