35 Weekers...kind of long.

kwalk1

Hi all! I posted a couple of months ago about DD being born at 35 weeks and 5 days in June. She was in the NICU for 4 weeks to develop her lungs and came home on oxygen. Well 2 weeks after that she was completely off of it and has been ever since! She is 11 weeks old today (6 weeks gestational, if I calculated correctly lol) and doing so well! So my question is, if you have a 35 weeker, do you notice them being behind at all? DD is already holding her head up pretty well and just started smiling occasionally for us. She coos and kicks her feet and flails her arms all over the place and is very bright eyed. She can roll over to her side when she wants to and is awesome at putting herself to sleep once she's in her crib for the night. She still wants to wake up about twice a night to BF, which is tiring but I know she's growing! Oh and another question, if you are BF'ing, do you have trouble with it because they were early? I find myself BF'ing and then supplementing with a bottle of formula...which helps her calorie intake for her weight gain.

AZAmy77

we are a little behind I think, but not terribly so.  We had a lot of trouble with bf'ing early on, but not with milk supply with actually latching.  We didn't get to EBF until about 10 weeks, but now we are (except for pumping while at work).

carrotcake06

I have 34weekers that are 10w actual, 4w adjusted. They are just as you describe your LO, just starting to smile and getting more and more responsive. That's a little behind where my oldest was at that age (FT, 37w) but I really only have a sample size of one to go on and they're still so little.

When we were discharged from the NICU, we were told they'd be all caught up by one year. As for BFing, we EBF. We were supposed to fortify bottles of BM, but they are gaining just fine on BM alone so we never bothered. They wake up 1-2x per night and feed 7x per day.

bennyandthejets13

My 34weeker was a little behind when he was born but it seemed once he hit his EDD he caught up a lot. He's now 17 weeks (11adjusted) and per his Early Intervention case worker who comes and checks him out he's right in pace where he should be. As far as EBF we had supply issues so we started EFF after 7 weeks which really sucked but as long as he continues that's all that matters.

kelly422

My 35 weeker seems just a touch behind (she's 16 weeks, 11 corrected)- maybe a couple weeks but no big deal.

I was never able to BF her, so I EP.  She never got the latch thing and had to have bottles so began to prefer the bottle to even trying BF! 

kwalk1

Well I'm sorry some of you have had troubles with BF and not being able to do it. That's very hard I'm sure! I find that if I don't follow up with a bottle of formula she wants to eat every hour! I don't know if I'm not making enough or what. I have noticed that she latches a little off so I have to readjust. Also I notice that she sucks really good and long for the first few minutes and then slows way down, so I dunno if she's not eating enough herself either. I'm ok with supplementing the Neosure though, at least I know she's not going hungry. I am also a first time mom so I'm not 100% sure on milestones and where she would suppose to be if she was FT.

kelly422

@kwalk1

Here's a link to the Denver Milestones some Pedis use.  It's kind of a busy chart, but it divides development into gross motor, fine motor, language, and social skills.  There's a range of ages for each skill and it shows when 90%+ kids do a certain milestone. 

https://drhart.net/clinic/forms/Denver%20II%20Developmental%20Milestones.pdf

kwalk1

Thanks! That's a little more helpful

LnR70707

DS was 34w6days and the only milestones that he hit at adjusted age rather than actual were smiling and reaching for objects.   I did have trouble with BFing and my supply was very poor so we supplemented to some degree until DS weaned.  Around 6 weeks I gave up BFing entirely and EPed until about 12 weeks, when DS started sleeping a 6hr stretch, giving my body a chance to produce enough for a full nursing session and DS was more efficient at sucking....so I nursed first thing in the morning and pumped the rest of the day until he was 13 months.

HayleyBaker1122

My DS was born at 35w 6d... He was healthy and needed no time in the NICU. He seems right on track so far, if not ahead. He's been rolling from stomach to back since 5w and smiles and talks since 8w (he's 13w now adjusted age of 9w)

BLPL101

My 35 weeker is almost 9 months. She has been a little behind on somethings (like laughing/babbling), but not behind on sitting up/crawling. She still doesn't have any teeth.