preemie-l Introduction

Florence Porter (fporter@uswest.com)
Mon, 17 Jun 96 09:15:01 MDT 

Hi,

My name if Florence Porter and my son, Mackenzie, was born just shy of
34 weeks on 11/12/94.  He was due 12/26/94.  He was 4 lbs 10 oz.  My water
broke at 3:36 am on the 11th and he was born at 5:11 am on the 12th.  My
husband's name is Michael.

Mack was very healthy at birth and we got to hold him right away.  Well, after
they got the placenta out 20 minutes later.  He came home on the 14th (only
two days later).  The pediatrician who examined him said he was developed
as much as a 36 weeker, but I KNOW there was no mistake as to when he was
conceived.

He never learned to breast feed, since his face muscles weren't strong enough,
yet.  But, he did do very well with a bottle, so I pumped for 5 months and
gave up trying to breast feed after 6 long weeks of trying.  We also had
to bring him in to get weighed three times a week for the first two weeks,
then once or twice a week until he was 8 weeks old (8 lbs).

We have always had a struggle with his weight.  Developmentally, he seemed
to be fully caught up by one year.  However, he has always been way under
on the growth charts.  He is finally 10th percentile on length, but 2 lbs
under on weight.

So, we are now on our second specialist (after a gastroentenologist), an
endocronologist (sp?) trying to find out why he is only 19.5 lbs at 19 months
of age.  They have ruled out a lot of really bad things, but it is really
trying on us.  He seems so healthy, but the doctors keep insisting there is
something to find that would explain why he is so small.

He eats 1300 calories a day, even though he only needs 870.  So, he is getting
much more food than a normal kid his age.

So, that is our main issue.  We feel very fortunate that he appears to be
so healthy.  I have had two miscarriages (one before Mack, and one since).
We are still trying for a sibling for Mack.  How many of you have the fear
of another preemie?  I've been told the chances aren't increased, but I am
really worried.

Thanks, I'm glad to have found you.

Florence

Florence Porter	(from Colorado)
Mom to Mackenzie (Mack) - 11/12/94
	The mini kid!
fporter@uswest.com