Being Induced at 32 Weeks and I Have a Couple of questions....THANKS in ADVANCE

I don't have any answers for you, but I wanted to let you know that I think that those are all very smart questions to ask. I believe that asking questions shows your intelligence and desire to be an active and responsible parent. I went to my OB with a list of questions often. And now I go to the pediatrician with a list of questions.

Everyone has given you graet info so I only want to add one thing. My son was born at 32 weeks and as someone else said, he had not yet developed the breathe, suck, swallow instinct and therefore was fed through a tube at the beginning. I pumped milk and they used that in the tube and i also gave it to him when they told me we could start with the bottle. In my case my son never took to the breast and I ended up pumping for a year. I chose to not push the breast because I wanted him home so bad, but that is just one case, so I'm not saying it will happen, just that it did to me. Take advantage of the lactation consultant at the hospital. My son ended up being in the NICU a little over 2 weeks and he was a 'big' preemie as he was born 5lbs.
Praying for the best for both you and your baby

Please, please, please talk to your doctor. If you have a good one, then he/she wants to answer your questions and make sure you are as comfortable as possible with caring for yourself and for your child. I guarantee that she has heard these questions before and will not think you are an airhead - she will think that you are a thoughtful, caring mother who wants to be prepared so she can do the best for her baby.
Best of luck to you and your son.

Don't be afraid to ask your doctor anything! She knows you're 18 and have never been through this before. How are you supposed to know any of this? Also, who cares what she thinks? It's her JOB to care for you during pregnancy and delivery -- and that includes answering your questions -- and after that you never have to see her again!

1. Will he have to stay in the hospital? If so how long? Yes, the baby will be in the NICU. The earliest babies are usually discharged from the NICU is 34-35 weeks' equivalent, but often it's longer. It all depends on how he does.

2. Will he have any problems learning..seeing..talking..walking? Preemies have a higher incidence of problems than full term babies, but by 32 weeks, he should be okay. In my mind, getting to 32 weeks was the biggest milestone; after that, I really felt like the baby would do fine. Btw, I have a cousin who was born at 27 weeks (and that was 25ish years ago, when the technologies weren't nearly as good as todays'!) and she's perfectly healthy and smart.

3.I'm having the baby shower on Nov 13 should I put his size as preemie or should just put regular? It's up to you. He'll be in preemie sizes for a while, then in newborn and so forth. We got a variety of sizes at our baby shower, which was good, since they grow so quickly in the beginning. I do laundry every couple of days, so honestly I found I don't need that many clothes. Also (unsolicited advice), I didn't register for ANY clothes, but we still were given a ton. If it were me, I would register only for non-clothing items so that hopefully some people will give you those, because I find people give clothes whether you register for them or not.

4.What would I need anything special like a specific car seat stroller because he will be so small? Infant seats start fitting at 5 lbs and he may well be that size before he's released. The NICU staff will surely be able to give you good advice, and you'll have time to buy anything you need before you take him home. I would NOT start with a convertible car seat, though, since those don't fit many full-term newborns well.

5. Is it harder to care for a preemie then a regular baby? Every baby is different! Unless a baby has medical issues, which can make caring for them harder, it just depends on his personality!

6. Do I have to breast feed more with a preemie then with a regular baby? I'm not sure. In the beginning, you will probably have to pump breastmilk and it can be fed to him (generally suck/swallow/breathe isn't coordinated until about 34 weeks). The NICU staff will guide and help you transition to breastfeeding and they will be able to answer any questions you have. Also, please request a visit from the hospital's lactation consultant -- they are the experts about breastfeeding Breastfeeding often isn't easy and doesn't come as naturally as many people expect, but it's such a great gift you can give your son (especially as a preemie!), and the lactation consultants are a huge help in teaching you to get a good latch, making it less painful in the beginning (it isn't comfortable to start out with, but it gets better quickly, I promise!).

It seems you are having quite a high risk pregnancy and you really should sit down with your doctor and have her fill you in on all these unknowns. My first baby was born still at 27 weeks and I had some blood clotting disorders so I knew early on that in my subsequent pregnancies, I would be induced at 36 weeks. My doctor didn't like to talk about it too much with me early in the pregnancy because I think she was nervous to jinx anything. It wasn't until about 26 weeks that we started talking about what was going to happen around delivery time. 36 weeks and 32 weeks are much different. My babies (a singleton and then twins) did not have to stay in the NICU (well, 2 nights for low blood sugar... unrelated to prematurity). A 32 week baby is defintely a preemie, but not a "micropreemie". I have had many friends (scarily enough) with babies born before 30 weeks. The children are all thriving now... It's hard to predict what complications, if any, might arise. But you should get a tour of the NICU before you deliver and I'm sure by then, you'll know exactly what to expect.

