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    Joined: Aug 2014
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    I'm totally new to this forum. Let me start with some background info. Per my mother, I was a very hyper alert baby. I didn't sleep much and I had to be constantly stimulated. She describes it as being dramatic. I didn't have a lot of friends from the get go because I didn't really relate to them. My second grade teacher told my parents I needed to be tested because with my personality and my "extreme disorganization," she felt I was either special needs or gifted. I would decide I had a different name and was that person and would only answer to that. The teachers had no choice but to call me whatever I decided. I was often in my own world. If we had reading time, I would become so involved that I couldn't hear the teacher say it was time to stop and I'd get in trouble. I couldn't explain that when the teacher gave us a paper for instance, the other kids could put it in the binder it belonged in and put the binder away. I couldn't do that. My mind would jump ahead and I couldn't stay on that task. I'd shove things places and move on. And get in trouble. I saw doctors that felt I was not add or adhd. When I was finally tested, they immediately sent me to classes with fifth graders. Fifth graders don't really like second graders. I was an outcast and on top of it, nothing they threw at me was enough. I needed to be individually challenged and teachers don't have time or resources for that and my parents just couldn't handle it. They didn't know what to do with me. I was bored and fell behind. School was really rough for me until I graduated. It was a struggle to fit in and class was like torture because it was so dull and slow. Fast forward to now. I have a 3 month old. It never crossed my mind that he would be anything like me. I know three months is silly to be worried about anything. But when I'm around other kids his age and when I am on parenting forums, he just doesn't seem like the other babies. He sleeps around 8 hours total per day. He can't just be. He has to be entertained and engaged constantly. He's very vocal and he's also very sensitive. It seems like everything he experiences, growth spurts, leaps, whatever, he experiences in the extreme. He reacts so easily to everything. Whether it's something funny or something that upsets him. It's also like he gets bored of things quickly. It's hard to find things to keep him occupied and engaged. I don't know if it's too early to think he might be different or what. I just don't want him to experience what I did. If he needs more, I want to know so I can give him that. I'm a sahm and I've thought of homeschooling when he's older for academic reasons (not religious), so I know I'll be able to focus on him one on one if I need to. I just don't want to miss any signs that he's giving, you know? I can't find anyone else going through this, so I found this forum. Any advise? Am I just being paranoid? If I am, please tell me lol. If not, I'm open to suggestions! Thanks in advance for reading my crazy long post guys. I'm just a little lost with my precious little guy.

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    Should I take no response to mean, "heck yeah lady, little crazy!" smirk

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    Hi cbnanney, I missed this post and didn't want you to feel overlooked.

    1. I don't think you sound crazy! Although having a small baby is a crazy high demand, low sleep time.
    2. Sounds like you were gifted as a child if you had radical acceleration. It also seems like you had a tough time. I am sorry, that must have hard. Our own experiences naturally raise concerns that tough times for us are not repeated for our children. We desire to protect them from what we went through, be it consciously or unconsciously. I can see how that would make you start thinking about educational options even at this stage.
    3. I personally think gifted kids are on a different trajectory from day one, although it may differ in how obvious that is. Kids are also like their parents although not completely. IQs are often very closely aligned presumably a combo of hereditary and nurturing influences.

    So what to do? Feel comfortable you have found a supportive forum where you can ask questions and browse the posts of other people who are having similar experiences. Not feeling alone is a big start.

    Become educated on giftedness, both for yourself as a gifted adult and for your child.

    Try to pace yourself. With all the demands of being a sahm,with the responsibility for a small dependent being, don't lose you in the process. If you can enlist support to have a little time for you, it will help you relax and maintain perspective so you can enjoy your DS and watching him grow.

    As he gets older, don't be confined to toy choices limited to his age group, just watch safety issues. Read books to him and with him. Explore places like parks and museums. Try different things together. Look for what calms your son so you know how to give him downtime, massages, warm baths, different types of music. Be aware of the downsides to lots of stimulation and try to set up a self soothe pattern if you can.

