I'm a new mom, and my son was a preemie, where should he be at growth wise?

I was going to mention the adjusted age too! Right now it's perfectly normal for him to be more like the average 5 month old. But remember that average means just that, it's an average, some will do things sooner some will do things later. Even though it's never good or accurate to compare babies here's what mine can do in comparison to yours. He'll be 5 months on Friday (although he was 2 weeks early so it's still a little off). He can reach and grab for toys but isn't too good at picking them up yet. If I put a toy in his hand it does get to his mouth some of the time but quite often he drops it. He looks at his feet and sometimes grabs them. He rolls onto his tummy and moves around a little, not quite circles yet. He doesn't eat baby food and doesn't show much interest in trying. If you play with him a lot and give him plenty of time to exercise his little muscles, he'll be learning all those little tricks in no time...but on HIS time. My last one was almost 2 weeks LATE and was late doing everything else too. He was 14 months before he took his first step. Now he acts and behaves much older than "the average" not quite 2 year old. Just for my own curiosity, how big is he now? I know genes play a big role, it's just that mine seems so little even though I know he's grown a lot.

He will learn new things on his own, however you can do things to help him along. If he gets more tummy time, he will develop those skills faster. It sounds like he's developing just fine, but you should ask your ped. about it

My son was 6 weeks early and so was my daughter. Son is now 14 months and duaghter is 7 years old. I can tell you from experience with my daughter, they will catch up! In the first place you can't compare your little guy to your friend's 8 month old. Even if they had both been term babies, all babies develop at different rates. Beyond that, it took my daughter til age 2 to really catch up with her peers. She is now the brightest, most verbal, albeit a bit clumsy (though she gets this naturally from her parents!) child I know. I am sure my son will come through the same way. At 14 months, he is not walking as most babies his age are but he is trying and he will get there eventually. There is nothing physically wrong with him so I know he will get it. Your son will too. You can probably help him learn to sit by propping him in a sitting position with a boppy pillow or against you (sit on the floor with your legs spread). When he is ready he will do it on his own. You might want to go to the library and get a book on child development and they often have checklists with what baby shoudl do at certain ages. This will give you an idea of some of hte skills you can practice with your son if you feel a need. He will get all the essentials eventually even if you don't. If you are still concerened, check with your pediatrician who can tell you where your child is developmentally. If the ped is concerened your town/state should have an early intervention program that can do evaluations on your child. My son is enrolled in the program in our area and it helps me to know that he isn't too far behind, really. But, like I said, with my expereince with my daughter, they do catch up!!! Good luck to you.

he seems to be developing just fine. don't compare him to other kids. a lot of babies don't crawl at 6 months. actually most don't. every baby does everything at a diffrent age. even being born at 5 weeks early that won't really put him behing other kids. my daughter was born over 3 months preemature, by the time she was 12 months she was caught up. don't worry you baby is doing just fine.

Preemies tend to go by two ages. Actual age and adjusted age. Your son should only be about 5 months old so dont compare him to a 6 month old yet. On top of that babies develop in their own speed. That one baby can sit at 6 months doesnt mean the next one is behind when they dont. My son was 10 weeks early. He didnt sit till he was 8 months old and didnt walk till he was 16 months. By the sound of it your son is doing just fine and if you really have concerns see your nurse or doctor about development.