November is Prematurity Awareness Month. According to an
article from the World Health Organisation, the Philippines is one of the top 10 countries with the greatest number of premature births. From birth experience to homecoming,
everything is different for preemie parents. I remember feeling joy and intense love upon
first seeing my babies but there were also feelings of worry, guilt,
powerlessness, and even anger. Audrey and Antonino are now almost 2 years old.
They've grown a lot and are super active, but I will never forget the things Joey
and I went through as preemie parents especially during their first year. Here are some signs you are a preemie parent:
1. You have a huge hand sanitizer and alcohol stash.
When we were preparing to bring the twins home, one thing we
did was put a bottle of alcohol or hand sanitizer in each room and around 3
bottles of hand sanitizer around our room just to make sure we could clean our
hands right away when we need to hold the twins. Of course, that was on top of
scrubbing our hands thoroughly.
2. Masks too.
Yup we bought a box of masks too so Audrey and Antonino
won't be exposed to our germs especially when we felt like we're going to get
sick.
3. Kangaroo doesn't remind you of the animal.
Kangaroo takes on a whole new meaning when you're a preemie
parent. I never got to hold Audrey and Antonino right after giving
birth because they had to be whisked right away to the NICU. I was only able to
see them 24 hours after giving birth. During my first visit, the NICU nurses
encouraged Joey and me to do kangaroo care because it would help stabilize the
twins' temperature, heart rate and breathing faster than an incubator. It was
healing for the twins and also Joey and me because we were able to bond with
them while improving their health. Because of this, the term kangaroo now
reminds me of the first time I got to hold Audrey and Antonino.
4. You're used to scrub scrub scrubbing your hands.
The twins' neonatologist told us that compared to full term
babies, preemies have a harder time fighting off germs and that hand washing is
the single best way to prevent the spread of illness. At the NICU, we would
scrub our hands for 3 minutes before holding the twins. We continued this habit
at home to the point where some people thought we were already going overboard
and being "over-overprotective (Is there such a term?)."
5. You buy newborn diapers even after your child reaches 2
months.
For parents of full-term babies, it's not really advisable
to stock up on newborn diapers because their babies grow out of them really
quick. With Audrey and Antonino, it took us quite some time before they went a
size up. It was actually a mini milestone for them when they started wearing
small sized diapers.
6. You believe in preemie power!
Looking at Audrey and Antonino now, it's quite hard to
believe that they were born at only 2 kilos each. During our NICU stay,
Joey and I were able to meet a number of other NICU parents and if there's
anything we learned from my chats with other moms in the pump room or Joey's
chats with other dads while they did kangaroo care, it's that the littlest
babies are the strongest and that they can defy all odds.
So cheers to you, fellow preemie parents!
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