Anybody cared for preemies or "micro preemies"?

My fd is a preemie. She was born 3 months early and she came home with me at 2 months. She was on an apnea monitor and oxygen. She is now almost 13 months and doesn't walk. She is also having some feeding issues and is only 15 pounds. She has a ton of in-home services that are helping her and she is doing pretty well. There are problems with her lungs and she does take a nebulizer and a ton of asthma medicine that does help (thankfully). I'm hoping that she will eventually catch up, weight wise. She seems to be delayed just a tad though. She was my first placement and I wouldn't change it for the world! I'm hoping to adopt :)

Im wondering about how babies this premature act, i was told he weighs close to 20lbs (thats about what my last foster daughter weighed when she left and she was 9mos) are they generally still "babies" or closer to their actual age? does that make any sense? I guess what im asking is if he's a year old will he act like a 1 year old with motor delays or like a much younger baby? Either way is fine with me. He is an adorable baby. The one thing i am worried about is if he has CP or not or if it's pretty normal for babies born this early to not walk till they're closer to 2 or maybe even 3?

There's a ton of information out there on preemies. We'e been matched with twins, now 9 yrs old, but they were born at 25 weeks. They went through tons of early surgeries and 5 months in NICU. They are pretty much caught up to their peers. The both still need some help in school, but I think that is more because fo their tubrulent lives, not based upon being a preemie. They're also quite small. Tammi who occassionally pops into the boards has adopted a little girl H who was a preemie, 26 weeks I think. She's had her from the hospital and H is doing really well. At 2 1/2 yrs old she is almost caught up to her peers developmentally. Hope Tammi sees this and responds to you.

Hi, we adopted Miss O, born @ 23 weeks weighed 1-5. She has done extremely well as long as you "adjust" her age back 4 months. Then, she is pretty much on target developmentally. All babies have their own developmental curve and she JUST started walking at 18 months old, which would be 14 mos. adjusted. She also had laser eye surgery at 2 mos. of age and is near sighted, she will be getting glasses soon. No big deal IMO, after all she went through! As you probably know, the key is early intervention and as a parent, you need to give these babies lots of attention to thrive and grow. She is small, very petite, and only weights 16 lbs. right now, so I am focusing on getting nutrient dense foods into her. She is our "special" baby and has been a wonderful addition to our family. Good Luck with your decision!

Hi, Melissa. All four of my sons were born prematurely (27 weeks, 24 weeks, 24 weeks and 32 weeks). I saw that you had a 26 weeker previously so I can only assume that you have had some experience with a preemie. Even my 2 24-weekers varied in the care that each required at birth, the level of intervention and the current outcomes in school. It's not uncommon for a micro preemie to be behind developmentally, actually it should be expected. The hospital should already have his adjusted age and some things depend on the type of services that are available and how early they begin. You may not have to worry about CP, because if he is already a year old, they would have already been able to rule that out. Continue to gather as much information as you can about preemies and his physicians and specialists should be very helpful in that area. Preemies are very near and dear to my heart. They overcome so much and are troopers! Good luck to you and I am sure that with continued support, he will continue to thrive! :D

All of my little ones have been preemies or micropreemies also. Lili was born at 25 weeks and at 22 months is still only 16 lbs and isn't walking yet. She is much younger developmentally and requires many weekly appointments for PT, OT, ST, doctors and specialists. She is such a sweet little girl and makes me laugh everyday! Preemies are such fighters and they amaze you all the time!

Yes my first son was born at 26wks but he had a severe brain bleed and died when he was 3 days old. So while i got a small bit of NICU experience i haven't had any with older preemies who made it through the first few months. (my second son was born at 34wks but had no problems). It's really good to hear so many babies do so well after they get a bit older. Hopefully i'll be talking to his sw today to see if she thinks we're a good match.