Preemie development?

My son is almost 4 months old, he was born 7 weeks early. and i just need some advice from some other mommys of preemies. I don't know if its just me being a worry wart or not but i feel like my little guy is sort of behind. he's not holding his head up on his own, he just started smiling and making little noises. I'm just wondering if anyone elses kids had delays like this? or if there is anything i can do to help him start holding his head on his own, and help him with other things a 4 month old should be doing.

Tummy time is the best and only thing you can really do. But he doesn't sound that behind, if he is cooing and making eye contact, etc. I've always been more concerned about social and cognitive development than physical milestones in my DS, but that's just my way of thinking. Does your son roll over?

<blockquote><b>Quoting lucasmommy26:</b>" My son is almost 4 months old, he was born 7 weeks early. and i just need some advice from some other ... [snip!] ... anything i can do to help him start holding his head on his own, and help him with other things a 4 month old should be doing."</blockquote>




My daughter was born five weeks early and developed very slowly. She couldn't sit unassisted until she was eight months. She was also behind with rolling over, smiling, and holding up her head.

Don't worry about it at all. It's perfectly normal and your LO will catch up sometime in the next two years. For my daughter, she's really started to catch up from ten months to a year. She packed on the weight and has been learning new things almost daily.

Just enjoy your LO and don't worry until your doctor says too. It's perfectly normal for preemies to be behind.

Quoting lucasmommy26:" My son is almost 4 months old, he was born 7 weeks early. and i just need some advice from some other ... [snip!] ... anything i can do to help him start holding his head on his own, and help him with other things a 4 month old should be doing."

You can't base his development on his age from birth. You have to adjust for where he would be had he actually been born around his due date. That will give you a more accurate idea of where he should be. So, at 4 months old, but 7 weeks early, he would actually only be 2 months old, and it's rare for a 2 month old to consistently hold his head up on his own.

Its normal for preemies to be a bit behind in development.. here they have a program called infants & Toddlers that help with getting them caught up. My dd has them come to the house every two weeks (she was 4 weeks early) they do exercises & play with them. A dr can refer them to contact you i interested..i def recommend it if you have the option in your area or something similar.

I talked to my pedi because I was worried about my twins development. He said that they usually look at their adjust age when counting developmental mile stones.

my DS was born 9 weeks and 2 days early... but he was a little behind with the laughing and rolling over (he basically never rolled over) but hell be ten mts old in 4 days and all caught up... hes 20 lbs and 28 inches long and is starting to walk a little =) just give your LO time... they catch up when they are ready