Born at 36 weeks.

I have 5 month old twins boys. At their 5 month checkup the pediatrician told me that my one son has a stiff upper body and to call early preventation. He just tends to fold his hands in front of him (like praying) but still grabs at objects and open and closes his hands. He can roll onto his back also. I don't feel there is anything wrong. Is it true if they were born at 36 weeks then they would only do what a 4 month old does developmentally instead of a 5 month old?

 

Mine were 36 weekers and our pediatrician (both of them that we've had since they were born..) have said that unless they're 35 or earlier that they don't adjust their age. That being said, mine have done things a little slower.. so I don't think doctors know everything.

 

I think it's reasonable - especially now when a week difference is huge - to count your boys as only 4 months. It really does match up better with what they're doing.

 

Mine were born at 37w3d and I was just comparing photos of my recent baby born at 39w6d. She started smiling really well at 2 months old and the twins were smiling in their monthly photos at 3 months. So I would definitely adjust their age especially if you see them doing stuff a 4 month old would do. That being said kids are all just different. You could give it a couple months to see how they are doing.

 

Thank you so much for your quick responses. I think I am going to give him another month and see how he progresses. I just feel at 5 months how can you really tell bc they all are so different. The doc also said my other twin son has a stiff neck and needs to see a physical therapist to do exercises with him. He does tend to favor putting his head to the left and laying on his left side. If you look at the back of his head it is a little flatter on one side. Its been like that since he was born bc he was stuck against my pelvic bone for the last couple months of my pregnancy. I also have a 5 year old and 2 year old daughters as well so I'm not one to jump the gun on these kind of small issues. I feel they out grow alot of these little squirks. You just never want to be wrong ya know.

 

If the pedi recommended early intervention, I would probably get him evaluated. It never hurts to have the evaluation done & if he qualifies, getting him started sooner rather than later is always a good thing.

 

I think at this early age you can adjust a little for them being born premature. Most likely they'll 'catch up' by the time they're one.
Having said that if your pedi has concerns about their development and thinks you should get a assesment done then I would follow that advice. Having the assesment does no harm. Either you'll be told that they are fine and don't need any therapy, in which case you can go on your merry way, or you'll be told that actually they do need some therapy, in which case they'll be getting the help they need. It's a win-win situation. On the other hand if you don't get the assesment and they do end up needing help you'll probably feel very guilty that you didn't have them assesed earlier.

 

The stiff neck is probably torticollis and that is very common among twins and the cramped lifestyle they live in the womb. And because he is favoring that side, that is probably why a flat spot developing. I would get the evaluation done for both of them and start the PT now. Better safe than sorry or there is also the possibility of needing a helmet.

ITA with this. If my Ped recommended to me to have my kids evaluated at any time, I would have done so. I feel like they know what to look for more than me. ardon:

 

Ditto this. My son was similar and the pedi suggested EI and I didn't call, I ended up having to at 9 mos and he had PT til 18 mos, I may have been able to correct problems earlier if I had only called...