Michaela,
I hate to say this, but sometimes parents are jealous of their own children. Perhaps your DH's gifted upbringing was not all that ideal (?) so he resents seeing how nurturing you are to your child?
Or perhaps he is has a more laissez-faire approach to parenting, and believes in letting kids develop "naturally" whatever that means!
My DD8 came home as an 8 mos. old baby from a Russian orphanage, so there was no question I was going to "let things happen." The international adoption doctor had already told me that the IQ level could be raised as much as 20 points due to a stimulating environment, so this poor kid was cuddled, kissed constantly, read to, talked to, and taken to children's museums at the age of 15 months.
She just tested in the HG range on her WISC-IV test.
DD8 was very skinny from her orphanage experience, and when she crawled, her feet did not tuck under themselves but turned upwards (tension from not being held enough). My SIL constantly referred to her as a year younger than her real age ("Yes, that's what a typical three year old does" when DD was four!) because she was petite, and said there was something "different" about her (Yes, she was gifted and quirky!).
Anyway, dear SIL was very nice in other respects, so I just hold my tongue when I'm around her. Frankly, I think at least one of my nephews is gifted (loves chess, advanced in sports) but I never butt into SIL's parenting methods.
However, it's well known that "talent will out" is NOT always accurate; parental encouragement and gentle pushing make a huge difference in a child's development. Being gifted in IQ alone is not enough.
