Parents of older preemies - how did it turn out? - Page 2

[OGirlieMama]

My 29-week twins were in the hospital for 9 weeks, moderate and severe RDS, and the one with severe came home on O2 for another 3 months. They are 3.5 years old now and are doing wonderfully. No developmental delays, no sensory issues, and healthwise they are very strong. They both sometimes wheeze with a cold, which is really the only physical artifact of their prematurity that we're aware of (other than all those little scars...) We thank our lucky stars every day.

[Stella_luna]

My beautiful DD was born at 31 weeks with IUGR (2.5 pounds) owing to severe pre-e. She spent 48 days in the NICU, with the usual rollercoaster of ups and downs.

When she was discharged, we were told she had a 75% chance of eventually (by school age) developing developmental delays, learning disabilities, or low IQ, owing to her intrauterine environment. I admit I spent several years hyperanalyzing everything she did, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

By the time she was about 4, I relaxed.

She is now almost 8 years old. She is the tallest child in her 2nd-grade class. She is in the gifted program at school. She is almost enever sick. She is healthy, happy, outgoing, and wonderful. I almost never think about her being a preemie anymore, rather than it being constantly in the back of my mind. I wish every day that I could have seen how she would turn out back when I was on hospital bedrest. I would have saved myself a great deal of anguish .

[MollyD]

My twins were born at 29w5d. (now are 6) They had an extremely long NICU stay for their gestational age. They REFUSED to eat from the bottle or the breast, so the were in the NICU for 11 weeks.

Anyway, DS had a moderate expressive speech delay which with the help of speech therapy was resolved just before age 5. He is still in speech therapy for articulation issues, but my full term neice is in speech therapy for the same reasons. So is his articulation related to his prematurity?? No so sure when I see the same thing with my neice.

DD has had a few more on going issues. She had low muscle tone for awhile, therapy took care of that. She was "late" to walk, but could climb mountains (I swear if given a chance) at 13 months. She has feeding issues and was in feeding therapy for a year (undiagnosed reflux, and swallow issues that were related to having the og/ng tube for 11 weeks) Therapy was a great sucess and she is now eating whatever you give her. Her favorites now include sashimi, squid salad, mussels, mushrooms, shrimp, and cavier. She supposedly was speech delayed.. wow she caught up 6+ months of being behind in less then a month... Don't think she was as delayed as they said she was.
She is small (around 10% for height and weight).. well guess what she was small when I was pregnant with her and she is small now. I think had she been full term she would have been small.
The worse thing that we are dealing with is awful preemie teeth. She has had 7 baby root canals, 7 silver caps, 1 with a procelin crown, and about a dozen fillings.

We are still dealing (and most likely always will be dealing) with reflux. But if these are the only issues that we are dealing with I am so lucky compared to what could have happened to them.

Yes I still worry about them, and I am worried about learning disabilities, but I no longer let things like that control my life with them.

[felix23]

Lilly was born at 29 weeks weighing 1 lb 13 oz(IUGR). She is almost four and other then being really tiny, she is healthy. She was in PT and OT for the first couple of years, but now she is developmentally fine.

[bandgeek]

Sorry, not a preemie mom, but just thought I'd mention that when it comes to community groups, you will get a higher concentration of people who's kids have more problems because they need the support. A parent who's child has little or no problems rarely needs support like that so doesn't join the groups. If that makes any sense. My DD has a brain injury and I found that the yahoo groups were filled with the most severe cases....the kids with mild cases who didn't have all the problems were out there...just not on the groups.

Hope that makes sense. I'm sure there are TONS of preemies that do just fine. You just may not necessarily see them in the support groups.

[oliversmom7213]

My boy was born at 35 weeks, even though I kept trying to insist he was about 36 weeks, the dr's still called him 35. He spent 2 weeks in the nicu. A week on oxygen and a week feeding and growing. He is 16 months now and has perfect, sometimes scary, gross motor skills. He won't speak besides saying mama and dada, but he is a boy and likes to grunt and point like most men I know. He understands language perfectly and can follow directions. The kid has an amazing immune system and has only had 2 fevers since he has been born with 2 touches of the sniffles.
My best friend had a 32 week daughter who spent 4 weeks in the NICU. She is sooooo healthy and bright. Unlike her full term brother who has tubes in his ears, rsv and pneumona already by 12 months old.
You just never know.

