Sleep routines for preemies

[user1493413286]

Did you find that your baby followed (vaguely) sleep routines based on their due date or actual age?
My baby is 12 weeks, corrected age 5 weeks and I'm being encouraged by the health visitor to have an 8pm bedtime and basically expect the sleep of a three month old baby but she's still only newborn size and feeding lots with only a vague routine plus she doesn't settle down to sleep at night til at least 10 and is wide awake at 8.
She's fallen into a bit of a routine of waking for night feeds but doesn't have much of a routine with daytime naps.
I'm not sure if I should be trying to put a routine in place based on her actual 12 week age or treat her like a 5 week old newborn.
What have other people done?

Short answer- like a 5 week old.

My dc3 was born at 34 weeks and I basically had 6 extra weeks of newborn type sleeping and eating.

I'm also not sure what sort of routine she would suggest for a 12 week old anyway. Are you breastfeeding or bottle? If breastfeeding then still doing lots of night feeds at 12 weeks is totally normal. If bottle, then maybe fewer feeds but still totally normal for naps to be a bit all over the place and some night wakings too.

Google the 4th trimester.

I read about the 4th trimester when I was pregnant and was ready to treat the first three months that way before she arrived early but I support I hadn't really thought properly about it since she arrived. we were told in hospital to consider development from her corrected age but since coming home and dealing with GPs and health visitors they've been giving advice and developmental checks based on her actual age which has confused me. It makes more sense that we just have longer of the newborn stage.
Thank you for the advice; she's breastfed and as she's still little her tummy only takes so much in one feed so I felt lots of feeding was probably to be expected but I feel like the health visitor forgot that.
I'm tempted to ask for her next development check to be done 7 weeks later than her actual age as I don't want to come out feeling rubbish like I did with the 6 week check

If your bfing just ignore the routine stuff completely. It is completely normal for a term 12 week old to still be all over the place with feeding and sleep, let alone one born 7 weeks early.

sounds like the HV is an idiot forgot about her being prem.

Tbh I tried to do routine for my prem and it didn't work. I think prems are a bit of a law unto themselves because their bodies are still at corrected age but they have been alive and awake (ish) for their actual age - if that makes sense? Best bet is to go with whatever seems to work for your baby, make sure they get enough sleep and enough milk and never mind the timings.

And yy to delaying development check. Development should definiteoy be judged based on corrected age not actual.

Coincidentally I was at the baby clinic today and the HV told me that the letters for the 8month development check would be generated automatically but to phone and ask for it to be moved back 6 weeks because it should be done at 8 months corrected age.

For anything developmental, we've found corrected age to be appropriate. This is what's advised by developmental leap guidance eg the Wonder Weeks too.

For example, DS was 6 weeks prem. It's usual for babies to smile at 6 weeks old. He smiled at exactly 12 weeks old - 6 weeks corrected.

Preemies have a longer fourth trimester - add on all the weeks at the beginning when they should've been inside!

The only things I'm aware of that track to actual age (from birth) are weaning and the timing of vaccinations

Your HV is an idiot. Ignore!

Hi all developmental things should be done from corrected age not actual age, only thing I'm aware of which goes on actual age is vaccinations. Not sure about weaning maybe it depends on how early they were? my DD was 3 months early so couldn't have weaned her at 6 months (actual) as it would have been like trying to wean a 3 month old. Xxx

Mine was fairly regimented to the 3 hour NICU 'cares' routine - he was fine fed every 3 hours in there and continued that when he came home - for bloody ages!

I lost count of the times I explained to my Mam 'yes, I know we all slept through MUCH earlier and yes, he's still waking to be fed at 6 months but his stomach is tiny....' grrr