Good luck with everything...

G.,
I second all the other moms. Those are great questions that you should ask your doctor and then who ever you decide on for the pediatrician. Never feel like any question is dumb; I am about 20 years older than you are and would likely have a lot of the same questions. Good luck to you. You sound like a very sweet mom to be.

My son was induced at about 36 weeks. I'll do my best to help you out.
1. I was given 'cervidil' the night before inducement. The next morning the dr. broke my waters and gave me petocin (a drug to induce labor). All day long I sat in bed and waited to dialate to a ten. By 5pm I hadn't dialated past a 5, so they called it "failure to dialate" and they had to do a C-csection. I think b/c of the c-section, I was in the hospital that night, the next day, then went home around lunchtime the 3rd day. (so only spent 2 nights in the hospital). This is fine, as the nurses can wheel baby out to the nursery for you and you can get some sleep at night. You can tell them you want to nurse baby every 2 hours and they'll wheel baby in and wake you up. The best sleep you'll get. Stay in the hospital as long as you can, I say.

2. My son was born 5 lb 13 oz, so quite small. He has had absolutely NO problems learning or growing. I am a petite gal, so he is small for his age, but has no developmental problems whatsoever. My friend had a baby 2 months early (30 weeks?) same exact time as me and her son is taller than my almost full term baby. From what I know about development in-utero, the lungs are the last organs to develop, so your baby might be more likely to have asthma or breathing issues as opposed to seeing/learning/walking issues.

3. I'd get just normal 0-3 month clothes. My son got a couple of preemie outfits and he grew too fast to really wear them. The biggest issue I had with my tiny one was pajamas -- they were swallowing him! So get a few preemie footed pajamas.

4. Perhaps you'll need an extra head support for your car seat. If you can afford it or register for it, get a stroller that lets the car seat snap into it.

5. I don't think there's any difference in caring for a preemie than a regular baby. Like I said earlier, you watch out for their breathing and I'd for sure keep baby on their back due to SIDS. I hear SIDS affects babies with preexisting issues.

6. I don't know that one. I don't see why they'd nurse more. Depends on the kid. I know some babies that nurse a few minutes often. Some that nurse a ton but not as often. When babies are born, their stomachs are the size of a large marble. Your son might have one the size of a small marble, so might not nurse as long, but yes - often.

And the DR will not think you are stupid for asking questions. ASK - that's what they're paid for. And if you are concerned with inducing this early, get a second opinion if you can afford it. We did with our son. We went to a specialist for a second opinion and felt better about the whole situation after getting it.

Good luck!

Hi again. I responded to your first question as well. Our daughter was born at 35 weeks and was 4 lbs 9 oz. She seemed so tiny, but since she was our first it was also "normal" for us and we didn't think a thing about caring for her being any different.

Staying in the hospital will depend on the baby. Most likely yes. Our daughter was in NICU at first. We were told to expect the full five weeks until her due date, but she was strong and had other ideas. She only needed to stay for 10 days.

She has had no problems with any learning and goals! She is actually ahead of many her age.

I would ask for some preemie, but also explain that you would like a mix. Our daughter was so small and born just before halloween that her first costume (NICU had a costume contest) and her christmas dress were both doll outfits from a stuff a bear place in the mall. I am saving them for her later.

We didn't have specific car seats and such. We had bought them all before we found out she would be early. We used rolled up baby blankets to help with fit and keep her cozy. I've seen other moms do the same with full term babies. It worked just fine for us.

The care is the same. They will be just a bit smaller. But, like I said, since she was our first it seemed normal for us.

We had a hard time breast feeding. Her mouth was so tiny and she just didn't want to do it. (She is very strong willed-apparently that started early-lol). I pumped for six weeks, went to a nursing specialist and everything. We still had to supplement with formula, so after 6 weeks (to give her my immunities) then we went to formula. It had just become too hard to pump then feed, then pump again all day. I was spending more time pumping that taking care of her and I simply wouldn't allow anything to come before her. It was a very difficult decision, but it was what worked out best for us.

Good luck with everything! It will be a wonderful experience.

