Has any1 had a premature baby?

Question

My son was born at 26 weeks and weighed 2lb 2oz,i was just wondering if anyone else on here has went through the same horrid experience.My son has slight learning difficulties and i was also wondering how your children are now and if they had any problems due to their prematurity.

Answer 1

MY 1ST CHILD (SON) AND MY 3RD CHILD(DAUGHTER WERE BOTH BORN 7 WEEKS EARLY, MY 2ND AND 4TH CHILDREN WERE FULL TERM SO I HAVE EXPERIENCE OF BOTH!
MY FIRST CHILD IS NOW 14 YRS OLD, HE WAS 4LB 7 OZ AND QUITE POORLY, EVEN COMPAIRED TO OTHER MORE PREMATURE BABIES, HE WAS THE ONE WHO WAS ALWAYS POORLY AS A BABY/TODDLER. HE WAS ALWAYS IN CLOTHES 2 YRS YOUNGER THAN HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN...! HIS SPEECH WAS DELAYED AND HE WAS ALWAYS BEHIND AT PRE SCHOOL AND SCHOOL! HE WAS TAKEN OUT OF HIS 2 ND YR IN INFANTS SCHOOL AND PUT BACK A YEAR, THIS WAS BOTH GOOD AND BAD, BUT IN THE LONG TERM GOOD!
HE HAS REALLY IMPROVED SINCE HE WAS ABOUT 10YRS OLD AND NOW THAT HE IS 14 I DONT FEEL THAT I HAVE TO USE HIS PREMATURITY AS AN EXCUSE TO PEOPLE WHEN THEY ASK HOW OLD HE IS! HE IS A WONDERFUL SON , HOWEVER ,WHEN HE WAS YOUNGER I WORRIED SO MUCH ABOUT HIM I WOULD NEVER HAVE THOUGHT HE WOULD TURN OUT LIKE HE HAS!
MY DAUGHTER WAS ALSO BORN 7 WEEKS EARLY WITH A CLEFT PALATE. SO SHE HAD A MAJOR OPERATION WHEN SHE WAS 8 MTHS OLD, SHE STILL HAS SPEECH DELAY AND SHE IS 4, HOWEVER SHE IS IMPROVING EVERYDAY.I AM REASSURED EVERYTIME I LOOK HOW MY SON HAS GROWN PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY, THAT MY DAUGHTER WILL BE OKAY!
PLEASE DON'T WORRY YOURSELF TOO MUCH, I PUT UNBELIEVABLE PRESSURE ON MYSELF OVER MY FIRST SON, NOW I HAVE A SON WHO QUITE HONESTLY IS A CREDIT! GOOD LUCK ! JUST ENCORAGE HIM AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. AND PLEASE DON'T WORRY. HE WILL FIND HIS WAY YOU WILL SEE!

Answer 2

Hi Nati,

I was a premature baby and born also at 26 weeks. Am now 24 i had no learning difficulties thanks god, had my BA in marketing. I faced some little problems which was that i had some problems in my balance but this was fixed as i did some exercises when i was 4 and 5 years old another problem that i faced but it wasn't because that i was a premature baby it was because after i was born the enqupater was very near to my face for 3 month which made me have crossed eyes( this was the hospitals mistake) but this was cured after i did some operations in both eyes when i was 4 and 5 years old. Everything else is fine. Dont worry me and your son is not the only premature baby he will be fine but please treat him as a normal person so he becomes a normal person if you treat him a special treatment he will feel it and this will delay the development of his abilities.

May god protect your son and let you see him in the best condition.

Answer 3

As your probably aware every child is different. Our daughter was 9 weeks early and spent her first 5 weeks in hospital. She was 2lb 15oz when born and unable to feed from bottle or breast.
we were relatively lucky in that she had no breathing difficulties. she did develop jaundice but this is quite common for prematures. she also had to have a double hernia operation at about 10 or 12 weeks old. My partner perservered with a breast pump to give her as much help as possible and with help from the hospital she did manage to start breast feeding before we took her home. she was breastfed for first 18 months.
She is now an active 3 year old with no problems at all.
I apprecaite your son was very early and I wish you, your son and your family all the best.

