Developmental delays?

630 Views 4 Replies 5 Participants Last post by Dido, Apr 12, 2006

wendizbaby

Discussion Starter · Apr 12, 2006

My son was born 4 weeks early and I'm wondering if any of you moms out there who had early babies (but healthy at birth) noticed any developmental delays? I'm wondering because whenever I read on development, I wonder if I should count the day he was born or subtract 4 weeks from that day.
Thanks!
Wendi

Save

1 - 5 of 5 Posts

Mama2 '05'06

· #2 · Apr 12, 2006

I don't have a preemie myself, nut my experience with preemies has been that yes, it is often comforting to the parent to consider the child's developmental age age the age based on the due date rather than the early arrival. Some children will not be bound by this but alot will. it doesn't mean anything is wrong with them it just means that they are developing as they would have if they had not been born early. It isn't anything to worry about unless the delays are major. My dd is always doing things fater than other kids close to her age. My friend's dd is 3 weeks younger and was born 4 weeks early. She was feeling bad that my dd was doing all the things she thought that her dd should be doing too but wasn't. She was reminded that her baby had been born early and mine hadn't. Also, I stopped saying how my dd was doing this or that if she was around so that she wouldn't feel bad. My dd just grew up too fast in my opinion

See less See more

Save

kwilki8

· #3 · Apr 12, 2006

My dd was born healthy but 4 weeks early. I do keep that in mind when looking at her milestones, but so far (at 13 months) she's hit everything on time, although at the far end of the normal range. It's a bit comforting to me to have that buffer there so I don't start getting anxious.

Save

Jennifer-Juniper

· #4 · Apr 12, 2006

DS was born 6 weeks early and I've found that most of his milestones have been delayed by about 6 weeks. I felt like I waited forever for his social smile, which in most babies comes at about 6 weeks but for him didn't show up until right when I started back to work at 11-12 weeks. From everything I've read and heard, and the moms of other preemies I know, almost all preemies are caught up completely by no later than two years of age. So I'm not worrying.

Save

Dido

· #5 · Apr 12, 2006

If your baby was born 4 weeks early and he gets to his milestones 4 weeks behind other babies, that is NOT a developmental delay! It means he's right on time! So please do not worry. Not only is there the preemie factor, there's the fact that babies vary tremendously anyway. My DD was 4 weeks early, and by chronological age (age since birth) she's "behind" on a few things but by her adjusted age (subtracting by number of weeks early) she's on time or ahead... So when thinking about your DS's progress, do always subtract 4 weeks.

Save

1 - 5 of 5 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month