Dont be afraid to ask your dr. Write down all these questions on paper and bring it with you to the next visit. You can hand her the list of questiond if you like and even write down the answers so you wont forget later when your feeling nervous again, which, by the way, you have every right to be.
Do you have someone who has had a baby before to help you in the delivery room? you may want to consider this. You need someone strong and knowledgable to help you. Take birthing classes and talk to the Dr or the instructor about a partner for birthing. Even if you have a husband or boyfriend, I'm asuming he's young like yourself.It's good to have a mentor.
E-mail me if you like.
Best wishes, S.

I am so sorry you are having to go through so much right now. It must be a very scary time for you. It is very normal to have questions, even for older mothers, second or third time mothers, mothers having term babies, they all have questions. You are in an even more complex situation and certainly entitled to have some questions. I hope you will be able to talk to your doctor about some of these things, especially the medical questions, that is what she is there for. You can save questions like clothing sizes and preemie baby gear recommendations for us, that is what we are here for. IF she seems to judge you for having these very legitimate questions then you should find a new doctor (unfortunately you will probably have to wait until this pregnancy is over though). I will do my best to address some of these questions, but still encourage you to talk to your doctor too, she knows your specific situation much better than we do. Is there anyone you can bring to an appt with you for support and to help you ask and hear the answers to the questions?
Please remember what I say are basic generalizations, all babies are unique and I don't know very much at all about your specific situation. But based on my experiences as an OB nurse I think you can expect your baby to stay in the hospital for 2-6 weeks. It is a big advantage to your baby that you know he will be born early, that helps the doctors have time to prepare his body as best as possible. But I would guess he would require some amount of hospital stay.
Long term problems for your baby is impossible to tell, but again, since your doctor are able to prepare, his gestation is not very likely to cause long term problems. I have no idea how your medical diagnoses affect his development. These would be good questions for a neonatologist, they are the doctors that care for preemies and sick newborns. Ask your doctor if you can meet with one of the neonatologists at the hospital you will deliver at before your induction.
It can be more difficult to care for a preemie. Caring for your first baby is always anxiety producing, and can be even more so for preemies because they can be more prone to breathing problems, feeding problems and illness. I would encourage you to be as involved in his care at the hospital as possible. Ask the nurses LOTS of questions, they won't think you are stupid. They have heard all these questions before, and they will be your best teachers for preparing you to care for him on your own. Learn all you can while you are there.
Breastfeeding is beneficial for all babies, but especially preemies. You will be doing a wonderful thing for your son if you breastfeed. He may not be able to nurse directly from you at first due to his gestation, so you will have to pump in the beginning to bring your milk in and provide him with expressed breastmilk at the hospital. Lactation nurses will provide you with a breast pump and show you how to use it. They will also help you learn to nurse him later, when he is able.
As for clothes, I would probably ask for preemie and newborn clothes for winter months, maybe even some 0-3 month clothes. Then 3-6/6-9 month for summer clothes. They will do a test on him in his car seat before he leaves the hospital to make sure he can sit up straight enough in a regular car seat. If he is not able to they will talk to you about what he needs. I don't have any other specific recommendations for things you might need. By the time you take him home he won't require too much different than a term baby.
I wish you all the best. Please seek out as much support as you can. You have so much to deal with, being surrounded by people who care about you and your baby will be what gets you through it all.

You should ask a doctor all of these questions, G.. Having a premature baby is a serious medical condition, and 32 weeks is 2 months early - very premature. Very different from moms who talk about their 36 week babies. Yes, there will be extra hospital time for your baby, very likely in a special care nursery - maybe a couple of weeks, maybe several weeks, maybe until close to his gestational due date. You won't know how much preemie gear you'll need ahead of time. Remember that even a "larger" 32 week baby is still a preemie and his external growth is not an indication of whether his internal organs and systems are ready to function on their own. You don't know how long his hospital stay will be or what his weight will be - if you take a 4 pound baby home, you'll need preemie stuff, if you take a 6 pounder home, you shouldn't.
Yes, preemies often come with special needs that you must care for in terms of feeding, medication, monitors, positioning but it all depends on your individual baby's health.
If you will be in treatment for your cancer when you bring baby home, please be sure to arrange any extra help that you can.
Breastfeeding will be so beneficial to your preemie, but be sure to find out whether it is compatible with any cancer/chemo drugs you'll be taking
As for the actual odds of your son having thyroid issues, you must make an appointment with a genetic counselor for specific statistics.
WIshing you good luck, and good health. Be sure that your OB and your oncologist are communicating with each other, they should be formulating a plan together.

