Different babies have different personalities, right?

bornmommy

First of all, I am a special education teacher who is probably too informed on child development and what to look for when it comes to disabilities so I apologize in advanced for being a crazed worry wart.  

Now, My friend gave birth to her son three days after I gave birth to mine so they are the same age.  She is watching him for a few days as a favor to me so the past two days I have been able to see them together and I've made some observations.  One, DS throws, hits, and is drawn more to lights and sounds more than her quiet playing boy.  Two, DS seems to get uber involved in what he is playing with and does not respond to noises like adults talking while her son looks at the speaker, regardless of what he is doing.  Three, DS only smiles sometimes.  Her son smiles often.  (There are some more but those are the major ones...)

Basically, I keep telling myself that its just who they are as people but in the back of my head I think something is up with DS.  I just feel that her son is more appropriately developed than mine... someone tell me I'm crazy or share your experience, even if it means I am not crazy. **Thanks for being my sounding board.**

bornmommy

Thank you I do talk to them about pretty much everything and I always get the "that's normal" response.  That phrase drives me bonkers but I guess I just have to accept it for now.  PS - LOVE the name Max.  I am pushing for it for baby #2 if he's a boy.

Dee1028

I have twin boys. they are raised in the same house, they have the same routine, play with the same toys, are treated the same and they are both at different stages of development.

C crawls - T doesn't
T has 2 teeth - C has none

T loves to chew food - C is finally starting to get the hang of it

C rolled over months before T did

T is more stationary while C is busier

C loves people while T is a bit more shy

mylittlesunshine

You are going to drive yourself crazy comparing your child's development to other children. Each child develops at their own pace. I used to compare with DD1 to a friend's child who was born within a week of my DD. While her DD was doing more things like movement/crawling, mine was doing more problem solving and really thinking things out. I am also noticing this now that I have a second. DD2 is a completely different child than DD1 was and is hitting different milestones at different times.

Josie22

I compare my little boy to my big boy and they are totally different. Same genetics, and totally different people.
Are you identical to your friend? Nope, it's just the way people are. Your boy is o.k. but it's totally normal to worry.

blushingbride_08

You are crazy (but a good crazy :-)). Every baby is different.  Just think about it, everyone's pregnancy was different as well.  I notice how different my DS is at playdates as well.  The others kids are cruising but my DS has not yet but he is content sitting there clapping his hands and smiling. The other kids have not started clapping yet. Different personality, different stages, different babies.  Relax.

unaveragejane

I am also a special ed teacher, and I totally get your paranoia!!! I spend way too much time worrying that non-organic foods, lead paint, or shots will give my DS autism. (I LOVE my students with autism, but I know it is just a harder road to travel with this diagnosis.) Anyway, I finally had to stop myself and let it go. I do the best I can at keeping him safe, healthy, and stimulated. I try to give him lots of opportunities to solve problems on his own, and I make sure he gets daily physical exercise (standing, tummy time, etc). I do feel like I need to get him around other babies more often, but I've decided to wait until after flu season dies down a bit.

RnMom2Be

Sounds like my DS as a baby!! Now he is a normal active well-adjusted 3.5 year old. It's normal to be worried, BUT I don't think you have anything to be worried about. My DD is 7 months old and is WAY more engaged in her environment than DS was at her age. Babies are all different....for sure!