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Welcome to
the L'il Aussie Prems November 2009 Newsletter.
Kids Fashion Review are currently running their yearly great fashion hunt only this year they are raising money for premmie baby charities. Our very own National Premmie Foundation is one lucky recipient & the Neonatal Trust in NZ is the other fantastic recipient. Join in and help raise money for both of these fantastic charities. We are excited to announce our winner of the Ickle Kids Competition from last months newsletter and the winner is Rebecca Waterhouse, QLD. Congratulations Rebecca and we hope Erin enjoys her "Pull the String" activity toy.
A huge CONGRATULATIONS to Pixie and her family on the birth of her
2nd daughter, Violet Joy weighing 3.35kgs. There are many new and exciting things happening at L'il Aussie Prems. Be sure to check our Forum & Facebook group page for the latest updates. We hope you all have a great month. L'il Aussie Prems
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Welcome
Our Sponsors
Bellabee Candle
Designz Our Supporters LaToriana |
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Wonderful news - Pixie's baby is here Premmie Dolls
Cael's great day The words we have longed to hear Share photos of your clothed bummed babes A brag Ob/gyn in Adelaide
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PREMMIE HERO
AWARDS Every year in Australia, thousands of babies are born prematurely. Their families ride a rollercoaster of emotions as they watch their children fight to overcome the health and developmental issues facing them as a result of their early arrival. These issues continue long after the babies are discharged from hospital. L'il Aussie Prems will be seeking nominations from around Australia of “local premmie heroes” – the ordinary yet extraordinary people who give up their time to support the families of premature babies both during their hospital stay and afterwards, doing everything from sewing tiny clothing for very low birth weight babies to setting up local playgroups for prematurely born children to organising fundraising for research into the causes of premature birth, the list is endless. Nominations open on the 1st
February 2010. 
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Natasha Bowden is the mother of a 3 ½
year old boy who was born extremely prematurely at just 23 weeks 4 days
gestation a week after they were involved in a car accident. Inspired by
Natasha and her partner Clayton were like
many parents who are experiencing pregnancy for the first time in that
they had little understanding of giving birth, let alone prematurely, and
the consequences this type of birth would have on their’s and their son’s
life. At the time Natasha would have loved to have
had a ‘baby book’ specifically designed for premature babies and after
discovering the limited availability of such a book in
Natasha, Clayton and Hudson have not left the
hospital completely behind and still have regular paediatric, respiratory,
ophthalmological and surgical follow-up appointments to attend.
Natasha has since had a second son, Malakai,
who was thankfully born at term and to whom
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FEATURED PRODUCT - NOVEMBER MiniLaLa Nappies One-Size-Fits-Most pocket nappies are made with beautiful designer fabrics, and have a hidden waterproof PUL (polyurethane laminate) layer, making them easy and fuss-free (no pins or covers required). Just pop the inserts in, and away you go! They
snap down to fit from birth through to toilet training, so are wonderfully
cost effective. The nappies have a suedecloth inner which draws any
moisture away from baby's bottom. They fasten with hook and loop (velcro)
so are easily adjustable and simple for anyone to use.
Each
nappy comes with two (a large and a small) bamboo inserts. The nappy
should fit your baby from around 3.5kg to 15kg.
 www.minilala.com.au |
SPONSOR
A PREMMIE PARENT BAG Our Premmie
Parent Bags have been created for Australian families who currently have a
premature baby or babies in NICU or SCN. As a community of parents here at
L’il Aussie Prems we have collated these bags to help other families find
the ground support they need to help them on their journey through
hospital. |
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THE AMAZING SUPPORTERS OF OUR PREMMIE PARENT BAGS Our premmie parent bags would not be filled with such amazing product information and samples if it wasn't for the very generous businesses around Australia who have helped to contribute to each of the bags. We have posted a total of 76 bags to families around Australia. We thank everyone who has contributed to our bags.     
             A special thank you also to all the premmie charities around Australia We encourage everyone to help those families with babies currently
in hospitals around Australia to sponsor a premmie parent bag and leave a
message of hope. www.lilaussieprems.com.au |
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TEN TIPS FROM MUMS OF PREMATURE BABIES We have included ten tips
from mums who have all watched and
shared in the journey whilst their premature babies have been in hospital.
