I suspect the thread is older than a year old, Val, and thus doesn't show up in searches anymore. I can't find it either. Sorry!
I promise that it really did exist!
I would say that your definition of what constitutes early head control is pretty accurate, Val, though I would also say that many people talked about babies pretty much coming out holding their heads up or at least trying to. I know in our case, nurses and grandparents remarked upon it for both of my kids even before we left the hospital--so within the first 48 hours. We didn't know any different, so it wasn't a big deal to my DH and I at the time. But when I see babies now, I can see the difference.
DS8 was something of a battering ram. He didn't have total control, but he tried, and he had a really big head. He'd hold it up for a while and then lose control and swing it around, or he'd seem all floppy and then all of a sudden would lift his head fast to see something, totally disregarding the safety of whomever was holding him. He regularly head-butted me while I was feeding him because he was so unpredictable. Once in the first couple weeks of his life, I think he might really have dislocated my jaw as he picked his head up fast to look at a noise. It hurt! It still clicks sometimes.
DS5 had a smaller head and did a better job of holding it still and not clubbing me with it. He had a lot more control, right from birth. Much easier!
FWIW...
