May premie moms

harpyogi

Just wondering if there are any May moms who's LOs were premies in May (due dates in June etc). Would love to connect with other moms of premies (now full term and thriving) babies.

What struggles have you found? What's surprised you?

My DS was 5.5 weeks early and to me and DH he seems to act as if he was meant to arrive then in terms of development, but then I'll get together with friends who have LOs and notice where he may be more like his adjusted age. Still feel like I'm occasionally still processing the whole NICU experience too. Kind of feeling alone in all this so curious f there are other mommas out there like me.

nursej519

My LO was due end of May but came almost 5 weeks early in April. Luckily we were able to avoid a NICU stay. She is doing well, started at 5lbs, 14oz.. 5lbs, 5oz on discharge, and is now probably 13ish lbs!! She is such a happy baby but a little behind with motor skills. We are currently in PT, OT, and speech, but they all agree she is functioning well at her "adjusted age".

blairdavis99

My twins were due 5/27 but came 6 weeks early in April. It's hard when I'm comparing them to full term babies born in April. I know all babies are different, you are not supposed to compare, yada yada yada. It's almost impossible not to, though. Like rolling over - we really aren't very close to doing that. I have a friend who had a full termer born the exact same day as my LOs. Sometimes it's hard to see how much further his progress is and how much bigger he is than mine! The NICU stays were pretty traumatizing, too. I felt really segregated from reality the whole time. I've had a decent amount of time to adjust though & it gets better. Suggestion: I am on the Bump fairly often & browse both the April & May boards. I have grown to like May a lot because the people & there is a lot more activity. Mostly, though, I feel May babies align a lot better developmentally with my LOs. I read stuff on the April board & get slightly upset sometimes because we are soooo far away from doing some of those things. So maybe, if you haven't already, you may want to also look into the June board? Everyone says it will all even out by the time they are xx age (I've heard 18 mo, 2 & 4) & you won't even know they were preemies later in life. So I hold onto this statement religiously on our rougher days!

harpyogi

Thank you both for sharing your experiences and suggestions! I think I'll start to hop back and forth between May and June. DS is not close to rolling over either or really grasping for things in front of him yet. I feel like weight wise he's doing great having started at 5lbs 12oz (down to 5lbs in NICU) now 12lbs, but trying not to compare is tough (I have a friend who had the same due date as me and her DD is 13lbs already, she was full term).

NICU was definitely more traumatizing than I like to admit. During that time and 90% of the time now I handle it well, being positive, grateful and accepting it as part of DS story. It was like going into survival mode. Only now as some friends have babies full term, bringing them home in two days, it reminds me "oh we weren't the norm".

On a positive note I think babies who were premies are something special and some of the most determined beings I know!

DrD30

My twins were born at 35+3 in early May.  My son is developmentally on track for his age (not corrected) but my daughter is a bit behind and is closer to her corrected age.  I have an issue with comparing them....even though I know they are different babies and comparing twins is a terrible idea.

I am a very, very tough person.   I work as a doctor and see horrible things every day and deal with an incredible amount of stress but  I still cry though when I think about the NICU and our experience there.  I feel very guilty still that I was overdoing it and I'm the reason they came early.

I think the NICU stay is something that will always haunt me but I like to think that it has made me a more compassionate person and will make me a better physician.  

Our babes will catch up and we will be better mommas for having to fight for and advocate for our kiddos right from the start.

sclick81

My LO was due 5-24 and decided to join us on 4-7. We spent almost 3 weeks in the NICU. She was born 3 pounds 9 oz and she's now 10 pounds. I understand how frustrating it can be when you look at other babies and compare. What was hard for me was the "newborn" phase was a lot longer than normal babies. When she was 7 weeks, we had to keep telling ourselves that she is now one day old. So now when people ask me how Old she is I use her adjusted age because I got tired of explaining why my LO "was so little" for being 4 months and old. But it's starting to be more fun because she is interacting more with us. Those first smiles and coos just made our hearts melt. But I agree with PP, I would look at your due date board.

Sammadden27

Yes! I've been so busy with the baby that I forgot to switch from June to May. So hey everyone! My LO was due June 17 and came May 22. He was 4 and a half pounds at birth and is 11 pounds now so he's catching up! He hold his head up, holds weight on his legs and coos. I can barely tell he came early now.
Glad I finally remembered to switch boards!

chaglund

We were due 6/11 and welcomed our sweet girl on 5/7. Our NICU experience was hard and it didn't help that we are living in a country where we don't speak the native language. The language barrier made our time in the NICU exhausting and worrisome, there were so many days that we had no idea what was going on because very little English was spoken. My husband and I really had to stay positive for each other, I don't know how we got through it. But our little is happy healthy and chunky. Lately I've been noticing that were not typically developing like other three month olds (rolling over, grasping, etc) but I just have to remind myself that she's really only two months. If you think about it in terms of her due date, that's when her brain has had 40 weeks to develop. We only got 35 of those weeks, so it makes sense to me at least that for right now she is a little behind but it's not in a bad way and it's giving me extra time with her. Stay positive mommas! Your babies are doing exactly what they should be, just enjoy them, they'll get there (:

MrsElizabethPlano

Only 4 weeks early with 0 problems, no nicu and normal growth. Everything seems to be exactly like a full term baby except a smidgen small. Nearly 11lbs now.