Normal 8 month old development?

[marvellousmaplesyrup]

Hi all

I know developmental milestones are "guidelines" but I'm a bit concerned about our 8 month old DS's development --and trying not to be an over cautious first time mum.

For example:

Never rolled over, even though he is sitting up

Doesn't babble

Never heard him laugh or giggle

Doesn't respond to his name

Rubs his chin and left eye obsessively every time he eats something mildly textured

Hardly uses his right hand for anything

If it helps, he is a big boy (25lbs) and has been EBF till about a month ago. Suffers a bit from eczema but slowly growing out of it. Sleeps really well at night, but not a massive fan of daytime naps at the moment.

I've got a call out to the health visitor, but been waiting 2 days for a call back. I'm trying to be rational but it would be great to hear if anyone has any experience of anything similar? Or should I be worried?

Thank you.

I think there is a really wide range of development at this age. I have an eight month old and your son weighs about ten pounds more than her! It’s great that he is sitting up, perhaps he’s not interested in rolling as he can sit.

My daughter doesn’t respond to her name either yet. Does your son make any sounds at all?

Have you had any reply from the health visitor? You’re worried, so that alone makes it worth having a chat with them, but there are also a couple of things on your list that I would want checked out, particularly not using his right hand. Some of the others, I think he’s still well in the normal range — a fair number of typically developing babies are babbling and responding to their names at 8 months, but a fair number of equally typically developing babies aren’t. Rolling also seems to vary massively – some babies just don't really bother.

If you want to get an overview of his development, this is the questionnaire the health visitors usually use: steeplechasepedi.com/wp-content/uploads/Forms/ASQ/ASQ-3-8-M.pdf. Note that he isn’t expected to be doing everything! There’s a scoring sheet at the end, but none of the categories expect 6 ‘yes’ answers.

Thank you both - your replies have helped massively!

The HV did get back to me, and she is coming to visit this week. They're a little bit concerned, mainly about him only using one hand/arm, but will monitor and suggested next steps.

Thank you again - really appreciate it.

Excellent that she got back to you and will come see (or has already seen) the wee one. People seem to have very different experiences of HVs, but a sensible one can be really useful – they've seen such a range of babies. Hopefully it is just that he has his own priorities and his own timetable!

I know there are quite a few things on your list, but your baby is only slightly behind on those things.

Never rolled over, even though he is sitting up - normally 6-7 months, if you search these things online it says it can be as early as 4 months. I have yet to have a baby that has ever hit any of these "as early as" timescales and we foster babies. If you aren't doing it you should try tummy time, simply place him on his front for 5 minutes at a time, or until he starts to get uncomfortable.

Doesn't babble - Some babies just aren't interested in chatting, in fact some babies start talking so late it is very difficult to see someone about speech before they are 2 years old.

Never heard him laugh or giggle - Some do this very early, but our current child didn't laugh or even smile for a very long time. No emotion at all when playing or even introducing new food. Now she had the cutest little laugh you could ever wish to hear (She has just turned 1)

Doesn't respond to his name - They don't actually understand most words at this age, try saying his name whilst clapping. This is just to programme the brain to respond to it, then remove the clapping.

Rubs his chin and left eye obsessively every time he eats something mildly textured - I've never come across this sorry

Hardly uses his right hand for anything - If he is bottle fed, try putting his hands in the position to hold his own bottle. This will encourage him to use both hands at the same time. Otherwise try giving him larger object to play with that require to hands to pick up. It doesn't have to be a toy, a 2l plastic bottle etc. Most babies are very one handed at this age.

I understand that he is behind a few milestones but the speed in which babies develop varies massively and he is only slightly behind the average. He is still 2-3 months away from the higher end of the spectrum in most of the things you have listed.

It is most likely not to be any more than late development, but I would definitely see someone if it is the same in a couple of months.