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Preemie moms - there are some on here, right?
One of my favorite coworkers has a granddaughter who was born at 28 weeks. She is now almost 17 months. He just came back from visiting her and shared that her lungs are still underdeveloped (she has oxygen through a nasal cannula all day), she is just under 13 pounds and she is not crawling, standing or walking or talking, but she does babble and sign a bit.
When do preemies "catch up" so to speak? I know this is probably a crazy question that makes no sense, b/c each situation is so unique, but I really don't know anything about preemies and I knew some of you might have some insight. I ask him a certain amount, but I don't want to ever be insensitive with my questions, so I err on the side of not asking a lot. He did say that the doctors aren't worried about her small size and cognitively, she's doing great! We see pics of her (she lives on the west coast) and she is the sweetest little thing!
Re: Preemie moms - there are some on here, right?
My daughter was born at 27 1/2 weeks. 91 days in NNICU and came home at 5 lbs on her due date.
She was all caught up by age 1
Not a premie mom, but I have a bit of experience here.
So, developmentally, she's more like a 14 month old. Term kids are definitely crawling by then, but not necessarily walking. Preemies have to not only catch up in terms of growing, but strength. The time in the NICU often takes a toll on how their muscles and joints develop. It is not uncommon at all for preemies to need physical therapy for a while to help their muscles get back on track. The earlier they're born, the more likely they'll need PT/OT.
If she's still on a cannula, her size doesn't surprise me at all. She's spending a lot of energy just breathing and oxygenating at this point, since her lungs are underdeveloped. She might have trouble eating a lot at once too (due to lung function...coordinating eating and breathing is actually a really tough thing for babies to learn to do), so there's often a kind of delicate balance between getting enough food per feeding session, and maintaining oxygenation.
The cognitive info is GREAT. A NICU stay can be rough (it is completely amazing what those babies can survive...they can bounce back from episodes that would kill or permanently impair and adult), and if she's still got lung issues, I'd bet she had a lot of not so great days/weeks during her stay. Sometimes that has cognitive effects, sometimes it doesn't. You really don't know until later, and it sounds like she's doing really well in that regard.
As to when she'll catch up physically? A lot of kids are "normal" in terms of physical development, by the time they start school. She may always be small (and may even always have lung issues), but I'd bet they'll probably see a lot of improvement with her physical development when her lung function improves. If she's still on a cannula all day, that could be a while, depending on a number of factors.
Thanks, everyone!
And thank you so much, DR, for taking the time to answer! I should've paged you months ago.
What you're saying makes a lot of sense and definitely speaks to her specific situation. They are always getting updates on her and it's amazing what she's overcome already! I love hearing the latest on how she's doing and look forward to meeting her some day.
Mine weren't micro preemies....
The twins were born at 36 weeks - but they weighed 3 pounds each (IUGR issues). They are still the size of kids a year behind them (they are 3.5). Audrey didn't start really talking until she was close to 2.5, and Natalie didn't start walking until 22 months. I can still tell they are a bit behind their peers.
Corbin was close to 6 weeks early, and he's a chunker who rolled over early, and is already sitting up. As far as I'm concerned, he appears pretty much on track or early.
Hopefully she'll catch up by the time she's two (adjusted).