    Just throwing ideas out there to help you get started. As with everything here, take what you find helpful and leave behind the rest. You know you and your son and I think you will be fine because you care enough to think and search for help.

    Congratulations on surviving the first three months and welcome to the the forum.

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    Welcome!

    You may wish to explore articles and resources on the Davidson Database, including
    - The highly gifted baby
    - FAQs about Extreme Intelligence in Very Young Children
    - Small Poppies: Highly gifted children in the early years
    - Parenting Gifted Preschoolers
    - Profiles of the gifted and talented.
    Ruf estimates may also be of interest.

    You may wish to keep a dated log or journal of your child's milestones to refer to in the future. When your child is reading, you may wish to also list books read.

    Many find the book A Parent's Guide to Gifted Children helpful in understanding and parenting a gifted child.

    Joined: Oct 2013
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    Welcome! I started reading everything I could find on giftedness when my DS was an infant. This helped me to process my own childhood and to figure out how to parent my son. I'm glad I started worrying about this stuff early!! (Although, I should have paced myself on the actual worrying, as opposed to learning.)

    Board books were a huge hit for my DS, starting around 3-6 months. I wish I hadn't bought so many baby toys, though. They were too simplistic to get much mileage.

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    Thanks that's all really helpful

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    You're not crazy. Your son sounds very much like my son--now almost 3--when he was a young baby. Some children are innately wired for MORE: more stimuli, more excitement, more learning, more emotions. He is still like that now, and always will be. It is both richly rewarding and exhausting to be a SAHM with my son. I love it!

    My best tips are:
    1. Assuming you are breastfeeding, continue to do so as long as possible and cosleep for your sanity, to calm him, and to promote and stretch sleep intervals gently. I swear up and down that my DS spent 75%+ of his first year's sleep--if not longer-- in REM. He would wake after 30 minutes of sleep ready and raring to go. I quickly discovered that co-napping and co-sleeping allowed me to settle him immediately upon his waking to ease him back into an extended sleep. He needed that additional sleep but didn't have the neurological filter to achieve it without my presence.

    2. Read. A lot. Get a library card for you, your husband, and your son. Check out as many books as you can reasonably carry and refresh your reserve regularly. At that age, my son asked to be read to for hours on end. Delve into every detail on the pages, name everything in sight, discuss your thoughts and feelings. Your son will be excited to hear the stories and learn from you.

    3. If you don't already have one, buy a good infant carrier (we loved the Ergo), tuck a few diapers and wipes in the front pocket, and hit up some cultural venues--museums, galleries, parks, etc. Talk to your son about everything around you as if he's an adult companion. Being at an adult's eye level will afford him considerably more interesting views than being in a stroller at knee level, with the added benefit of the comfort of your touch and voice. I loved keeping my son within kissing distance until he became too heavy to carry in a front carrier a few months ago.

    4. Disregard all age recommendations on children's products, within the bounds of safety. My son was playing with toys targeted at 3 and 4 year olds in his first year. Baby toys bored him.

    I've started a thread with recommended media for toddlers that you might like in a few months. The books might interest you now.

    http://giftedissues.davidsongifted.org/BB/ubbthreads.php/topics/154238/1.html

    Welcome to the forum!


    What is to give light must endure burning.
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    Every story is different, but my being here is also due to my desire for my little one to have a smoother childhood than I had. Was I 2e, maybe, maybe not, but grade school was not the easy time of my life.

    My dd, now 2.5 yo, at 3 months old loved being told all about the house, and the neighborhood. She loved zebras and alligators. She too was very vocal and interactive in a quite meaningful way.

    Sensitive, yes definitely. She appeared to have colic, but I found taking her for walks to show her things seemed relieved her discomfort. Maybe she needed extra stimulation, or maybe it just helped her digestion. At that age, we definitely were mostly looking for things that worked. Actually, that is still true, and I am sure it is true for most parents.

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    Thank you SO much! We do a lot of those things already, and that gives me the motivation to do more. Great info guys.


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