Almost 9 month old behind in development..

[KatBar]

As the title says, I have some slight concerns over my second sons development. We are booked in to discuss this with his pediatrician, but I guess I just wanted to put it on here and get other people's experiences... I know it won't determine anything, but maybe I won't feel quite so "alone" in these feelings..

My first son didn't do everything perfectly on time, but he was definitely always in the expected age range. He was a big people person (still is) and his eye contact and socialisation was never an issue what so ever. He also did good with his babbling, rolling over, crawling etc. So obviously this is my only experience to go off.

My second son on the other hand was quite a bit later to start smiling/interacting (not majorly late, but he didnt really start to smile till around 10 weeks old, whereas my first was about 7 weeks old). He does make good eye contact at times throughout each day, but he isn't consistent about it, and is quite often more interested in whats around him (like objects) then interacting with people. Even at 9 months old I can still have to work a bit harder to gain and hold his attention.

In terms of "babbling".. he does make sounds but it's all squealing, no "ga ga ga" or the usual attempt at making vowel sounds. My first son was making "Oo Oo" sounds by 6 months old, and definitely doing all the "ga ga/ba ba" sounds by 9 months. My second just squeals and screechs when he feels chatty.

The other thing is rolling... He probably rolled (both ways) maybe 2 to 3 times when he was around 4 months old, but has done nothing since (and he is just shy of 9 months now). He does have good head control and can sit up unaided, but again, he did this much later than my first. He will do tummy time fine, but doesn't attempt to crawl at all yet (my first was making attempts to crawl at this point).

I realise he could just be delayed.. And comparing to my first is pointless since they're different kids, but that's all I have to go off of. I also have friends with babys that are same age range as my second son (one friends bub was born 5 weeks earlier, and the other was born only 3 days earlier), and both their bubs are doing everything they should be plus more. My son is clearly way behind them.

Anyway, regardless, we love our boys no matter what their rate of development is (or any future diagnosis). I think I'd just feel better to get him help as early as possible if there is an issue. I more just feel the "mum guilt" of feeling like maybe this is somehow my fault..

 

[laura109]

Hi just want to try reassure you. My first baby girl was chilled relaxed slept through the night, she didn't get any teeth until 11 months, she never rolled ever, crawled at 9.5 months and walked at 13 months. She made sounds from 6 months I think like dada. She liked all people. Loved cuddling. She loved sleeping on me. She was an all around affectionate happy baby. She sat up at four months.

My son is currently 8.5 months old. He sat up at 5 months. He already has four teeth. He has been rolling for about 4.5 months I think. He is already crawling. He doesn't sleep through the night.he cries more than m daughter did. He feeds more. He is a sickly baby as he has reflux that lucilky doesn't bother him. My daughter was never sick after a bottle. My son is nosey and into everything. He has to see what's going on and has always been nosey from his early days. He doesn't like cuddles too often. He won't sleep on people. He's always wanted to be upright and won't let anyone cradle him.

So I think there is a high chance your boys just have done fferent personalitys. Definitely get him checked but he sounds like an opposite of his sibling like mine are. X

 

[noon_child]

My daughter rolled like twice in her life at age about 9months - once she did it (once each way) she never bothered again! She never tried to crawl either, she just cruised from about 10months and then when she started nursery she crawled to copy other children (when about 14months) but it wasn't how she liked to move, she was just copying them, then returned to cruising when she wanted to get somewhere. She was just a chilled out observer most of the time.

 

[KatBar]

Hi just want to try reassure you. My first baby girl was chilled relaxed slept through the night, she didn't get any teeth until 11 months, she never rolled ever, crawled at 9.5 months and walked at 13 months. She made sounds from 6 months I think like dada. She liked all people. Loved cuddling. She loved sleeping on me. She was an all around affectionate happy baby. She sat up at four months.

My son is currently 8.5 months old. He sat up at 5 months. He already has four teeth. He has been rolling for about 4.5 months I think. He is already crawling. He doesn't sleep through the night.he cries more than m daughter did. He feeds more. He is a sickly baby as he has reflux that lucilky doesn't bother him. My daughter was never sick after a bottle. My son is nosey and into everything. He has to see what's going on and has always been nosey from his early days. He doesn't like cuddles too often. He won't sleep on people. He's always wanted to be upright and won't let anyone cradle him.

So I think there is a high chance your boys just have done fferent personalitys. Definitely get him checked but he sounds like an opposite of his sibling like mine are. X

Oh man, some of what you’re describing for your son is so like my second son! My first son loved cuddling, and would fall asleep on us no worries. He was bottle fed from early on and also loved being cradled whilst fed the bottle - would just stare into our eyes almost the whole time. My second on the other hand had bad silent reflux (still on Losec for it), plus traciamalaysia (floppy windpipe) so he’d choke a lot, and he also had a dairy intolerance that we eventually got him onto a prescription formula for. All of these things meant that feeding was an unpleasant experience for him and so he hated to be cradle fed - we feed him semi upright in his pram and even then (at almost 9 months) he still doesn’t particularly like it. I’m not sure if all this is why he doesn’t like to cuddle, but he is like your son in that regard - prefers to be upright, seeing what’s going on etc. I often joke that he gets FOMO (fear of missing out) lol.

Anyway, thank you for the reply. It is definitely nice to hear of others experiences with the differences in their children!

I have now taken him to the pediatrician and she is not overly concerned at this point. She does want to get his hearing checked out, as she said that some children with some hearing difficulty can tend to squeal because they feel they need to be louder to be heard (or along those lines). I am not 100% convinced that it is the cause of the lack of babbling, but it does fit the situation in some regards - ie: my second son responds most to my first son (lots of smiles and laughing), and when my first son is playing with my second he is super loud and boisterous. When my hubby or I talk to my second son, it is often quiet and softer. So there is potentially something there.. Our second did also fail his first hearing test at birth, but them passed the second one a few days later.
Guess we will just wait and see..

 

[KatBar]

My daughter rolled like twice in her life at age about 9months - once she did it (once each way) she never bothered again! She never tried to crawl either, she just cruised from about 10months and then when she started nursery she crawled to copy other children (when about 14months) but it wasn't how she liked to move, she was just copying them, then returned to cruising when she wanted to get somewhere. She was just a chilled out observer most of the time.

Thanks for the response. This does reassure me a bit . Hopefully I will find my son is just similar in that regard!