Anyone else had a baby with IUGR?

[Keepontrudging]

Please tell me it's all going to be ok? Before having my ds I had never heard of this. He is now 6 weeks and has gone from 2nd centile to the 9th- he's thriving :) however my dd was on the 97th and always has been, so this is taken some getting used to! I have read all sorts about babies born with IUGR, but overall the midwives / HVs and docs all seem unconcerned and said they can't really say if he will catch up or not. I now know the IUGR was down to a placental abruption that I probaby had for a good bit and didn't know about (until I haemoreaged at 38weeks and had to have an EMCS) I feel quite positive that he is fine a dos reaching milestones fine (Cooing/ smiling / feeding well) but would love to hear positive stories after reading some dire stuff on the dreaded internet... Particularly about sleep! His sleeping isn't completely dreadful, but he only manages 3 hours between feeds maximum usually, which is understandable as he needs to grow so much. I have heard though that babies with IUGR / premature don't sleep well. I'm going it will improve eventually! TIA.

I'm hoping*

Congratulations on your DS! Now step away from Dr Google.
DD was born at 35 weeks with IUGR due to pre-eclampsia, she was around 5th centile. She gained weight rather rapidly first couple months to catch up. She's now 7 months old actual and on 9th centile (25th centile for adjusted age). She still doesn't sleep through the night, but I don't think that's due to the IUGR!
She's just like any other baby really now.

My son was born at 36 weeks with IUGR. He was in special care for 8 days and on a glucose drip for some of that. He grew really quickly once he was home. I was a bit paranoid about his growth and got him weighed every week and he'd put on over a pound some weeks.

He's 3 1/2 now and absolutely fine. He's not small and you'd never know he was prem (well not very prem, but small for his gestation). To the point where I can't even remember what centile he was when, which seemed so terribly important at the time. He also has a healthy baby sister, born at a healthy weight - no problems whatsoever, although they kept quite a close eye on us during my pregnancy.

The only lasting impact has been that I can no longer listen to Wires by Athlete without bursting into tears!

Enjoy your beautiful baby and try not to worry.

DS (4) had this due to problems with my uterine artery. I heard all sorts of doom and gloom from Docs about possible long term problems when he was born.
I bf exclusively and he went from not being on the growth chart (they had to use the preemie chart for him at 39 weeks) to the 90th centile in 6 months. Initially he was so small I had to wake him every 2 hours to make him feed but after 2 months he caught on and fed CONSTANTLY. I lost about 3 stone!
At 6 months things slowed down- he's now around 70th centile for height and weight, bright and lively and exceeding most developmental milestones. I get a bit tearful looking at the early photos of him (one health visitor called him a "scrawny little chicken" which I'm still holding a grudge about!) but then I look at him now and he's (better than) fine.
Good luck.

Oh thanks so much for all this positive feedback! So, so need to read this stuff today. My DS was also in special care for 6 days on a drip and in incubator for jaundice. Wires will no doubt get me crying too! So happy to hear all your wee ones are ok. A midwife remarked on my son being, 'a wee scrap of humanity' but I think she meant it in a nice way and it has stuck with me ever since. I am also a bit obsessive about his growth and weight gain, but sure it will calm down once he grows. Thankfully he is a very good feeder though- this has resulted in him also gaining enormous amounts of weight some weeks. Reading these positive stories keeps my mind in a positive frame. Thanks again. It is really appreciated.

My ds1 was an undx IUGR baby.
He was born at 37 weeks and was 4lbs 15oz. He went down to 4.5 :(
Sadly we had Dreadful care and long story short he was in and out of hospital for weeks with feeding issues and prolonged jaundice.
However.
He will be 12 this year :)
His feet are now bigger than mine and he is fine.
Enjoy your baby x

Oh bad whar an ordeal! That must have been bloody awful. So glad all is ok for you guys too

Yes it was :(
But he is ace and so worth it :)

I think my small twin was born with sigur and was 4lb 11 and just around the 2nd centile. We were on a strict 3hr feeding schedule but in between they slept fine. At 8 1/2 months she is now 19lb 8 and near the 91st centile . The only sleeping problems we've had is down to milk intolerance/allergy which we're about to finally get sorted.

Thanks slightly, that's a massive leap in centiles! Go baby!

DD had IUGR and does have a significant health issue but that is much more likely to be hereditary, we think. I had a lot of hand-wringing from HVs about her weight and she is still on the small side but physically strong. She is academically average in one core subject and gifted in another. I was never given an explanation for the IUGR although one fuckwit of a paediatrician demanded I explain it. I'd neither drunk nor smoked during the very welcome pregnancy and had eaten very healthily. I'd exercised regularly too.

DS had IUGR - picked up at 36w, whipped out the next day. He was 0.04% centile at birth (stopped growing 4 weeks earlier - fuuuuck).

But he's 22 months now and he's thriving. Ok, he's a little small - 25% centile - but (as I occasionally have to remind myself) it doesn't mean he won't catch up. His dad is tall.

He hit all his milestones a little later but it really didn't matter. He gets there. Nothing sweeter than hearing him try out his first tentative "Mummy?"

But to the really important bit - he is a brilliant sleeper and has been since he was 16w. Obviously this is down to an awful lot of luck but I wanted to mention it to show even little babies can sleep well. It is possible. (Apparently!)

Thankyou for sharing these positive experiences, so good to hear about your babies catching up and small babies sleeping well, phew!

Hi

I've had two IUGR babies. One was stillborn at 38 weeks & my second was born by section at 37+4 because of the first. Both were IUGR but not medically (long babies & mere grams over the threshold but looked very very thin both of them).

I discovered after my second I had a double uterus so half the space to grow.... along with other clotting question marks over my placenta development.

Anyway, my second was at the 3rd centile once born. He was 5lb 15 so not tiny but v skinny if you held him or looked at him. He too had jaundice but not too bad he only had to be readmitted for 36 hours of phototherapy.

Docs & HV had no concerns because he was a) early so explaind birth weight & b) he wasn't under the 2500g weight to be medically IUGR despite my protestations....

HVs did however over the coming months have an issue with his development as his chart wasn't matching the expecting climb for a baby. He was jumping centiles each week.... He is now 61st centile with 98th centile head circ. at 10 months. HV were at 6 month mark telling me to withhold food as he was growing too much (I ignored this advice!!!!!).

Don't worry yourself. I was very worried about it & he has grown so much in spite of it! He started BF & after a phase of dodgy green poop I decided he was IUGR & trial & error method of latching could cause him to stop growing so well so to give FF. My personal decision & best one, aside from opting for a section, I have ever made.

As a side note, he saw my obstetrician when he was 6 months old & he was dumbfounded at how well he had grown given how small he was at birth proving in my mind he WAS IUGR & just needed the opportunity to thrive.

Oh & he slept through from 9 weeks & is an amazing little eater. He's always loved his food & I half think that was because in utero he was left hungry.