Hitting the Milestones

Updated on February 27, 2008
T.S. asks from Hopewell Junction, NY
8 answers

My daughter is 3 months old and was only 4lbs at birth, now she is just under 10lbs. Does anyone else have a premie and when did they hit thier milestones such as holding things in thier hands and holding themselves up when on thier tummy? When I try to put something in my daughters hand she can't hold it,like her hand is too small. And when I put a teething ring in her mouth she couldnt bite that either,like her mouth is still too small. She seems to be hitting all of her developmental milestones but not the physical ones. The dr says its ok but I'm just looking for some advise on how I can help her along.. Thanks to all.

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So What Happened?

Thanks to everyone for your advice.. Just wanted to let everyone know that Giavanna got her first tooth for christmas from santa. It just about poked through on the morning of christmas eve. She is doing fairly well pain wise but she has such a bad diaper rash that appeared the same morning. If anyone has any tips on how to get rid of it faster or for making her more comfortable I would appreciate it. Hope everyone's holiday was a good one. Thanks again.
T.

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K.L.

answers from New York on

Neither of mine were premies, but a GREAT thing to try if she's teething is to wet a washcloth and put it in the freezer. That way, she can chew (gnaw, gum,)on a little corner and it will fit in her mouth! Hopefully this will help!

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A.Q.

answers from Hartford on

My 3 year old was 5 week early. She weighed 4 lbs 15 oz. I introduced a cup to her at 6 months which is the recommended age for introduction. There is nothing you can do. She is ONLY 3 months. I have a 10 month old who is almost walking but my oldest didn't walk until she was 13 months. Every child is different. She will reach her milestones on her time. I breastfed my preemie and almost lost her under my breast..not joking. She was so little and they were so big. And I thought she would never be able to do it because her mouth was so little, but it did.

But some of my daughters stats were:

roll over belly to back 6 months
back to belly 7 months
Sat up alone 7 months
crawl backwards almost 8 months
forward right before 9 months
held a bottle 4 months

So, let her grow at her own pace you are doing nothing wrong Every child is different. Take it easy

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J.W.

answers from Hartford on

My daughter was born at 30 weeks and weighed 2 lb 14 oz. She is now 9 months old and still doesn't roll over! So, I can understand your concern with developmental milestones etc. I try not to dwell on these things and think she is doing great overall. She now weighs over 16.5 pounds and is 26.25 inches long! As long as the doctor thinks everything is fine, try not to worry. And remember to base her on the adjusted/corrected age. Also, even full-term babies develop at different paces. Everyone's an individual!

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G.S.

answers from Elmira on

Both of my kids were premature. My daughter was 8 weeks early and my son was 13 1/2 weekas early. Don't worry too much about milestones because each child is different and will do things in their own time when they are ready. my son started walking at 1 1/2 years old and as did my daughter. t help her along just continue to work with her, she will do it all when she is ready.

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S.T.

answers from Albany on

Hi, T.. One thing I want to let you know, which is better than teething ring (which none of my three boys liked) and frozen bagels and cloths, get Teethings tablets (can get them in Wal-Mart in the baby section). They are homeopathic, meaning safe and nothing in that as other "garbage" do. You can give her two or three, one at a time under the tongue, they dissolve quickly. When she gets more teeth, you'll want to give it to her with spoon with water. I have three boys and my oldest was born five weeks early who now is 3 years old. Believe it or not, he started walking at 10 1/2 mos. He has no problem physically and is a smart boy, only now he is getting speech therapy because he would combine words together, be excited and I couldn't understand him. Now he is doing remarkably great with his speech. Don't worry about milestones. Like someone said, each child is individual. My second son was not a preemie, but walked at 16 mos. Now I have a five month old baby. Each one of us are different and unique and we are individuals, so are children who will grow up to be adults. Just work with your child and keep encouraging her to hold and hold her in front of the mirror for her to see herself, talking with her and letting her see your face and her your familiar voice. It's a wonderful feeling when spending special time with her. Just be a MOM to her as you are doing now!!! Let us know how she's doing.

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M.W.

answers from New York on

My son matthew is now 15 months old. he now weighs 23 lbs. when he was born at 23 weeks he only weighed 1 lb. he was 3 months premature. we had lots of problems with him, but he is just great now. he is still not walking yet, but he is almost there. since he was 3 months behind he usually seems to reach milestones 3-4 months later. matthew is getting physical thereapy so he has met his milestones farley quick. just speak to your doctor to find out if she needs any therapys. but hang in there and dont worry about milestones so much, they happen when they happen. good luck!

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J.P.

answers from Albany on

hi my name is J.. i had a son born at 32 weeks he weighed 3lbs and 13oz. he had severe problems. he was to young to know how to suck he hadn't learned how while still in the womb so he had to be fed through a tube through the nose for months. he gained weight slowly and was in the hospital for a month he came home the day after my daughters first b-day. he stopped breathing two days later and he almost died on me more times than i care to remember. he was in the hospital for another month after the first time he stopped breathing i went to the hospital everyday and spent 8 or more hours a day leaving my daughter with a friend. when he finally came home for good he came home with an apnea monitor to monitor his breathing, it was nerve wrecking and i had to learn how to do cpr on a baby before they would release him from the hospital well anyways. he learned at a very slow pace. he didn't roll over or sit on his own till he was almost six months, he didn't crawl till he was a year and he didn't learn how to walk till he was almost two years. and once a week a lady from the health department came out to do developmental skills with him. the doctor told me that he wouldn't catch up on everything till he hit kindergarden. everything seemed to take forever for him to do but you know what he did catch up. he's now 15 years old soon to be 16 in a few months. he's smarter than my other kids he's a straight A student, he's been on the honor roll several times and he even recieved an award from the president of the united states for his achievements. the only thing he learned the fastest was talking. he talked better than my daughter when she was 3 and he was 2. i have 4 children and out of the first 3 of them he was the only one who didn't have to go to speach therapy he was smart as a whip and comprehended things better than the my other children. so don't worry she may be learning slowly but things will get better. just be patient and don't be worried about her learning things slow as you have read from my story thing do and will get better.

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S.F.

answers from Buffalo on

How early was your daughter? Depending on how preemie she was, you can probably still expect her to be hitting milestones based on her adjusted age (her age based on her due date, rather than her birth date). If your doctor's not concerned, I'd try hard not to be. Does she have any preemie-related health problems? These can influence when the hit milestones. Make sure she gets lots of opportunities to work on her neck and back strength (tummy time) and keep offering her toys to grab at and the like. She'll get there. :^D

My daughter was 14.5 weeks premature (born at 25w3d) and she was on target physically for her adjusted age for about the first year or so, and then in her second year she started hitting milestones closer and closer to the "normal" range for her actual age. In terms of social and intellectual stuff, though, she's always been more on target with her actual age (except that she started speaking late-ish).

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