Answer 4

My son was born at 24 weeks weighing 1lb 3oz.
he was in hospital for 9 months and we just got him home 3 weeks ago. Physically he still has alot of ongoing problems related to his being so premature but mentally he is more like his actual age rather then his corrected. Amazing really considering all he has been through, including a severe brain bleed which by all rights should have left him quite disabled.
His courage and determination astound me and i am so proud to be able to say I am his mum.

Answer 5

I had my twin girls at 30 weeks. First baby was 3lbs 11oz, 2nd was 3lbs 2 oz. Both had pneumonia, first had seizures, 2nd had more problems than I care to tell about here - we were told that she had no hope. They are now 18 months and perfect! We have to adjust their development 10 weeks back (the amount they were born early), and when we do that they are fine! They say preemies "catch up" between 2-4 years. They are smart, funny & good girls. We love them to death! Having them in NICU for 7 weeks sucked, but well worth it now.

Get your son checked out by a developmental assessment clinic. Where I live (Canada) if your child spends any time in NICU, they automatically getted refered to a clinic who tracks them until they are caught up, or until referred to another specialist. I'm not sure how it is in your part of the world, but there are many services out there - ask your local hospital and they should be able to refer you.

Answer 6

I havnt my son was only 3 days early and 8lb 5oz! But my god son was prem, he weighed 3lb 14oz, and was in hospital for 4 weeks, we nearly lost him and his mum when the placenta came away.
He was fine at first but then his head started growing wrong, one ear was further back than the other and one side of his face was flat. His now 20months and they have just found out his head has stopped growing, this means his brain cannot grow and so will soon stop developing. Its a horrendous time for my cousin, at the end of this month they go back to find out what doctors can do for him, hes not behind in the slightest so its sad to see his development slow. The only real thing they think they can do is remove part of the skull to allow the brain to expand.

I really hope everythings ok for you.x

Answer 7

My daughter was born at 25 weeks weighing 1 pound, 11 ounces. She was in the NICU for 79 days. She spent 19 days on the vent, 39 days on CPAP, and 2 weeks on nasal cannula. She suffered from a Grade III IVH, which eventually led us to her diagnosis of CP at 27 months of age. My daughter is doing very well and is 4 1/2 years old now! She uses braces to help her walk, although she can walk without them. She has Physical Therapy twice a week and will be starting Occupational Therapy again soon.

The NICU was a roller-coaster ride of emotions. There are great resources out there online if you wish to explore them:

www.specialparent.org
www.preemieparents.org

How old is your son now?

I hope that you find comfort in reaching out to others who share your experiences and feelings. I know that I did, it was a tremendous help.

Answer 8

I havn't had a baby but i was premature. I was 6 weeks premature and my lungs wern't developed properly. I am doing fine now though i think i have OCD, but thats another story all together.

Answer 9

My toddler exchange into born at 26 weeks and dropped 20% of her weight in the 1st week, with the aid of issues stabilising her sugars, and it took a pair of month to get lower back as much as her beginning weight. needless to say that's an extraordinarily differnent concern to yours. Is am guessing that your toddler is residing house with you? finished term is 37 weeks +. maximum term toddlers drop some weight in the 1st week (approximately 10% i believe?). in case you're apprehensive i could touch your HV or wellbeing expert to speak issues with the aid of. As long your toddler isn't dropping weight at this degree i does no longer complication too lots. Congratulations on the beginning of you toddler - attempt to no longer complication too lots x

Answer 10

my son had to be delivered 4 weeks early,he had to be under sun lamps for his skin,but he has breathing problems and it can be very frightening,they say he may have ashtma but we wont know till hes 2 years old..............