hi

your baby will probebly be in a incubator for a while an the hospital will have prem clothes for you to borrow that other parents have donated most parents wait untill their baby goes into a cot to buy clothes for them. the hospital will also provide nappies for the first few days but pampers mirco would prob fit your baby.

you need to be prepared for all the machines and noise from alarms which can be daunting but all the staff will be very helpful and explain what is happening you may even be shown around the nnu before your baby is born

as for bonding you will be taught to do an all care which is basicaly topping and tailing and how to tube feed your baby so you can be involved in his/her care

kangaroo care may be offered if not ask as, as long as your baby is stable this is fantastic for both of you it involves your baby in just a nappy and may be a hat being placed o your chest we normally place them under moms jumper this is great for bonding and helps milk production .. you may be asked to express breast milk for your baby which is good for his/her gut and is prefered to formulla for prem babies

good luck and try not to worry remember the nurses are there to help and support you and wont have expected you to be prepared fo your baby being prem which we understand is a big shock and often very hard to come to terms with

xx all the best for you and your little one xx

Hiya

I'm sorry you are feeling so bewildered I remember the feeling well.  My waters went sometime before 18 weeks (only picked up on a scan) and we were told our baby would arrive within the next few weeks.  Well he held on another 11 weeks till i was 29+6.

He was in hosp for 8 weeks but home perfectly healthy now.

Don't worry about buying anything initially as baby won't be dressed for a bit if in incubator and if they do dress him/her they have tons of clothes anyway until someone pops out to get you some.  I did buy some up to 5lb size from Next which he didn't wear till he was home but it made me feel more prepared.  I ended up in mothercare as they did up to 3lb clothes although at your gestation you shouldn't need them quite this tiny!

Good luck and PM me if you need to chat

Mandy xxx

Aww thank you he definitely is a very happy little baby.

Good luck and my fingers are crossed that everything works out well for you.  I don't get on here that much anymore but please pm me when you have had your baby so I can see a photo.

Sarah and Morgan xxxx

Hi Sarah & Morgan (Just had a look at Morgan's pics and he is a handsome chappy!!!)

Thanks for your advice...I am starting to feel a lot better now I have a better understanding of how it all works!!

At least a suppose I have been lucky to be aware that my baby will be early.

Will start sleeping with a little teddy tonight x x x x x x x

Sorry forgot to mention that I took a book in to scbu with me to read to Morgan so he could hear my voice and yes the teddy is a great idea Morgan had his in his cot from day one.  Mothercare does a fab tiny very soft little bear that he had and still has in his cot now.

Sarah and Morgan xxxx

Hi hun my lo was born at 34 weeks as my waters broke and he just arrived!!!!  I didn't have anything so it is a great idea to prepare!  My sister bought me a load of very small clothes from Mothercare and they fitted perfectly and definitely loads of tiny nappies.

Morgan was in scbu for 12 days but I went in to feed him at every feed and changed every nappy, etc so please don't worry about bonding as they will do everything they can to get you both together.

If you wanna chat about my prem birth and scbu experience please let me know.

Morgan is now 14 weeks old and is doing everything a three month old baby should be doing apparently (I wouldn't know as he is my first - he did have an older sister but we lost her last year at 21 weeks).

I wish you all the luck in the world and keep us posted.

Good luck.

Sarah and Morgan xxxxx

Thank you Laura & Carley...........Its so important to me to get feedback from you, I am very grateful!!!

We have a mothercare world about 15 minutes away so will visit them tomorrow....great idea about the teddy and I have been reading into kangaroo care.

Life never turns out like you expect hey!!!!!

Will keep you posted, and BIG thanks again............

Love Kelly x xx x x {l)

Congratulations on your impending arrival!! My waters went at 33wks and i was induced, like you it all came as a big shock as it was my first and she came before the antenatal classes so i felt even more clueless!!

Sophie spent 9 days in scbu, not for anything serious, temperature control, jaundice, blood sugar levels and feeding. But it is still quite daunting, but the staff are brilliant.

My suggestion would be for you to pick a teddy or an item of clothing and sleep with it for a while so that it gets your smell, you can then pop it in the incubator or cot with your little one and they can still smell you even when you're not there.

As the previous poster said go for kangaroo care, its great for bonding and dad's can do it too!!

When Sophie was in the incubator all she was wearing was a vest, so i would also suggest going to Mothercare and getting a back of early baby vests, if there isn't a mothercare near you pm me and i can pop a couple in the post to get you started!!

She also got very dry lips when she was in the incubator, especially under the jaundice lamps, so a little pot of vaseline might be an idea aswell, but you'll find that the scbu will have everything you need to start with, and you'll soon come to realise what you need. I found that popping into town to get here a few bits when she was asleep a good idea. It got me out of the hospital for a hour or so.
I was discharged from hospital before Sophie and went up to see her every morning and stayed until the evening. It get's very tiring, don't forget that you will just of had a baby and need time to recover aswell.  Hth x

Aww my first baby was prem to came as a big shock!! adams we found very good for some prem baby clothes and http://www.earlybaby.co.uk/acatalog/index.html they do really little clothes.

Its a scary time but my waters started to break at 32 weeks and it took only a few days for them to fully go despite being a tiny little thing the only thing my ds had to be monitored in scbu for was his jaundice, temp and obviously learning to bottle feed, 2 weeks later he was home and keeping me up all night

and don't worry yourself to much about having everything your scbu will have everything and you'll then know if theres any extra bits you need to pick up

xx

Thanks for replying Carley......it's such a scary time. This is my first baby, and we have been waiting for this for such a long time!!!!

yes it was mostly what clothes (my heads in a whirl), will have to pop out and get some prem. bits and pieces.

I do want to meet my baby...would just like to hang on in there for another couple of weeks!!!!

Thanks again

Kelly x x x x x

aww hope it all goes well for you!, when lo's in scbu you will be able to do cares and you could also request to do kangaroo care when able we did alot of that.

what do you mean to take with you, we took some prem nappies, and babygro's vests and a hat cause my ds had trouble keeping his temperature.

feel free to ask anything else though

good luck

Carley and Josh xxx

Hello all......This is my first time on here so please be gentle

My waters started leaking on Wed morning, 31+4 days and are still leaking a little now..............I spent a day and a half in hospital where they gave me steriod injections and antibiotics. They monitored me and baby throughout. I have been sent home with a cause of anti's and have to go back twice a week, but the doctor said that in cases like this baby generally comes anything up to 9 days after!!!!!!

I am still in shock...in my perfect little world (in my head!!!) I thought that I would go full term etc.......but it doesn't look like this will be the case....

I would like to ask a few questions from all you ladies that have had similar experiences..........

What should I but to prepare, e.g. clothing etc?

I'm concerned about bonding with baby because of the thought of having to spend time in scbu??

These might seem silly questions but I am trying to prep myself as much as possible....Any feedback would be greatly received!!!!!

Look forward to hearing from you.......

cheers Kelly x x x xx x x