Our eldest daughter was only 3-years-old when her sister arrived in the world 15 weeks early. It had the same effect as a meteor, crashing into the middle of her world and obliterating everything she knew to be normal. Overnight, she traded her carefree Frozen games for the tubes, wires, ventilators and incubators of neonatal intensive care.
Category Archives: Parenting
Fragility
There’s been so much focus on Covid-19 for so long that it’s easy to forget how a common cold can be just as tough for a preemie to deal with. What amounts to a snotty nose and a bit of a cough for most of us can be enough to land a preemie back in hospital on oxygen, antibiotics, nebulisers, steroids and worse.
Preemie reunion
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.
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.
National Bereaved Parents Day
Today is National Bereaved Parents Day, raising awareness of all parents who have lost a child of any age, and from any circumstance. This includes still births, miscarriages and infertility, as well as neonatal deaths and child deaths.
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.
Guest blog from Ethan Ryan
Today’s post is a guest blog from Ethan Ryan whose son, Oliver, was born extremely prematurely during covid lockdown. Oliver very sadly passed away a few months after he was born and in this blog Ethan talks about how he helped his daughter, Rose, through her grieving process.
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 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.
Life of a Preemie Mum 