Appropriate activities with prem baby

We did lots of monochrome flashcards or books. Little and often is key because they're also playing catch up anyway. Congratulations on being able to come home. 9 weeks is a long wait! Time to enjoy your bubble ❤️

Thanks so much @Vicci :) appreciate it! And for the ideas - I have some black and white animal cards I can show him. I like that, little and often.

Honestly the whole corrected age thing I don’t personally agree with.. my boy was born at 35 weeks and has hit all his milestones from his birth date and not his due date. I think when your 35+ weeks it’s not really relevant I would say it’s more for when they are born really prem x

I am so sorry I didn’t read your post properly I thought they were born at 36 weeks!! This is what lack of sleep does to you x

@Seshni etta loves do some beautiful sensory flashcards for mum and baby. They have a sensory pic on one side and positive affirmations for mum on the back ❤️

Haha no worries @Elena :) Yeah he was micro prem almost so its tricky!

Thanks so much @Vicci - I love the idea of flashcards with words of affirmation. That's so beautiful and so very much needed!

I agree with the little and often. All of those things are great to start in small increments. The PT in the NICU had my son doing little bits of tummy time before he was full term, even if it is starting with tummy time on your chest if he isn't happy about it in the floor

Mine was born at 30weeks and 6 wks in hospital. Once we brought him home we lightly did tummy time for no more than 5 minutes before he reached his due date. Just remember he’s technically still supposed to be inside you so be gentle with yourself and him on activities. All sounds, lights, and smells are new to him now that he’s out of NICU too. All of that is stimulating for him as well. Once he reached his due date, I’ve started counting 10 minutes of TT for every month he is. So if he’s 2 months old, work towards 20 minutes of TT. Not all at once though, start out with 2-3 minutes spaced out throughout the day. The activity should always be a gentle and positive experiment for him. If he’s not enjoying it, I’d stop and try again later in the day. Tummy time on chest is also great and a nice way for Dad to bond with him too. I have started to also use the boppy to help prop him up and he enjoys that too.

Thanks so much @Fatima - I look forward to doing some TT. The physio mentioned she'll do a home visit next week to demonstrate TT.

I wouldn’t worry about doing anything other than feeding, sleeping and cuddling. If you want to do more, then I think that’s fine - but my view is this is time they would be inside you, and it’s fine to give them that time. Also, for me (my baby came home at 36 weeks), she really hated being put down on the floor at all until about her due date, she would sit in her bouncer but mainly fell asleep. Although I do remember flash cards did work well. I also just used to carry her round and show her things. For what it’s worth, I don’t really think they ‘catch up’, and would just go by your due date and start the clock from there. All the time before that is bonus time you get to see them grow and develop (with the downside of several more weeks of stress and very little sleep).