G.,
What and exciting and scary time you are facing right now. Please don't be afraid to ask your doctor ALL of these questions. That is what she is there for. The only stupid question is the one you don't ask.
I don't these answers for you, but it is clear you have a lot on your plate. I'll say a prayer for you and your son.
God Bless.

My son was born was born at 31 weeks - you will most likely have many circumstances that differ from babies born at term.
my son was born at 4 lbs 8 oz. that was big for his age because i had gestational diabetes. most babies at 32 weeks are 3 lbs 8 oz. he stayed in the NICU for 3 weeks. he was on oxygen for 3 days and a feeding tube for about 2 weeks. i did end up breastfeeding him for 11 months but it was a struggle, especially at first. you will have to pump from the start because he'll be too small and and won't have the suck/swallow/breathe ability for a few weeks. my son is now almost 3 and he is basically a normal kid. you wouldn't be able to tell he was a preemie. we did have some issues during the first 2 years and i was told it's because he's a preemie.
1-you'll have to be really careful when he comes home. he's a preemie and he'll be born in winter -his immunity will be lower than other kids. its not a good idea to have visitors when he comes home. we kept it to very few family members and really nobody held him except me and hubby for the first few months- until he was about term or a little older. during the winter for his first 2 years every month he had to get a shot called synergist which in case the baby gets RSV- the shot is supposed to make the RSV a lesser case, not as severe. this is for preemies under 32 weeks so you may not have to get it. it has to do with lung maturity at birth.
2- my son had a severe dairy allergy from birth- i was told it was common in preemies. at a few weeks old he would scream and cry all night and get a really bad diaper rash. just keep your eyes out for the signs of an allergy. the day my pediatrician told me to cut out dairy from my diet ( i was breastfeeding) the symptoms stopped.
3- in terms of learning, he didn't have major delays but i would say he was a "late bloomer". he didn't crawl on all 4's until 11 months. he didn't walk until about 17 months ( he received therapy for a few months to catch hm up) when he did start walking though- it was like a sprint lol! his speech was a little delayed also- at his 2 year birthday he only said about 25 words. he did get speech services for 5 months and now he is decertified- he talks non-stop! his eyesight is fine but one of his eyes "drifts" outward. we have been seeing an eye doctor since he was a few months old. we have to do exercises like patching the good eye, put special drops in his eye- all to correct this. I was told this is also a preemie issue.
I would ask for preemies clothes as well as regular sized clothes. he wont really need them int the hospital for a few weeks but you'll need them when you come home. my son wore them and N (newborn sized) diapers for a few months, get lots of N sized diapers!
we had regular stroller and car seats etc but i did need to buy the foam insert that fits in the car seat because he was small (and really he was big for his age!)
good luck- he"ll be fine. i didn't mean to scare you with all the stuff that happened to us but it's good to be prepared just in case. my son is just fine now and yours will be too, in time. the NICU will be weird at first, it takes a few days to get used to the wires and alarms that go off (all the time) but the nurses always assured me all was fine.
a good preemie book i read while in the hospital is called "The premature baby book" by dr, sears. a good breast feeding book to read is purple and i think its called "the breastfeeding mothers companion" or something like that. try to read them ahead of time. if i knew about them, i would have.
good luck to you and your son-and take care of yourself. you are doing the right things by asking questions and getting prepared. best of luck

having a preemie can be very scary, the world of the NICU is a very strange place... every preemie is different and has their own set of challenges, but most likely there will be a hospital stay - my twins were born at 27 weeks, our boy stayed in the hospital for 2 months, and our girl for 2.5 months.
The NICU said they usually expect preemies to stay in the hospital until close to their due date, but they often get out a bit earlier than that. In all our time there we came across preemies at many different levels of problems - some that were born very early flew threw the nicu with barely any problems and there were even some closer to term that had every problem in the book, so its difficult to predict. A book that really helped me was "The Premature Baby Book" by William Sears (the other thing that helped was leaning on other moms who'd been through it - there were none in my life, most people didn't really understand, but i got good support from moms online!)

Our twins have no learning or developmental problems that we can tell yet. They did have to go to an "early intervention" doctor to check on their development but found they were ahead of the game. That being said, every baby does things differently and even some full term babies have developmental problems, so hard to say. Preemies do have a "corrected age" for development and size - my babies were 3 months early so they tend to hit milestones 3 months later than a full term baby would (until the age of 18-24 months). They are 9 months old now and do things at a 6 month level, which is very normal.

