{"id":461,"date":"2010-07-19T21:05:33","date_gmt":"2010-07-20T05:05:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/streamdoubletrouble.com\/?p=461"},"modified":"2010-07-19T21:05:33","modified_gmt":"2010-07-20T05:05:33","slug":"your-child-at-35-weeks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/your-child-at-35-weeks\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Child at 35 Weeks"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>You know it\u2019s time to leave the hospital when the nurse has to leave the pod and decrees, \u201cMom\u2019s here. She knows what\u2019s going on \u2013 she\u2019ll let you know if anything\u2019s wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

The muppets are officially 35 weeks corrected gestation today. That means that today is the very first day they would have stood a chance of coming home without an extended NICU stay. It\u2019s been seven weeks. I like to think of them as being the Pod B Seniors. (The giraffe can be the team mascot \u2013 since that\u2019s the brand name of the isolettes all the NICU babes live in.)<\/p>\n

The NICU is at capacity again; the last time they were full was when our little dudes were admitted. Yet, so many of the new babies are \u201colder\u201d \u2013 32-34 weekers. I admit to many bouts of jealousy. I look around our pod and see the brand new residents with no need for oxygen assistance. They immediately take their bottles with no need for feeding tubes. And they only stay for a week or two.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>So I decided to take a look back at what life would have been like if I was still waiting to meet them. One of my favorite sites<\/a> during pregnancy details the development of each week. Interestingly, my actual experience wasn\u2019t terribly far off.<\/p>\n

Your child – 35 weeks
\nDue date: Aug. 23, 2010
\nJuly 19 – July 25<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do you know the difference between real and false (Braxton Hicks contractions) labor pains?
\n<\/em>You betcha! I had real labor pains for many moons. The docs gave the three of us Indocin to stem the contractions. (Dr. Meyer, our perinatologist, called the twins \u201clittle Indocin addicts.\u201d)<\/p>\n

It’s normal to be nervous about labor and delivery.
\n<\/em>Yeah, no kidding! Especially if you\u2019re terrified your babes are too young to face this great world, even if the tiny ones appear to think they\u2019re big bad boys. I was wheeled into the OR muttering \u201chealthy babies\u201d feverishly and incessantly. <\/em><\/p>\n

Planning to breastfeed? Ask your hospital’s labor ward if they provide on-site lactation consultants, or interview consultants you may want to work with after the baby is born.
\n<\/em>They do. Regardless of how long after birth you need them.<\/p>\n

Your prenatal visits may be weekly now that you’re in the home stretch.
\n<\/em>Well, they\u2019re not prenatal visits so much as postnatal. And they\u2019re not weekly, they\u2019re daily. But back before the muppets arrived\u2026nope \u2013 they were daily then too. (Granted, I was living in the hospital.)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Make a tape of music to listen to during labor. Pick songs that perk you up, inspire you, or relax you.
\n<\/em>Any calm labor plans went out the window when the muppets decided to grace us with their presence three months before any birth plan could be created. But I\u2019ve got songs for the boys now: songs I love and songs that ones I love have sent their way.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Feathering the nest? Look for fun freebies and coupons.
\n<\/em>The nursery is ready and awaiting homecoming! And freebies and coupons are a good idea now that our family is double trouble.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Only 5 percent of babies are born on their due date, so don’t worry if yours comes and goes and you’re still waiting.
\n<\/em>Seriously? Do I even need to comment on this one?<\/p>\n

How your baby’s growing:
\n<\/strong>Your baby doesn’t have much room to maneuver now that he’s over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1\/4 pounds. Because it’s so snug in your womb, he isn’t likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete \u2014 he’ll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.<\/span><\/em> <\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Only 5 \u00bc? Although our little guys aren\u2019t quite there, the little porkers are already tipping the scales at 4.6 pounds. Not bad for guys already using a ton of energy out in the world. But yes, they will be spending the next few weeks (months\/years) putting on weight.<\/p>\n

Search and Destroy started a new medication today. Supposedly it may help with their saturation swings and get them off the oxygen sooner. (Search\u2019s back on his nasal cannula. He got tired.) They\u2019re both getting so close.<\/p>\n

I have high hopes for the next two weeks. Weeks 35 and 36 are the weeks twins are often expected, arrive and go home. So even if they\u2019re not quite ready to come home, they\u2019re well on their way. 35 weeks along, seven weeks old and almost five pounds \u2013 they\u2019re big boys now!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You know it\u2019s time to leave the hospital when the nurse has to leave the pod and decrees, \u201cMom\u2019s here. She knows what\u2019s going on \u2013 she\u2019ll let you know if anything\u2019s wrong.\u201d The muppets are officially 35 weeks corrected … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Sbzi-7r","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":807,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/put-the-nicu-nurses-out-of-a-job\/","url_meta":{"origin":461,"position":0},"title":"Put the NICU Nurses Out of a Job","date":"November 1, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"As part of a campaign to generate awareness about the crisis of premature birth in our country, the March of Dimes designated November as Prematurity Awareness Month. Premature birth is the leading cause of newborn death worldwide. And the rate of premature birth has risen by 30 percent since 1981.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Baby Photos"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/streamdoubletrouble.files.wordpress.com\/2010\/06\/img_0056.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":831,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/one-familys-story\/","url_meta":{"origin":461,"position":1},"title":"One Family’s Story","date":"November 11, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"So many people have babies born too soon. When Jon and I began our experience as \"preemie parents,\" I was amazed at how many stories we began hearing. It seemed almost everyone we knew had been touched by an early birth. I vividly remember the NICU walk every day as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hospital"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/eqN6PW1HpZM\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":564,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/due-date\/","url_meta":{"origin":461,"position":2},"title":"Due Date","date":"August 23, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s been 12 weeks coming; today the muppets are officially newborns. Their corrected age is zero. Since the day the muppets were born we\u2019ve been counting down their gestational age and today is 40 weeks. Today is their due date. If all had gone as initially medically planned, I would\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Birthday"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1308,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/doing-time-navigating-the-nicu\/","url_meta":{"origin":461,"position":3},"title":"Doing Time: Navigating the NICU","date":"April 19, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I am speaking at the local Mothers of Multiples club on a panel about the NICU and hospital stays. Regular readers will know that I have *many* opinions on this topic. In fact, I have so many opinions on it that my first stint on lockdown is what started the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hospital"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":514,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/rooming-in-and-heading-out\/","url_meta":{"origin":461,"position":4},"title":"Rooming In and Heading Out","date":"August 5, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Destroy is asleep. He\u2019s lying on his tummy on Daddy\u2019s chest. We\u2019re at the hospital again today. But today, we\u2019re in a hotel-like room. It\u2019s part of the NICU here, called the \u201cParent Sleep Room.\u201d Funny huh? I wonder if they sense the irony that no parent will actually ever\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Destroy"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/streamdoubletrouble.files.wordpress.com\/2010\/08\/logan_08-05-10.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3003,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/a-charlie-brown-christmas\/","url_meta":{"origin":461,"position":5},"title":"A Charlie Brown Christmas","date":"December 26, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"There have been murmurings that\u00a0\u201cA Year Without Santa Claus\u201d is the best Christmas cartoon out there. Fear not, good people, I am here to reassure you such a ridiculous claim is patently false. Obviously such accolades belong to the one true story of Christmas. \u201cA Charlie Brown Christmas.\u201d This week\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Holidays"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}