My son goes to a babysitter and there is a baby girl there who is about 5 1/2 months old. I know for a fact that she does not roll over because the mom told me she does not. The best way I can describe this baby is that she is like a doll in the room. She does not stare into space or anything. Sshe does seem aware but she is content to just sit in a carrier or be held for long periods of time and she does not say a word. She seems to have the same expression on her face most of the time and I personally have never seen her smile. She does not make any sounds at all! At first I was like, wow, she is such good baby! And of course I have only been around her maybe 5-10 times but she is always the same. I have had playdates with the older son two times for about 2 hours each time as well as seeing her at the babysitters several times. So I have been around this baby quite a bit. My son was loud, active, and colicky for the first 4 months so this is totally new to me. I am just curious, did you ladies have babies like this?
Uh, obviously I know that not all babies are colicky. And by "word" I mean sound. I also obviously know that 5 month old babies do not speak words. To all the moms that got fiesty with me, I am trying to learn. I never implied that easygoing babies were not "normal". I do have friends who have easy going kids from day one. But they cooed and made sounds and rolled over in the average range. Obviously, from your comments, there are lots of happy, sit back and watch the world babies. Plus, Martha, you are right, I am not the mom, just an aquaintence. Thank you all for your feedback.
It does sound unusual but doesn't mean that anything is wrong..... She could be just that content!
I wouldn't say anything but what would concern me is if she is NOT reacting to sounds...... If there is a loud bang and she doesn't look, etc.
My second was kind of like that, in the regard to he didn't mind just chillin' in the stroller at that age and was just a mellow, really pleasant baby. He would smile if encouraged to do so, but was cool to just check things out as well. It was so super easy to take him anywhere bc he would never complain at all!!! Now he did roll over at 2 months actually, so that was different. And he did love to get on his lil tummy and scoot and move. So maybe this little baby just needs to be interacted with more. My son is a ball of energy and even some attitude now at 13 months!! Walking, eating everything, using a sippy, so his mellow ways didn't slow him down in development at all. He was always very bright eyed and smiley, so maybe that is different. She may have delays, but she may just be a chilled out person. As she grows, she will make her wishes known more and more, delayed or not ;)
5 times of briefly seeing a baby is not enough to go on! Was it around the same time each 5 times? My son at 5 months definitely had a time in the day where is a bit tired, relaxed and spacey. If someone saw him during this time every time, they'd say the same thing. (and he is always right on target!)
Mine were not but I worked in child care for years and had some babies who were like that. They sometimes had very active older siblings and were more "observers." Totally normal unless they hit developmental points much later that they are not meeting.
You have seen the baby 5 times, and since you must be a first time Mom, you will see one day that babies come with all kinds of personalities and temperaments. Some people are quiet by nature. Some kids are tyrants from the moment they make thier first sound. The personality meter is vast, but does not make an appearance on the milestone chart.
If the Mother of this baby asked a question about her child, maybe there would be a reason to suggest to her that she be vigalent, but all mothers should be vigilent and keep a close watch on the monthly milestones for the first two years, and then year to year so that if their child misses one, they can intervene as early as possible.
M.
My niece was kind of like that. My son was always "advanced" with his communication skills (they are a few months apart) so I always wondered about her when they were little because she seemed so passive compared to my boy. She would just sit and watch the world go by. She was a quiet toddler (unless she was having a huge tantrum = then she went nuts). She was a slow walker, and kind of slow with her gross motor skills too.
But, now she's five and totally fine. She can be kind of "spacy" sometimes, but then, at this point, my son is like that too :)
I wouldn't worry about it for your friend just yet.
J.
This baby is probably too teeny for these things to be red flags yet. It's *possible* you're observing a real delay, but it's also possible she just has a quiet, observant temperament. Or it could be something in between -- say, lower than average muscle tone, or possibly a hearing or vision problem, but not a global delay. Or, another possibility, she could be spending to much time, say, in a carrier. If she's not a born complainer, her parents may not realize she's ready for tummy/floor time.
If you're concerned (and FWIW, I took your concern as a positive thing; I think it's good when parents are concerned about the well-being of children other than their own), you might make an effort to establish eye contact with her (just coo, say "aren't you cute and sweet," so no one is uncomfortable). If she actively avoids making eye contact, or if she doesn't seem to register that you're there at all, those could be reasons to be concerned. (But, then there's the question of what to do with the concern; unless you're really close to the parents, it may just be better to let someone like a pediatrician raise these issues.)
Another thought, if you suspect that she may not be getting enough of an opportunity to move around, is to offer the parents something that would facilitate that. You can just say, "Hey, I have an exer-saucer [I don't even know if those things are any good; it's just an example] that my son loved at that age. I was going to free-cycle it, but do you want it?" Okay, I'm rambling here.... But I hope that helps!
Most moms don't spend tons of time at the babysitters, you're seeing this baby briefly at pickup and dropoff, not spending hours with her so I don't see how you can make an assessment of this baby. You are saying that her mom has another child, so I'm sure she has some idea as to what is normal. You should not judge other babies based on your colicky one, that's not what babies are supposed to be like.
<<and she does not say a word.>> 5 month old babies do not say words.
My older child was more active, more demanding, cried more and napped less and spoke words earlier than my younger one. Not all babies will be just like yours, there are all different personality types and developmental ranges among babies
Sounds like your son and this girl are simply polar opposites. It can't help her that as she is easy, she is just left to sit quietly and is not stimulated.
Every baby is different. I am sure she is fine.
Let's assume that her parents and/ or pediatrician would notice if she were out of the range of normal. Sounds like a placid, maybe visually alert baby--my second, a boy, was like that. Currently a grad student, he has always been very bright. There are many different temperaments in babies/ people that can be identified as early as the hospital nursery. Active/ loud/ colicky is not the norm for everyone.