As far as the car seat and stroller, we just used regular gear and padded them in their a bit - towels or body supports should be enough! They were born tiny tiny (1lb 13 ozand 2lb 6oz) but by the time they left the hospital they were both around 6 lbs.

I found that we didn't get tons of use out of the preemie clothes... i ended up returning a lot. All the nicu nurses suggested to NOT put preemie clothes on the registry because they grow out of them before you know it and the hospital had clothes to wear there, but a few people bought some for us anyway and it was nice to have a few things of our own for them to wear there - we definitely got more use out of the newborn clothes.

The care that your preemie needs depends on a lot of things. Our preemies didn't require anything special. But i did meet moms that had to take their baby home with oxygen or special monitors for a short time. It all depends on how his breathing and other things develop. And for breastfeeding - they did tell me its more important to make sure you don't wait more than 3 hours between feedings at first, even if they were sleeping they advised me to wake them up for a feed... but once they got a bit older we fed more "on demand" and it has been just like any other full-term baby now. Preemies do sometimes have a tougher time with nursing than full term babies so if the hospital has a nursing consultant, take advantage of it and ask her every question you have!

I'm sure your doctor would never consider you an airhead! This is a scary step you're taking and i'm sure you can't ask a question they haven't heard. Ask her anything you can think of! But if you need some support or advice, please message me - i'd be happy to be there for you as a mom who's "been there"! Good luck.

updated: about the thyroid disease, i am hypo and my husband's family is rampant with thyroid disease too... so its inevitable that my daughter will probably have it (its much more common in girls than boys and is very genetically linked) but usually doesn't show up until 6 years old or older! (although our daughter is already on synthroid for it - they can have a temporary form just from being a preemie!)

Dear G., First I will pray for you and your baby. I am sure the doctor will help you with many of your questions. It is only natural to be concerned. This is something you have never done before. My 5th child was 6 weeks early. He stayed in the hospital for 2 weeks. I did pump my breast milk. He grew very nicely and did not need any special care. I think newborn clothes will be right at first. As far as learning, I don't think there should be a problem. All children are different. My son is in graduate school now. My best wishes for you. Grandma Mary

Your little one will need to stay in the hospital. At first he may have breathing issues. He may need to be on a ventilator for awhile, maybe not. The ability to breathe, suck, & swallow in a coordinated fashion usually develops at 34 weeks. He will be fed with a tube to his stomach until he learns to nipple his feeds. When he is ready to nipple he will start by nippling what he can. It will take some time for him to nipple all his feed at one feed and then all the feeds at every feed. We usually tell parents the baby will go home around the due date. It's hard to predict. These days premies go home when they are ready. To be "ready" he has to maintain his temperature in an open crib, maintain his vital signs (heart rate, breathing, etc), nipple all his food, and gain weight. If he is a "healthy 32 weeker" he should be fine long term, but there are never any guarantees. Even with a term baby, you can't be sure they will be without problems. You will have to pump for breast milk, assuming you can give your breast milk to the baby. You didn't say what meds you will be on after delivery for your leukemia. Some of the meds you can't breast feed. Talk to your OB and oncologist. Don't be afraid to ask them questions. There are no stupid questions. You should be able to talk to a neonatologist (specializes in preterm/sick infants) and get a tour of the NICU. They can answer a lot of questions about what to expect. Best of luck to the both of you!

I cannot answer all of your questions but I will try to answer a few:

1. Hospital stay will depend on the health of both you and the baby. The baby will most likely stay in the NICU(neonatal intensive care unit)but again the length of stay depends on the health of the baby.

2. This again depends on the health of the baby and what is going on with him. On a personal note I was born at 26.5 weeks gestation and have never had any health or learning problems.

3. That is up to you as often preemie clothes are grown out of just as any other size.

4. There are some circumstances where a special car seat is needed due to an infant's size but I don't know the specifics however I'm certain you can find this out from your doctor prior to the induction.

5. All children are different to care for and depending on the health care needs of your child will determine if the child is "hard" or "easy." Know that all babies will be hard at times and easy at times.

I wish you the best in your journey into motherhood as well as on your journey with leukemia.

I'd ask your doctor most of the questions, except maybe about the clothes. Also ask if you can get to visit the NICU ahead of time. Both of my 2 were NICU babies, though full term. It can be a bit intimidating with all the alarms and machines around but you do get used to it. Many times the nurses are very helpful and can answer a lot of questions. Also try and meet the neonatologist, nurse case manager and hospital social worker in person soon after the baby is born (unless you have a chance to meet them in advance). There may also be a NICU parents support group.