When did your child first ........

[lee60657]

I know in my heart that you are not supposed to judge/gauge/compare your baby's development/skills to that of another child, but sometimes I just CANNOT HELP IT! DD is 5 mths old and we do a nanny share with another family whose DS is exactly 1 week older than DD. He just seems so much more advanced!! I try to not worry and not to compare, but is is really hard. Here are a few examples.....he stands/puts his weight on his legs and has been for over month...DD sort of does, but really has no interest in doing it; he is much more active in the saucer, jumperoo thingie and DD goes in the saucer but just is not as active and she really does nothing in the jumper thing. He hates to be laying on a playmat and DD is perfectly happy there.....I try to convince myself that she is fine (she rolls, she laughs, she "talks") but she just does not seem as physically advanced as he is. Am I crazy? Or should I really be concerned. I have tried to chalk it up to differences in personality....DD is a very mellow baby, she easily entertains herself for long periods of time and does not crave constant attention...he on the other hand requires more attention...he likes all eyes on him. I hope I do not sound like an obssessive parent!!! Any thoughts/opinions?


Oh, I forgot to add that he almost sits on his own....DD sits in her Bumbo :)

[Marisa]

It *is* hard! But you really do have to try not to compare, especially with a boy and a girl. I've heard many mamas say (and it's true for us) that boys tend to be more physical in their achievements at first, while language tends to come sooner for girls.

For us, my son was always physically strong, was walking at 10 months, but didn't utter a single word outside of "buh" (not even mama and dada) until 17 months -- at which point he had a language "explosion". On the other hand, girl babies that were born within just a few days of him had been "talking" for months.

[Ameez]

I'm right there with ya! My 8 month old son has only been rolling over for a month (and still doesn't really have it down), can't sit on his own and just has no interest in standing. However, two of my friends have daughters, one is 10 days older than my son and one is two days younger. BOTH of them are practically walking, let along sitting on their own. They're even eating finger foods, while my son will still only eat baby food, level 2.
I'm not worried. My son is like your daughter...very mellow. He's also hitting milestones, but just a little later than some others. I see progress in him. Every day it seems he gets better at rolling, more "talkative", is starting to want to feed himself...it's the progress you look for. I don't doubt he'll be sitting up on his own very soon.
I worried too, but then I realized that he's just taking his sweet time. And I'm enjoying having a mellow, easy baby and the longer he takes to walk, the longer I have to get to hold onto him.
Try not to worry!!

[lee60657]

Thank you so much! All of this is making me feel much better....and you are right Ameez, there are alot of wonderful things about having a mellow baby!!

[boilermaker]

I'm not a parent yet, but I have been very involved in my 7 neices and nephews lives and I can tell that even up to age 13 (the oldest), they all develop differently. Walking, talking, mouthing back :) , everything. And as far as I can tell, it has nothing what-so-ever to do with intelligence, future physical/athletic abilities, etc.

I'm sure your daughter is just perfect the way she is!