New Here? Say Hello! April 2006 Edition

Hi Haleyrose24, Just wanted to let you know that my little girl was also born at 1lb 8oz, she is nearly 32 weeks gestation now and is doing well. I think the first few weeks are really tough, but once you see her gain weight and doing some firsts, it doesn't seem as long a journey to bring them home, as long as she is progressing, that is all you need, the rest will come. I hope all works out for you.

I'm not exactly sure what i'm suppose to write in here. I just recently had my daughter on March 31st, 2006. She weighed 2 pnds 8 oz and was 14". I was just a day before 27 weeks. She is my first child and my inspiration. She is such a lil fighter. I have been a sponsor of March of Dimes for the past 4-5 yrs but never thought in my life would I have a preemie myself. I visit my daughter in NICU everyday. Somedays I get exhausted but I can't go a day without seeing her. Sometimes I wish I could borrow Harry Potter's invisibilty cloak so I could stay with her all night and no one would see me. As of today, Elizabeth is now 2 pnds 12.7 oz and grew 2 cm. It seems like the weeks go by fast but when i'm there with her, it's like time just stands still. It's so weird. Well, I have a few errands to run then i'll be back to read some other peoples entries. I'd love to see what others have wrote. Have a beautiful day and take care.

I am a mom of twins, Damian & Daniela, born at 26 weeks. My husband and I had lost our first set of twins in 2004 and had a quite difficult road to parenthood the second time around. We learned the ins and outs of the NICU and had to endure two operations on our daughter due to NEC. My children are now 17 months and in so many ways an inspiration and a true testament of God's goodness. In retrospect, we have learned to believe in patience and the blessed gift of time.

Hi, my name is Danielle I also had my daughter at 26 weeks and 6 days she weighed exactly 2 pounds and was 14 in long. Nadia spent 9 weeks at UAB hospital 2 weeks on the NICU , 4 weeks on the step-down and 3 weeks on the going home step-down. Nadia did not have very many problems she came out crying and breathing on her own she amazed the doctors. on her third day she was put on the vent and had a chest tube to remove fluid from her lungs. She stayed on the very for only three day. She only required oxygen when she desatted to low. It is a long journey record every milestone no matter how small. Believe me I know it is so hard for me I lived 2 hours away from the hospital so I only came 3-4 days a weeks. It is good that you can come and see her everyday that is important and her best medicine is to bond with you.

Nadia will be 8 months this Thursday she is well over 16 pounds now and 26 inches long. Once they start growing watch out it won't be long before your little one is home. You and your baby are in my prayer. Remember GOD is in control and he has a plan for your little one. Feel free to e-mail me anytime. Be strong and GOD bless.

Danielle Shamieh

E-mail: shamieh1973@aol.com

My name is Erica. I had my little miracle on May 27th, 2003, and she is getting ready to turn 3. I can't believe it! She is doing better than anyone could have expected. She was born at 30 weeks, and weighed 2 lbs. 1 oz. and was 14 1/2 inches long. She was very tiny! She was in the NICU for 7 weeks, but was able to come home at 37 weeks. We are truely blessed to have her, and we love her with all our hearts. Her name is Grace.

hello mandy, your twins will have a good chance at making it if born within the next couple weeks. the longer your doctors can hold it off the better of course. remember twins will be smaller and your doctor will always tell you the worst case posible. have faith in the lord and he will guide you through this,

rebecca

Hi everyone. I just wanted to introduce myself. I am the proud mom of twins and a single. My twins were born at just 24 weeks and 1 day gestation and they are now 4 and a half years old. When I think back to what they had to go through and what strength and will they had to survive, I count my blessings everyday. If you are interested in my short story, please feel free to read "Kaelah and Jacob's fight - 24 weekers"

Hi my name is Tammy and my miracle is Hannah. Hannah is a 29.4 wkr coming in at 1 pound 12 ounces and 13 1/2 inches long. Hannah was born on February 16, 2006 by emergency c-section. Hannah spent a mere 33 days in our NICU unit. We are from Salem, Oregon. Hannah is the last of 8 children, 3 his 4 mine and Hannah ours. This has been quite a journey thus far and has actually went very well. God has blessed us with our precious miracle and we keep trudging the road to our happy destiny.
 

