I posted a similar question under "infant imitation" yesterday, but I'm hoping to hear from others who have or remember clearly the abilities of their 10-week old babies.
My four-year-old son has autism, and my husband and I didn't know it until he was 3.5 years old. For all of his developmental milestones, he either met them or did something that seemed close enough. It wasn't until I noticed other three year olds having full conversations that I realized that my son's limited conversation abilities were a problem.
Now I have a 10-week old baby girl, and I want to catch any developmental problems if they exist long before the age of three .
Currently, my specific concerns for my daughter are that some books say a parent should be worried if a two-month-old has not discovered her hands or does not smile at the sound of her mother's voice.
As far as her hands, she does swing her arms at toys hanging above her, but she does not attempt to hold a toy herself. I am reading that a baby her age should be attempting to put a toy in her mouth, but she makes no effort to do this. She does, however, suck on her hands easily and frequently. She also is not interested in touching things to feel the texture as the book says she should be doing. In addition, she does not stare at her hands currently. Is staring at her hands part of discovering her hands at two months? What do all of your two month babies do with their hands?
She does smile at me when I talk to her, but I'm not sure what is required when she is supposed to smile at the sound of my voice. If I talk to her when she can't see me, she seems confused and not interested in smiling. Sometimes she will smile if she can't see me. If she can see me, she usually smiles or makes a serious face while she "talks." Do your two-month-old babies smile at the sound of your voice consistently if they can't see you?
There are many developmentally appropriate things she is doing, but the two items I listed are under the "red flag" section, and I don't feel she is doing so well in those areas.
I will bring up all of this with my pediatrician, but I wanted to get a sense of where other babies are before her next developmental appointment. I wish I had been this careful about my son's development so that he could have gotten therapy sooner, and I want to get my daughter any help she needs right away if it is necessary.
Autism cannot be diagnosed in a 10-week-old, nor would I recommend worrying about it. No one could understand my son until he was almost 5, and now he's a college sophomore majoring in physics. My youngest daughter NEVER rolled over. At 10 weeks, all she did was lay on her back and smile! She didn't cry, didn't coo. She's a happy, healthy 8-year-old now. Kids develop at all different rates. 10 weeks is awfully young to start worrying!!!!
Take a moment and breathe! All babies develop at their own pace. You will see over the coming months and years that a "normal" baby may excel in one area of the milestone chart but lag behind in another. This is a sweet little baby trying to learn everything about the world (mostly herself right now :) ) and most adults can only do so many learning tasks at one time, so realize that you are looking for problems (understandably) when it is likely none exist. As for the smiling when you talk with her; do you smile every time another person talks to you? The key is whether she notices you are there. Is she starting to show other emotions such as curiosity, confusion, etc.? Regardless of any outcome, love on that sweet little girl (and have a list of questions for the pediatrician).
Well my DD is 12 weeks old and she just discovered her hands around 9 weeks. By that, I mean she is eating them non stop. I haven't really tried to have her hold a toy but she does hold on to her clip from her colostomy bag when Im doing diaper changes. My DD talks ALOT. She also does this high pitched happy squeal when I talk to her. She usually always smiles when I talk to her, but not when her dad does. But she doesnt always smile when she can't see me. I wouldn't worry too much until she is older, all babies hit milestones differently. My 2 year old son didn't rollover til he was like 5 months old but my DD can roll both ways already at 12 weeks it just depends. My doctor makes me fill out autism checklists at every appt, maybe your doctor has them also?
You are seeing things that may or may not be there because you're looking for a problem. Understandable that you are more concerned because of your son's autism, but you shouldn't drive yourself crazy.
The development books also say that they are not to be followed to the T. Every baby developes differently. So she's 10 weeks and won't hold a toy or reach out to feel things. big deal. My first born had no interest in holding a toy till she was 3 1/2 months and NEVER sucked her hands. Now she's 3 1/2 years old with no development issues.
My second is also 10 weeks and sucks her hands CONSTANTLY! and smiles, but doesn't hold toys or reach out. Just because our babies are not doing things by a book's schedule, doesn't mean something's wrong. Who knows, perhaps you'll wakeup tomorrow and you won't be able to get the toy OUT of her hand.
Try not to panic D..
