Hello hetal
First i would like to thank you for your reply to my previous querry about sitting position for 7 month old baby. I also like to wish you a happy new year. My net was down so i could not reply to you earlier.

Now i have another querry. My daughter was born 3 weeks before the due date. SO should this 3 weeks be considered while calculating her milestones? My daughter is 7 months and 2 weeks old now. she is very eager to sit , crawl and stand now, but even if i make her sit for short durations everyday she has not yet learnt to sit. just because she was a preterm baby will she reach milestones late?. but oterwise her eating pattern and her behaviour is quite normal and she is very friendly. please highlight me in this matter. Lucky mom replied. Hi Anu,

I logged into this board 2-3 days back and found it very useful.

I am the proud mommy of a 6 month old daughter. Your query caught my attention because my baby is also a preemie baby. She was born 6 wks earlier than the due date. I think your baby is not a premature baby, because as you said she was 3 wks earlier than the due date, that makes you 37 weeks pregnant - right? As far as I know, a 37 week old baby is not considered a preemie baby...so u can relax.

Regarding the milestones- every baby is different. Some babies learn things faster, some don't. My baby is learning to sit without support - she sits for 4-5 minutes without any support. Her other developments are absolutely normal - touchwood !! My daughter's pediatrician says she is gaining weight properly and is doing well otherwise also.

Its good that I came to this board - please share your baby's other activities.

Are you giving her any solid food ? If yes, what and how do you prepare it? I m giving my baby vegetables.

Best wishes,
Lucky mom Hetal replied. there is a diff betwn preterm and premature. if your daughtr is medically declared/dignsd as premature,its quite likely that her milestones will delay compard to babies of her age or babies born on same day...
but please note an important factr that likeliness of such a fctr dpends on babies own grwth as well ! even though many babies were born premature or preterm,they were able to cope up with the onterm babies milestones,,it all dpnds on the complicatns that affectd baby health during or aftr the birth. its perfectly fine for many babies to be born around 33weeks or so,,and yet they achvd thr milestones on time.
if your baby has shown the growth rate that is normal for onterm babies, thn you have to calculate her grwth rate acc to normal onterm babies,,and not acc to her birth time unless she is havng ne physical problem !!
also, your dd being 7.2months,,even if i consder minus or plus a couple 3weeks,which will be somewhere around 6months or 8mths,,,,the safety levels i have already discussed before,,,in the same reply i talked about sitting..

as far as your baby is not showng ne uneasiness or is able to sit or lemee say is interstd in sittng its perfectly fine after 5months for babies to help sit or atleast help thm bear thn wght on thr legs. hwver,,its advsable to wait until your baby is strong enough to give herself a balance even when sittng unsupportdly.
like i talked about,,make them sit in the corner of sofa(sofa that has handle and is closed with support from 3sides,,only one side is open ),,the safest place to make them learn sittng,,,and see how she respnds etc,,,
alterntly pillows are also good, but thr support wnt be strong enough to support your baby back and in that many babies tend to learn sittng but with bend back ! you surely want to avoid that.
the stiff support gvn by sofa or dirct wall(which is again unsafe but m mentning),,is uncomparble when it comes to babies backbone,,,its like water that freezes in the shape you want !!! so go accrdly..

as far as i mentind the worry point in prev messg, are takn care of,,it doesnt matter the whthr or not baby is normal,preterm or premature !even onterm babies were able to sit almost 8-9months and they were onterm babies,,,so it doesnt matter.
wat matters is her grwth rate,,nd watever she is follwng from day 1(irrespective of when she was born, unless physically challngd or is exprncng delay in mental grwth),,,is to be followed until her entire grwth period,,..
just make sure that her grwth is constant,,and if more its good, that she was able to cope up,,if it seems to be slow,,make it a concern to your dr !
if your baby was 5months old, i would have forced you to wait for a month ! but above 5-6months,,and esp wat you told me about your baby grwth rate,,i feel she is quite safe to sit and just make sure to teach her good habits of watever you teach her right from day 1,,may it be sitting, standng,,feeding/eating or watever...it will ease your life in later stage !!!
its baby health aftr birth that depnds alot when it comes to these physical milestones,,and not the time of birth...time of birth decides complicatns watso ever,,which have not been seen as of now,,in your case..esp....
hope this suffcs.....
Hetal replied. there is a diff betwn preterm and premature. if your daughtr is medically declared/dignsd as premature,its quite likely that her milestones will delay compard to babies of her age or babies born on same day...
but please note an important factr that likeliness of such a fctr dpends on babies own grwth as well ! even though many babies were born premature or preterm,they were able to cope up with the onterm babies milestones,,it all dpnds on the complicatns that affectd baby health during or aftr the birth. its perfectly fine for many babies to be born around 33weeks or so,,and yet they achvd thr milestones on time.
if your baby has shown the growth rate that is normal for onterm babies, thn you have to calculate her grwth rate acc to normal onterm babies,,and not acc to her birth time unless she is havng ne physical problem !!
also, your dd being 7.2months,,even if i consder minus 3weeks,which will be somewhere around 6months or so,,the safety levels i have already discussed before,,,in the same reply i talked about sitting..

as far as your baby is not showng ne uneasiness or is able to sit or lemee say is interstd in sittng its perfectly fine after 5months for babies to help sit or atleast help thm bear thn wght on thr legs. hwver,,its advsable to wait until your baby is strong enough to give herself a balance even when sittng unsupportdly.
like i talked about,,make them sit in the corner of sofa(sofa that has handle and is closed with support from 3sides,,only one side is open ),,the safest place to make them learn sittng,,,and see how she respnds etc,,,
alterntly pillows are also good, but thr support wnt be strong enough to support your baby back and in that many babies tend to learn sittng but with bend back ! you surely want to avoid that.
the stiff support gvn by sofa or dirct wall(which is again unsafe but m mentning),,is uncomparble when it comes to babies backbone,,,its like water that freezes in the shape you want !!! so go accrdly..

as far as i mentind the worry point in prev messg, are takn care of,,it doesnt matter the whthr or not baby is normal,preterm or premature !even onterm babies were able to sit almost 8-9months and they were onterm babies,,,so it doesnt matter.
wat matters is her grwth rate,,nd watever she is follwng from day 1(irrespective of when she was born, unless physically challngd or is exprncng delay in mental grwth),,,is to be followed until her entire grwth period,,..
just make sure that her grwth is constant,,and if more its good, that she was able to cope up,,if it seems to be slow,,make it a concern to your dr !
if your baby was 5months old, i would have forced you to wait for a month ! but above 5-6months,,and esp wat you told me about your baby grwth rate,,i feel she is quite safe to sit and just make sure to teach her good habits of watever you teach her right from day 1,,may it be sitting, standng,,feeding/eating or watever...it will ease your life in later stage !!!
its baby health aftr birth that depnds alot when it comes to these physical milestones,,and not the time of birth...time of birth decides complicatns watso ever,,which have not been seen as of now,,in your case..esp....
hope this suffcs.....