Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Infant Alertness

Nan,

Love your post. Your experience was so much like ours. And I laughed out loud with your comments about reading Ruf's book because that was us. We were really clueless!

After reading this thread I went back to see some of DD's videos when she was a newborn. Oh man, now I want another one too. I have no clue how in the world I could handle it but she was so cute, sigh... (still is but it's a different kind of cute)

Anyways, after thinking about it some more, I do remember many people commenting about how serious she looked and MIL is convinced that she's a very old soul (she believes in reincarnation). When she was 2 weeks old we took her out for the first time and we had a number of people asking if she was more like 3 months old. She's always just had her eyes so wide open and looks like she's processing everything around her. Looking at her photos and videos I noticed that even before she was a month old we had pictures of her sitting on the couch (propped up) with a big old grin on her face looking right at the camera. I also have videos of her 3 months or younger looking through books.

My DD, when laying on my chest on her belly, would lift her head (just DAYS OLD) and turn it side to side and look around. I specifically remember having her on my bed as I did laundry and I walked across the room and she followed me with her eyes and her head. I thought... this can't be! Everything I read said they can only see inches away from them! I did it again, and same thing! I told the ped. about it and she said, "I believe it! she's consistently showing signs of being very intelligent!"

She RARELY slept. I remember wondering what was wrong with this baby who all the books said would sleep so much and would be sleeping more than being awake at such a young age. Not my kid! SHEESH! Even now, almost 9 years later, she STILL doesn't need the amount of sleep most kids her age do. She tells us she can't turn off her mind to go to sleep! Her daddy is the same way .

I've only read the last two posts but my kids were the same way. Even my 35weeker was constantly being mistaken for being many months older b/c of how alert he was. My middle one, was crying immediately after he was born. The nurse brought him over to me and I said "Don't cry, mommy's here." He shut up dry, turned his head, and looked right at me. It really was freaky. Same with my third. My first sleep not very much and gave up naps early. My middle was a more typical sleeper. And my third was like my first as far as sleeping. My youngest was also early (36weekder as was my 2nd baby) and she had to be in NICU under the lights for jaundice. THe nurses kept complaining that she wouldn't stay still. They kept finding her in the corner of the basinette. I later figured out it was b/c she was overheating w/ the lights and was moving away from them into a corner. They tried everything to keep her in the middle by surrounding her w/ rolled up blankets but she'd always "escape." I don't know of any of that is atypical but those were mine and others observations.

Well thinking back, I wonder if my DS7 understood TV when he watched as an infant. My other DS is 3 and still doesn't watch TV, I am thinking maybe he doesn't get it LOL

I think this is normal because they recognize your voice while in the womb. They also say songs played or sung to them while you are pregnant make a lasting impression. I tried this when I was pregnant with "In the Jungle" and it really worked. Okay ... it was actually my version of the song with our oldest dog 'Barley' instead of 'Lion' and 'Katelyn' instead of 'Baby'. When she would have complete meltdowns and nothing else was working; all I had to do was start singing "In the Jungle" and she would instantly stop crying just to listen. Even at 3 yrs old she could be off in another room and playing and if I start singing that song she comes running and squeals that that is her song. Her's and her Barley's. Really cute.

Thanks for the story of the 'escape'. It jogged my memory about DD. When she was only a week or 2 old she too was discovered in some interesting places. One time I awoke to find her with her legs dangling out of the crib! That freaked me out, especially since we had one of those stabilizers for her to sleep on. I didn't have the crib bumpers because I had read about possible suffocation issues, but after that scene I ran and got one. I figured if she is able to scoot around like that we had no issue with her strength.

DS's eyes would follow your every move. It "freaked" us all out. He smiled, and I got "that's just gas"... but it wasn't. I swear! Either that or his gas had perfect timing!!! I never had to hold his head as a newborn. Ever. I always thought that was weird. It might've been reflexes, but I swear, he loved, at a week old, to "stand" on my legs. I have pictures of him holding his head up almost fully before he was 3 weeks old. And he rolled over from front to back at 4 weeks, back to front before 6 weeks. To me, that is both freaky and alert!

Of course, I didn't realize that it could be freaky or mean alert until DD was born 22 months later. She slept all the time, rarely focused on us. She was "floppy" (sorry Grinity - :)) She hated tummy time and didn't roll over until she was 4 months old. She doesn't by any means have "just" average intelligence, but she is definitely not showing signs of being AS gifted/bright as her big brother. Of course, she is the less intense/laid back child, so really maybe the alert/non alert infant just means what kind of personality the child will have.

DD4 seemed drugged after experiencing how DS6 was as an infant!
Of course, I also think she didn't cook long enough. Both kids were c-section babies, hers being "planned" due to how his took place. And planned ones are always "early".

HMMMM....

My c-section was kind of planned, but probably not like what you mean. DD was not dropping and my ob/gyn argued something was blocking her from dropping. He offered to induce but argued that he would probably have to do a c-section anyway so I agreed to the c-section which was 2 days before she was due. Really glad I listened to him because her cord was wrapped around her shoulders, restricting her. I was shocked at the size of it, too. She was definitely getting all the needed nutrients from it. LOL

I don't know if I'm supposed to say this or if it sounds crude but I co-slept and night nursed and I always wandered how my newborn could find his "bottle" in the dark and move there and latch onto the right spot without any fumbling at all. I was told because babies can smell the milk?
I assumed he was gifted as soon as I saw him because of his strong presence, but I thought the alertness was due to a healthy pregnancy and a natural waterbirth. But that's not why I guess if Katelyn was an alert C-section. I tripped out over that story of her helping with her own C-section. I can totally believe that, but i want to hear the details. Newborns are so much more interactive than everybody else described them to me.

P.S. Off-topic but my #2 is due in just seven weeks. Lovely to be reading the baby storiess here right now.