Fight For Preemies

I have two children. They were born born too soon and too small. Their combined birth weight is less than 3 pounds. And I am not alone. Today, 1 out of 8 babies are born prematurely. That's scary. We need to find out why and we need to find out how we can prevent premature birth.

Like so many other women, I did everything I was supposed to do. I took my vitamins, I ate what I was supposed to eat, went to the doctor for every check-up, asked many (many) questions and still, I had babies who came early.

To find out more about our experience with having babies born prematurely - check out our video that was made by the March of Dimes. http://www.fifieldproductions.com/_flash_ambassador_family_08.aspx

Beyond sharing the story of our children's premature birth (in the video above), I want to talk more about what prematurity can mean long term. Dealing with prematurity goes far beyond the NICU stay. Many preemies come home with long term medical issues - our daughter came home oxygen and feeding tube dependent. As parents we have to quickly learn often complex medical issues and how best to navigate the complicated and confusing world of doctors, insurance and medicine.

In addition to medical issues, most preemies need additional support for development including gross motor, fine motor, speech, etc. My kids have both had PT, OT, developmental therapy, speech therapy, and more. Six years into this prematurity journey and I'm still amazed how parents of full term babies don't worry about most of that because their kids naturally develop those skills.

Most of the stories we see in the news are about miracle babies that are now "perfectly" healthy. And I'm happy for those babies. Ecstatic really. But I think sometimes in our want for happy endings we end up avoiding the larger issue. Many preemies (especially those that are born weighing less than 2 pounds but even some that are bigger) end up with long term problems including eating issues, CP, developmental delays that extend long past the "catch up" age of two, and more.

Thankfully my son was able to catch up developmentally by age three. Time will tell if any other issues crop up. Although my daughter is still feeding tube dependent and has some developmental and speech delays, I still consider her one of the lucky ones. Things could have been much worse.

I'm grateful for both of my children. They have taught me more than I can imagine about what true strength means. Both of them had to fight just to survive. They fight every day to learn new things.

Let's all join the fight for preemies so that one day all babies can be born healthy.

Calling All Bloggers

Hi fellow preemie moms and dads.

As many of you probably know, November is Prematurity Awareness Month. I invite all of you to come join me at Bloggers Unite. They are partnering with the March of Dimes in support of Fight For Preemies. The goal is to have 500 bloggers posting on and before Prematurity Awareness day - November 17th.

So consider this your official invitation. Please post a special story about your own preemie miracle. We want everyone to learn why it is SO important to support the ongoing need for prematurity research funding.

You can also grab a badge or banner for your blog. Now get posting!

Keeping Your Preemie Safe

One of the big areas that new parents often hear a lot about is baby safety. There are a ton of great safety products out there for keeping your home baby proofed and safe from exploring little people. However preemie parents need to think beyond normal baby proofing and consider baby products and how safe they are for their babies.

The March of Dimes has a great page on Baby Safety. Here are some additional tips for keeping your preemie safe in baby gear or with toys that may not be designed for them.

1) Weight - Many preemies come home weighing less than 5 pounds so car seats can be a big issue. Make sure you check the weight requirements and belt position before buying one. Check my list of car seats for ones that are ideal for preemies. This is also true for other products like Baby Bjorn and some toys. While it may not seem that important - often the weight/size requirement is there to ensure proper positioning during use.

2) Actual/Adjusted age - Remember to use products that are appropriate to your preemie's adjusted age. Your preemie won't get the maximum benefit (and may not be developmentaly or physically ready) for a toy that is made for someone older.

3) Physical abilities - if your preemie has some physical issues or limitations than make sure you choose toys or equipment that will fully support them and enable them to use the item. This is important for equipment such as infant baths. My daughter has low muscle tone so we had to use a bath that allowed her to lay back with support but was also big enough to accommodate her. I like to choose toys that transition through phases such as tummy time, sitting and then standing. This allows you (and your preemie) to get the most use out of the product.

4) Small parts - some preemies tend to be mouth objects a lot longer than full term babies. Make sure that any toy you give your preemie doesn't have small parts (this goes back to the issue of choosing toys that fit their developmental abilities vs. actual age).

To check out potential products and toys for your preemie, here are some of my favorite
preemie products.

So Excited

I am very excited to announce that I am now an official March of Dimes Mom. They should have my picture and bio up soon. My husband and I have gotten so much out of the amazing March of Dimes community so I am delighted to be able to give something back. Being able to read information from a trusted source in addition to stories from other families who “have been there” was (and is) very helpful to us. I’ll be blogging about topics related to prematurity (like I do now) but as an added bonus, I’ll be linking to some great information from the March of Dimes.