Full Term Babies Versus Preemies

I have two small children: a two and half year old and a one year old. Both are exceptional boys; however the differences between both boys are amazing. My two and a half year old was a preemie at birth. My other was a full term baby. I am going to share the differences in the boys due to one being on time and one being premature.

My first son was born five and a half weeks early. I was on bed rest with him for four Weeks and was not allowed to do much of anything but rest and take medication. I was bored out of my mind being on bed rest but I knew it was for the best. However, my little man decided to come still five and a half weeks early.

It was very frightening when my son was born, he did not breathe for the first few minutes. They took him away so fast that I did't even know what we had. I kept asking the doctor but he was trying to get my son the help he needed. Finally, we heard the cry from our son. He was OK and was immediately placed in an incubator to warm him up. It was horrible because I did not get to see my first born son until three hours later and then I was only allowed to hold him for one minute. The good news was is that my son only was jaundice , everything else was ok with him.

I think because my son was premature is why we have had so many developmental delays. My son did not crawl until he was over a year old. He did not say mama or dada until he was just about two years old. My son has received early intervention since he was eleven months and still currently receives four hours a week in physical therapy, speech therapy, developmental therapy, and occupational t therapy. It is amazing the advantages of these programs for my son. He is learning so much and is catching up quite a bit. He will be three soon and will attend a developmental preschool to help assist him through the challenges he will still face.

My other son is the complete opposite. I thought several times during this pregnancy that I would be going into labor with him early because he was so low, but he stayed the full pregnancy. He came four days before his due date and was extremely healthy when born. He cried almost immediately and I was allowed to hold him right away. Infarct, I held him about every twenty minutes when he wanted to eat!

As my second son has grown, I have been able to see the differences between both boys. My second son was rolling over earlier, crawling at four months, sitting up faster, and is now trying to walk and he is one year old. He has been saying mama and dada since he was about three months and tries to play big boy things from watching his bother. I have so many less worries with this one because of how well he is developing.

It is amazing to see how to different pregnancies can reflect how the child developers. Both pregnancies were healthy, the different was just one came too early and the other did not. Both boys are in great health and are doing very well now, even through out the challenges one faces, he has his brother to assist him through it.