At age 2...

Since so much emphasis is put on clinic follow up studies that only track preemies through age 2, I thought it would be interesting to post about my daughter at age 2. The following was written on her clinic discharge sheet.

"Premature girl born at 25.5 weeks gestation, 805 grams, 13" long. Current age is 24.1 months. There is no sign of any gross motor delay and only a slight fine motor delay. Although speech is limited, child uses sign language to communicate and therefore was able to demonstrate adequate language skills. Parents report that child is hardly sick with any colds. Parents also report child has chronic constipation. Information was given and parents were instructed to increase water and fruit."

No further therapy recommended. No further follow up is needed."

Ah, what a nice age that was. It's true, she was hardly sick. Many doctors commented on how healthy she appeared to be. She could not put 2 words together either by speaking or signing. I still wonder how they felt she had adequate language skills. The constipation comment still kills me to this day. I found it quite interesting that the constipation issue started in the NICU (where she was fed breatmilk and formula) but the clinic felt that it was our fault and instructed us to give more water and fruit!

Age 3...
diagnosed with severe sensory integration dysfunction,
still could not put 2 words together
diagnosed with severe anxiety disorder
diagnosed with PDD-Nos
self harming behavior
could barely bend legs because of CP
had bilateral hernia repair
started on MiraLAX for constipation

Age 4...
1 week before turning 4 she had her first seizure
could now speak on an 8 year old level
lost ability to walk long distances because of fatigue
sensory issues worsened
began meds for anxiety disorder but it only caused rages-she tried to pull out her eyeball
had many procedures to asses reflux
diagnosed with failure to thrive due to weight
diagnosed with GERD
chronic sinus infections

Age 5...
could not function in kindergarten due to fine motor delay
sensory issues worsened

Age 6...
finally got a diagnosis of CP
had tonsils and adenoids removed to open airway
outsiders began noticing her social differences

Age 7...
had so many GI procedures that I lost count
multiple MRI's to determine other possible causes of leg pain
tried to kill herself
self harming behavior
yellow adult teeth

Age 8...
diagnosed with OCD
started on meds again for anxiety disorder
socially is an outcast
will be getting palatal expander

I'm sure I have forgotten some.

Age 2 was looking pretty good!

I would love to hear from other preemie parents as to what issues were present at age 2 and which ones did not show up until later.