Reddit reviews Preemies - Second Edition: The Essential Guide for Parents of Premature Babies

Baby can't wear anything for a while, but your friend likely didn't buy preemie clothes. Get some at Carter's - and get it with snaps, not zippers to accommodate the wires. A good water bottle because she'll likely be pumping. Giftcard for food or coffee near the hospital. Dinner - even prepaid delivery is good. If she has dogs, find people to help walk him or her. This book is a great resource. Maybe a notebook to write about baby's progress or questions she has for the doctors. J spent 62 days and L spent 66 days in the nicu, so feel free to pm me. If you can meet her for coffee or something before she goes to the nicu some days that will give het something normal to look forward to.

I’m working my way through this one while at the nicu. It’s a little outdated but it’s got a ton of valuable info. Shoutout u/phgreene88 for the suggestion 👍🏻

Preemies - Second Edition: The Essential Guide for Parents of Premature Babies https://www.amazon.com/dp/1416572325/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_9U8OBbNFTJ72G

This book is a bit old now, but was helpful to us. There might be other ones now.

It helped to read about other stories. While there, I read Half-Baked and the newsmagazine articles that eventually became this book (it was also a RadioLab episode). Sometime later, there was this book which is an oral history of preemies who have reached adulthood.

The book Preemie is a phenomenal resource and I cannot recommend it enough. https://www.amazon.com/Preemies-Second-Essential-Parents-Premature/dp/1416572325

Check out this book. It cover everything (which can be scary in itself) of having a preemie. And I do believe it even has some information on gastrochisis. It is written by neonatologist and former moms of preemies. It really helped me cope with having my babies in the NICU.

It really is hard for people to comprehend and get their mind around having a baby that isn't in the best of health and having to stay in the NICU. Sometimes they say the stupidest things. I had one pregnant lady tell me I was "soooo lucky my boys came early because I never had to experience cankles"....yes because clearly cankles is worse than seeing my children on vents and struggling to live. I'm counting my lucky stars....
I truly hope your baby does well with the surgeries and that you will come back here in the future bragging about his poop ha!

This book is so helpful for NICU parents; Preemies - Second Edition: The... https://www.amazon.com/dp/1416572325?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

I’m only 12 days in with my twins’ NICU stay but I’d say and hands-free pumping bra, a notebook/pad to write down everything (weight, feeds, oxygen, Brady-count, & etc), and I found this book called “Preemies ” that was incredibly informative. Good luck!

I had mine at 29 weeks. One thing you are going to want to get educated about quickly is breastfeeding. Breast milk is very beneficial for preemies, but if they come out at 28 weeks, they will not be breastfeeding for weeks and your wife will need to pump every 2-3 hours around the clock. It's a pretty brutal schedule, so you'll need to think through the logistics - where is she going to do this (do you live close enough to the Level III NICU for her to live at home?), does insurance cover all the gear?, what gear do you need to buy? etc. The hospital will probably send a lactation consultant to see you after the birth, but you need to realize that this is one of the more important professionals you will speak to and get as much information out of her as possible. It is crucial that pumping start as soon as possible after the birth no matter how crappy your wife feels. I didn't realize this and waited for more than 24 hours, which was a HUGE mistake.

For general information about preemies, I found this book the most useful: http://www.amazon.com/Preemies-Second-Essential-Parents-Premature/dp/1416572325/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394070306&sr=1-1&keywords=preemies+essential+guide


I wouldn't worry about the hospital bag unless you live far, far from the hospital. You will have weeks, if not months to prepare fo bringing the babies home. I went in with nothing but the purse I brought to work with me and I didn't end up feeling like I was missing anything. To be blunt, there was a lot of blood and I was happy to ruin the hospital's clothes instead of my own.

I'm late here but just wanted to add that when my 29-weekers were in the NICU, the NICU pulmonologist was the most knowledgable about the interactions of respiratory infections and immunology. I would have asked to have him paged if the nurse wasn't clear about the answer.

This book might also have something on it: https://www.amazon.com/Preemies-Second-Essential-Parents-Premature/dp/1416572325/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485137817&sr=8-1&keywords=preemies+the+essential+guide+for+parents+of+premature+babies