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I posted this on the baby thread, but this would be a good place for advice, too.....

It's so hard to know if I'm doing it right because O doesn't follow any of the normal progression charts for his age as he was 6wks early....

He is 5months & is still in 0-3month clothing....at his last weigh-in he was 13lb3.....he has a bottle at 8am, 12, 4, 8 & 11pm.....he takes between 2.5 & 4oz bottles.....I tried him on solids but he got really windy & was in pain and I read that was sign he wasn't ready yet, so I stopped. If you calculate his age from his DD he would be 3.5months, so maybe I am being silly.....it just seems like his feed has been stuck at 100mls/3.5oz average for months now.

I see him next to some of his peers & he is just tiny - I have had other mothers ask how old he is & seen their eyes widen with surprise & confusion when I say he is 5months....I'm starting to get worried but other than the fact he is small, he is perfect! Osgar has slept through the night since he was about 3months old and other than teething he is a really happy little baby, so half of me thinks I'm being really stupid....

I read an article that babies can have stunted growth if they don't get the necessary calorific intake.....now I'm panicking! It sounds wierd but O doesn't cry for food.....the Doc said because he had a nasal-gastric tube (fed while asleep, etc, etc) he might not register hunger like other babies.....my sis said to try & not feed him on my timetable but to let him tell me when he was hungry....I lasted 9hrs before I had to give him a bottle - and I hadn't had a squeak out of him even though he gulped the bottle down!

Any advice (or similar stories to make me feel better!) would be very much appreciated Sorry for rabbiting on....

Mandy,

No advice I'm afraid. We're just into Newborn size at nearly 4.5 months LOL We dream of 13-3!! but seriously -

You already know that Little O is perfect, so why want him to be the same as others - surely this is compomising on 'perfection'. I am no expert on anything but I get the sense that the preemies come through it all as determined little things who will find their own way to do everything - including growing up - think of the benefits - you've had him longer to enjoy than you might have if he was born on his due date - if he's a little smaller than his peers you'll be able to enjoy lifting and carrying him for longer.

We all seem to end up being weight and size obsessed. When we were in the hospital, I would be in the nursery to wash the pumping gear as mums and dads looked from one babs to the other and compared sizes, shapes and god knows what else. I have to confess to having been a bit evil when a particularly smug dad started declaring that their newborn was eight-ten. I played dumb and asked him was that pounds or grammes!!!!!

Enjoy Osgur before he grows up on you, which he will do fast enough without you wishing it was faster and wishing it away,

Regards

JB

You are dead right, JB! I will stop comparing him to his peers & just enjoy him for being the fabulous little person that he is!

x

Thanks Lyn!

It's sooo easy to get hung up on something & start panicking...or at least I do that very easily!

I know he's happy & content & perfect , it just seems like he has gotten "stuck" at a certain size/weight & I was worried he wasn't eating enough & that was what was causing it......

But as JB has said O has battled through so much in his short life, I don't think he'll let a couple of bottles stand in his way now!

Hi Mand

I really wouldn't worry, Holly is now 6 months old (4months corrected) and has just grown out of her new born clothes and started wearing 0-3 months!!! She now weighs about 12lbs and still only looks like a new born baby! i know exactly the looks your talking about only last night i was in the shop and a woman was looking in at her, it was like she didn't believe me when i said how old she was!!

He is doing great!! As you say he has come through so much already, he'll let you know when he's ready for more!!

Becky

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Becki xx

Cheers Beckyboo....and Holly is just GORGEOUS!!

Just to let you know, Osgar has had his 6month jabs & he was weighed by the nurse & is a staggering 1 stone 2oz's!! He is small but crikey! He must be made of lead!! lol!!

Thanks for all your kind words of support & encouragement over the past 6months....it is very much appreciated....I owe a lot to this site....thanks folksxxxxx

I treasure a story a good friend told me about her premature baby. She was born at 30 weeks and spent almost 5 months in Holles St. At 9 months she had 6 teeth but was still tiny compared to her peers. My friend had her in town one day and this woman came up and said 'what a pretty little girl - I guess she is about 2 months old'. At this, Jessica (the baby) grinned at her showing all her pearly whites, yer one nearly had a heart attack.

Mand
Not a mum of a preemie but of a tiny - my DD is 11mths old and only weighs 16lbs (same as your DS). Glad to hear you're happy with the weight - he's obviously a solid wee thing. Just to echo the advice not to get too hung up on one thing esp weight - every baby is different - enjoy it and if he's happy, eating, sleeping and developing don't worry.
I had no issues about my wee thing until the PHN intervened and made me worry.
She eats well when she wants is flying on all her developmental milestones and I was happy she was well and happy just little - then the PHN decided she was too little (she was below the 3% line) and referred her via GP to paedetrician. Very anxious time followed - me bulking up all her meals with protein and carbs, dragging out feeding till she ate everything, reintroducing dropped bottles etc. Long and the short of it consultant has seen her twice and says she's a perfect "little" girl. We call her our little doll cos she's just perfect and beautiful but tiny. She's just going into 6-9mth clothes except if they're Tesco's where she's in 3-6mth still
We're going to a party with a load of other babies in her birth club and the weekend and I'm dying to see her beside some of the other babies of the same age but at least I'll be smiling about the differences not worrying.
Enjoy your wee baby.

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Thanks MaryE - he does ge some funny looks from other Mums when I say he is 6months.....but as Monty says - they are perfect, so who cares! lol!!

Aww! Monty - Osgar is still in 0-3month clothing....and it is quite baggy on him....he was in newborn up to a couple of months ago....as you say - as long as they are eating & happy, they will grow & "catch up" in their own time

Thanks girlsxxxxx

Mand - if its any consolation - My Liadan was in 0-3 months at five months and she was over ten pounds born. She started off in that size and stayed in it till she was almost six months.

She is still on the small size for her age. Would be among the smallest in her class in school. But makes up for it in noise level

Awww! Littlebit! There's nothing wrong with Osgar's lungs, either lol!!

Littlebit - did you not have your brain pickled by the PHN about Liadan's weight if she stayed around the same size for so long - not suggesting for a minute that I think there's anything wrong with that (the opposite in fact) - just that they had my heart broken. Maybe I'm too sensitive and should just ignore them but I seem to be able to filter out what most people say but not the PHN's.

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