milestones

Nicole - posted on 02/18/2011

when my 26-weeker was 5 months old, i was chatting with a friend to see when her full-term girls had cut teeth. one of them had cut her first tooth at 5 months(!), but the other didn't cut her first until 13 months. Rhiannon ended up cutting her first at 11 months, and had 2 new pretty teeth for her 1st birthday pictures. she's 21 months now, and still needs 3 of her 2-yr molars and 3 of her eyeteeth (canines). she has a boy in her swim class who was full-term and is 19 months, and he still only has the 8 incisors. (OTOH, he knows his mouth, eyes, nose, and ears, and Rhiannon has only identified her hands and her "tinkies" (toes). which is cool for the Winter, because she knows to put on shoes and how to help me get her mittens and coat on!)

Suzanne - posted on 02/18/2011

our Daughter was born at 31 wks, and it took along time for her to reach various milestones, including eating solid foods, but belive me we worried and freated and now i look back and think wht as each child weather early or on time do it on there own time our daughter is now 2 and she is now ahead for her time hope this helps please try not ot worrie x

Shannon - posted on 02/17/2011

my daught was born at 30wks, she is now 10 months, she is just starting to crawl now, she goes sideways, backwards easy and has tough time going foward, anyday now she'll get it. She has no teeth yet, still can't handle solid foods besides her cereals and pureed baby food. I started her on puffs to chew but she really has grasped that yet. no words yet just babbles and giggles. Doctor seems pleased, she'll get where she needs to in her own time just like all babies. my suggestion to everyone is don't research or talk to other moms about timelines for milestones because your baby will do it when they are ready. As long as they continue to progress at their pace they are good!

Cari - posted on 02/15/2011

my daughter was born at 28 weeks didnt get her first tooth until she was 10 months old didnt walk until she was 16 months old .. they catch up i promise she is now two and right on track talking running and very witty :) enjoy her while she is still unmobile :)

Katrina - posted on 02/14/2011

Just remember even "normal birth time" babies all achieve their milestones at different times i.e walking can be between 9 & 15 months so even though our premmies will generally do things a little later there is no hard and fast time they will do so. If you are worried talk to your ped but otherwise just go with the flow.

Tonya - posted on 02/12/2011

Hi, my son was a 24 week gest. and it took him a long time to meet the goals we see as a full term baby ,he wasnt even crawling till he was 12 months old but on the other had he came home at 3 months old weighing 3lbs 15 ounces its a rough road but alot that helped me was the early childhood program they offer they came to my home and did little things with him 2 or 3 times a week now he is 11 yrs old and has made multiple mile stones so my answer yes they do delay in doing things but when they catch up look out ..lol

Wynne - posted on 02/11/2011

Hi there. My eldest was born at 33 weeks - he is now almost 13 years old. He didn't start rolling over until he was 5 months, commando crawled at 8 months, crawled normally at 9 months and didn't cut his first tooth until he was 9 months old. I was told by the nursing staff of the hospital he was born at, that you need to look at all these things from their corrected age. Don't worry. I am sure she will get there eventually & in a couple of years you will wonder why you were so worried! I know that's how I feel now.

I hope this helps.

Becky - posted on 02/09/2011

Teeth come when they come. I know full term babies who got two teeth at 11 months. You should adjust those 2 months for all other "milestones" and maybe even a little more. My little guy is almost 2 and still doesn't talk that much. He has the speech of an 18 month old but most everything else he did 3-4 months behind. He was born at 28 weeks.

Sherry - posted on 02/09/2011

My son was born at 29 weeks, developmentally he is only 7 months. He has just started sitting on his own (still topples over) and just started getting teeth. Our Neonatologist said that most preemies are behind till about the age of 2. For Zak we go by his adjusted age (7months) rather than his actual (10 months). I try really hard to not compare him to other babies, he is a special little boy and I take his milestones as he passes them, to me they are a huge deal, As long as he is happy and achieving his milestones I am very proud of him. Try not to sweat the milestones to much, she will hit each and everyone in her own time.

Crystal - posted on 02/09/2011

Wow all thereply on here is jst great - I too had a daughter at 26weeks premature 1lbs13oz stayed in nicu for 6mths had 8 surgeries- so I can understand and the fact that i was 82 miles away from her I had to leave her during the week to go back and work and i was at her bedside on the wekend it was tough but we did it- when she finally came home on a feedin tube I was nervous but I also had a nurse for a few weeks - of course all preemies or and will be sumwht behind physical my gurl also have a mile form of cerebral palsy - i can go on and on but that was 6yrs ago - she didnt start crwalin until she was 15mths and we was evvcuated from Hurrciane Rita so that was good may ard 7 or 8 mths she started sitting up she didnt start raisin her arms up to reach out for me til she was 12mths - it all comes but at a slower pace - she will get there jst keep doing errything with her as normal and she will be alright

Amber Lynn - posted on 02/08/2011

It all depends, my son was also born at 32 weeks and he's 1.5 now. He didn't start getting teeth until he was just over a year and now he has just about all of them in 6mo. time. Odin did the rest of his milestones pretty much on time, he didn't start crawling until 8-9mo. but started walking right before his first birthday. He hasn't learned to talk yet though and it seems most kids his age have at least 4-5 words.