We hope these tips help families with babies currently in hospitals around
Australia. Tip
1
I guess I could say try and “normalise” things as much as possible. So cuddle your baby/s as soon as you can and feed them, and bathe them and just love them, even if they feel tiny and fragile and you are scared to touch them in case you hurt them. They need to know you are there for them from the very beginning. Tip 2 1) Record as many details of your journey as possible including photos and a diary. And 2) reach out and make friends with other premmie parents. When you are at the hospital you do not feel like a minority, yet when you get your baby home, you all of a sudden feel very alone and there seems to be no-one else around that understands Tip 3 Take photos everyday while in hospital. While it may not be the happiest time it is amazing to see the difference day to day and is a good way to remind yourself that they are growing Tip 4 They have their own time, own target. Each baby is different and only you know your baby so take each comment with a pinch of salt. They are special creatures and give them as much love as you possibly can. Tip
5
Don’t ever feel guilty or blame yourself for your bubs coming early Tip 6 Don’t be scared to ask for help! Accept offers of help and take heaps of photos as they grow up so fast. Cherish every moment, write a diary - I never did and wish I had with both boys. If your hospital offers professional photos get them done, take their foot and hand prints, have a teddy or something for comparison photos Tip 7 Be positive, and take it all one day at a time Tip 8 Don’t compare. Its the hardest thing to stop yourself from doing. But all prems are different, so even the same gestational age babies will have different development graphs. Your baby is unique, so just focus on the positives and don’t compare to what other babies are doing Tip 9 Take lots and lots of photos - and make sure you keep a copy of them somewhere safe. I lost a lot of photos when my computer died and I didn’t have a backup. Also I wish I’d kept a journal, even if it was brief, because all those vivid early memories which I thought I would never forget are starting to dim now that time is passing and so many new memories are being created as Talia grows Tip 10 Don't be afraid to be involved in your babies care as much as you can. Remember this is your baby and you are a mum even if at
times it feels like you are the stranger in NICU. Change their nappies,
massage them etc.
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PREMMIE FAMILIES GIVING
BACK TO OUR HOSPITALS There are 1000’s of families who have experienced the NICU & SCN hospital journey around Australia after giving birth prematurely. The hospitals are a savour not only to our children but also to the families. The medical teams create miracles everyday saving our premmie babies and even some born as early as 22 weeks. Their dedication and passion shines through our childrens smiles and laughter. As a community of families touched by the premature journey we want to give back to hospitals around Australia to say thanks starting in 2010. The community here at L’il Aussie Prems are very excited to announce that once a year we will be collecting gifts from around Australia to send to one hospital chosen by the public. Each year a different hospital will be chosen to spread the good will from families. We enourage families of premature babies and the public to join with us in “giving back”. Please vote in our poll currently on the website for your chosen hospital. The list of hospitals have been chosen by our members and will be rotating each year so big and small hospitals will benefit.
Please feel free to join the
forum and let us know what you would
like to donate. You can donate books for families to read to their babies
whilst in hospital, if you are crafty you can create name tags for each
baby, sew or knit, the list is endless.
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THANKS OF THE
MONTH
We have created our “thanks of the
month” with our family & friends in mind who help us through our
journey after giving birth prematurely. Their support goes unwaivered and
is never forgotten. Each month we
choose a loved one from our submissions made by parents. We endevour to
thank everyone who submits details to us as every loved one deserves to be
recognised for their amazing support.
With each
submission a 15cm x 5cm personalised candle of thanks will be sent to each
loved one that is featured on the website in that month from L’il Aussie Prems &
Bellabee Candles.
Your premmie babies picture will be added to the candle with your families surname. Please visit Bellabee Candles to view their amazing range of personalised candles. www.lilaussieprems.com.au
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PREMMIE OF THE MONTH - November Emma & her mum Roz Where was Emma born? Womens and Childrens Hospital, Adelaide What was her gestation? 27 weeks And was her birth weight? 510 grams (1lb 1 oz) What do you remember most about Emma's time in hospital? The hours spent staring at her humicrib and feeling so helpless. I also remember the day she had to be resuscitated - she stopped breathing in my arms and went grey and limp - it was horrifying. Does Emma have any ongoing health issues? Emma is very small for her age. Is in the 3rd percentile for her height and weight. Her main issue is that she does not eat solid foods. At 3 and a half she still lives on bottles with a special formula of which we have to feed her... She has chronic lung disease which manifests itself in asthma, bronchitis, etc. She has been slow with reaching her physical milestones, but she is mentally advanced for her age. What has been your proudest moment since Emma came home? Every milestone has been proud. From such a small scrap that was the size of a pen.. to this gorgeous little girl. I was proud when she first stood, crawled, walked, brushed her teeth. It is amazing to watch these special little treasures grow and develop. After such a tough start to life, it is truly a miracle they are ALL here today.  Thank you L'il Aussie Prems Team  Birth
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