I sincerly hope you all find as much support, understanding, and compasion here as I have found. Best wishes to you all!!

Hi

HELLO,

MY NAME IS ROSEMARY I AM NEW IN THIS WEB SITE I HAVE A BABY BOY NAMED ANGEL J RAMIREZ HE IS STILL IN THE NICU I JUST WANTED TO SAY HI TO EVRY BODY THAT IS IN THIS WED SITE THANK YOU

Hi everyone!
My husband and I welcomed our identical twins Grant and Hunter into the world at 34 weeks via emergency c-section. We spent 3.5 weeks in the NICU at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, MI. I entered our story - Twins in a Hurry - in the short story section.

Hello I am new to the group, and I would like to share my story. I will post it, and name it Aimee's early arrival. I thank God for my little one. She is now 6 almost 7.

This is my first time on the march of dimes site. I just gave birth to my daughter about 7 months ago. She was 2 months premature. I had preaclamsia that is the reason she came so early. I was in the hospital for 20 days before she was born. When she came home she was on oxygen for 3 weeks. After 3 weeks she was fine all except for the murmur in her heart which is getting better. I would like to talk with other moms out there with premature babies. Please feel free to email me. I would like to compare notes. Thank you in advance.

I know when I first joined Share, it seemed a little intimidating at first, but feel free to jump in wherever you see fit! We even have a cafe, where we let our hear down! That's located in the Community Center.

Having a child born with health issues, is so scary, here at Share we provide a strong support system as well as friendships that grow to last a lifetime.

Don't get intimidated! Share can appear to be the size of an elephant, and how to do you eat an elephant? One bit at a time!

I can't wait to get to know you all!!

Amy

hi my name is jody and on march 17th 2006 i went for my u/s and found out that my baby had a birth defect callled acrania and the baby had no hope of living. it was missing part of its brain had no skull and the part of his brain he had was brain dead. he had a prefect heart beat and i could feel him moving on march 21 my little angel died. i have 2 healthly kids mackenzie who is 6 and robert who is 2. my husband and i never thought this could happen to us.

Hi everyone! I've been so surprised at the outrageous number of premature babies in this country! My story is a little different ... my daughter, Kathryn Elizabeth ("Katie") was born at 21 weeks and didn't make it, she would have been 9 years old today. But my son, Matthew Kyle, who is now 7 year old, was born at 31 weeks. The doctors told me that the ultrasound (done 2 days prior to his birth) showed he would weigh between 3 and 4 pounds, but ... he weighed 5lbs 2 oz!!! The NICU nicknamed him "Hercules"! LOL He is at ball practice as we speak. He came home on a heart monitor for sleep apnea and lots of meds. He's had a few respiratory problems, but mostly allergy related. All else is normal and healthy. My prayers go out to all the moms and dads and premie babies and their siblings. It's a struggle, but well worth it in the end. And a special prayer to all the moms and dads who lost a little angel like my Katie, its hard but we will all be together again one day. And a BIG thanks to the March of Dimes, you are totally awesome!!! (as my son would say!) LOL .. there are not enough words to say how appreciative I am for all you have done and continue to do. Keep it up!

