Advice please mamas! IUGR small baby born 35+6

[junebuglb]

Hi mamas. My baby girl was born via cat 2 c-section at 35+6 weighing 4lb4oz due to IUGR reversed cord flow & distress. We spent a month in NICU mainly due to problems stabilising blood sugars, low cortisol & heart defect.

I am absolutely loving having her home but had a few questions in case anyone has had similar experiences and can help a mama out?!

She is currently 8 weeks actual 4 weeks adjusted.

1. Baby is very spitty and struggles to lie flat, she will strain and squirm and spit up sometimes even 1.5hours after feeding. We can almost guarantee if she is lay flat, she will spit up at some point. Is this normal or do we need to look into Gaviscon etc? She also often cries when she poops/tries to poop. Is this normal, I feel she looks in pain?

2. Because of her size she is still technically too small for some baby items eg the sling, the carrier, sleeping bags. Other premie mamas did you use these items anyway or wait until suggested weights etc? I fear we might not be able to use a carrier until she is ~4 months old!

3. It might just be a bit too early but I am struggling to get baby to interact in any way eg smiling, copying faces, making noises, recognising my voice etc. and we don’t really do anything other than change/feed/burp/sleep repeat. Is this normal? When did your preterm little ones smile etc?

Thankyou so much in advance! xx

Hi! I’m in a similar boat - my daughter was born at 34+4 at 3lbs15 (suspected IUGR, but she was bigger than expected). We spent two weeks in transitional care. I’ve also got twins, born 37+2, so technically term, but still with some features of prematurity. Here are my thoughts:

1. if concerned, ask your gp or health visitor, but my impression is that unless it’s causing distress or impacting weight gain, it’s okay.
2. our neonatal unit said stretchy wrap / ring sling carriers were fine, so it might be worth checking with your health visitor or neonatal team. Some of the stretchy wraps go down to 2.5kg.
3. sounds totally normal! It can seem ages before they interact when they’re early, but it comes! Any concerns, again ask your HV. Premies / little ones come with so many worries, don’t they?