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Latest addition to the Belly Tank household- An Adventure...

BellyTank

I'll Lock Up
Well- I have waited a long time to post this-

For anyone interested...

On July 12th, our Daughter was born- 3 months and 2 weeks premature, which is VERY premature, in the danger zone actually- so I waited 'til all seems well with her before posting.

We were on holiday in Stockholm(Mother in law lives there) and suddenly, at around 8am on July 11th my wife said 'ooh!', something happening in the 'BellyTank' so we hijacked her Mom's car and casually cruised off to nearby Karolinksa hospital. After an examination, the Doctor proclaimed that the Baby wanted out- at 01:12am on the 12th, our Daughter, 'Priya' (say: Pree-ah) came into the world. I was in the theatre for the procedure, then whisked off to an adjoining room where I saw the tiny little girl for the first time. I held her tiny hand as the Doctor and team performed the necessary doings- many tubes, electrodes, monitors and other paraphernalia. It was strange to be holding the hand of such a very, very tiny person in such critical condition- babies born this early always have problems with the lungs (lungs aren't fully formed until late in gestation) and many other bodily functions-

CIMG4121a.jpg


Here she is at one day old- very tiny indeed- only 820 grams and 31 cms long. It's strange- Babies this early don't have any body fat- they look like tiny adults with big heads and short legs... she still doesn't.

So... we had a longer stay in Stockholm than anticipated- luckily Karolinska Hospital has one of the best Neo-natal Intensive care units. They're geared for long stays and were able to offer us a private 'suite' to stay in on the ward- kind of a small hotel room.

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The name plaque on our room- 'Singh' is my Wife's name-

Things progressed slowly for 7 weeks and when she was stable enough to be transported back to Denmark, a medical Helicopter and team brought her home(to hospital).

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Arriving at Hvidovre Hospital in Copenhagen.

We were due to move house to Copenhagen on the 1st of August, so during our stay in Stockholm, I had to fly back to DK, pack up our apartment, hire a van, drive over to Copenhagen, then move all our worldly possessions up to our new 5th floor mid-town appartment(no elevator!). I did remarkably well with little help.

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Posing for a quick portrait while getting some oxygen treatment- seemingly very alert and aware for a kid who's still 11 weeks premature...

Well- now Priya is in gestation week 36, still around a month premature...

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Bumble Bee! aka 'Priya Roma Sikka Ashford-Singh'
This was taken a few days ago- she's doing remarkably well considering earlier short and long term prognoses of chronic lung disease and bronch-pulmonary displasea. Breathing atmospheric air, feeding, pooping and quite happy :)

We're at the Hospital every day- she'll be coming home with us in a few weeks.

I would hate to think what such a long hospital stay with 24 hr intensive care would have cost if we had to foot the bill... luckily Sweden paid and now the Danish state is doing the same- glad we have 'high' taxes.

So, there you have it. :cheers1:

B
T
 

LaMedicine

One Too Many
Congratulations!!

:cheers1: :
Wow, a premee of 26 weeks. The miracles of modern neonatal care!! This is something that we didn't have in the Golden Era. 800+grams is just about the lower limit of neonatal care, though there are records of around 500 grams, I thought, with quadruplets and quintuplets...

Karolinska is one of the top notch medical institutions in the whole world, not just neonatal care, but just about in every area of modern medicine, and is a place the best doctors from every contry vie for the honor to train and do research in. To be able to receive medical care without worrying about cost in such state of the art hospitals ls certainly is one of the best aspects of "social" medicine, and taxes.

I wish you, your wife, and pretty little Priya the best of everything in life. :cheers1: again!
 

BellyTank

I'll Lock Up
Thanks-
Scandinavia have a policy of viability toward extreme premature babies.
24 weeks is about the limit for viability at present.

Holland, for example, won't deal with such early cases.

Karolinska Hospital is not to be confused with Karolinska Institute.
The standard of care and facilities at Karolinska is absolutely top-notch.

At the hospital in Denmark, where we are now, I've been looking at an albumn of their babies- they had babies at 500 grams well back into the '90s that have done fine.
The attitude in DK is different again- they pretty much feed the Babies up and leave them to get on with it. Sweden has a lot more procedure and probing and serious medical faces.

My Wife's actually a Doctor, so we're actually pretty up to date with prem care.

Thanks for your words.

PS- Which 'far end of the Pacific' are you at? LA as is implied?

B
T
 

PADDY

I'll Lock Up
Bartender
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7,425
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Hey proud daddy!!

What a beautiful wee bundle little Priya is BT. I can only imagine the range of emotions going through you and your wife's minds with such a little impatient thing wanting to burst out into the world so early. You can never take birth for granted even in these modern times, so you must be glad to know she is in such capable and caring hands.
Many congratulatons on the birth of your little daughter (I'm sure it's still sinking in mate that you are actually a daddy and this little life was created by 'you!'). What tremendous news, I'm really, really happy for you all! :cheers1:
 

LaMedicine

One Too Many
BellyTank said:
Thanks-
Scandinavia have a policy of viability toward extreme premature babies.
24 weeks is about the limit for viability at present.
It's the same here. Neonatal care units will take on any baby so long as the doctors consider there's a chance. I think, it's around 500 grams, 24 weeks, and if my memory is correct, they were successfull with a quintuplet, the smallest who was just under 500 grams.

Karolinska Hospital is not to be confused with Karolinska Institute.
The standard of care and facilities at Karolinska is absolutely top-notch.
Ah, OK, nevertheless, it is a name that evokes respect in the medical community anywhere in the world.

My Wife's actually a Doctor, so we're actually pretty up to date with prem care.
Well, then a double congratulations to her from a fellow female doctor. :cheers1:
The worst I had with my kids when they were growing up was having to nurse my older girl through several bad nights during her bout of measles, which she caught even though she'd had her required vaccination!!
Looking back now, after 20+ years, all the hard work of balancing/keeping family together and building my career, has been very very gratifying and fulfilling. I would not miss even a moment of all the harrowing, nerve wracking demands things sometimes have been, were I to go through it all again.
May your wife be as blessed as I have been.

PS- Which 'far end of the Pacific' are you at? LA as is implied?
On the Far East end, actually-Tokyo. Though all of my higher education has been here, I attended British, American, and the local schools here before going on to college/med school. My very first school teacher was a wonderful British lady, whom I am still in touch with, and she for me is the spitting image of Miss Marple from Agatha Christie's series.

Don't forget to let us all see how Priya is doing as she grows up :)
 

Brad Bowers

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,187
BT, congrats to you and your wife for Priya! :cheers1: I'm so glad she's doing well, she looks amazing and quite healthy in those photos, and so cute! Those big bright eyes of hers! Good job!

Brad
 

Flitcraft

One Too Many
Messages
1,037
Congratulations to all three of you! Glad to hear all of you are doing so well, especially under the difficult circumsances.
 

SHARPETOYS

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,425
Location
Titusville, Florida
I'm happy for you!

'Priya'

Lord, bless this tiny infant,
Who is brought to You today,
And teach those precious little feet,
To follow in Your way.
Lord, bless the baby's parents, too,
And with your loving care,
Grant them all the happiness,
A family can share.
 

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