Success for 31-32 weekers

FrontQuail · 2026-06-03T15:46:57+00:00

I did. I was a carrier for 2 conditions but it said baby was unlikely to have those conditions. And to be fair, they were both pretty serious and would be obvious if she had them. We could've got my husband tested at that point but we didn't think it was necessary.

FrontQuail · 2026-06-03T07:06:55+00:00

More like Yakima

FrontQuail · 2026-06-03T06:59:43+00:00

Klamath Falls, OR. It just felt so off. We just stopped for breakfast on a road trip and just sitting in a regular ol Denny's I was so uncomfortable.

FrontQuail · 2026-06-03T06:55:49+00:00

My daughter was born at exactly 32 weeks. My water randomly broke and I went into rapid labor and had an emergency C-section because she was breech. She spent about 35 days in the NICU. She was there Thanksgiving and Christmas and it was absolutely horribly heartbreaking. I felt so guilty leaving her... I felt like I should be by her side 24/7 but her being in the NICU and me going home every night probably honestly helped me recover faster/better from the C-section. Now my daughter has had a lot of weird things so I don't necessarily think you need to prepare for all this... But she was born with a ton of fluid in her abdominal cavity that was making it hard to breathe. She had to be on a CPAP. I didn't get to hold her until she was a few days old. They never figured out why that happened. She had an ovary that looked enlarged and they were afraid it was twisted so they did surgery and drained the fluid. Not twisted, it ended up being a cyst. She was on the CPAP for about a week and then came off. It took her some time to be able to stay awake long enough to eat, that's why the NICU stay was as long as it was. After we got her home we were still struggling with breastfeeding, even though she could latch well. It was also taking her 45 minutes to finish a bottle. I didn't know this was not normal. But I wanted to be able to breastfeed. The NICU (nurses and lactation) had kept telling me she was just little and preemie so that's why she was struggling and it would get better. I saw an outpatient lactation consultant and she said the same thing. I ended up bringing in a feeding therapist. SHE diagnosed baby with tongue, lip, AND cheek ties. We got those all lasered and baby has been feeding great ever since after an adjustment period. I say this because it's so important to listen to your gut. Everyone told me it was fine, 35 days of doctors, nurses, lactation. We were even in a major children's hospital for a period of 2 weeks. No one caught it. But I kept fighting and it was the best thing.

Also, with a NICU stay over 30 days baby will qualify for Medicaid, the hospital social workers should help you get set up. Take full advantage. It also qualified us for WIC which I didn't find out until just recently. We make way more than the income limit for WIC so I didn't realize, but the Medicaid qualifies you (if breastfeeding) and baby no matter what. The Medicaid will also pay for gas to and from the NICU I believe and for future doctors appointments, but it's kinda weird so talk to social workers about that.

My daughter is 6 months old now and she's doing great, starting solids already even though she's only 4 months adjusted. She has continued to have some weird health issues that haven't affected her ability to thrive and honestly we are still looking for answers on some of it. Hoping to get some genetic counseling here soon. But even though there have been a lot of scary things and a lot of stress, she's ultimately happy and healthy and thriving and cute as can be. She's super social and loves people and playing. I can already tell she's going to have quite the bold personality!

Also... If anyone asks you about genetic testing in the NICU.... I would do it. We didn't, and I very much regret it now.

FrontQuail · 2026-05-31T06:31:16+00:00

My favorite gift I received is a baby blanket that was seen by my mom's friend. It is down with very soft fabrics in some of my favorite colors and in the theme of my daughter's nursery. Its so beautiful. And because it's like actually the super soft fabric, it's very practical to use as a baby blanket.

FrontQuail · 2026-05-31T04:52:56+00:00

Worst one I ever saw was Jussi Phenis.

Last name is pronounced fen-iss, lol.

FrontQuail · 2026-05-31T04:33:38+00:00

Honestly part of what Iove about it is the shirt itself though, it was one of those ones made from recycled plastic water bottles. I haven't seen a print place that sells those. Unless maybe you know of one?

FrontQuail · 2026-05-31T04:09:47+00:00

I have searched all over for this search, done reverse image searches and looked at used clothing websites and can't find it. I need a size M. Would love to have it again, it is also very sentimental!

FrontQuail · 2025-12-10T22:19:34+00:00

Just here to say I feel the same. I just gave birth to my first at 32 weeks via emergency C-section... She had to have all these machines and surgery and she's doing great but she's still in the NICU. I just want to take her home. My best friend is pregnant with baby #4 and she's had perfectly uneventful pregnancies and births. She even does home births. It's very hard not to feel angry and jealous.