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. No, noone thinks it could ever happen to them. I know I didn't. My daughter Katie was born 19 weeks too soon and of course, didn't make it. I remember holding her and thinking, she's perfect, how could she not be able to make it, but the fact was she wasn't perfect on the inside, her lungs sacs were underdeveloped. She probably would have had many many complications throughout life and I'm glad (in a weird way) that God took her home to be with Him. She was perfect and still is perfect, she's an angel to me and we will both see our babies again one day. Enjoy the time you have with your two other children ... I bet you appreciate them more now. I know because of Katie I appreciate my son, this wonderful gift God gave to me, so much more. He too was born early, he was born at 31 weeks, but is as healthy and normal as all the other 7 year olds! I know this sounds "trife" but, God does have a plan, we may not understand it, we may not like it, but there is a reason. Maybe mine was to help you, or for you to help me or others. Who knows? If you don't mind I would like to pray for you and your family, for your healing. I know it hurts, but I can tell you from experience, it does get better, just give it time, I promise. If you would like to email me, my email address is sandoval_ka@yahoo.com. Take care and God bless!

- Kim

Hi my name is Darlene,
 I have three children there age are 6 and four. I had my daughter at 32 weeks and had my twin boys at 32 weeks. I am hoping to make new friends and give any kind of advice on preterm labor .

Hi my name is Stormi and my mom's name is Denise. Im 16yrs old
I went into premature labor at 27wks. On Feb 25, 06 My precious son's name is Sieruz Bates.
My mom was, so she puts it. Truly Blessed to have spent three heart filled day's with my son. I know it was very hard for her to leave me behind at our local hospital. While she went alone 50miles away to be with my son. I was finally able to get released, and my mom came and got me. I spent 17 wonderful hours with my son, holding him. I took in every minute I was with him. This has been so hard on me, I feel like I cant talk to my mom, cuz all she does is cries. Even though she tells me to.
Some kids at my High School are saying horrible things about me, things that i did to supposely kill my baby. I dont want to go back. My mom thinks it would be very good for me to go back, I started to go every other day, the other day a teacher would come to my house. Now I dont want to go at all.
My mom, im very worried about her, all she does is cries, and hold his things. She is in recovery, and has been clean for 2yrs, I just hope she does not go out, I really dont think so cuz she teaches so many classes about drugs and alcohol. She seen everything, from me in the operating room to the very end when my son died. I cant imagine what is going threw her head.
She is so worried about me, being very protective over me.
She tells me that I need to just let it out instead of holding everything in, but everyone keeps telling me how brave i am. I dont know how to feel, what to do.

Im just glad I found this site
Thanks
Stormi

hi my name is kathy i am from ny. i have 6 kids, 2 daughters age 17 and 12 and 4 sons ages 14,11,4 and 3. my 4 year old richard is a 27 weeker he spent 3 months in the nicu. he just had a g-tube put in on 4-20-06 becouse of failure to thrive he is 25 lbs (has been this weight for along time now) he is on the pump at night,and gets 2 boulus feeds during the day, and he is developmentally delayed. i found this site surfing the web (this might sound wierd but i am so afraid to sleep now at night with him hooked up to the pump)and i thought i would check it out and hopfully make some friends. so hi to everyone and hope to here from all of you

kathy

Today I subscribed as a new member on the MOD site. I am so full of mixed emotions right now. I am hopeing that this will help me get through this tough time.
I just lost my son Ethan on Easter Sunday, and my heart is hurting so. I cannot believe that he is gone. He was doing so well and all of a sudden made a turn for the worst.

Ethans Mom,

I am so deeply sorry for your loss of sweet Ethan!! My heart breaks knowing the pain you are feeling right now. Your loss is so fresh, so new, so raw. You have come to the right place. Share is full of parents who have been right where you are and we are here to help you through each day.

Things are hard right now as you are not sure what to do, how to grieve, and take care of Caleb, all at the same time. There is no right answer. There are no *magic* words that I can say to magically take this all away. Knowing you are not alone is a place to start. I'm always here to talk with you.

My son, George Daniel, was born at 36weeks, with a heart defect, and combined, they ultimately took his life just shy of 4months old. He was doing so well, and then started getting sick, and then he was gone. I so understand the pain you feel, not knowing how it all happened so fast, not knowing what to do from here.

