Thought I would see if there was any interest in a thread over here. There are two threads on the WC so I thought maybe we could get something going here to talk about development issues, success stories, support, vents about strangers commenting on your child's size. So post away if you've got a small baby or a preemie. (Note: Preemies don't have to be small and small babies don't have to be preemies to join.) I can keep stats in this thread if you want.
Mom: Littlebear
Child's name: Zach
Born ~4-5 weeks premature (not quite sure since my date differed from OB's date)
4.5 lbs, 17"
-He's been in the 5th percentile for height and weight for a few months now so we are making progress with getting all of the charts. He seems to be hitting all of his milestones so far as well.
Mom: Littlebear
Child's name: Zach
Born: 11/12~4-5 weeks premature (not quite sure since my date differed from OB's date)
Stats: 4.5 lbs, 17"
I'll join! My son JFK was born 8 weeks premature on 1/5/05. He weighed 5lbs 2 oz and was 18 1/4 inches. He spend 10 days in the NICU and is doing very well! He has an official 6-month checkup next week, but from our best measurements he is somewhere around 15.5lbs now.
Vent about size: I get so mad when people make comments like "He was 5lbs when born??? THAT's not a preemie!" Um, excuse me, but he was 2 months early and he spend 10 days in the NICU, half of the time on a feeding tube. He is definitely a preemie!
Last edited by EmilyBronte; 07-01-2005 at 07:43 AM.
Reason: edited to remove pic
Oh, he's a cutie! Such great big gorgeous eyes. Sounds like he's doing really well with his weight gain.
at the stupid comments that people make. Apparently, they don't understand that premature refers to date of birth and has nothing to do with the weight.
Zach spent some time on the feeding tube too because he wouldn't suck. That was the worst part for me. It's hard for me to believe that 7 months ago I would sit and pray that he would finish a 2 oz bottle, and now he drinks 8 oz bottles in 15-20 minutes.
Nolan was born 5 weeks early on March 8th. He weighed 6lbs and was 19". He spent about 3 weeks in the NICU was on the feeding tube most of the time also since he wouldn't suck.
He is doing great now and weighs over 14lbs. The hospital he was in recommends that preemies attend a developmental clinic every 3 months for the first year. We just went for the first time this week and Nolan did great! He seems to be right on target. I am so happy that everything is going great so far.
Yeah, I get the comments about his weight also... I have an aunt that always likes to bring up, "Can you imagine how big he would have been if he had been full term?" It drives me crazy!
Oh yay! I'm glad someone started this over here.
Mom: ButterflyJen
Child's Name: Anna Robyn
Born: 8/14/04, 2 weeks early (IUGR)
Stats: 5 lb 3 oz, 17-1/2"
Now at 10-1/2 months, Anna's barely 17lbs. Still wearing 6-9 month clothing. At least she doesn't grow out of her clothes so fast she doesn't get to wear them! She's hitting milestones just fine - just started crawling last week, actually, and had her pincer grasp down about two months ago.
My DD was born a month early (at 35 wks, 4 days) due to mom having preeclampsia. Fortunately she only spent about 10 hours in the NICU since her temperature was low. She was jaundiced and spent 24 hours under the lights on day 5. She was discharged from the hospital on day 6. Her discharge weight was 4lbs 15 ozs.
At her one month appointment she was up to 7 lbs and at her two month she is up to 9 lbs 6oz. Dr and mom and dad are thrilled with her weight gain.
What books/resources is everyone using for guidelines on milestones?
DS didn't have to spend anytime at the hopsital! We actually got to go home 24 hours after his birth!
At his 2 week appointment he weighed in at 5 lbs 14 oz and wasn't even on the chart for percentile. At 5 weeks he weighed 8 lbs 2 ounces (with his diaper on). So he is feeding quiet well!!
Everywhere we go we get comments on how small he is and people say "look at the couple day old baby". We had that all day yesterday when we were in Seattle. I got tired of telling people he was 6 weeks old!!
Getting to wear the clothes for a lot longer is definitely a plus for the small babies. My mom kept preaching to me about not buying too many 0-3 month outfits because the baby will outgrow them so quickly. Good thing that I didn't listen to her this time...Zach could still wear his 0-3 month things up until 5 months old. I'm so bored of his 3-6 month things that I've just started putting him in 6-9 month clothes even though they are big on him.
What books/resources is everyone using for guidelines on milestones?
I have What to Expect the First Year and The First Year Week by Week. I find What to Expect to be a little more realistic in terms of milestone timing. I also have a copy of the AAP book (can't remember the name right now) which I check from time to time. I think that babycenter.com will send you monthly e-mail updates with milestone info in them. At the beginning I would really freak myself out if he didn't do something exactly on time, but I've learned to relax a lot about it.
(I think I've got everyone's stats up to this point. Let me know if I messed anything up, and I'll correct it.)
Last edited by littlebear; 07-02-2005 at 04:04 AM.
littlebear thanks for the book recommendations, I'll have to check those out.
clothing We are still in 0-3 month clothing, I'm really curious when she will move to 3-6. It's funny how different some of the brands are. I have a 0-3 Gymboree shortall that is still quite big on her but it says it goes to 12 lbs and she must be nearing 10lbs now. Her 0-3 Gap outfits still fit fine.
Some of the Gerber onesies that ar 0-3 are too small, I think her bunchy diaper isn't helping and they shrunk in the wash.
I do have to say that she outgrew her preemie outfits right around 7 lbs.
I'm always bargain shopping at Old Navy and Baby Gap and I'm having a hard time predicting later sizes for her.
Now that I think about it, regarding 6-12 month clothing 6 months seems like a huge range. I'm guessing she will be closer to 8-12 months before I can put her into those clothes?
alienhost - I have a hard time figuring out what size DD will wear next season. It's just impossible to predict, isn't it! I have so many cute 12- and 18-month summer clothes that just are not going to fit her this year. Maybe next year - I hope not, I hope she grows faster than that - but definitely too big right now.
Moms of preemies or small babies
at the stupid comments that people make. Apparently, they don't understand that premature refers to date of birth and has nothing to do with the weight.
The hospital he was in recommends that preemies attend a developmental clinic every 3 months for the first year. We just went for the first time this week and Nolan did great! He seems to be right on target. I am so happy that everything is going great so far.
She's hitting milestones just fine - just started crawling last week, actually, and had her pincer grasp down about two months ago.
At 5 weeks he weighed 8 lbs 2 ounces (with his diaper on). So he is feeding quiet well!!