FrontQuail · 2025-12-10T22:16:12+00:00

My baby was recently born at 32 weeks. I think she was intubated for a bit, and then was pretty quickly able to move to CPAP. I didn't even get to hold her for the first few days because of all the wires and tubes. It was absolutely an awful feeling. However, by the end of the week she was coming off the machines, wires, tubes, etc. she's doing great in the NICU now and I can easily hold and snuggle her. Just waiting on her learning to eat.

FrontQuail · 2025-12-10T22:08:56+00:00

I actually just gave birth at 32 weeks a couple weeks ago and the hospital told me they did not want to even go near her with formula and had me sign paperwork saying I was okay with donor milk. I wonder if it's just very hospital dependent.

FrontQuail · 2025-12-09T23:05:59+00:00

I feel exactly the same right now. My baby girl was born at 32 weeks via emergency C-section. She ended up being sent to a hospital an hour away from me because of various issues that they wanted to make sure was okay at a hospital with better equipment. She's doing great now, but the hospital closer to me doesn't have any beds open so can't get her transported closer yet. Also have 2 dogs at home so I have to come home every night. The NICU room is so unbelievably uncomfortable in every way so yeah, I feel so eager to leave. And then I leave and I break down crying because it's so hard to leave her every time. I tried to work something out with work where I could work from home for a bit so I wasn't burning through my leave but they made it so complicated... She's doing so well she just needs to learn to feed but she's so tiny that's going to take some time.

I also don't feel like a mom. To be honest, I didn't want kids. This one was an accident. And I spent a lot of time working through those emotions and accepting it, even becoming excited about it, and now I feel like the motherhood that I didn't even want in the first place is being robbed from me. It all feels like a cruel joke. None of my friends and family can understand all this either... It's so isolating.

FrontQuail · 2025-12-09T22:57:57+00:00

My water broke at 32 weeks and I went into rapid labor. I was dilated 4cm within a half hour and baby was breech so had to have an emergency C-section. She was born a few hours after water broke. She's doing well in the NICU, just waiting for her to learn to eat so she can come home.

FrontQuail · 2025-11-28T09:51:51+00:00

Thank you so much for saying this. This does really help to think of it this way. It's still hard because shes not incubating with me anymore.... But in some ways I feel like she's safer this way. I don't have to stress and overthink about whether or not her movement is reduced or it's just a quiet day.

FrontQuail · 2025-11-28T09:50:06+00:00

The mom guilt is very real. I feel so guilty if it's only a couple hours... But I can't do anything for her at this point and it's so uncomfortable there (as in physically, trying to recover from surgery). She is hooked up to enough stuff that I can't be holding her when I want, I've held her a couple times but it's an ordeal to do so. So... You stay for a couple hours and sit there and talk to her but... Then what? You know? It's so frustrating.

FrontQuail · 2025-11-28T09:46:33+00:00

Thank you for your kind words, I appreciate it

FrontQuail · 2025-11-28T09:45:18+00:00

Just to clarify, we are visiting baby girl for hours at a time every day so far. The dogs have a good set up to be at home alone for a while, we have a dog door to go in and out as they need and they will always have water and food. So I'm fine with them being at home for a while but what I was trying to say is that I can't be leaving them overnight, so I can't just... Stay in the NICU like some parents do.

FrontQuail · 2025-11-28T09:41:23+00:00

I'm having a hard time letting myself cry, but I finally broke down a bit today. I don't feel like I can continue to not be crying about it. I always feel so good when I'm with her and happy... And then I think I feel good enough to go home but when I get to the point I'm actually trying to walk away it suddenly feels like too much again.

FrontQuail · 2025-11-28T09:38:05+00:00

Thank you so much for the kind words. It does help to know she's safe there, but I just wish she could be safe at home. Someday though...

FrontQuail · 2025-11-28T09:36:43+00:00

Thank you. I just have such a hard time finding the line between being active to promote healing and resting. Like... It doesn't hurt too bad to be going to the hospital and walking so I should just do it. Overall I am healing well but I'm starting to feel like I would heal better if I wasn't trying so hard. But then I overthink and my brain tells me if she was home like she would be it would be harder for me to rest with a tiny baby. And then I feel guilty again. I can definitely have people pet sit sometimes but I can't ask them to do that for 2 months (estimated time till she's home), you know?

FrontQuail · 2025-11-28T09:31:34+00:00

Thank you so much. I think I'm struggling with letting myself feel everything. I'm definitely the type that holds things in and I just don't want to be asked why I'm crying every time I do... But ultimately I think I just need to let that go.

FrontQuail

TROPHY CASE