How Premature Babies Behave

Most premature babies come home around the time of their normal due birth date, but even when the baby has finally reached the expected birth date she still has some catching up to do. The baby may:

Not give you clear signs that she's hungry or tired
Still be weak and hard to feed
Spend her day either sound asleep or crying, and go from sleeping to crying within seconds

You may find your baby's behaviour difficult to understand at first. This can cause worry and upset, but as the weeks go by, you will begin to understand your baby more and she will get better at making her needs known.

As with all babies, your premature baby will seem to have bursts of fast development and other times when nothing much seems to change. If this is a worry, ask your doctor about it, but remember:

You can't push your baby to develop before she's ready
Don't try to force her into activities when she's tired or not in the mood
Remember that pushing her will just upset both of you
Give her your time and support
Focus on her progress. Unless there is a problem which may need intervention, years from now it may not matter whether she began walking at 12 or 20 months of age
Always use your baby's adjusted age to judge her abilities

Movement

Premature babies often have very uncoordinated movements. It's hard to predict how your baby will respond to you and the world around him. His reactions may have a jerky, startled quality, because he is still trying to adjust to changes in his environment, or even to his own physical needs. He may suddenly stiffen his arms and legs or draw them inward. At times, he may go limp and then quickly become tense. As he matures, these reflex actions will gradually disappear.

You can help your baby control his movements by:

holding his arms and legs close to his body
moving him slowly and gently
being quiet and calm with him

In premature infants, the senses (hearing, touching, seeing) often develop faster than the baby's ability to control his muscles (coordination).

Your baby may seem slow at gaining control of the movement of his head or ability to hold objects, but learn quickly to react to sights and sounds - signs of healthy development.

Breathing

Breathing patterns and the skin colour of premature babies can change quickly and without warning. Watch your baby and get to know his usual breathing pattern and "normal" colouring.

Observe how your baby breathes
Observe his skin colour

Knowing his usual behaviour will help you spot any problems. Any time you're concerned about your baby's breathing or colour, call your doctor or nurse.

Sleeping

Your baby should always be placed on her back to sleep.

Your baby will do more sleeping than anything else during her first weeks at home. At first, your baby may sleep 15 to 22 hours a day.

Premature babies tend to have long sleep sessions and short wakeful periods. Your baby may come home from the hospital with her days and nights mixed up.

Think about how different the baby's sleeping area is at home from what it was like in the hospital. If your baby has trouble sleeping:

Try using a night light and play the radio softly
Turn down the extra noise and light slowly to help your baby get used to the new sleeping area
When feeding her during the night, keep her attention on eating and don't play with her

Remember that when your baby reaches an adjusted age of 6 to 8 months, she should be able to sleep through the night.

Crying

Your premature baby may not cry much at first. Crying will probably start as you get closer to the original due date (adjusted age of 0 months).

Your baby's first periods of crying may be short. He may be easily comforted by a soft touch or something to suck on. As your baby grows, he may cry more often.

In a way, crying is a good sign of your baby's normal development. Crying may tell you that your baby is hungry, uncomfortable, or tired.

Try to learn what his cries mean. By responding to his cries, you help your baby develop a feeling of trust and a sense that others understand him.

Don't worry about spoiling your baby. Give him lots of attention. In these early months, your baby needs to be held as often as you can make time to do it.

Sometimes, comforting a crying baby is hard. Long periods of crying may be a sign that a baby is sick or in pain. If your baby cries for an unusually long time, you should call your doctor or nurse. Excessive crying uses up too many calories, can exhaust the baby, and may interfere with breathing and growth.

As premature babies develop, they become easier to comfort. With time, they learn to calm themselves.

Fussing and crying generally reach a peak at 3 to 4 months adjusted age. As your baby gets older, he'll probably cry less, and his periods of sleep will become more regular.

If your baby is a "difficult" sleeper, ask a friend to baby-sit for you occasionally so that you can have a well-deserved break. This is very important for you.