I didn’t mean to offend with my suggestion of autism. It is a spectrum and therefore lots of different signs. Lots of parents are dismissed for suspecting autism because their child is sociable (within a comfortable environment) and can make eye contact - so it is definitely still underlooked & overlooked if a child doesn’t fit every single sign. I do have an autistic immediate-family member, and they very much communicate with grunts and don’t make much eye contact amongst other things.
If your Facebook friend only ever shared photos & videos of their child looking miserable, even 30 second clips a few times a week, you’d wonder why. I think we all make an effort to get our kids to smile in photos or take photos of them playing in a natural state etc, it’s actually quite hard for me to get photos of my child looking miserable because as soon as she sees my phone she starts dancing and smiling for the camera.
Something is off with Laorse and of course none of us would know what that is for sure. My girl at the same age, was climbing up both ends of a slide, jumping off furniture, running wild & babbling constantly! I think most parents have a similar experience of their children at the same age. Obvi we shouldn’t compare kids but it’s hard not to… especially when the child we’re wondering about, seems so bloody miserable & deprived of any stimuli. Lauren’s in for a shock whenever she does start moving around (does she crawl yet?) we’ll definitely all be seeing a playpen in photos soon!
My youngest was a strange baby. He was born 2 weeks premature, and slept a lot for the first few months. So different to my oldest, who was a constant barrage of emotions and demands
I remember being in hospital on the third day after my c-section and asking a midwife ‘he hasn’t woken up for over 12 hrs … should I try and feed him anyway?’ The lady looked at me like I was deranged and said ‘don’t be opening up no can of worms Ms L’ …
He was the sleepiest baby I’ve ever known. I have so many photos of him out for the count, head drooped over to the side while propped up in his little outfits for numerous parties/events/get together. The other mums in my circle would openly question what was wrong with him, as he sat very quietly on my lap, or slept through a riotous get together.
He didn’t crawl until he was 18 months. He walked at 36 months. He spoke random words at 4 years and had speech therapy until junior school.
Everyone thought he was weird, I knew.
He is now a big show-off at 20 years old. He is a drama student and likes nothing better than lively chat, dancing, having fun.
So soz for the merails on this thread, but it is worth a small reminder that babies are ever evolving beings, and the most outgoing, involved and responsible parents can still have quiet, withdrawn babies that draw concern fromfamily and friends. And those babies might grow up to promise their mum they’ll be getting an Oscar in a decade