I'm going to talk about my kid here for a second

[leroybrown]

Technically, he's a 36 weeker. He was born at 36w6d and 12 hours. So 12 hours shy of being a 37 weeker and full term. I don't really count him as a preemie, but the doctors and therapists keep calling him that and they say he "acts" like a 32-34 weeker with his developmental delays. It's just weird calling him a preemie and I feel like it discounts true premature babies.

[sahara78]

I think some babies are more affected by their prematurity than others. DD was born 11 weeks early, but was generally more delayed than that for reaching her milestones. It was frustrating and scary at times, but PT really helped her out. I hope your DS continues to progress well. He is cute!

[fickleflamingo]

My son was born at 36 weeks and 2 days. We spent 3 weeks in the hospital and he dealt with some pretty serious prematurity issues (NEC). H had other health concerns (DS and CHD) that exacerbated the issues, but his therapists still accounted for his prematurity with evaluations.

[mymorningcoffee]

A preemie is a preemie. And like others said, being early can have different effects on different babies. My girls were 33 weeks. My MFM was concerned about baby B because she was smaller than baby A, and we could never get a good shot of her, so they estimated that she was going to be very small. Turns out, she was in pretty darn good shape. She had a 9 on her second APGAR. The larger twin (over 5 lbs.) needed tons of respiratory support that isn't typical of babies their GA.

[callmeKD]

35w/2d here. 5 days in the NICU. she's on the "delayed" end of things physically - ie didn't walk until 16 months etc.

[runningmommy519]

A preemie is a preemie. DS was born at 35 weeks and spent 3 weeks in the NICU. He had IUGR and was very small. He could breath on his own and was super healthy. He was classified as a feeder/grower. He just needed to learn how to eat and grow. He wasn't to delayed.

[omgtree]

DD was born at 30wk 3 days and spent 8 weeks in the NICU she is about 6-8 months behind. She's 15 months (not adjusted) but she's just starting to understand crawling, does a weird tripod crawl. She can't go from laying down to sitting up without assistance and isn't pulling up or standing.

[leroybrown]

Jan 16, 2015 13:05:46 GMT -5 mymorningcoffee said:

A preemie is a preemie. And like others said, being early can have different effects on different babies. My girls were 33 weeks. My MFM was concerned about baby B because she was smaller than baby A, and we could never get a good shot of her, so they estimated that she was going to be very small. Turns out, she was in pretty darn good shape. She had a 9 on her second APGAR. The larger twin (over 5 lbs.) needed tons of respiratory support that isn't typical of babies their GA.

Reid had respiratory distress at birth, they coded him for 9 minutes and he was vented for 6 days, plus a chest tube. I have to remember sometimes that the first 2 weeks don't really count either, because he was in the hospital.

[theycallmekveld]

I think it also depends on the circumstances. For instance, my son was born at 26 weeks/1 day. But because he was so sick before he was born (unknown to me), his lungs had developed to only a 24 week point. I have a friend whose child was born at 23 weeks and 5 days and is doing well and will actually be caught up by the time she is two. So I think it just depends, you know?

[babycaps]

It makes a difference and a preemie is a preemie and every week, in fact each day makes a difference. Also, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology released a pretty big statement re-categorizing and redefining a "full term" gestation.
33 6/7 = premature
34-36 6/7= late pre-term
37-38 6/7= NEAR term
39=40 6/7=Term
41-416/7=Late term
42+ Post Term