Wednesday 8 July 2015

Premature and Tiny: Abbey Rose

Abbey Rose was born on October 7, 2014 at 18.27 - five weeks early.
She weighed 4lbs 9oz, with a tiny head, tiny body, tiny everything with some red hair on top to add colour to her pale, fragile body.




She cried seconds after she was born, dispelling any worry about her lungs.

Abbey was taken to the Special Care Baby Unit to be checked out and was tube fed that night while I recovered from the Emergency Section. 

In the middle of the night, she held her breath and set off the alarm on the incubator. She did not have to be resuscitated, but it happened a few times afterwards so the doctors started to treat her for an infection, as they waited for her blood results to be analysed.

They first thought she might have an infection, which was why she was born five weeks early, but that was soon ruled out - she was born so early because she did not have enough room to grow.
Her bloods came back with no infection, so they decided she a form of infant sleep apnea- which is very common in premature babies.

Abbey spent two weeks in SCBU. Suffice to say it was tough - read more about surviving the SCBU here. It was heartbreaking being discharged from hospital, but leaving my baby behind. I thought it would get easier every day I visited, but the more I saw her and held her, the harder it got.

In those two weeks she lost weight and regained it, she was put on caffeine to stimulate her brain, and it worked, the apnea seizures, which only ever happened at night started to become less frequent and then stopped altogether.

My breastfeeding journey will need a separate post, if not a few, but short story is she was too small and weak to feed from the breast initially, so I pumped milk and she was partly tube fed, partly bottle fed for the first two weeks in hospital.

She was in an incubator for the first 10 days, she had a drip for the first week and was attached to an apnea monitor which meant she had a few wires on her. She was a week old, before she had her first babygrow on - size premature.

She also had issues with her hips, the first few days her heels were up at her head, so it was obvious that they were 'dislocatable.' She was later found to have a dislocated right hip and a shallow/clicking left hip which needed correction.

But at two weeks old, she was breastfeeding from the boob, had gained weight and had got over her apnea, we got to bring her home and that was one of the best feelings in the world, as well as overwhelmingly terrifying!

8 comments:

  1. I have had a 34 weeker, and 3 babies through SCBU - it's bloody tough, and scary, and feels like it will never end. Your little girl is doing so so well by the sounds of it, and I am so glad you are both home now. I look forward to reading about your journey from here. #maternitymondays

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    1. Yes it is scary and so difficult, especially when I was in the hospital watching mothers with their babies beside them and then seeing them going home. But when we did get to go home, it made it even more special!

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  2. Aww, she is so beautiful. It must be so tough to leave her, but it looks like she is coming on wonderfully. So pleased you are home together now! :-) #maternitymondays

    http://www.mummandmore.blogspot.com

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    1. It was so tough, it felt so wrong to leave her, but she needed the time in there, and it all worked out. x

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  3. Aww bless her she is so cute. When they're small you fell like you're going to break them don't you :( it must have been so tough x

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    1. She was so small I have no idea how her body was working! When we brought her home everyone was scared to hold her, but as she was my first she felt 'normal' to me!

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  4. Oh she is beautiful! It must have been so scary and so distressing to leave her at the hospital each day. But you got through it and I have no doubt that you are a stronger mummy for it too. Thanks so much for sharing your story with #MaternityMatters x x x x

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    1. Yes I do believe it has made me stronger, and I hope it helps me to appreciate every moment with her. You never think about sick babies until it is your own. Thanks for the support x

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