[Firstborn_n_Feb]

Does anyone else have a quiet baby? I have to admit I am VERY concerned. Easton seems to be behind in his communication milestones. He doesn't really imitate except smiling, every once in a while I can get him to stick his tongue out or blow a raspberry at me. He will not imitate sounds at all. He also doesn't have any back and forth "talking" with me. He is incredibly quiet, he laughs a little and cries a little but other then that he is pretty quiet. He does this weird humming thing with his hands or toys in his mouth. He also does this old man chuckle and he fake coughs, and blows raspberries. He is NO WHERE near babbling I have maybe heard one consonant ever and he doesn't even really coo. People that hear him say "Oh, he's starting to try to talk" but it doesn't sound like most babies I hear and he only makes sounds a couple times a day. I asked my ped at his 4 month appointment and she really thought it was because both his gross and fine motor skills were ahead his speech was behind. Of course he was making noises for her. That may be the case but I am stressed out whenever I google, autism keeps coming up. I completely realize that autism is not a be all end all and there is no way they would ever diagnose a baby this young but I admit that I am stressed about it. I am also concerned because his eye contact is terrible when he is up close although when he is playing he looks at you alot and if he is above your head he will look down at you and sometimes when you are holding him he will look at you. I guess I just needed to vent because my husband thinks I am crazy but I just can't get over how quiet he is...

[Erin80]

Hmmm I'm not sure. To me, he sounds very normal for this age. Julianna isn't babbling using consonants either, though she isn't a quiet baby. She screams and screeches a lot, and makes sounds like "heeeey" or "hoooo" and ooo and ahhh obviously. No b's or d's or m's yet. I guess she does the whole back and forth talking with me, but that only just started and she just turned 5 months 2 days ago.

With my first I was super concerned about all the milestones, etc, and I was looking up autism constantly. She turned out totally fine though. With Julianna I'm much more laid back. Autism a social disorder......(I worked with autistic kids before going off on mat leave when I was pregnant with Lexy), so at this age just look to see if he's making eye contact and smiling, those are the BIG ones right now. If you hold him right in front of your face and he looks away, that's totally normal. Most babies look away when held right up to you, so don't worry about that. When you're feeding, changing and playing though, he should make eye contact now. All babies develop at their own pace, so try not to worry too much hon, though I know it can be hard, especially with your first. Coming from someone who has worked with autistic kids and adults, to me, your baby sounds just fine.

......stop googling! It drove me NUTS with Lexy, I was googling everything!

[IAMommy]

I think he sounds pretty normal to me... its easy to really nervous and scared about our little ones....

The thing is though... if you have concerns, don't hesitate to make an appt with your ped and get him checked out - it doesn't hurt anything to get a professional opinion... Mommy instinct should always be listened too.

[MimiH]

Originally Posted by IAMommy

I think he sounds pretty normal to me... its easy to really nervous and scared about our little ones....

The thing is though... if you have concerns, don't hesitate to make an appt with your ped and get him checked out - it doesn't hurt anything to get a professional opinion... Mommy instinct should always be listened too.

I totally agree.