Your Baby's Appearance

Your tiny baby is very fragile.

Since the skin is not fully developed, you may be bale to see the blood vessels beneath. This gives premature babies a reddish purple skin colour. Their skin may feel "sticky" and can bruise and tear easily.

Most very premature babies also have very soft hair called lanugo, which may cover most of the body. It disappears as the baby grows.

Your tiny baby's head may look unusually large for the size of the body, and the arms and legs might look quite long.

Very premature babies have very little fat covering their bones. However, as your baby grows and develops more fat, his/her head, arms, and legs should begin to look more "normal" for their size.

It is not unusual for a very premature baby's eyelids to be stuck shut at the time of birth. Don't worry about this, as they will open in time.

The ears are also still developing and may well be very close to the head and have little of the material called cartilage that gives the ears their final shape. If the ears are folded or bent, they may stay in a folded position for a while. Don't worry. With time, the ears will develop cartilage which will make them spring back into place when touched.