How do preterm babies develop?

Lyssa - posted on 11/18/2008

depending on your hospital it is preterm some day its not . my son was a 36 weeker but he was developmentally a 32 weeker and is now 7 mths old and has had lots of problems and he was delayed alittle in some development. if you have any questions just ask your dr! they will know best

Sandi - posted on 11/17/2008

My son was born at 25 weeks. He's 6 now and doing great but he needed a lot, lot, lot of patience and support and time to master the sitting, walking and talking but he got there at about 2 years old. I think he'll let you know when he's hungry. Have a cup of tea and enjoy the rest time. Try not to worry. He'll be just fine.

Tiffany - posted on 11/16/2008

My older son was born at 5 weeks early, and a couple of things he seemed to do a little later like rolling over and crawling, but mostly he was right on target with full term babies. Just remember every baby is different too, some do things earlier or later regardless of their gestation. From w hat you say it sounds like he's doing just fine!

I just had a baby a month ago today also born at about the same prematurity, I will keep an eye on him but pretty much expect he'll go at his own pace. I think your doctor will be less concerned if it takes your little guy a bit longer to do things but for the most part he will probably develope right on time with others his same ageg.

Julie - posted on 11/16/2008

My son was born 4 weeks early at 3lb 10oz. He is now 8 years old. They do say that by about a year they should have caught up with other babies there age but this bepends how prem they are. From what i read from what you say you seem very lucky. My son was feeding about every 2 -3 hours if i was lucky. He always had a gain in weight even if it wasnt much.

Beth - posted on 11/14/2008

I have a daughter(she's 3 now) who was full term at 9lbs 5oz and 22.5 inches long, and now have twin boys born at 33 weeks that were 5lbs 1oz and 2lbs 12oz. They told me to expect some delays, but I can tell you that the boys were almost crawling by 8 months old, when their big sister didn't move until about 12 months!! Even full term babies do things on their own timetable. Don't worry, the first year you are at the doc's every 5 minutes with infants, so they will be able to pick up on something that isn't right.

Eileen - posted on 11/13/2008

My daughter was born at 30 wks, 4 days, weighing 3 lbs. 3 ozs. and 16 3/4 inches long. She had no complications and stayed at a level II NICU for 5 weeks. She came home weighing exactly 5 lbs and quickly ballooned to over 7 lbs just 4 weeks later. She was quite the little chubber for a while although she was only in the 50 percentile for weight in her calendar age group. But she caught up quickly considering she wasn't even hitting the charts when she was 2 months old. She is my first and only as well so I was clueless also. I was lucky enough that we qualified for Early Intervention which I took advantage of. They worked with her every week. I always checked on Babycenter.com to compare her milestones to others in her corrected age, not calendar age. At her one year Early Intervention assessment, she was at or advanced her calendar age except speech. I was told not to worry and she will speak more when she was ready to. Little did I know, she really did understand more than she could say. She's quite the little talker and singer now. She just turned 2 yrs old on Nov. 1 and I no longer compare her to her corrected age. She has really caught up to her peers and people always think she is older than she is. So, hang in there. Ask your doctor every question you can think of, even silly ones. It never hurts. And I wouldn't compare him to others his calendar age just yet. He'll catch up.

Mindy - posted on 11/07/2008

My daughter was born 4 weeks early and weighed 5lbs 8 oz too. She is now 13. She was a little at putting on weight, but was on target for everything else. My son was born 7 wks early and he was late at everything. He is now 9 and doing very well. Most premmie babies may start out taking thier time to learn new things, but they catch up. Try not to worry about what he's not doing yet and just enjoy him where he is now. Good luck!

Charissa - posted on 11/07/2008

ive noticed a few responses and saying he wasnt preterm and i apologize i didnt clarify he was just on the fine line of not being preterm. i think it was 4 or 5 days later he would have been comsidered full. i always ask his doc everything i just like to hear/read other stories and opinions! he actaully had only a few problems with his transitioning. and fluids didnt completely get out of his lungs. He came extremly fast! i was 3 cm dilated at my last doc appt. and 2 days later i went into labor at 830am! i got to the hospital and i was 8 cm and mind you in pain!! i got there at 930 am and had him at 1209 pm. i was completly shocked with how fast it went! and i barely recieved an epiderul! i probably shouldnt have got one with being 8 cm but they gave me one and it didnt kick in until after they broke my water and i told them it wasnt working so they dosed me up again with something else that i cant remember! it was a big blur at that point i only could focus on pain but i am thankful for all the interseting stories and experiences other people have been though and thankful that everything with my son has been nothing but minor!

