My son was born at 29 weeks, weighed barely 2 pounds and was only 13 inches long. My husband and I, as first time parents, were terrified by this completely unexpected thing that happened to us. But we hung in there, our son made it, and now at 10 years old you look at him and you would never think he was a preemie. Anytime that happens it's a shock, but having a good strong support system in hospital staff, family and friends helps a couple through the crisis.

What an amazing story, I dont have much experience on this, thats why I am here anyway, Can you please tell me whats the standard weight and height for a new born?

Our son was also a preemie - 21 inches long and only 4 lbs, 9 oz - you could see every rib on his body! HOwever, all also turned out well for us and he is a healthy 17 1/2 year old now. I'm not an expert, but myguess would be "average" is about 19 inches and 8 pounds. Any experts out there on these numbers?

NeverMarried, from what I've learned, "average" is anywhere between 6 & 8 pounds with varying lengths. My son was 6lb 7oz at a week early. I think generally speaking the hospital considers an infant premature if they are born before the 36week gestation mark. Maybe other members can let me know if I'm right on that?

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Tigriz
Mom to Alex - 1/21/06

6 pounds is average weight for a baby, mine were 6.7 and 7.2 pounds when they were born and it was hard for a petite woman like me to let them out of this world. Usually, the preem babies are born in 7 months or less.

Prem here is 37w and earlier. My son was 'just' a preemie as he was born at 36w6d, but he stopped growing at 33w, so was a preemie in size

what is the weight for a preemie? I'm glad your baby made it being so small at birth. How long did he have to stay in the hospital before you could take him home?

I work at a hospital in the labour ward and we consider any babies born before 37 weeks as a preemie and those babies born at term who weigh less than 2.5 kg are considered "small for gestational age" or "SGA".