Premature baby and development

[Glycine]

Hi
I have a 1 yr old baby who was born prematurely at 30 weeks. I was wondering how much later than "average" to be expecting her to do things like walking/ talking? She's only just sitting up now and I've observed much younger babies sitting up. I'm not being a competative parent, I just wanted to know what to expect. She's a really happy healthy baby.
Your experiences would be appreciated. Thanks

xx

I had 2 prem babies. 1 at 33 weeks and 1 at 32 weeks. The 32 weeker turned 1 in March. She sat at Xmas - basically when she was 9 months actual, 7 months corrected age. She's crawling now and cruising furniture. Prems should be assessed according to their corrected age ( the age they should have been if born when they were due) until 2 years of age for a 30 weeker. Are you happy with her development otherwise? Is she sociable, understanding what you are saying, holding things well, swallowing well?
10 months corrected age seems slightly late for sitting. If you are concerned you should get her assessed by a HV/GP and referred to physio if necessary. Good luck - it's always a worry isn't it?

Hi
thanks. I have a routine consultant appointment this week so will ask there. Yes everything is a worry. Poor you having prematurity twice. Once was enough for me and won't be planning any more.

Yep we've had enough too! I had IUGR twice. Good luck with your consultant appt - let us know how it goes.

my daughter Ellie was born at 32+6 days...its tough isnt it! deffo get her development asssessed regularly like you are...our consultant said ellie needs to be assessed every 2 months until she's 2, which is the time they are supposed to have "caught up". good luck. do you two find you pandering to your babies more than perhaps you should, because deep down you still see them as the tiny prem they once were? i cant bear ellie crying, even at a bruisey 15 month old fat baby...so i do pander to her whingeing perhaps more than i would if she hadnt been prem (and if i hadnt been on bedrest with heavy bleeding thinking i would lose her whole pregnancy). xx

Just what emmapi said. My ds was born at 31 weeks and was monitored by paeds untill about 18 months at which point he had caught up. He's now 8, super bright academically, young emotionally compared to peers, and basically just himself.
What is also worth taking into consideration is your dd's character! Ds was quite slow with some milestones, but in retrospect, it was more about his character than any developmental delay - e.g. would not roll over until he could sit up, then sat up and crawled immediately. Would not try and toddle, just waited untill he could get up and walk properly.
Perhaps your dd is just chilled.
HTH

My DS was born at 32 weeks - he's now 17mo and has completely caught up with his peers, although he has definitely been behind with all the milestones such as crawling, walking etc (not in size though!).

I know what you mean about not being a competitive mother but you tend to notice these things! I think he was roughly 8 wks behind which makes sense, but now at his age they are all the same.

Agree with Kammy about waiting until they can do something properly before doing it - DS was the same with crawling/walking.

If she's happy and healthy then don't worry

can I just add, that I was born at 27 weeks and I have absolutely no problems. Apparently I walked just after I turned 1 and was beginning to talk by 18 months. Preemies are fighters! Like previous poster said, if she is happy and healthy, dont worry, it'll all come in good time x

My DD was born at 27+4, turned 1 on Friday, has been sitting unaided since Feb, has been rolling confidently both ways since March, is beginning to think about crawling (although at the moment still just humps backwards occasionally) and isn't near to pulling up or cruising. She'll walk if I hold her hands, but nothing else.

I find it hard not to compare, but no-one seems concerned, and she'll be checked at 1 year corrected age by the developmental paed at the hospital.

Hi
thanks for all your feedback. My daughter is very sociable, inquisitive and very good natured so I guess I should stop worrying.
Emmapi - I know what you mean about pandering more to her. I'm hugely over protective, getting a bit less so as time goes by. I can't get the picture of her so tiny and helpless in the incubator out of my mind. I guess the whole prematurity thing leaves lasting scars for the parents.

That's great that she is doing so well and is beautifully sociable. She sounds lovely. I don't think you are pandering to her at all and being protective is all part of being her mother. I agree that it's hard to get the picture of a tiny premmie out of your head. Of course she's going to be approx 10 weeks behind a term baby of the same age. If you are at all concerned about her I would mention it to your Paed. There is a condition called Hypotonia ( which is readily corrected by physio and time) which is not uncommon in premmies and is better diagnosed and treated early. Not to say that she has that at all, but better to rule it out than to ignore you gut instincts.

my ds was born at 30 weeks. he seemed slower than his elder sister to crawl and walk, and didn't talk much until he was 2.5. he will be six this summer, and is the youngest in his class (he would have probably been the oldest if the pregnancy had gone to full-term!), but he doesn't now have any major problems, he is fine socially and is in the middle of the class academically. I am not really worried about him at all any longer.

He is slightly ambidextrous (they couldn't decide whether he was left or right handed when he started school, now he seems to hold a pen with his right hand but clean his teeth with his left), but we don't know if that is linked to being a premmie or not, his father is left-handed. Anyway, it doesn't seem to cause him any problems.

It is worrying when they are little, but so much can change as they grew up. I was totally overprotective of my ds, btw!

Good luck!

Hiya my DS was born at 33 weeks and is now 14 months. He crawls at a great speed but shows no sigh of wanting to walk. We were told by our consultant that preemies tend to catch up by the time ther'e 2-3 years, so I wouldn't worry. I found Bliss were always very helpful and reassuring, if you need further literature etc. xx

Hi thanks everyone
we met the consultant yesterday and he's referring dd to physio as he thinks she may have slight curvature of spine. Now i'm thinking the worst and imagining her in a wheelchair, which is bad enough but then I have a bad back so wonder how I'll manage lifting her as she gets older and isn't mobile.
When we were leaving the neo-natal unit I was so naive as I asked the nurse if I'd need to take dd back to hospital for many check ups! We seem to be at hospital every other week for eyes/ears etc.
I thought the worst was over when we left neonatal unit but it seems new worries just continue.

Sorry you have so many worries Glycine, hope the curvature of the spine is nothing too serious. My ds was born at 34 weeks, was quite poorly and spent 8 weeks in SCBU, and was very slow to meet all milestones. Sat up (very wobbly!) at 9 months, crawled at 13 months, said first word at 18 months. I know it is very worrying to watch everyone else's baby doing things months before yours, it used to really bother me, but he is now 3 and you really can't tell he was prem at all. Think he finally caught up about 2.5.

Funnily though I now have a dd who was born at term, and she is nearly as slow as ds with all the physical milestones! Can only sit reliably now at 9 months and showing no sign of moving. So maybe ds's development was more to do with genetics than prematurity...

Good luck with the physio.