Hi. Alice was born 6 weeks premature and is now 9 weeks old (actual age). She is still very sleepy and is grizzly whenever she is awake. She is also feeding every 2 or 3 hours (about 3 or 4 ounces). She is not smiling yet......... is this all normal?? No one seems to be able to tell me and I have no experience of premature babies. My son was on 4 hourly feeds, sleeping through the night and smiling by 8 weeks. I assume that Alice's development will be different as she is premmie but no one can tell me.

Pleae help, any advice you can give me will be much appreciated.

byw... why is it that hv's don't have a clue about premature babies? mine is useless

Hi there,

If she's 9 weeks actual, she's 3 weeks corrected ... so pretty much still a newborn in terms of development. Most things will happen at the appropriate "corrected" age rather than actual age, unless you have a prodigy

Were you given any information about your premmie baby? If not, take a look around the BLISS website for info; and hang around this forum area, read our threads, and you'll get a better idea of what's normal! I'm just starting out (Andrew is 8 weeks corrected) but some of the others are older.

Congratulations btw!

Abby slept alot (and still does 8 months on) If they are sleeping they are growing - or so they always told us in SCBU!

It's possible the grizzling is tiredness too, although just like with a full termer it could be anything - wind, reflux, colic, dirty nappy etc. Their stamina is a lot less than a full term newborn and after about 45 minutes they'll be knackered. Did you get an iron supplement for Alice? Premmies don't get the chance to build up their iron reserves in the uterus so you need to make sure she is getting it from her food or as a supplement. If she isn't getting iron, that can make them a little sleepy also.

Feeding 2-3 hours sounds about right and I don't think Abby properly smiled until she was about 3 months actual age. Not on purpose anyway.

But as Marley says, count their development from their due date rather than their actual birthday and you'll have a better idea of where they actually are. Although with Abby it was strange, some stuff she did at actual age and some she did at corrected age. Check out the Bliss website, it is very good.

My HV was useless also. Is there no outreach team from your NNICU?

I've had more answers from here than from my HV!!

Same here, my HV is adamant I treat alex at her corrected age and practically disregard her 12 weeks of prematurity.....yeah right.....

Alex was the same, and still will only take about 4oz, its only in the last week she's been going for 5, and she's 13 weeks corrected (26 actual). Its not a cause for concern as she is putting on weight fine and thats just her thing, I guess. I often worry that other babies takemore but clearly shes just built little!

Alex was very sleepy to start with, and technically your LO is a 'newborn' so to speak, so I would expect that for a few more weeks too! Make the most of it!

Thank you so much for your answers. I have had very litte info from about premature babies from anyone. I even had to look up what a corrected age was when I was reading posts on here. I feel alot better now though and I will have a look at the bliss website x x

hey hun, congrats on baby Alice

Matthew was 7 weeks early and now 9 and a half months old (almost 8 corrected), Like Alice he was quite sleepy and grizzly he slept a lot,tired easily and was easily overstimulated. Id say by time he was 3 months (actual) he was more alert and lore into power naps rather than long sleeps and prob about the same time smiles started.

Now at 9 months Id say the only area where I notice him behind so to speak is that he has only in last month or so been steady sitting upright, not yet crawling although on all 4's shaking building up the momentum to do it. But then again all babies do these things at different ages anyway!

One day soon you will see her develop before your very eyes, Id imagine a few girls on here will agree that with prem babies although it is sole destroying watching them struggle when first born but you see them develop so much more than term babies. A lot more 'firsts' and small things like rolling over or smilling as SOOOOO worth the wait x

Hi there, I agree with the other Mummies. Always think of your baby at their corrected age. Archie is 11 months actual and 8 months corrected. Archies all over the place in terms of his development. For size he's caught up with his actual age but not from a developmental perspective. He's doing things a 8 month old should.

Congratulations BTW! All the girlies on here are fab. We have been though alot and have had a rake of different experiences to hand which should help you!

Nice to meet you.

Dona and Archie xxx

I always said one of the benefits of a premature baby is that we get to do the newborn thing for much longer. It's such a sweet stage.

Hi Firstly congratulations.

I agree with all the other mums. I was told to measure my LO's development by actual age although at times it is confusing as she does some things that a 7 month old baby would do, like stand against a table for a few seconds unassisted and then does other things a 4 month old baby would do like grabbing objects and rolling to one side.
All babies develop in their own time, the text book ideal is just a guide, if your baby is behind on the milestone there is no need to panic they soon catch up.

Smiling occurs after week 5 so your LO still has time from their actual due date (corrected age) to reach this milestone.

Bliss is a brilliant website to refer to.

As for HV, they don't have a clue about premmies unless they have had one themselves. I would refer to your SCBU/NICU unit for advice or the wonderful mums on this website.

x

Another thing to look out for is the array of noises, twitches, shudders etc that premature babies make. It is entirely normal (and ever so cute) so don't worry yourself if you see that happening.