Moms of premature babies

thecubiclee · March 2016

Any other preemie moms here? My little guys due date was March 3rd but was born January 11th (7 and a half weeks early). And since preemies are known to develop at a slower pace than full term babies I want some input on where your baby is developmentally. My little guy doesn't roll (or attempt), doesn't smile on purpose. When he does, its pretty random or I have to tickle his cheek. He doesn't laugh (except twice he has laughed in his sleep) he also has a hard time lifting his head at all during tummy time.

teachmegs817 · March 2016

I'm a preemie mommy. LO was born 6 weeks early. ODD was 1/24, and DS came on 12/16. He just turned 14w, (8w adjusted) on Wednesday. DS has yet to roll over, but he does teeter his body from side to side occasionally. He is trying more to move himself during tummy time. His head control has improved greatly within the last 2 weeks, but he can still be pretty floppy with it. Again, tummy time regularly helps to get him to lift his head and use those muscles a lot. As far as social smiles, he is always coo'ing, chatty and smiling. I'd say that's been a regular thing now since week 8-9.

It took DS quite a bit of time to get his head lifting up pretty regularly and to get him swatting at toys and being more mobile with his legs and arms. He slept ALOT the first few weeks of birth. I suggest you download and/or buy the Wonder Weeks app/book. It discusses developmental leaps that babies make and for mommies like you and I, it goes off of adjusted age, versus birth age. It may give you more insight on the things LO might be doing during certain developmental stages as well as signs to look out for when the leaps are going to occur and tips to help work through the leaps.

thecubiclee · March 2016

Thank you so much! I'll look into that. LO is 3 weeks adjusted and it's hard for me to not want to go by birth weeks.

Rakastajatar · March 2016

Mine was 3 wks early but she weighed at 4lbs 9oz - she can roll from tummy to back. I honestly don't remember when she did.

i second the wonder weeks app goes by due date

holidayemma · March 2016

Hey there! My daughter was 8 weeks early early. For development schedule you need to go off their due date not their birth date... It's not like their brain suddenly developed 7 weeks along because they came early - they just grew on the outside... Everything up until due date she would have done in the womb as hard as that sounds. Obviously they have had additional stimulus so may reach goals a little earlier.

My preemie has reached all goals based on that - immunisations they base from birth and I understand they may wean based on birth date depending on the baby - they should also really make two markers on any weight charts for a while yet...

My daughter is 20 birth / 12 gestation and not rolling over yet - that isn't for several weeks yet but she is smiling plenty, cooing and blowing a kind of raspberry - sadly teething early also! But that is generally based on when the parents teethed as children rather than being a preemie I think.

What was his birth weight? Hope you are doing ok - it's a stressful time - we bought mine home at 3lb 5oz after 4.5 in NICU but at 11 weeks she was 11lb 4oz thanks to a growth formula.

thecubiclee · March 2016

holidayemma said:

Hey there! My daughter was 8 weeks early early. For development schedule you need to go off their due date not their birth date... It's not like their brain suddenly developed 7 weeks along because they came early - they just grew on the outside... Everything up until due date she would have done in the womb as hard as that sounds. Obviously they have had additional stimulus so may reach goals a little earlier.

My preemie has reached all goals based on that - immunisations they base from birth and I understand they may wean based on birth date depending on the baby - they should also really make two markers on any weight charts for a while yet...

My daughter is 20 birth / 12 gestation and not rolling over yet - that isn't for several weeks yet but she is smiling plenty, cooing and blowing a kind of raspberry - sadly teething early also! But that is generally based on when the parents teethed as children rather than being a preemie I think.

What was his birth weight? Hope you are doing ok - it's a stressful time - we bought mine home at 3lb 5oz after 4.5 in NICU but at 11 weeks she was 11lb 4oz thanks to a growth formula.

Thanks so much! He was 4lb 4oz at birth and stayed in the NICU for 18 days. He's now 11weeks and about 10.5 to 11 pounds thanks to Similac Neosure.

jbro88 · March 2016

Mom of a preemie here. He was born at 29 weeks on Oct 21 weighing 3 lbs 1 oz. We spent 51 days in the NICU. He's just about caught up size wize. He just turned 5 months and weighs around 16 lbs. We are EBF with one fortified neo sure bottle a day for brain development. He is 12 weeks adjusted age today.
He can push up to his elbows/hands on his tummy and is rolling from side to side but not to his back yet.
For the most part he has stuck with the timeline of his due date and the wonder weeks app though he has honestly hit a few of the skills early.

For instance he is already grasping at toys and bringing them to his mouth, something he shouldn't be doing until closer to 4 months adjusted.

My pediatrician, who is the father of preemie twins, said that he will be somewhere in the middle for some developmental things. He will do them faster than a 3 month old but behind a 5 month old, if that makes sense. It does seem to be true for everything except his motor skills which I have heard will always go by his adjusted age.

Congrats on your little preemie!

linds852010 · March 2016

My little guy was also due March 3rd. He came 5 weeks early on January 29th because I had placenta abruption. He's not smiling on purpose and he'll roll to his side but not over. We just have to be patient and remeber what a miracle they really are!

Moms of premature babies

Re: Moms of premature babies

Choose Another Board

Search Boards