calling all parents of premies!!?

Question

my son was born 9 weeks early, he is 6 months old right now, i lay him on the floor and play with him i have helped him to learn to roll over on his belly , he dosent do it very often,, but he isnt crawling yet, makes no signs of trying either, he dosnt put his knees under him, he keeps his feet in the air when he is on his belly, when i put him to bed at nite i find him in the same poistion i have left him, on his back with his head facing the wall, what can i do to help him learn to do all this, my doctor has mention that it could be possiable he might need help to learn how to walk, but i want him to learn on his own,, any helpful suggestions? thanks.

he will be 7 months on the 15 of this month

Answer 1

My son and daughter were born 8 weeks early; they will have their first birthday next month.

At 6 months actual age (which will be only about 4 months corrected age), honestly, your son sounds fine. I wouldn't expect a 4 month old to be crawling, and while some 6 month old babies do, it's not something that's "expected" at 6 months. That does not mean, of course, that he may not need help developing his gross motor skills; I only wanted to assure you that, at 6 months actual/4 months corrected, not crawling is hardly a reason for concern.

I want to write "I can understand why you want him to learn on his own," but I guess I really don't. My children are both in physical therapy -- for my daughter, it is to keep her on track with gross motor skills. She's been sitting up for months, is pulling up to stand, has been trying to crawl (and still doesn't...and no one is alarmed by this), but I still want her to have help. For one thing, preemies very often have issues with extension; while most babies will start to stand by standing mostly on their toes, not really resting back on their heels, with many preemies that is more pronounced, and they may benefit from physical therapy to help get them more comfortable with flexion so that they stand and walk properly. My son has been in physical therapy longer than my daughter (who didn't start that long ago): he has a preference for tilting his head to the right, and although he doesn't technically have torticullis, we still want to correct the tilt (because a consistent tilt can cause issues down the road).

It is always better to catch any potential issues early, when they are easier to address. I'm surprised your pediatrician has never raised the issue considering your son was born so early. But often pediatricians just don't "get" the whole preemie thing (of course, I have no idea what kind of expertise your pediatrician has with preemies). Personally, I chose a pediatrician where my child was born and in the NICU; the doctors there have known my babies since their NICU days, the physical therapist they see now saw them when they were in the NICU, etc. There's just a continuity of care I'm happy with. And they all work quite a lot with preemies.

Most states (maybe every state) has an Early Intervention program. From what I've seen, it can take some time until they'll do an assessment, and from there it can take some additional time until they actually proceed with any treatments, but this is free -- and as the mom to a baby born 9 weeks early, you/your baby will qualify. Typically, the services (such as physical therpay) are performed in your home, too, which is convenient.

I know you want your baby to "learn on his own" but the fact is, as a preemie, he really may need help. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I consider it my job as a parent to give my babies every bit of help I can, and as preemies they do have special needs, even though they are healthy, on the right track, and not "special needs" children. Physical therapy is helping them to catch up with full term babies. The babies love it -- to them, it's a play session. I enjoy it. And it's not as if they have a physical therapy session once a week and that's it; the physical therapist shows me what I can do at home to help my babies to crawl, hold their heads straight, stand better...etc. Even if you decide for some reason that you don't want to stick with a physical therapy program, you can learn things that you can do with your son to help him along.

I urge you to talk to your doctor about Early Intervention and physical therapy. I would also find out if there is a program, perhaps at the hospital where he was born, where he can be followed up on, if he is not automatically part of such a program by virtue of his prematurity. My children have each had two developmental assessments to see how they're doing with gross motor, fine motor, and cognitive skills for their age; those assessments are invaluable to me as their parents, and allow me to help them where they need help...and to grin ear to ear when I hear that they're right on target with things, too.

Best of luck to you.

Answer 2

My daughter was born 5 weeks early and she is now exactly 10 months old. I was afraid she'd fall behind her peers so I made sure she had the most appropriate toys for her developmental stage. At 6 months, she sat on her own. Up until 2 weeks ago, she did not crawl. Instead, my daughter was standing and crusing. Some babies never crawl and it's not a developmental milestone they are concerned about. The best thing you can do for your baby is to allow him lots of time to explore on his own. Don't cope him up on a swinger or walker or playpen. Let him be free. Eventually, he will learn on his own and you'll be the proudest (still nervous) parent on the block!

