8 Month Old Development Worry

[Carrah12]

Hello, my little girl has just turned 8 months and she is so different from my son I am starting to worry. She makes fleeting eye contact but then is off to explore something more interesting, she smiles regularly at my husband and often strangers but I often get just the one smile when she wakes and efforts to get more fall flat. She really only laughs when tickled and then not always, she absolutely does not get peak a boo and just looks concerned. She babbles a little and is overall very content, hitting all motor milestones. My son cried more but he also smiled and laughed a lot more. Anyone else have a baby similar where all was normal? My son loved peak a boo and I just find it strange she has no joy in it.

Do you think talking to your HV would help? You could ask her to meet with your DD and see what she thinks

You should be due a development review with your hv in the 8-12 month period so you could use that opportunity to show them how she interacts.

Hi Ladies thanks for the replies. I am currently in Australia and they do not have the same system. I made an appointment and lady happy with daughter but felt very cursory glance.

Haven't got any experience of the Australian system sorry. Do you meet up with other babies the same age? If so, does she seem alright when compared to them?

I am struggling with this as most children we know are much older so I don't really have other children to compare to. She used to be very smiley, really deep smiles. She still does but much less often, maybe just a result of getting older? I could always make my son laugh and it is do difficult with her, that's the main reason I am worried really. Are there normal babies that don't like peek a boo? It seems every other baby does!

Although my daughter (also 8m) does like peekaboo, she has definitely passed through that lovely smiling at everybody phase and is concentrating more on objects than people. She only wants me or her dad, doesn't really try to engage with others. I think this is normal, and why I found my son extremely hard work at a similar age (pre-crawling). The last few days she has started clapping and is getting a bit more interactive, enjoying little rhymes etc. Hopefully it will just be a phase for you too, but you are her advocate so if you don't think you got a proper assessment try again until you get an answer that reassures you.

Agree with Alice totally Don't think smiling is necessarily an indication of development. Some babies, just like adults, are just more smiley than others but by all means push for an assessment if you are worried

Thanks for your feedback ladies.