[henriksmom]

My son just turned one last month, although he will be adjusted one next month. He was born at 29w 6d. He was off the charts at 4 lbs. He stayed in the hospital for 58 days (although I think that babies in Canada may stay longer due to our Universal Health Care). His major issues were Jaundice and an umbilical hernia. He had feeding issues. But so far I have not seen any cause for concern. Not that I do not worry. I worry all the time and look for problems when they do not exist. Every possible problem I equate to his prematurity. Every child is an individual and statistics are just that.

[Whistler]

My baby sister was born at 35 weeks and came home the day she was born. She had some jaundice and was a bit sleepy for a few weeks but was otherwise healthy and grew fine.

She had some slight gross motor delays growing up (walked at 18 mos.) and had some vision therapy for a while but they did not affect her life much and she had a very normal, happy childhood, did well in school and just got married this summer.

[Amys1st]

I completely see where you are coming from! We had it up until recently, in the back of our mind to really watch our former preemie. That is until we got for the uptenth time= "YOUR DD WAS A PREEMIE???" or "She was under 2 lbs????". My Maggie was 810 grams or 1 lb 12oz at birth. She was right under 25 weeks so technically a 24 weeker but really a 25 weeker.

Maggie is 3 1/2 and is one of the taller girls in her class. She also is taller than some 4 yr olds. The only help she has needed was speech for about a year. But the Speech people to credit it not to being early, they say it could be anything from being a 2nd child to just needing a boost. Now she talks nonstop. Really.

I stopped writing on sign up forms etc that her medical needs include premature birth because most people do not know she was early so we stopped putting it or talking about it.

Another thing, we kept up with a lot of nicu parents and MAggie started doing great right after her due date hit. She reached most of her actual milestones by 18 mos and was pretty corrected with exception to speech.
We found it extremely stressful to see other nicu graduates not doing as well and pretty much kept the preemie thing on the DL. We knew families where their preemie was not as early not as small etc and this child would have all sorts of issues. One time picking up dd1 at camp, another Mom I didnt know remarked that her son was behind and he was a preemie. I just nodded politely but it was obvious the boy had a struggle. Another mom remarks- "WOW Maggie was a preemie too!!" so the mom asked how early she was and I had to say "15 1/2 weeks". Her son was only 10 weeks so I felt like a real jerk. Thus the reason we dont talk about it anymore!

We bring her back every year on her birthday to the nicu and the nurse always remark they love when the grads come back because they get to see the finished product.

[ouesi]

My twins were born at 32 weeks (okay, 31 wks, 6 days according to U/S). My daughter had IUGR and absent end diastolic flow of her umbilical chord, son had no issues. Son spent 20 days in NICU, DD 30. Despite bottle feedings in NICU, the both learned to breastfeed, grew normally, in fact DS is the tallest kid in his class, DD is tall, just "scrawny" LOL!
They're six now, both absolutely fine, no issues whatsoever. I keep a sharp eye out for learning disabilities, but so far, they are both doing fantastic in school, love to read, love math (must get that from dad!)

[OneWithTwo]

my daughter was 32 weeks. Spent 3 weeks in NICU.
She just turned 3 in June and you would never know she was preemie other than she is petite, but that could be because of anything...Dr.'s always say "well she was preemie".
@ 1 she was FTT, but I lean more towards it being because of food allergies. I did notice she was a bit behind speech wise @ 2, but with some Early Intervention, she is all caught up and ahead of some kids her age.
Health is great. Perfect teeth. She is on the lower end of the percentile, but oh well..she is happy, healthy and thriving.
A far as hitting milestones, I think she was on track if we went by her original EDD..like she walked when she was 15 months which would be 13 months adjusted..normal? Other than that, she is perfect

[lindberg99]

My son was born at 30 weeks 3 days. He's now 9 and in 4th grade. He's doing well in school and was just accelerated to 5th grade math. He does have a preemie head but I don't think anyone notices that but me. No health issues, other than hayfever.

And I feel bad admitting this since he's doing so well but part of me still wonders "what if he had been born at term", you know??

