i suspected my son was gifted when he was very young (probably about 2yo), before any assessment. and it did influence our decisions, but initially in the wrong way, at least for our son.
we enrolled him in an academic day care thinking it would help satiate his need to learn, and he HATED it. lol. so we found a pre-school that met his emotional needs instead, and he was a happy clam. and i filled his shelves with books. and we built things together. and went to maker fairs.
other than feeding his brain, i kept it in the back of my mind, as you put it, and just played things by ear.
also, i've realized that i didn't fully comprehend how gifted he is until the last year or so. (he's 8 now.) he's my only kid, and my friends either had older kids or are just now having them, so the only kids i had to compare him to are family. and apparently we make smart babies because he didn't seem that unusually bright. now that i'm socializing with other parents at school and volunteering in the classroom, i'm seeing the difference far more starkly.