Answer 3

I had a preemie born 7 weeks early and a full term baby and they both learned to crawl at 9 - 10 months. Your child will learn muscle control when they are ready. Some babies don't ever crawl and go straight to walking. Relax and enjoy your baby. They grow up too fast.

Answer 4

My baby girl was born 3 months early. She is still not past her due date but we were told that she would be a little behind most children. I would suggest getting tips from the doctors on what you can do. If not, try taking him to a few therapies where you can learn what you can do with him. Is 6 months his adjusted age or age from birth?? I would just relax...he will learn soon enough and will be running around before you know it.

Answer 5

You can't force him to attain developmental landmarks because you think he should be there already...kids attain these at their own pace - don't worry, it'll happen and it doesn't say anything about your parenting if it's not as fast as other kids.
He's probably a little young yet for crawling anyways and the fact that doc is suggesting help with walking indicates another issue maybe involved with son's prematurity. don't forget that 1st year landmarks for premies are often judged by when they were expected to be born, not when they were actually born. So, if the landmark for crawling is around 6 months, I wouldn't expect baby to actually achieve this until around 9 weeks later.

Answer 6

9 weeks is pretty early..I have heard that it often takes preemies longer to do things..sometimes even past their adjusted age. My son was born 6 weeks early..he is 10 weeks now and does just about everything a baby his age should (real age) except I notice he does not laugh at all. He does coo and smile though.
I am not sure what you can do to help him crawl..but make sure he has plenty of tummy time while he is awake..it will strengthen his muscles. You can also trying tucking his legs and hands under him often to strengthen.. good luck!

Answer 7

my son was 8 and a half months before he crawled hes still a little young for crawling work sitting up unassisted right now. thats the next milestone after rolling over.i have had two early babies one didnt make it my son was nearly a month early.he was on target for everything. most babies will crawl between 8 months and a year and walking on average some are earlier is between 1 and 2 years old. dont stress its still too soon for crawling

Answer 8

My daughter was born may 29,and was born 8wks early.She is 6mths old just like your son.She is not sitting on her own,but she rolls over on her tummy and back on her back.When she is on her tummy she draws up her knees under her and pushes forward and backward.When i put her to bed at night on her back and leaves her,i'd return to find her on her tummy or on her side,sometimes across the bed.What i'm really trying to say is every baby reaches their developemental milestone differently.

You can help your son by allowing him supervised playtime on his stomach so that he can develope his motor skills.
Something you should definitely keep in mind when your compulsion to compare gets the best of you(and it will).Babies today are developing later in some major skill categories than they used to.Not because the're less naturally precocious,but because they're spending less time on their tummies.Putting babies to sleep on their backs dramatically reduces the risk is SIDS,but it also temporarily slows motor skills development.

With little opportunity to practice those skills babies used to practise on their tummies(such as rolling over and crwaling), more babies are accomplishing these skills later.Many are even skipping the crawling stage entirely.Though this slowdown is'nt considered significant developmentally,parents can help their babies along by making sure they spend plenty of supervised playtime on their bellies from an early age.

Parents who wait too long to flip their babies balk at this unaccustomed position.So remember:BACK TO SLEEP, TUMMY TO PLAY.

Answer 9

you dont want them to do it to fast bc once you blink they are running around. some babies are just faster than others trust his pace! My son was crawling a 6 months sitting up at 8 and walking at almost 10months but we had tons of floor toys so if he wanted to see them he had to get around he was playing in a walker at 4-5 months so try toys if you haven't also i have a niece who is 8 days older and i found being around another baby played a huge role! good luck!

Answer 10

I had a preemie as well. born at 8 mo. He is 10 mo. now and he still does not crawl. He does drags himself all over the place. He started this at about 8 mo. He is beggining to walk. You just need to give him time. He is still too young....