When do you worry about milestones?

[Deleted]

Nov 4, 2012 20:02:12 GMT -5 @msstarry said:

So, how do you handle this sort of thing?

Probably just stop looking at those web sites. :heart:

[bunch]

Quit reading the books. Seriously, unless its a serious delay, and you'd know, I'd quit. And definitely unsubscribe from those babycenter weekly emails. Those things are total bs and way ahead of where a kid should be.

[pugz]

I handle this by not looking at milestones I don't read books or go to the bump anymore.

[drloretta]

I'd definitely bring it up with your dr. Sometimes it's mother's intuition,sometimes it's just your child doing things a little later than the average bear. Which is totally fine.

[Willis Jackson]

I just talk to my pedi and let her reassure me. DD has just barely squeaked with every single thing. I secretly blame myself b/c I took lexapro while I was pregnant, although it was with my ob's blessing. Ugh.

[cjeanette]

I handled this by not worrying about milestones.

[hannamaren]

Willis, dont be silly. Your lexapro had no bearing.

I think most kids will all catch up eventually. I used to worry that all the other babies could walk at 10mths. (seriously) and Layla has no interest and could barely crawl. But she will definitely walk by kindergarten, so who cares?
Also, Layla couldnt walk at 10mths like her best little friend, but she could feed herself cheerios and use a fork, etc. and that little friend couldnt. Again, it all evens out.
And it depends on parental effort a bit too. We were slackers. The nanny got her to learn "please" in 3 days.

[arch01]

We only paid attention to the milestones that the pedi asked about. She's pretty laid back-DS has been slow to do some things, but quick to do others. Unless we notice that it's a huge delay, we're not worried.

[imimahoney]

My pedi checks milestones at each well baby visit. If I have a concern they always say to bring my DS in and they will check him out. There is nothing wrong with staying on top of things and calming your fears.

My niece has low muscle tone which presented itself in several different milestone delays. My sister never really spoke up because she was worried that her pedi would think she was a crazy ftm.

My niece, who is 3, is in PT and is just now catching up to where she should be.

[Deleted]

Yeah, I picked up on stuff long before any Doc mentioned it & when I did Docs tended to minimize. My DD3 was in PT by 6mo all because I felt something was wrong & it was. When I had her evaluated (not by her Ped) but by EI she did have multiple issues. She was in PT, OT & seeing a nutritionist all before a year old but was done by 18months with all therapy (which the therapist said is rare). I think catching things quick helped her get treated & caught up so quickly--so no long term delays despite being born low-tone & with sensory issues. Go with your gut. Don't freak out but if something seems off, especially for months, i'd advocate for tests/action.

Edit: I didn't read above until now but that illustrates the difference it makes by getting early intervention. My DD had same issue (pretty severe too) & was caught up by 18mo & her niece is 3yrs & just getting caught up. Speak up everyone

[elocrates]

As a mom to two "early" babies, I thought I'd throw my two cents in.

DS1 was born at 37w3d, DS2 was born at 36w5d, so "early" without being qualified as premature (well, DS1 anyway). I scrutinized milestones for a while and decided to do the following (advice from our pedi):

- I recognize that the CDC website is "on average," so +/- a couple weeks to start with.
- I would always add on an additional few weeks for them being early.
- If I added on the few weeks to the CDC goal and they still weren't reaching the milestone, only then did I give myself permission to worry about it for more than a fleeting minute (and I would mention it at an appointment).

Things change so rapidly at that age. Inevitably, if I would give it a couple more weeks, they would meet the milestone with no trouble. Now, at 4.5 years old, it's totally a non-issue with DS1. And with DS2 (just over 2 years old), there has only been one milestone in the past 6 months that was a few weeks behind what the CDC guidelines say.

It is good to recognize what milestones you should be looking for, but I would just be overcome with worry if I let myself dwell on it so I had to actively choose not to until it got to an objectively worrisome point (not sure if that makes sense). You're doing great, keep up the good work!

[pugz]

yeah I usually subtract a month since she was born early and then she seems ahead in many areas

[egishere]

I don't. Mine were 7 weeks early and may be delayed a few weeks but nothing major. Don't stress about it or you will drive yourself crazy!

[gibbinator]

Nov 4, 2012 20:15:46 GMT -5 pugz said:

I handle this by not looking at milestones I don't read books or go to the bump anymore.

This. Development is so different for every baby. She'll be ahead in some areas and behind in others. Try not to worry.

I currently joke that ds will be walking before he rolls over.

[dcrunnergirl]

My kids have been at the late end of every milestone, especially DS. I really try not to worry unless the pedi is worried, and that was only when DS reached 16 months and wasn't talking or understanding what we were saying. So, we got the help we needed, and now he's doing terrific and almost caught up.

Please try not to worry unless the pedi is worried or your gut tells you something is really wrong. I wasted a lot of hours/minutes/days worried about my kids.

[atouchofklasse]

I wouldn't worry about milestones, but if you're concerned about her hearing, I'd definitely bring it up with her pediatrician.

[everam01]

I didn't worry too much. N was consistently hitting milestones before E, and when I noticed it I would look it up to see if E was late or if N was just early. Luckily, N was early on most milestones and E was right on time (they were almost a month early at birth). E was a late roller but still an early walker.

[pamela]

Ditto about not stressing, but writing it down so you remember to bring it up at your next appointment.

DS still doesn't respond consistently to our voices and it was worrying me because he does have some speech delay. So yes, I spent $200 to have his hearing tested again and he did just fine. He's just a little bugger who ignores us.

[xokell2]

Not at all.

I freaked out about everything with my first and I learned they each have their own timelines. Pediatricians are much better at screening for that stuff than anxious parents with Internet training. Just enjoy every minute