It all depends on your baby, when she is ready to do things she will. Don't stress over it though, theirs not a whole lot that can be done about it. I know of a few children who weren't preemies and they never did the rolling over bit when little.

Nicole - posted on 02/07/2011

It's not uncommon for premies to develop a little slower and sitting up at 6 mos is okay. In developmental assessments, we adjust for age until premies turn 2 years old. So, your baby was 8 weeks early so she would only be assessed for what a child of four months would be doing. Growth charts should be adjusted as well. Most of all, remember, babies all develop on their own time tables. If you are worried, all states have early intervention agencies and you can ask for a referral from your pediatrician. I hope this helps:)

Cassandra - posted on 02/07/2011

My son was born at 30 weeks. Every time we went to the doc they checked him for his development for his age and his adjusted age. So if he was 6 months old his adjusted was 4 months. So they checked his development first for 4 months to make sure he was hitting those milestones. They were happy as long as he was hitting or close to those. After that they would look at what a 5 or 6 month olds milestones were and if he was hitting those it was just a bonus! It is said that it can take up to the age of 5 to catch up. I hope that is helpful. The March of Dimes website has a lot of info on preemies and support!

Myrtis - posted on 02/07/2011

My son was born at 33 weeks, there were some of the delays you mention with milestones but you must not worry, it is totally normal, and they usually catch up by age 2 if not before.

Also keep in mind that there is huge variation within the normal range for these milestones anyway and sounds like your daughter is right where she ought to be.

And you should know, that now, my son is nearly 7 years old and he's the tallest in the class and gets top grades and plays the piano, and enjoys all the normal things that other kids his age do. Not too bad for a "premature" baby and you'll see yours will do great too!

Keep us posted on her progress. Good luck!

Cheryl - posted on 02/06/2011

My daughter Anabelle was born at 29 weeks and for developing she has been going according to her corrected age not her physical age. She was 13 months when she got her first tooth.

Tamara - posted on 02/03/2011

all babies are different but they say as a norm, babies that are preemies will always be a little behind. my 1 year old preemie went in for his check up today, and he is at the 50th% for his age!!! so exciting. his motor skills however are really behind. he just started rolling over, and he wont sit himself up or stand himself up. he has never crawled or tried walking either. our doctor has now recommended a specialist to see if he is just lazy or if there is an underlining problem. she also told me to keep in mind that he was early so he may just be behind from that

Leanne - posted on 02/03/2011

they as to still go by the due date my lil' one was born at 25 weeks and took a little longer than normal to do some things but he is now 2 years old and has coat up to his age group now so i wouldn't worry to much as your little one will catch up and for now just let her go at her own pace that is what we were adviced to do and it is working for our son

Candace - posted on 02/03/2011

My son was born at 33 weeks. He could sit up supported at six months but didn't learn to sit up by himself until 7 months. He didn't roll over until six and a half months and didn't get teeth until almost eight months

Liz - posted on 02/02/2011

My b/g twins were born at 33wks 6 days ( in 2008). They both started teething at about three months but my son didn't get his first tooth until 11 months and my daughter around 10 months. As for rolling over they started to roll at about six months and I think as for sitting up they did that around 8 months or so I can't remember for sure.



my youngest who was born at 38 wks 6 days will be seven months on the 12th. He's been teething since four months and doesn't have any teeth either. He only really started to roll about a month or two ago, and can only sit up with support at the moment.



All kids are different, and remember with preemies use their adjusted age to see what milestones they should approximately be hitting. I didn't use the adjusted ages above.



However, if you are concerned speak to the pediatrician. If the doctor is concerned about her you could always get her evaluated at early intervention and see if they can help. Otherwise just try and encourage her. I know it's frustrating at times, but she'll get there at her own time.

Angela - posted on 02/02/2011

This is kind of a hard question because all babies are different, preemie or not. I have had two preemies. My first was a 24 weeker at a pound and a half birthweight, My second was 29 weeks and about 3 pounds. Their milestones couldnt be more different! My first one, the 24 weeker got his first two teeth at 6 months (not corrected), my second one is going to be 8 months and still hasnt even had his first poke through yet. Izaiah,(the 24 wkr) didnt even roll over until 6 or 7 months, then started slowly with the army crawl, didnt fully walk until about 18 months! Silas however has been rolling over since 3 or 4 months and can almost run in his walker, and is just starting to get up on his hands and knees balancing back and forth. Every baby is very different with milestones, and i know personally how hard it is to not compare to term babies, but preemies Ive always noticed that yes they are mostly pretty far behind, because they had such a tough start...spending there first few weeks or months just trying to catch up to a newborn size. I hope this helps, I hope this doesnt confuse you either I didnt use any corrected ages. I believe that all babies will get to where they need to be, sometimes it takes a little bit longer, sometimes a LOT longer.