...or stranger anxiety?
My 11 mo old DS was induced a month early and spent 3 weeks in the NICU due to needing oxygen. There are no apparent permanent ill effects from his prematurity.
He has lagged behind a bit in his developmental milestones. He attended weekly physical therapy for 12 weeks at 5 mo of age, which was a waste of time because he was hysterical the entire hour and the PT could not do anything with him. Finally, he started sitting up and seemed to catch up on his own, plus I worked with him at home quite a bit. We stopped going to PT because it just didn't make sense to take him to cry for an hour and he was catching up anyway.
His being hysterical at his PT was the first hint that he might have sensory processing issues because he seemed to have a difficult time with transitions and new situations--per his PT. He also hates having his nose wiped if that's another indication. He is also still on purees, having had his first taste of rice cereal at 7 mo, but he just fed himself a couple of "puffs" the other day, so he just seems to be on his own timeline for that. He still pushes out any thick textures and cries when he anticipates that I'm going to feed him. I have since backed off and learned to trust his cues, rather than forcing him to take a few bites, which I mistakenly did at first.
I am a SAHM and have been with him 24/7. He has never been with a sitter and I haven't had but a couple of friends over during his first year. We pretty much stay at home all the time (mainly because of the winter months and H1N1), but for the occasional errand a couple of times a week to get groceries or baby stuff. Now that it's warmer, I typically take him out in the stroller for an hour 5 days a week on average and make at least a twice weekly visit to a coffee shop, so it's not like he doesn't see any people or new situations. My DH and I have also taken him to a couple of dinners and breakfasts out and luckily had no problems with him crying, and there was plenty of stimulation in the restaurants, so not sure why he was fine in those situations.
Today, I took him to visit my former employer, and at the first person enounter, he started crying and burrowing his face in my shoulder and he never recovered. After an hour of sitting in a conference room trying to console him and with a couple of other visitors stopping by which seemed to keep him going, I had to leave. As soon as we got in the car, he stopped crying. We even went shopping and he was fine the whole 90 min. You would think he would get sensory overload at Babies R Us!
The other day, a woman was cooing over him while he was in his infant seat in the stroller, at the store and he started crying as well, even though I kept smiling, which should have let him know that everything was okay.
So, I don't know if he truly has sensory issues or if this is a common behavior to expect an 11 mo old to do or is it that the reclusiveness of staying at home has adversely impacted his socialization or is it simple stranger anxiety at this age?
I just joined a mom/baby play group, but haven't yet attended a gathering, as I have family coming to visit, so will have to wait to see how that turns out. I fear that he is going to get upset at all the new faces and we'll have to leave.
Anyone else going through this type of behavior?
My 11 mo old DS was induced a month early and spent 3 weeks in the NICU due to needing oxygen. There are no apparent permanent ill effects from his prematurity.
He has lagged behind a bit in his developmental milestones. He attended weekly physical therapy for 12 weeks at 5 mo of age, which was a waste of time because he was hysterical the entire hour and the PT could not do anything with him. Finally, he started sitting up and seemed to catch up on his own, plus I worked with him at home quite a bit. We stopped going to PT because it just didn't make sense to take him to cry for an hour and he was catching up anyway.
His being hysterical at his PT was the first hint that he might have sensory processing issues because he seemed to have a difficult time with transitions and new situations--per his PT. He also hates having his nose wiped if that's another indication. He is also still on purees, having had his first taste of rice cereal at 7 mo, but he just fed himself a couple of "puffs" the other day, so he just seems to be on his own timeline for that. He still pushes out any thick textures and cries when he anticipates that I'm going to feed him. I have since backed off and learned to trust his cues, rather than forcing him to take a few bites, which I mistakenly did at first.
I am a SAHM and have been with him 24/7. He has never been with a sitter and I haven't had but a couple of friends over during his first year. We pretty much stay at home all the time (mainly because of the winter months and H1N1), but for the occasional errand a couple of times a week to get groceries or baby stuff. Now that it's warmer, I typically take him out in the stroller for an hour 5 days a week on average and make at least a twice weekly visit to a coffee shop, so it's not like he doesn't see any people or new situations. My DH and I have also taken him to a couple of dinners and breakfasts out and luckily had no problems with him crying, and there was plenty of stimulation in the restaurants, so not sure why he was fine in those situations.
Today, I took him to visit my former employer, and at the first person enounter, he started crying and burrowing his face in my shoulder and he never recovered. After an hour of sitting in a conference room trying to console him and with a couple of other visitors stopping by which seemed to keep him going, I had to leave. As soon as we got in the car, he stopped crying. We even went shopping and he was fine the whole 90 min. You would think he would get sensory overload at Babies R Us!
The other day, a woman was cooing over him while he was in his infant seat in the stroller, at the store and he started crying as well, even though I kept smiling, which should have let him know that everything was okay.
So, I don't know if he truly has sensory issues or if this is a common behavior to expect an 11 mo old to do or is it that the reclusiveness of staying at home has adversely impacted his socialization or is it simple stranger anxiety at this age?
I just joined a mom/baby play group, but haven't yet attended a gathering, as I have family coming to visit, so will have to wait to see how that turns out. I fear that he is going to get upset at all the new faces and we'll have to leave.
Anyone else going through this type of behavior?
