Last Wednesday we attended a reunion of the preemie babies who were in hospital at the same time as our little girl. The last time these children were in the same room, they were all in incubators attached to sats machines. Now they are strapping 2 year olds, strutting their stuff and fighting over the Tiny Tots cars.
Category Archives: My Journey
Childhood crises – what effect do they have on parenting?
How much do childhood crises like prematurity, illnesses and serious accidents influence the way we parent our children? It’s an interesting question and one that I’m thinking more and more about as my baby becomes a little girl.
Miracle girl
It was my little girl’s birthday this week. She technically turned 2, though if she hadn’t been born 15 weeks early, she wouldn’t have been celebrating her second birthday until October. It seems odd that she will forevermore have a summer birthday when she could easily have had an autumn one.
Ugly thoughts
Why do we hide our jealousy away? Why do we pretend we’re happy about other people’s successes or situations when we’re not? Why do we keep the ugly thoughts to ourselves? I guess because we’re ashamed. Because we’re not meant to feel jealous…
The ‘forget and let go’ mechanism
We must be crazy! On what planet could we possibly have thought that it would be ‘nice’ to go to lunch with two small children?!
Preemie bumps and scrapes… Do they ever stop being triggers?
We took our ex preemie, who’s now nearly 2 years old corrected (see The corrected age conundrum for more information about corrected/adjusted age), to the zoo for the first time ever this week. A combination of her medical needs and issues, as well as covid restrictions, has meant we haven’t braved it until now, butContinue reading “Preemie bumps and scrapes… Do they ever stop being triggers?”
The fight to live
This hasn’t been an easy week. A preemie whose story I have been following for a while tragically passed away a few days ago. It was expected and inevitable, so did not come as a shock, but that did not make it any easier.
The corrected age conundrum
“She was born 15 weeks early,” I venture falteringly. Look of shock and disbelief followed by questions I’d rather not answer in the middle of a busy playgroup. I make a mental note not to mention the term ‘corrected’ next time.
Creating community
When you become a mum life gets crazy even if you’ve had a straightforward pregnancy and birth and have a miracle child who sleeps, eats and poos when you ask it to.
Playing down the trauma
As a parent of a preemie or sick baby in NICU (neonatal intensive care), you get to hear of a lot of stories. Some are amazing stories about babies making miracle recoveries, nurses going above and beyond, and acts of kindness from other parents on the ward.
Life of a Preemie Mum 