[DocsNemesis]

I can't really help completely since my preemie is only 14 months old. He hasnt had ANY issues, but I know thats not what you're looking for.

I can say, however, that my full term, completely normal kids have had issues at one point or another. My eldest has ADHD and Bipolar disorder, along with epilepsy (that's been non-active for 3 years now!). My 2nd had tongue tie which resulted in speech delays and she needed her tonsils out at 4 for snoring/apnea. She inherited my giant tonsils, lol. My 3rd has horrible cavities that she needs to be put under general for (she just turned 4 and won't let a dentist near her).

Anyway, my point is, even if a child is full term and totally healthy, doesn't mean everything is perfect. Is it really that bad? Nah. Its just part of having kids.

From what I've seen, most kids that arn't full out micro preemies do really well and they dont have issues later on. Just keep that in mind as well.

[Momof4kidz]

I can relate to what your saying; I too come from another preemie forum

We, as preemie parents are all to aware of the 'what ifs' and the'what the future could hold' for our preemies. We know they could have long term problems, and we definatley dont need to be reminded of it by everyone we see. We are very proud of our tiny miracles; as we should be!

I had my first baby at 35 weeks due to oligohydramnios. She was 5 lb 6 oz 17 in. She had Respiratory distress syndrome/Hyaline membrane disease, Newborn cyanosis, Pulmonary hypoplasia (lung development of a 29 weeker,) Pulmonary hypertension, Low birth weight, 19% weight loss, apnea of prematurity, bradicardia, hyperbilirubnemia, hypoglycemia, immature suck-swallow-breath reflex, inability to maintain body heat, mild reflux, mild bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and thrush. She came home at 10 days old weighing 4 lbs 13 ozs, on oxygen for 2 months and an apnea monitor for 4 months. Today she is 10 years old, 20% for weight and height, she is in the 4th grade and doing fantastic. Her lungs are much healthier than we could have ever expected and she never had any developmental delays. She is ADD but it is well controled with meds. She is thriving, and after all she overcame as a newborn I couldnt be more proud of her.

My second baby was born at 35.5 weeks due to oligohydramnios again. He was a robust 6 lb 8 oz and 18.5 ins long. He went to the special care nursery for about an hour for observation, but I took him home at a day old. He was almost put back in the hospital at 5 days old when his weight dropped to 5 lb 8 oz due to not eating, but I convinced them to give us a little more time. After that he took off and started doing well. He had MSPI and was on hypoallergenic formula until he was 15 months and was really tiny for a long time, but developmentally he was amazing; even walked at 9.5 months! He will be 8 years old tomorrow and is doing fantastic. He is 70% height and 10% weight and has ADHD/impulsive behavior, but it is well controlled with medication. He is in 2nd grade and doinf fantastic.

My 3rd baby was born by emergency c section at 33 weeks due to pPROM. She ws 4 lb 5 oz 16 ins long and doing amazing. She was on oxygen for less than 24 hours and had an uneventful NICU staay. I brought her home at 10 days old weighing a mere 3 lbs 14 ozs. She was 100% breastfed and continued to nurse until she was 2 years and 7 months old. She was always really small and was tested for cystic fibrosis at 3 years old due to FTT. Today she is 4 years 7 months old, off the charts for weight (29.8 lbs) and 8% for height. She has asthma (diagnosed at 24 months) and a really weak immune system, and enamel hypoplasia, but she is healthy and thriving. She didnt have developmental delays either and was even saying simple words at 11 months old. Our biggest challenge with her now is keeping her lungs healthy. She takes 3 meds a day for her lungs, but in the end its a small price to pay to have her here and doing well.

Our 4th (and last) baby was born by c section at 32w 3d; 5 days after pPROM. He had the benifit of the betamethazone shots before birth and he did so well that I have often wondered if he was actually born later than they said. He was 3 lbs 13 oz and 15 in tall. His NICU stay was so uneventful that I dont even need to give details! At 8 days old, weighing just 3 lbs 10 ozs, he left the NICU behind him forever. He will be 2 years old in 5 days and is 5% weight and height. He has anemia, reflux, and enamel hypoplasia, but again, these problems are so small compared to what could have been!! He had some minor speach delay, but with PE tubes placed, he just took off with talking and is doing fantastic.

