<font color="purple">So I've heard that the NICU (Short for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) are taking greater precautions to reduce the number of painful procedures that the babies go through per day. It was once thought that babies don't really "feel" pain, but scientific studies show that babies actualy feel pain moreso then adults do, and that expiriencing alot of pain as an newborn/infant can lead to exagerated pain responses/emotional instability as adults. So, they are trying to reduce the number of painful procedures that the babies have to endure.

I'm just saying this because 1.) It's interesting news, and 2.) this news sorta applies to me. I was born at 27 weeks (which is about 3 months early) and had to spend my first three months in the NICU. It makes me sort of wonder, how many of those procedures did I have to go through? After all, I was born 3 years shy of 2 decades ago, and they didn't have some of the treatments that they have now.

An article that I found relating to this </font>

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I can't imagine anyone thinking that babies are unable to feel pain. They were very careful with my nephew was born at 22 weeks 13 years ago, he was less than two lbs. I don't think that it was concern for pain as much as it was that if the child cried he was wasting energy that he could not afford to lose. Even through an NG tube and IV's he had a difficult time getting the calories he needed every day.

They're making amazing progress these days while my nephew has many difficulties and disabilities a co-worker's daughter was born at 21 weeks and less than 2 lbs and today she's a completely healthy 5 year old.

I was born early too, although not as early as you I was born at 30 weeks, less than 4 lbs; 40 years ago.

<font color="purple">Wow, 21 weeks? That's amazing!

I had an "older brother" who was born at that time, he didn't make it past a couple of days I think. Then my brother was born a week or two early, and then there was me...and my mom decided she was done because she had one boy and one girl. Aparently the thing that kept me alive as a baby was being fiesty, and that alot of the other babies born that early had died. I was born weighting 2 pounds, but once I droped the water weight I was a little over 1 pound. </font>

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Isn't it though! After my nephew's experience (which he knew about and asked his experiences) I didn't know what to tell him, but like I said, his daughter is absolutely healthy.

But it also helps that we have the Mayo clinic handy. Although come to think of it, his daughter was in Milwaukee.

<font color="purple">Babies themselves are amazing if you think about it.
In a way, they are completely helpless.
But at the same time, their bodies are so adaptable in the way that adult bodies are not, because they are just begining to grow in their new enviorment so nothing is really set in stone. </font>

[thelostone]

babies are incredible. and your feistyness probably had a lot to do with your survival. i had a baby at 28 weeks, 26 years ago, and they told me she wouldn't survive 24 hours. she was feisty too, and is the mother of my 2 grandchildren.

lost