Oh my goodness Jayne--I can SOOOO relate to most of these--especially the people thinking I'm a nurse and wanting to smack people who complain about being pregnant, complain that their babies are too small, and complain about everything really. Whatever. I still measure Isaac's food in mls instead of ounces. In fact I usually have to think about it when they ask how many ounces he's eating. Too bad no one gets it but preemie parents. :):)
3/10/2008 1:44 PM
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you know your preemie mom when
You don't have to read them all but please read #'s 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11-22, 25,26, 28, 29, 31 I will try to high light them
1) You can recite your baby's medical chart by heart backwards sideways and in pig latin but can't remember how to sing "I'm A Little Teapot" to your older kids.
2) You constantly get asked "Oh, are you a nurse?" when you spout off a string of medical terms.
3) Your baby wears hand me downs from her younger cousins... and you have a few month's sizes stockpiled.
4 ) Your friends get teary eyed when their babies get shots, and you can hold your baby down while they get a catheter or a new PICC line and not bat an eye or flinch.
5) Your "newborn stories" involve bowel sounds, desats, and a gross sound effect used to describe the air leak around your son's ET tube.
6) You ruin the family reunion by shouting at the woman who says "OH! My baby's SMALLER than yours!" Because her daughter was a full term baby born last week at 7 lbs and 3 months after her birth your baby has finally gotten to a nudge over seven pounds.
7) You take your almost 3 year old to their first movie ... and the seat collapses on them because they are *not* heavy enough to keep the seat bottom down.
8) You buy tickets for your child ... who is under 3 (so still goes into places for free) and the lady hands you a ticket in disbelief .. Not because she thinks your child is older than 3 but because she cannot wrap her mind around a child so small being 2.5 years old.
9) when booster seats cannot make your children tall enough or close enough to reach the table .... so your toddler kneels in their booster seat while keeping their elbows on the table in a futile attempt for support
10) You take your 2 year old to the doctor and he is talking and dancing then you hear people comment, "I've never seen such a young baby talking so well or moving so well He is *such* a smart kid!" And you laugh because you know your baby is doing what 2 year olds do.
11) You ask parents how much their baby weighs and are appalled when they answer, "Oh, between (#)lbs and (#)lbs" - when you can spout off the pounds, ounces, and grams of your child at any given age!
12) When you want to smack some sense into every pregnant woman that's had a completely uncomplicated pregnancy but "can't wait to get the baby out now!" Even though she is only 34 weeks pregnant.
1 3) When you know your childs resting and active heartrate, O2 sats, blood type, and complete medical history.
1 4) When you answer strangers who ask, "How old is your baby?" with their adjusted age so you don't have to explain.
15) If you've ever used the words "gavage" or "PICC" or "NG" and know exactly what it means.
/blockquote> 16) When your close family or friends have used the words "gavage" or "PICC" or "NG" and know exactly what it means.
17) When you feel a deep sense of accomplishment every time your child moves into a bigger size of clothing.
18) Your 18 month old still rides rear facing.
19) Other parents cant figure out why your 16 month old is still on the bottle and not a sippy cup.
20) You realize other parents cant stand to get their kids shots and you have the day circled on the calendar for their RSV shot.
21) Your baby has doubled their birthweight and is still not even the size of an average newborn.
22) You cry over every little accoplishment because you know it's a miracle that they do it.
23) You walk into the Pediatric ER and they already know your name.
24) Your child still uses the Soothie pacificer and everyone wants to know where you got it.
25) You are the first one to pull your child out of class because everyone else is sick.
26) You have two cabinets filled with paperwork from endless doctors and the NICU.
27) All of your friends call you for medical advice.
28) You still have all of this overwhelming guilt but don't know why.
29) You know what POP, PDA, NEC, RSV, IVH, A's & B's, and ROP stand for.
30) Your more comfortable talking about your babys weight in grams than in pounds and ounces.
31) you walk past the meat department at the grocery store and when you pick up 2 pounds of meat you think this is how big my baby was.
1 Comment
Close this window Jump to comment formOh my goodness Jayne--I can SOOOO relate to most of these--especially the people thinking I'm a nurse and wanting to smack people who complain about being pregnant, complain that their babies are too small, and complain about everything really. Whatever. I still measure Isaac's food in mls instead of ounces. In fact I usually have to think about it when they ask how many ounces he's eating. Too bad no one gets it but preemie parents. :):)
3/10/2008 1:44 PM