Reddit mentions: The best ear thermometers

You're welcome! Oh, gosh, I didn't mention how things went with Zed himself, partly because it went so well -- so, at 35w2d, he went to the NICU for standard observation (4 hours at my hospital, but it took them 6 hours to get him back to us, because the hospital was busy). Since he was doing fine (!), he roomed in with us for the next 48 hours while I recovered from the c-section. The only challenges were getting him to eat, and getting his temperature regulated.

We were told to feed him every 3 hours around the clock on a strict schedule, and if I were slightly less motivated to breastfeed, a bottle would have made that a lot easier from the start. But I really desperately want to breastfeed, so we did a lot of different things early on -- finger-feeding, putting him on the breast while I wore a nipple shield and we used a supplementing syringe, and so on. It was sometimes hard to wake him up for a feeding, but we managed. He was just very little and very sleepy!

For regulating his temperature, in the hospital he was always too cold, not too warm, so we just kept him bundled up in the hospital receiving blankets! At home, Mr. Z went out and got this thermometer to keep an eye on his temperature, and we bundled him up or took layers off as needed, plus lots of skin-to-skin time. (That thermometer seems to have mixed reviews; we really liked it and Zed never minded it, which was the important part for us.)

At home, we finally did end up giving him a bottle very early on, because we needed to get food into him and it was just so hard to keep him awake for a feeding! We've been bottle-feeding him ever since, and it's only just now (2-3 weeks past his due date) that I'm really making progress on getting him to the breast. His mouth is big enough to latch on at last! I think that was really his only issue. He has always been very motivated by boobs!

We were very lucky, but I think at this stage in your pregnancy you also have a good solid chance of having a similar outcome! Preemies are a little more complicated than term babies, but not for very long -- at this point, Zed is every inch an active, healthy baby, and if you didn't know how old he was, you'd never know he hadn't been term. :)

Just happen to have it out, since my son seems to have caught something :(

It's a Braun Thermoscan 4520. They are not cheap and you need to buy little covers for the end that you stick in their ear. It uses infrared to determine the temp. I've noticed my son runs around 97.9 in one ear and 98.3 in the other. Really surprised me the difference, but his "normal" temps are always slightly higher in one ear then the other. I trust it because it is consistent and if one is high, the other is also high. Also, as I mentioned before, I've seen these Braun Thermoscans used at doctor offices.

Edit:
Here's the one I have.
http://www.amazon.com/Braun-Thermoscan-Thermometer-Technology-IRT4520USSM/dp/B001FWXKMM

And it looks like there's a newer, cheaper model you might want to check out.
http://www.amazon.com/Braun-IRT6500US-Ear-Thermometer/dp/B00MUK6M82

Lots of comments here talking about rectal thermometers but I want to stress that many doctors advise AGAINST using these at home. User error has led to perforations or tears, unfortunately. Licensed daycares, at least in Ca, aren't authorized to use them. My son's daycare used the armpit and adjusted (+ 2°, I think? Not sure). His ped suggested an ear thermometer. We've used the Braun Thermoscan 7 IRT6520 Thermometer with my son and it's done fine. I suggest whatever thermometer you do use, you bring it with you to the ped every time you think baby is running a fever so you can compare it against their reading.

Bottom line - ask your ped which type they prefer you use.