confused about my new baby--need experience, strength and hope

[taffywelsh]

Hello all,
I am new to this area; in fact I'm not sure I really belong here. I would be very grateful for some experienced, calm voices who can give me insight about my new baby.
My daughter was born last week at exactly 37 weeks; I was induced do to premature rupture of membranes. She was 5 lb 9 oz and 19" long at birth. All of her tests checked out just fine, and I stayed a couple of days in the hospital before going home. She roomed in with me, except for late at night when she slept in the nursery.
Initially, I had no problem breastfeeding her; she latched on about 5 minutes after she was born for her first drink. When my milk came in, things got worse but with help they got better. She had her checkup yesterday, all was fine but her head was only 12.5"--the lowest on the curve is 13". She had gained some weight, though...now she is a tiny bit above her birth weight.
I am confused. Is this tiny baby a preemie or not? She was technically term, but it was so close. Her tests have been good, but I wonder if I can expect any issues down the road based on her tiny size.
I feel kind of guilty posting here because I know most of you had much more trouble than I did. However, I know I can rely on you for kindness, as well as some experience, strength, and hope.
thanks
TW

[justKate]

Welcome and congradulations! I'm glad that you and baby are doing alright.

I don't know what the technical definitions for preemies are. My DD was born full term but spent time in the NICU for reasons that fortunately weren't as serious as we thought. It sounds like you and baby are off to a great start, and I wouldn't necessarily expect any problems for your daughter as a result of her size at birth alone. And I wouldn't worry about her head circumference unless it is not on the curve for her, if that makes sense.

Enjoy your babymoon!

[SilverFish]

my dd was 5 lb 10oz at 35 weeks. she's currently almost 7 months old, and not showing any signs of prematurity. if i adjusted her age (i.e thinking of her at almost 6 mos) she is textbook in terms of milestones... if i don't, she is still on track although maybe a bit behind some of her peers. she is on the small side, but gained really quickly for a few weeks before slowing down a bit and finding her curve. being that small at 37 weeks, that might just be genetic. we were definitely expecting a bigger baby based on our families, but if there are any petite people in your family, 5'9" is a perfectly acceptable weight.

anyway, as your baby grows and develops, you may find it comforting to take off an extra 3-4 weeks when looking at her weight and milestones... our babies definitely missed out on at least a couple weeks of important in-utero time that full term babies get (this was helpful for me when all my friends' babies were merrily rolling over, sitting up, teething, etc). chances are though that she will develop along her own perfect trajectory and in a few months, you will feel much more relaxed.

[taffywelsh]

thank you, this is helpful...like I said, I know my baby isn't super tiny (although she bordered on low-birthweight), but I really do want to keep in mind that she did not have the advantage of the extra 3 weeks gestation. When I look at her I always think of how she should still be inside of me.
It is her one-week birthday!
Thanks again, womyn.

[samhope]

Sounds like you both are doing fine. I understand wanting that time at the end. My son came at 34 weeks (a later preemie) and I still look at mom's with big bellies a bit enviously While your daughter won't have preemie issues b/c she isn't a preemie, normal is a wide range and both she and you might benefit from some extra snuggle and quiet time in a wrap or sling (who wouldn't. When my son got home from 3 weeks in the NICU I wrapped him up and didn't leave the house for around a month to recreate that womb like environment. He was my first though, so I had that luxury. Glad you reached out to lactation when you needed it. Congrats and breath! You are doing fine. Also, even is a baby is a preemie, they won't necessarily have issues, even early on. Also, in my experience 34/35 weeks is the border for most late preemie issues and a baby can go home just fine at that stage if the sucking reflex is in and the heart beat is strong and steady.

[taffywelsh]

Originally Posted by samhope

Sounds like you both are doing fine. I understand wanting that time at the end. My son came at 34 weeks (a later preemie) and I still look at mom's with big bellies a bit enviously While your daughter won't have preemie issues b/c she isn't a preemie, normal is a wide range and both she and you might benefit from some extra snuggle and quiet time in a wrap or sling (who wouldn't. When my son got home from 3 weeks in the NICU I wrapped him up and didn't leave the house for around a month to recreate that womb like environment. He was my first though, so I had that luxury. Glad you reached out to lactation when you needed it. Congrats and breath! You are doing fine. Also, even is a baby is a preemie, they won't necessarily have issues, even early on. Also, in my experience 34/35 weeks is the border for most late preemie issues and a baby can go home just fine at that stage if the sucking reflex is in and the heart beat is strong and steady.

Thank you, this is comforting! Thanks for the other responses as well. Much appreciated.
Baby is doing ok but still a tiny shrimp and will be for a long time...it's hard not to worry about all the worrisome things.

[ShanaV]

Your baby is great, don't worry! The docs wouldn't have let ger go home if there was anything to be concerned about. 5-9 is such an adorable weight! She'll fit into size N clothes for a while. You have a petite princess! Just give her a couple of weeks from her birthday to regain her birth weight, and thereafter it's best for her to gain about 0.5 to 1 oz per day (about a lb every two weeks).

[daisymama12]

My first son was also born at 37 weeks. He came out at 6lbs 2oz, but in the first week went down to 5lbs 5oz.
Nursing didn't start out that smoothly. We consulted a lactation consultant, and things slowly got better/easier.
He became a very chubby baby, but is now a thin, healthy 9 year old

My son did do things slower than my friends babies, especially walk - he started at 18 months! But to put it in perspective, my second son was almost a term baby, and he walked at 17 months Some of it is genetic.

Enjoy your little one! My sister kept telling me not to worry, but I couldn't, until he started having some visible chub on him. I miss those baby days!

[cschick]

Originally Posted by taffywelsh

Hello all,
I am confused. Is this tiny baby a preemie or not? She was technically term, but it was so close. Her tests have been good, but I wonder if I can expect any issues down the road based on her tiny size.
I feel kind of guilty posting here because I know most of you had much more trouble than I did. However, I know I can rely on you for kindness, as well as some experience, strength, and hope.
thanks
TW

My kid was a 37 week baby, 5lb, 13oz, and 18 inches long.

He's remained at the bottom of the chart/occasionally falling off the chart since birth, but that may just be "normal" for him, because it was normal for me and most of my siblings (I was several weeks early, my sister several weeks LATE and both of us were off the bottom of the charts by 6 months). He was early verbal, but just on the later edge of average for most fine motor skills.

Keep your eyes open for things, but know the averages and the norms of development.