Hello all! Bri just got back from her very first doctor's appointment, and she is doing very well says the doctor. She is 5 pounds 6 ounces now, the little porker. She's 'supposed' to gain an ounce a day, but right now she's gaining like an ounce and a half. The pediatrician says this is really good. Also, the nurses at the hospital filled her sheet in wrong, she's 18 1/2 inches in length, not the 13 they put...that's her head circumference. They put it in the wrong spot on the sheet. The doc showed us the percentile stuff for her length and weight and counting her as a newborn she IS within normal range. Small, but normal.
In the What to Expect the First Year book I have (good book, btw), there's a section for every month and it tells you what your baby should be doing developmentally at that point. Now, I know with Bri being a preemie she might be behind, but right now she's not!! At the end of the first month (so soon now, holy cow!) it says she SHOULD be able to lift her head breifly while on her stomach and focus on a face.She can do both these things. At least I think she focuses when she looks at me, it's hard to tell.
And out of the two things it says she PROBABLY will be able to do, she can follow an object with her eyes from one side of her face to directly above her (midpoint). She doesn't do the other one, which is respond to a bell noise. It doesn't catch her attention. There's two other sections where it has MAY POSSIBLY and MAY EVEN be able to do, but she can't do those things yet. So, she's not ahead for a term baby, but since she's keeping up with term babies, I'd say she was ahead for a preemie. Yay, we have a smart baby. :)