Comments:
I was born 8 weeks early, in 1949 and weighed maybe 4 lbs, and had to stay in hospital for a month, because they did not release babies till they reached 5 lbs.. At that time, preemies were often put in incubators w/high oxygen air content, leading to blindness. I was fortunate that my mother's physicians did not do this; if they had, I would likely be blind, given my family members' poor eyesight in general. I did end up with the worst vision of all my family (only corrected now in my middle age, by lens replacement surgery), and some psychological/ emotional difficulties: being way too sensitive and often angry. Because other children perceived me as 'different' I was the target of considerable bullying, despite which I was a good student & liked by my teachers. (The bullying upset me a lot, and I always fought back-- but in a sense those experiences made me stronger too. If nothing else I discovered I could outrun any other child, if threatened!) When I discovered my musical talent in middle school, I started to gain the respect of others and the bullying ended. Nobody was willing to risk being made the butt of ridicule in a song I might write and sing all over the school! I went on to pursue both my musical and artistic interests, and though all my life I have tangled with people who find me 'too intense' I think that's partly their problem, not just mine! I'm pretty certain that my family's dynamics had as much to do with my unhappy growing up as my premature birth did, but certainly the vision problems, being a very small child, and having a 'different outlook' on life than my peers had negative impacts. I do not think my parents realized, or understood, just how over-sensitive I was when young--my hearing seemed to be excellent in proportion to my worsening eyesight. I could not bear loud noises--thunder terrified me. I even was afraid of balloons--because the sound when one popped would badly startle me. Other people's moods could affect me; I seemed abnormally sensitive to such things. I suspect I was borderline Asperger's now--I wanted to get along with my peers but my emotional intensity made that very difficult. I was easily upset, easily made nervous, and could slide into bad-tempered tantrums if provoked (and my family was very provoking!) Parents do need to understand that a prematurely born child might not be 'just like all the other kids' but that taking the time to understand them & help them cope with a world they literally were not ready for, can yield great results. I think it's a pity my mother died young, because she would be pleased to see how I finally turned out!

Comments:
Great site.. Gonna be a father soon :)

Comments:
I was keenly searching for information about premature babies. ya i got that. Thankyou.

Comments:
I had twins (a boy & girl) at 31 weeks gest. My boy, Ender, weighed 3lb 5oz, 16 inches. Alissa weighed 2 lb 14oz, 15 inches. Ender came home after 5 weeks, weighing 4 lb 11oz. He had to get a transfusion while in the NICU. He aso picked up an infection fron one of his IVs. He is now 14 months, weighs 21lbs, 28 inches and is about to walk. Alissa had to stay 3 months in the NICU due to poor feeding and poor growth. She had 3 transfusions. She finally came home with a g-tube for feeding. At 14 months, she weighs 16.5 lbs, 27 inches. The g-tube is gone, but she still has feeding problems and has only been crawling for 2.5 weeks. She is small and a little delayed,but happy and healthy. They both are happy and healthy. It has been a long 14 months, esp with Alissa. But she is getting there.

Comments:
My names jennifer. I just graduated in 2008 from high school. Some time the end of august my fiance and i found out we were expecting a child. we were both overwelmed with the excitement. I THOUGHT the pregancy was going to be perfect. I had stopped drinking and smoking bc i wanted the beat for my baby. My due date was May 25 2009. The week of January 20th of 2009 i was having sharp pains thinking it was just the baby kicking or somthing but i had no clue what i was in for. On January 21 2009 i gave birth to a little boy (nicholas) weighing 1 lb 2 oz...I was JUST 22 weeks. Right at about 1/2 weigh through your pregancy. Nicholas developed many complications because of him being so premature he was missing his top layer of skin and every time a needle would touch him he would bruise very badly. He also had heart surgery and laser eye surgery. He eneded up having a grade 3 bleed, 4 being the worst. Nicholas is now 5 months old, and if counting from my actual due date he is about 1 month old. He lifts his head when he feels like it and even holds his own bottle..hes starting to straighten his legs making it look like he is standing up....but he is having trouble gaining weigh. As of now he is 7 lb and 10 oz. He is a miracle and I thank god every day for him. I know that we have a long road ahead of us but i am prepared for the worst but hope for the best!