First time dad here, to a 7.5 month-old boy. Lately our little guy (”H”) has been exhibiting some behaviors that have me wondering if I should be concerned. This is all new to me, so I’m not quite sure where the line between “that’s just a baby being quirky” and “that’s a developmental red flag that should be looked into” is. Maybe you could help?
I’ll start with an overall picture, and then get into my concerns.
-H is advanced when it comes to motor skills. He’s crawling (fast!) and starting to pull himself up to a stand. I wouldn’t be surprised if he started walking before 9 months.
-H babbles quite a bit. Lots of repeating consonants and even the beginnings of what sounds like jargon. Not sure if he’s quite tagging these sounds to actual words just yet. Either way, he’s quite vocal.
-H is beginning to imitate us here and there. Occasionally I’ll make a funny sound and he’ll look at me with a smile and make the same sound. Also, he’ll sometimes copy our actions (i.e. bang on something after I’ve banged on it).
-He reaches up to grab my hands when I motion and say “up up”, and he’ll “give me five” when I hold out my hand and say “high five”.
-Joint attention seems to be pretty good. He “checks in” with us fairly frequently while he’s playing.
Concerns:
-My biggest concern is around H’s social engagement. Sometimes he is very smiley and engaged with us, while other times he just kind of stares at us blankly. It seems like we have to do more and more to get the guy to smile or laugh. He does laugh, but it’s getting harder to elicit this kind of engagement from him. Is this normal?
-He seems to avoid eye contact when we’re up close to him. From across the room he looks at us often.
-Response to his name isn’t strong, especially when he’s busy crawling or playing. He’ll turn to look when called maybe 30-50% of the time, depending on his mood.
-He does not wave, clap, or point (although he does often smile when I clap for him).
I’ve been quite worried and worked about these concerns, and I don’t really have a sense of what’s “normal” for 7.5 month-olds. He used to be SO smiley and engaged with us, but lately he’s a lot more “serious” and seems overall more distant. He has a pre-scheduled well visit with his pediatrician in two weeks, but until then I’ve been spiraling into a Google hole about possible delays.
TL;DR: My 7.5 month-old son, while mostly hitting his milestones, seems to be changing into a “serious” baby. Is this a developmental red flag?
I’ll start with an overall picture, and then get into my concerns.
-H is advanced when it comes to motor skills. He’s crawling (fast!) and starting to pull himself up to a stand. I wouldn’t be surprised if he started walking before 9 months.
-H babbles quite a bit. Lots of repeating consonants and even the beginnings of what sounds like jargon. Not sure if he’s quite tagging these sounds to actual words just yet. Either way, he’s quite vocal.
-H is beginning to imitate us here and there. Occasionally I’ll make a funny sound and he’ll look at me with a smile and make the same sound. Also, he’ll sometimes copy our actions (i.e. bang on something after I’ve banged on it).
-He reaches up to grab my hands when I motion and say “up up”, and he’ll “give me five” when I hold out my hand and say “high five”.
-Joint attention seems to be pretty good. He “checks in” with us fairly frequently while he’s playing.
Concerns:
-My biggest concern is around H’s social engagement. Sometimes he is very smiley and engaged with us, while other times he just kind of stares at us blankly. It seems like we have to do more and more to get the guy to smile or laugh. He does laugh, but it’s getting harder to elicit this kind of engagement from him. Is this normal?
-He seems to avoid eye contact when we’re up close to him. From across the room he looks at us often.
-Response to his name isn’t strong, especially when he’s busy crawling or playing. He’ll turn to look when called maybe 30-50% of the time, depending on his mood.
-He does not wave, clap, or point (although he does often smile when I clap for him).
I’ve been quite worried and worked about these concerns, and I don’t really have a sense of what’s “normal” for 7.5 month-olds. He used to be SO smiley and engaged with us, but lately he’s a lot more “serious” and seems overall more distant. He has a pre-scheduled well visit with his pediatrician in two weeks, but until then I’ve been spiraling into a Google hole about possible delays.
TL;DR: My 7.5 month-old son, while mostly hitting his milestones, seems to be changing into a “serious” baby. Is this a developmental red flag?