advice needed from mothers of premature babies ....

[autumnlover]

ds was 6 weeks premature and has reached his due date. so how does this affect his developmental milestones eg smiling etc. do HV and health professionals go by their birth date or their due date ??? its all really confusing to me. i'm kind of expecting him to smile now and of course he is not.

any advice would be really appreciated

bump please

I think due date so he'd start smiling in 6 weeks or so but am by no means an expert.

I'm fairly sure they go by due date - after all, he's only as old as he is, whether he spent the last few weeks inside or out. Sorry I can't be more help

its strange to think of him as a newborn, because he is a good size, but still only feeding every 2 hrs.

Bless him. How big was he when he was born?

he was a good size!! at 5lbs 4oz and i'm sure he's at least 7lbs.

i've looked at the Bliss website and their noticeboard but it isnt as advanced as mumsnet

Health professionals go by due date for all milestones until the age of 2. DD was 8 weeks prem and I remember it feeling like such a long wait for that first smile...but worth it in the end!

thanks Teanablue, 6 weeks does feel liek ages to wait .... not sure how i'm going to cope as i'm not good at the baby stage.

They go by due date until the age of 2.

They say to go by due date. my ds was born at 33 weeks and did most things at about the normal time was even walking before his 1st birthday.
Don't forget there will be term babies that don't always hit the milestones at the correct times

my ds was born at 36 weeks - 4 lb 13, and was always a month late smiling etc, ie at 10 weeks. He's not at all small now, height wise, but very skinny, and very slow to put on weight - the 2nd centile in red books always.

You probably won't have to wait the full 6 wks cos he was being stimulated by the sight of your smile before his due ate IYSWIM.

You find that he won't do everything 6 wks later, he will catch up as he gets a bit older.

They go by the due date - my ds was 10 weeks prem and everything was dealt with by his due date - he is now 13 - 5'11" and 11 stone - no problems - he caught up within 3 months so looking at the scales he was way over the top - as they give the allowance until they are 2!!!

Don't worry - it will all happen!

X

He was late sitting, smiling crawiling etc etc BUT walkes at 11 months!!!!!!!

You never know - they are all different.

X

Congratulations!
DS2 was born at 28wks, IME they list 2 dates his age & then corrected age, that is the age from his due date.
I was initially told that they use a corrected date until 12 months & as long as the baby is developing as expected they will then revert to using the babys' true age, although somtimes & particularly if extremely prem & showing delays then they may continue to use a corrected date up until the age of 2.
My ds2 didn't smile until he was about 5 months old, (2 months corrected) although had his first jabs at 8weeks before his due date & while still in SCBU.
All very confusing... go with your instincts but particularly to begin with use his due date & when he does everything early you can see how advanced he is.

My DS was born at 31 weeks and although I was told to go by due date for everything he did in fact do some things like smiling at his due date, so when he was nine weeks old, other things took longer, the thing I tried to remember is to enjoy them at whatever stage they are at and not long for the next 'mile-stone' etc. The baby stage is over too soon anyway!

The first three weeks were spent in hospital though so I didn't fully feel like we started until I got him home IYSWIM. DS definately kept on feeding every two hours for at least the first four or five months...

They grow up so fast...when I look at my DS now I can't believe he was ever opnce so tiny!! He is now very strong and healthy and one of the tallest 4 year olds at his nursery!

My youngest was 5 weeks early and in and out of SCBU for the first 2 1/2 weeks. TBH, i did go by his due date, but most stuff has come at around the same time as my older kids by birth date....i can remember the consultant saying that by 1 year he will be totally caught up...and he was!!
I still stress if he so much as sniffles though......

DD was 5 weeks premature and she weighed 4lb 11 oz. She seemed a little delayed at first but by the time she was about 6 months she seemed to be doing everything she should for that age.

She is now 7 years old and is the tallest in her class, she is also a very good weight too.

Hi autumnlover - it is confusing!

My twins were born at 30 weeks and I'm always struggling with what date they actually smiled, rolled over, etc. I go on their 'corrected age' based on their due date. They are slightly behind with everything, but is often the case with prems. Mine smiled at 17 weeks (so 7 weeks corrected).