Kathryn - posted on 11/05/2008

Technically 36 weeks gestation is not considered preterm. I am a NICU nurse and we only consider preterm earlier than 36 weeks. If your son was 4 weeks early, that's not so bad. He should keep right in line with other children his age. That's a great weight as well!

Jaime - posted on 11/05/2008

My daughter was also born 4 weeks early weighing 4 lbs 12 ozs. The doctors told me that she was called 'near term' and not preterm. My doctor told us that her milestones should be about a month behind a regular term baby, if not a little less than a month, and so far, they were right. She is 7 weeks old today and eats anywhere from 3-5 hours during the nights and more frequently during the day. I don't know how much she eats since we are nursing. I don't think you have to wake your son up to eat at night as long as he has surpassed his birth weight. Good luck!

Rasha - posted on 11/05/2008

My son was born at 30 weeks, weighing 1 pound 15 ounces at 13 inches long, at 9 weeks old he weighed 5 pounds 6 ounces and we were able to bring him home from the hospital. He has experienced some delays didn't sit up till 10 months old, stood up at 12 months, didn't walk till 18 months, he had physical therapy starting at 6 months until he began walking. Now at 4 years old, he is very active, intelligent; although he has some minor problems with speech and his fine motor skills, he gets speech therapy and occupational therapy through his preschool. Just remember every baby is different and always take into consideration your baby's adjusted age, it is hard at first to do that because you want your child to do everything that is expected, even now I can tell a difference.

Katie - posted on 11/04/2008

My doctors told me that 36 weeks technically is not preterm. So maybe check with the pediatrician or physician your child sees. My twins were born at 28 weeks and we have an occupational therapist come to our house every Thursday morning for an hour. He plays with the boys, shows us ways to play that incorporate exercise and such. But he said babies born 36 weeks or later GENERALLY develop as if born at 40 weeks. My boys act like their corrected age, meaning they should be 5 months now instead of 8 months and they act 5 months. I think you're probably on track but I'm not an expert by any means.

Kendra - posted on 11/04/2008

10 pounds 6 ounces at 2 months is great!! Every kids is different. Our son was born at 31w5d weighing 3p10o. He sat-up for the first time at 13 months, crawled at 16 months and walked at 25 months. He was quite late on everything, but he is a normal 4 year old now! Our youngest was born at 37 weeks and weighed 5p12o and did everything early.... just listen to your doc and don't be afraid to ask questions!

Charissa - posted on 11/04/2008

I delivered my son (now 12 months) at 34 weeks and we were told to expect some developmental delays. At every check up he's been just shy of completing every developmental milestone for that age. At his 12 month check up last month we actually got to check off every box for the development items! I wouldn't be worried one bit if your child is slightly behind...he will catch up in no time. From what it sounds like though...he's doing a wonderful job! I agree with Samantha's post: if the doctor doesn't seemed concerned, you shouldn't either. Congratulations on your healthy preemie!

Casondra - posted on 11/03/2008

My third was born at 31 weeks, and had open heart surgery at 2 weeks. spent 6 weeks total at Riley's Neonatal NICU. She just turned 13 months old, and according to her developmental pediatricians, she should have been doing things according to her corrected age, which they have her the 9 weeks prematurity plus the time she spent recovering from her open heart surgery. They told me they would be happy if she was walking by two, and completely caught up by the age of five. Well, she is 13 months old and has been walking for over a month. She was rolling over a month and a half after coming home for Riley's, and was crawling and sitting up by 7 months. I think it all depends on the child. I also had one at 36 weeks and she did everything slow.

Samantha - posted on 11/03/2008

I totally understand! My daughter was born 4 wks. early at 5 lbs. even! Although she had a couple of medical conditions when she was born that made it even scarier. Luckily, the doctor's were pretty good at explaining everything for us and answering all our questions. The main thing is to talk to his pediatrician about your concerns on the next check-up, because that is part of their job! Also, they basically have a guideline that they follow for development. They will ask if your baby can do certain things at each check-up (at least ours does). They know what to watch for. My little girl stayed pretty much within the guidelines, except for when it came to weight and height. The differences weren't a bad thing though, as all babies develop at their own pace in those areas. At 3 months she was around 20th percentile for weight, by 6 mo. it was 50th, and by 9 mo. it was 90th (michelin tire baby). Now at age 2 she's skinny and eats all day long. Burns everything off because she is so active! Her doctor once told me that preemies do tend to develop a little slower than others, but generally catch up around age 2 or 3. So, talk to the doctor, they can help.