not talking yet aka i hate well baby visits

[mrstanimal]

I took my 9.5 month son in last week for his "well baby" visit, as I'd been putting it off, and have been getting calls from the receptionist. He's not receiving any vaccinations, and I have a scale here, so I guess I don't really see the point of taking him to these appointments. Anyhow, so I went against my intuition and brought him in, only to leave feeling awful.

First off, got told to start him on rice cereal, even though we're doing BLW, so I let that one go in one ear, out the other. Then got warned about co-sleeping (my partner opened her trap about that one, I wouldn't have mentioned it) and how my son will never learn to sleep on his own. We were given a survey to fill out, and at the end of it, received "scores" for communication, motor skills, etc. Well, the communication section got a very low score, and we were told we could talk to a specialist.

My son is very mobile and physical, but isn't much for babbling. No "ma ma" or "ba ba". He growls. Does kind of a cough/laugh sound. Lots of sounds, but no words. Should I be concerned ? I can blow the rice cereal and co-sleeping things off, but is this something I should look into ? Anyone else have super physical babies, who waited a while to talk ?

[weliveintheforest]

I would not be concerned yet!

[nola79]

I would not be concerned, no, not at his age.

eta: My son reached all his physical milestones early, was a very physical baby liked to go go go. I took him to the ped at 15 months b/c he was not yet talking. His ped said they don't even worry about it unless he's not talking by age two. He was babbling a lot, though, and when he did start talking, it was in sentences. But at 9.5 months? would not worry about it

[Pandme]

9.5 months? Are they kidding? Come ON now.

Do NOT worry.

[hakeber]

DS walking at 10 months but didn't say a discernable word until he was almost 14 months, after starting play-school. Once he started though it was impossible to shut him up, at 5 yo his teachers say he is verbally advanced and he is learning to spell and read quite on his own. My husband's niece didn't say much beyond grunts and moans until almost two and then one day she opened her mouth and was speaking full sentences.

Everyone acquires language a little differently, and unless your kid is over two and not even responding to language I wouldn't worry. I would probably start toddler sign language though if your LO seems quite physically advanced. DS took to signing really well and it certainly helped to diffuse some of the frustration he felt of not yet being able to use the words forming in his head.

I would not start rice cereal firstly because most of it winds up on the floor/in your hair/all over the face, and if you are going to have to wear the baby food it might as well be something good for the skin, like oatmeal, or avocado. secondly because it's just filler food. It's not got much nutrition in it at all. I think your kid is doing fine.

The doctors have to tell you something to make it worth your while for you to come, don't they? But you don't have to listen to everything. My friend's doctors recommended meat milkshakes to help her 5 mo baby sleep through the night! Meat milkshakes! Doctors are just people in white coats. I'd take their advice on child rearing as seriously as I do anyone else's, with an open mind and a healthy dose of skepticism.

[bandgeek]

I would not be concerned at 9 1/2 months. You could sign with him though. It will help in the long run with communication. It's often easier for kids to make signs than to form words at a young age. When he's ready and able to talk, he replace the signs with words.

My son babbled at that age, but we didn't get any real words until over a year. And then it was just a couple. He didn't *really* talk until over 2, but he's fine and normal at age 5. We did sign with him and it helped tremendously with understanding what he needed and wanted. When he was ready to talk, he did, and never looked back.

[AFWife]

Psh, don't worry!!

My son is almost a year and still not "talking"! He does a few babbles, but words? Nope. He does "mamamama" when he's upset. He understands a lot, but he doesn't SAY anything.

[Abraisme]

Originally Posted by Pandme

9.5 months? Are they kidding? Come ON now.

Do NOT worry.

Really, each kid will do things in their own time. My son didn't say mama until age 2. He started talking quickly after that and is not a perfectly normal 6yo.

[Baby_Cakes]

Please, don't worry! Let this too go in one ear and out the other!!
I'm a firm believer that you would *know* if something were "wrong" or "different" about your LO. This is just another reason why WBV make me so mad. They make us doubt ourselves!!!
You are doing a great job and your son is perfectly fine! <3

[mrstanimal]

You mamas are great. Thank you so much !!! I'm definitely going to start with signing, and just let him be otherwise. I swore I wouldn't be so concerned about "milestones" and what he "should" be doing, but somehow got in a tailspin ! I really appreciate all the tips and words of comfort !

[Pandme]

My son said Mama with purpose at 19 months and is an extremely good talker (he's 3 now). We've constantly gotten comments from people with a child development/education background on his enunciation and vocabulary. But at 9.5 months he didn't say a dang thing.

[confustication]

No, at 9.5 months I wouldn't worry. Obviously, watch and stay aware of it, but we all do that anyway.

My 20 month old isn't saying much at all yet, and we did have an assessment done for him- we have discovered that he is significantly hearing impaired, so in his case, it *was* a red flag to keep an eye on.

[Chamomile Girl]

Your doctor lives in the Stone Ages. I can't believe that they give what amounts to a standardized test to a baby .

I think many doctors have a script that they follow in regards to things like rice cereal. I recently took my baby in because he had a chest cold, and my ped went off on this random tangent about how awful rice cereal was. She was really happy when she asked what I admitted my kid had never had the stuff. She was excited about what he is eating instead.

Flash forward 10 days to his next WB visit and there she is pushing the rice cereal. WTF?

[lovepiggie]

Originally Posted by hakeber

The doctors have to tell you something to make it worth your while for you to come, don't they? But you don't have to listen to everything. My friend's doctors recommended meat milkshakes to help her 5 mo baby sleep through the night! Meat milkshakes! Doctors are just people in white coats. I'd take their advice on child rearing as seriously as I do anyone else's, with an open mind and a healthy dose of skepticism.

Meat...milkshakes? *shudders*