Published on 12, July, 2020
My 4 month old daughter is showing some signs that are very worrying to me. I know at such a young age I'm not going to get any kind of diagnosis but it would be interesting to read if anyone else's little ones were showing any signs at a young age?
I first searched for topics about development delays and autism in babies from even a week or so old. It's relatable to me as my partner (and both daughters father) sister has a son (3yo) who has just been diagnosed as Autistic so maybe that makes me over analyse things more? Anyway..from the start I noticed her eye contact wasn't great..I mean she looks at us but quite often 'past' us..like at lights or anything else in the room. She will look at us while laying on her back but sometimes looks away quickly if she smiles. And is reluctant to look at us when held and i feel like I hold her outwards to avoid making her upset but it breaks my heart as I'd love to interact with her She smiles but even at almost 4 months now they have to be 'earned' she has a sad/blank little expression a lot of the time and I worry she isn't happy! She sometimes looks at me while breastfeeding but not as much as my first daughter and I've noticed sometimes I find her looking at during a feed so I speak to her but then she'll try and bury her face in my *** to get away and sometimes if I continue to look (and smile) she'll actually start to cry? She sucks her fingers constantly or holds her hands together but generally obsessed with having something in her mouth which a lot of the time is me as she's exclusively breastfed. She feeds very often..I feel like my first DD is missing out on time with me because her sisters feeding is so regular during the day (at night she's not too bad, generally goes down when I do about 10:00-10:30 and sleeps until 6am then straight back off til 8am ish) i sometimes feel like she just gets overwhelmed easily and needs the feed to calm down and get to sleep. She doesn't nap for long and generally wakes after a few minutes if I try to put her down. A few times in the last week she's really worried me..once we had been down at the beach and she was in her carrier and we were walking back to the car when she started crying unconsolably I checked her nappy and she'd pooped (she does cry when her nappy is dirty which is something DD1 never did) I changed her and offered her a feed which she refused and just screamed/arched her back for a few minutes before finally taking a feed. This happened again a few days later when we were driving she started screaming..it took a few minutes to find a safe place to stop and again when we did she screamed/arched back for a few minutes before taking a feed and calming down. It really worries me and I'm struggling to just put these feeling aside and enjoying her precious babyhood without analysing things. She hates bath time..she cries and looks scared and I usually have to offer her a feed during a bath to stop her getting too upset (I bath with her). Does this sound normal to you? Am I being paranoid? I'm driving myself to depression worrying about her even though it doesn't change things I know but I just want to know so I can help her the best I can I haven't seen Health Visitor since she was 8 weeks old but I have scheduled a appointment for a week tomorrow to talk about my concerns. I just want some opinions on how she is from an outside prospective.. Am i crazy or right to be worried? I think my worry comes from my eventful pregnancy and the feeling that it's all damaged her in some way..I blame myself I just want her to be happy regardless..it won't change the love I have for my little angel. I'll also add, she hated tummy time from the start but learned to roll herself from her back to her tummy at 3 months but not back again consistently and often gets upset after a minute or two and doesn't lift much from her shoulders she just face plants and her arms go back but she pushes with her legs. She has done a little laugh on few occasions but very rare. Also doesn't make much noise..very very little babble or cooing and no soft baby noises.
I am so worried about her and I really don't know where to turn! Any replies would be greatly appreciated x
The fruit question is prompted by
a) some people being salicylate intolerant. Salicylates are a chemical that is found in most fruits but not most vegetables. They are also present in soft drinks i.e. anything that contains aspartame as a sweetener. Salicylates protect fruit from insect attack.
b) I mentioned this as a possibility to a friend who had recently had a baby. The baby was inconsolable and would not sleep. The baby's mother liked apples but, in desparation, agreed to lay off to see if it would do any good. The baby settled much better. The mother then started eating apples again and the baby started crying and not sleeping again. The mother gave up the apples and the baby settled again. Each period of laying off was about a week long. The mother was not going to eat apples again until the baby was weaned.
The theory is that the salicylates can be transmitted through *** milk and can upset the baby somehow.
I have discovered, very late in life, that I seem to be intolerant to fruit - certain fruits give me definite reactions. I am also autistic. There are a number of special diets for autism and one of these is based around salycilate intolerance. The solid evidence for autistic people being generally affected by salicylates does not seem to be there but it is certainly possible for people to have multiple issues at the same time.