Please know you are not alone, I urge you to continue to post on Share, and maybe start a blog as a way of journaling your thoughts and a way for us to keep up with you on a consistent basis. I urge you to reach out to someone close to you there in NY, a trusted family member, friend, clergy, counselor, someone who can be there for you on a tangible basis. We are always here for you, but having someone in front of you when it gets really rough is very important also.

My heart goes out to you...and to Caleb, as you struggle to put the pieces together. They will never fit together the same, but eventually you will find a different way to go about life. You will never forget Ethan. We are here to hear all about Ethan, and Caleb, and we will be here to help you through each day that you need us.

Hugs, hope, and healing,
Sharlene

Hi, my name is Errin. I gave birth to a 32 week boy on April 16. He was 16 inches long and 4lbs 4.2ozs. I named him Christopher Avery. He has no respiratory problems but he doesn't take all of him feedings and can't maintain his body temp. Since he was born the doctors have been saying that it should only be about a week until he comes home. Every day I hear the same thing and it is becoming very hard for me. I have never felt as heart broken as I do now. This is the hardest experience of my life. He is in a growing preemie nursery 2 hours from here. I go there and take his breast milk every day, meantime my 2 year old is becoming clingier than ever and screams if I leave the room. I really just need to talk to someone that knows what I am going through.

Hello everyone,

Im new here, i found this site of the March of Dimes site in which I am doing my first walk this sat. I am 22 years old and I lost my first son, Tavish David, on October 19, 2005 at 20 weeks. He was 8 oz. and 8 1/2 inches long and look so much like his daddy. We got to spend about 3 hours with him, it was my fiance, my parents, my little sister and my aunt, they all got to hold him. I miss him so so so much!!!! No words can explain how much I want him here with us. Just trying to make it through everyday, I have my good days and bad days. I know Tavish would want many brothers and sisters so we are trying again...the pain will never go away, my heart will always hurt for him. We go to the cemetary every week to be with him. I wish everyone here the best in everything.

with love and respect,
Yvonne, Mommy to Tavish (10/19/05)

it is so reassuring to know that we are not the only family that is affected by premature birth. it is also reassuring to hear other stories. thank you.

Hello,
This is my first time here. It is great to know I am not alone. On January 20, 2006 my husband and I were blessed with a beautiful angel, Alexis. She was our first child. She was born unexpecdly at 26 weeks weighing only 1 pound and 1 ounce and only lived until February 2, 2006 we were in the nicu for the whole time she was alive.

Our daughter was born at 25 weeks, at 1 pound and 3 ounces. After 2 prior full term deliveries, my water breaking at 24 weeks came as quite a shock! I had my gallbladder taken out when I was 7 weeks pregnant, the docs said I would most likely miscarrry. Braedin had other ideas. She decided to attempt an entry into the world at 24 weeks. Fortunately I was not contracting or dilating and was able to get two doses of antenatal steroids. My pregnancy lasted exactly a week longer and after developing a uterine infection our tiny little miracle made her grand entrance during an emergency c-section, crying at birth. After 95 days of ups and downs, her health and our emotions, we were able to bring her home to join our other children. There have been health problems and we still visit the doctor a lot, but overall she is doing well with no long term health problems. She will celebrate her fourth birthday in May!

Hi, I justed what to say Ihope all is well with others. My grandson was born early. He is doing great. His wieght concerns us, but he is doing very well for a little guy.

Hi Errin,
I just saw your story and I can so relate to what you are going through . I had my daughter at 32 weeks she is now six. My husband and I went through everything you are. When I had my daughter we were up in maine visting my husbands grandparents whic was only suppose to be a three day trip and it turned out to me two weeks. We heard all the same stuff you are. I also have twins boys and I had them at 33 weeks and my daughter was just a year and half old when they came along. My daughter weighed 4lbs 7oz and was 18inches long and the boys were 4lbs5oa and 4lbs10oz and the were also 18inches. Love to hear from you Darlene