While I was pregnant with our now nearly 5 year old twins, I thought there could not be anything more stressful than my body growing twice as big and twice a quickly as with my previous pregnancy. Then at around 29-1/2 weeks along, I was in the hospital on bed rest trying to keep the twins safe inside me for as long as possible. I was positive that those few days were the most nerve-wracking worrisome ones of my life, since even just one more day in the womb would increase their chances of being born without serious complications.
After the twins were born 9-1/2 weeks early, that was when I knew the true meaning of the word stressful. They spent 5 weeks in the NICU and a special care nursery. For those 5 weeks we were worried daily that a complication would arise or that they just would not thrive. We were so lucky that they did not suffer from any unusual complications and were, according to the doctors, "text-book preemies". Here they are at just 2 days old . . .
What made the time after the twins were born so stressful was that my husband and I had to be super-careful about bringing anything harmful into the NICU. We wore coverings over our clothes and scrubbed our hands thoroughly to help prevent Respiratory Syncytial Virus or RSV, which preemies are especially susceptible to because of their underdeveloped lungs. There was even a period of several days when my husband could not visit our newborn twins in the NICU because we suspected he may have been coming down with a cold.
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According to RSVProtection.com, the best way to protect your baby from RSV is to wash your hands very thoroughly before touching him or her. This goes for anyone who will be touching your baby. In fact, when my own parents came to visit our twins in the NICU, we asked that they please not touch them even though they had taken all the precautions of washing their hands and covering their clothes. I firmly believe you cannot worry about offending people when it comes to protecting your children. It is also important to keep your preemie in your smoke-free home and away from crowds, other children, and anyone who may be sick. Regular cleaning of your baby's clothing, toys, and crib linens is also very important.
To learn more about RSV in infants, visit www.rsvprotection.com.
I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of MedImmune and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.
