Preemie Developmental Stages-My Preemies-

Because my girls were born two months early, they were expected to develop, mentally and physically, at least a year behind babies born between 38-40 weeks.
When it came to physically, I would say yes, my twins did develop a little behind "normal" babies. My hubby and I did not even begin showing them tummy time until they were between six and seven months old. I still thought they were so small and weak and I did not want to hurt them.

TUMMY TIME
So, I just waited. Looking back, I do not think waiting until they were six to seven months to show them tummy time was an issue because today, both my girls are walking...and running.
But, when I first began showing them these new skills for growth and development in babies, Twin B was eager to learn, while Twin A was not as interested. In the beginning of tummy time, both twins would cry and cry and fuss all the time. They did not like being on their bellies. Today, they know where their bellies are!

SITTING UP
When my hubby and I began showing both twins to sit up, both of them were semi fast learners. I recall sitting them in between our legs to give them some support on both sides. I would say it took them two weeks to begin sitting up on their own.

CRAWLING
This is funny, but when both twins began learning to crawl, Daddy and Mommy showed them how it was done. We would crawl beside them and they looked to see how it was done. Well, for some reason, both or twins would crawl backwards! Getting their left knee to work with their right hand in a forward motion was a challange for them as I am sure it is with singleton babies. But finally, after several weeks of trying, Twin A began crawling foward and a week later, Twin B began crawling forward.

PULLING UP
This was amazing watching both of them pulling up. Daddy nor Mommy showed them how to do this, they just decided one day to pull up! They pulled up to the couch, to the coffee table and to the ottoman. But before they learned to pull up, they were crawling all over our home and real fast too. It is as if they had never crawled before, well, they had not!
Once Twin A and Twin B learned to crawl and were no longer on their backs day in and day out, there was NO TURNING BACK!! These little babies were on a mission to have fun, to learn and play....finally....The days of them playing under their baby gym were gone and not forgotten.