Welcome Jeanie

[Guest guest]

Hi Jeanie,

Your prenatal situation with Brockton sounds much like mine (and

probably like plenty of others on this list). My RSS son, ,

is 12 years old now. He was born at 29 weeks gestation weighing 15

oz. and was 11 inches long. There were no placenta problems that I

know of, but when they delivered him via c-section, the umbilical

cord was very thin & broke in a few pieces. They assumed he wasn't

getting the proper nutrition he needed to grow. We also found the

problem during my first ultrasound which was at 18 weeks. At that

point he was 3 weeks behind in development (size) and I had decreased

amniotic fluid. I had an amniocentesis at 21 weeks, because one of

the specialists was " sure " he had Down's Syndrome, and the first

words out of his mouth were that I should terminate the pregnancy.

Its was the most horrible 2 weeks of my life waiting for the

results. When the test came back negative, the doctor told me

" surely this baby will be retarded then. " I chose not to terminate

the pregnancy (I don't think I could ever go through with something

like that anyway). By the time was taken from me via c-

section at 28 weeks, his growth was 7-8 weeks behind, making him the

size of a 20 weeker!

It sounds like Brockton is doing quite well. I just looked at

's growth records, and at 15 months he was 10.5 lbs. and 23 "

long. My son's medical history is likely more significant than many

on this list, but at 12 years old, he fits in just fine with his

peers & is able to do most of what they do. still has a g-

tube, eating almost nothing by mouth, and is supposed to be wearing a

back brace for kyphosis and scoliosis. He has been giving me a hard

time with this, and I have decided to let this one go for a few

months. Fortunately, these things in addition to him being a lot

smaller than others his age, do not get in the way of him making

friends. So, I just wanted to say, keep the faith! Brockton is very

likely to have a " normal " life!

Kim C.