KiasuParents - Parenting in Singapore

My DS is a premie and it was quite tough caring for him. In fact, my hubby just reminded me that he was 1.26kg at birth, and not 1.62kg as I 'remembered'????

I cried pails looking at how frail he was and felt that I am a lousy mum.

Never really get to talk to other mums about this topic though....

yes prematured babies are really poor things, so small & frail.

When my DS was borned, he was warded in ICU for 2 days. And all around him were prematured babies in incubators. Although I was sad that my DS was in ICU, but compared to the other babies ... he was in much better condition.

My elder brother was borned prematured too. He is a full growth man now, a graduate, set up a firm with some friends and a father of 3 wonderful children.

Give your DS TLC, I'm sure he would grow up fine too.

Thanks tankee, that was really sweet

My DS was in ICU for almost a month.
Luckily he was breathing on his own and was kept there due to his weight.
For those that have to undergo surgery, really heartpain

Hi lovekidsverymuch,
TLC - tender loving care

AuntieM, my second and third babes are also premmies.

DD2 didn't have to stay in NICU but DD3 was there for a week because of her birthweight. And because she lost some weight prior to discharge, we couldn't get her her jabs. Had to go the the paeds 2 weeks later to get that done.

When she came home, she was small enough to fit into a face basin (you know, the small ones that we bring face cloth into the room)....we use to marvel at how she's grown. Everytime I see these basins at the shop, I look at them in a different light

She's coming four in June but still is the size of a 2.5 year old so everyone thinks she's extremely intelligent - which BTW, she is (hear! hear!) but being a katek ayam, she seems just more mature than her "age".

Just so long as DS is healthy and well-adjusted, his physical stature/growth (have lower baseline mah!) is not something to worry about and as the paed says, you can't really tell till puberty!

(P.S., I worry lots coz I stand at 1.65m and DH is about half a head taller yet all my girls are off the charts (i.e., smaller than usual)

Hi Andaiz,
Just grateful that DS is healthy now, only a little skinny for his build.

He was discharged at about 2kg, and same like your DD2 and DD3 always mistaken for being 'smart' because of his small size....

hihi,

my 2nd ger is a preemie too... a 28-weeker to be exact.

scared the guts out of me when i went into spontaneous labor...
sigh... din even know i am giving birth so soon, way too early. i was rushed to the hospital by ambulance, could have given birth there if there was any delay.

At the labor ward, i cried so much as i thot my ger might not make it as i do not have any knowledge on preemies at all. Surprisingly, I could still hear her cry but did not have the courage to look at my tiny baby.

I finally went to see her the day after. Poor child, she was all hooked up in tubes and the incubator seems too big for her. She was fed intravenously. Later, I was swarmed by information abt preemies and how to take care of them.

My child was warded for 78 days before she could be discharged. Her scars from the IV drips reminded me so much of what she has went through though it was a rough start for her. Somehow, i will shower her more TLC than the jie jie. Hmmm... must be fair, rite? I will try

Btw, my little warrior is coming 2 this April and she is well, adorable and bubbly

My no. 2 and 3 are mildly premature babies. Both born around 34th week due to my bp issues. My ds was 2.5kg so need not stay in NICU but he could hardly cry and hardly cry for milk. So I "wake" him up every few hours to get him to drink milk. He ended up at 4kg at full month Now at P2.... he is the biggest and one of the tallest boy in class.

Meanwhile for dd2, she was born at 1.8kg. Had to be in NICU for 1 week and then nursery for another 1 week. I had HELLP (worse than pre-eclampsia) so I had to be in hospital for around a week but on bed rest so I couldn’t visit her. Strangely though she had very strong cries at birth that I expected her to be ok sized baby as gynae estimated her to be 2.5kg. So got a shocked when I was told that she is less than 2kg. At my mum's care, she is now K1 and easily one of the tallest and biggest girl in class.....

I agree that in the initial days, it's worrying. Was reminded of how frail they are. Especially the legs, look so thin that you feel that you can break it if you are not careful.... The body is also like size of a chicken....But yes, with good care, they will grow and catch up eventually. But I do realise that both my no. 2 and 3 tend to cough alot after running around.

twinklestars2 wrote: Somehow, i will shower her more TLC than the jie jie. Hmmm... must be fair, rite? I will try

Maybe because of what we've gone through, I realised that I love my no. 2 and 3 more than no. 1. In my case, it was the weekly blood test and anxiety 6 weeks before I gave birth. Not forgetting the scares during pregnancy and coping with a small baby afterwards.

I am really closing shop Gynae said that with my condition, each pregnancy will just get worse.

MMM wrote: I am really closing shop Gynae said that with my condition, each pregnancy will just get worse.

hi MMM,

wow, do you mean you will go for no. 4 if ur health permits?

i hope for a no. 3 but do not wish the same to happen again. Though each pregnancy is different, i will give time to 're-cuperate' before no. 3 comes along Btw, the cause of my baby prematurity is unknown