Im very proud of how far my babies have come and like you, I prefer to focus on that rather than the problems they may still face in their future.

[ErinEmily]

My 30 Week 2 lb 4 oz girl

will be 5 in March. She has what others have described as "Preemie Teeth" but only on a few of her teeth. Other wise she is indistinguishable from her preschool class mates.

She is not the tallest or the shortest. She has a huge vocab. and a constant need to talk, but I think that's a 4 yr old thing

She had really thin hair for the first 2-3 years. My FIL called her dandilion fluff because that's what her hair looked like. My personal theory is that once her body was more up to speed it started putting energy into hair growth. Now it's thick and rich.

[karne]

Mom to an amazing 7 y/o boy, with a long and serious NICU stay. He's incredible, tall, great weight, extremely smart, thriving in school.

It is true that as school age nears you may see some different issues. We have some sensory stuff, but it's mild. We most likely have preemie teeth, which is distressing, but we'll deal with it.

I never thought it would end up being as "fine" as it all is, and I know that's not always the case. But we're grateful.

[Knittin' in the Shade]

All four of my boys were preemies (though none were micros: 36 wk, 34 wk, 32 wk and 34 wk) They are now 10, 8, almost 6 and just turned 3. All are completely healthy, developmentally-appropriate kids. The 8 yo has asthma which could be attributed to being a preemie, but I've got asthma so who knows if he just drew the short genetic straw. It really can turn out all right

[boobs4milk]

i have 3 preemies:

dd2 was 35 wks, 6lbs 5 oz, home at 21 hrs old, some lazy feeding, jaundice. she's 14 and a super genius

ds was 30 wks, pprom, 4 wks in hospital, 3lbs 6 oz 16 3/4", 35 day nicu stay. he had rds and a's & b's and came home on monitors and meds. his first 3 yrs were constant illness and dealing with asthma issues. he was delayed and hit all of his milestones late. he also had feeding and swallowing issues and was on formula until almost 3. he got PT a few times a week until he was 5. he's 11 and in the 6th grade. his new a's and b's are his grades and he enjoys playing basketball and being a normal kid. he's tall for his age and a bit above average for weight. his only lasting preemie issue is craniostenosis but it's small and keeps him from playing football (WHEW!).

my youngest was born at 35 wks, 6lbs 7.9 oz 19 1/2" and stayed in the nicu 17 days due to rds and feeding issues. so far, she's a bit slow to eat and we're working on going to the breast fulltime and leaving the pump behind! she has some genetic and blood/bone issues unrelated to her prematurity. i imagine she'll be in the super genius range before too long

oh, and the 'preemie teeth' thing is from the antibiotics and TPN given to babies in the NICU. at least, that's what our dentist said about my son. his teeth are horrible!

[sunnygir1]

My 2yr 8mo old dd was born at 34&6, and we brought her home 24 hours pp. She had some jaundice, but was able to stay home with a bili blanket. She had bad colic for 7 months. She had low hemoglobin in her first year or so. She grew like crazy through all of that. She was a fat baby and is a robust and active toddler. We have had no ongoing problems. She is in perfect health and excels developmentally.

My ds will be 4 weeks on Friday. He was born at 35 weeks. We brought him home 48 hours pp. He did not have jaundice or any other problems (after a scary blood sugar drop early on in the hospital). He is nursing and gaining well. He has colic too, but not as bad as his sister.

I know that 34-35 weeks is different than 29-30 weeks, but I have every reason to believe that I will continue to have two healthy children despite their rough starts. I hope the same for all of you. Blessings.

[Momma2Gianna]

Hi. My preemie was born at 33 weeks after an induction due to my severe pre-eclampsia.

She is 19 months old now, and completely caught up with her growth at around 9 months old. She is now in the 75th percentile for height and 50th percentile for weight (born at 4lbs 17 inches, she is now 23 lbs and 32 inches)

She eats a variety of foods, and says a variety of words both speech and sign. She walks, runs, twirls, and generally enjoys life. She doesn't seem to have any lasting effects from being born preterm. (Although, I have to look into that whole preemie teeth thing...She hasn't seen a dentist yet so I don't know...)

Anyhoo...Glad to meet you! I love to meet moms of preemies, especially moms who are survivors of pre-e.