Non park/DAS Sensory Questions for infant DD

[alicia080979]

I know lots of parents in here have experience with a child with sensory processing issues/disorders and I wanted to get some input and opinions. Our first foster son was 16 mo old when he came to us and had sensory issues but he was only with us for a few months so our experience is limited.

Our foster daughter (we have had her since birth and hope to adopt her) is 8 months old today and since she was born she has done a lot of thrashing around. At her 6 month check up the Dr said just to watch her but wasn't too concerned because developmentally she is on track. Now that she is getting bigger and interacting with her surroundings more, I just wanted some opinions on what to watch for. If she has some markers for Sensory Processing Disorder, I want to be proactive and do as much as we can early to help her along the way.

There are a few things that have stuck out to me as being atypical but I don't know what is "normal" and what is not other than from my daycare children (I have run a daycare for the past 5 years so lots of general experience with children). A few things off the top of my head...

She will thrash her head around and flip it side to side when there are a lot of different noises or different things going on around her. She doesn't scream and cry, just the head/upper body thrashing.

She also hates for her skin to be touching the ground. She is fine with legging/pants on but if we put her on the carpet or grass she screams until we pick her up. I give her lots of sensory toys to play with just in general as she is a trauma baby (6+ months of neonatal drug exposure) so I try to help her as much as I can with that. Her hands touching other things don't bother her so I am wondering if the leg texture thing is pretty normal just bc it is something different.

She still has to be swaddled (arms out but stomach/mid section) pretty tight in order to sleep soundly. I am assuming she is needing that proprioceptive input still.

She has started to bury her face into my chest/arm when there are a lot of people close to her if they are unfamiliar faces.

Yesterday we had ~20 people over for Easter. We haven't had that many people over since Christmas and she was only 4 months old so slept most of that evening. At the end of the day when it was bottle and bed time, she drank her bottle while I was holding her on the couch so lots of noise/commotion and as soon as I took her upstairs to rock her in her room where it was dark & quiet she threw up everywhere. She has never thrown up before. She was fine before and fine after. She was fine all day today. I am wondering if she didn't just get overwhelmed from all the people.

Any opinions/advice would be helpful! Just trying to navigate what is typical and what are things we need to take note of to talk with the Dr about at her 9 month check up from other parents who have been there.

Thanks!


ETA... I am going to continue watching her closely around crowds/noises because we just added a June trip to Disney to take our 16 foster son and I am not sure how well she will do there with everything going on.

 

[Carnie]

What needs will be accommodated by using a DAS?

I imagine most infants don't tolerate being in long lines. I'm not sure what you are trying to accomplish with a DAS.

 

[lanejudy]

Actually, I don't think OP is asking about a DAS or accommodations at WDW -- the title of the thread reads "Non-Park/DAS..." and goes on to ask about sensory concerns she has at home with her 8 month old.

OP, as the parent of a child with some sensory concerns -- it can be hard to tell what's "normal" and what is a concern. And you may not truly have that answer for a while yet. Some of what you describe may be typical age-appropriate behavior. I think the stranger anxiety can kick in around 9 months for some kids (hiding her head in your chest while holding her). Lots of young ones dislike the feeling of grass -- will she sit on a blanket? While the carpet thing with bare legs might be odd, just think that for the past 8 months (winter) she probably never had bare skin exposed to experience the feel of anything on her legs -- other than maybe bath water, diaper-changing/dressing touches, and clothing. Excitement of a busy day with lots of relatives/friends can be overwhelming, possibly enough to make a child throw up once settled.

While many things may be "normal" being alert to odd reactions and discussing them with her pediatrician is good. But unless he/she has concerns, I wouldn't stress over trying to "recognize" sensory issues or you could drive yourself into unnecessary worry -- sometimes if you are really intent on watching for something you'll find it even if it's not true. A lot of babies react differently to new situations, and at 8 months old, most everything will be "new" to her for the next several months.

As for June's trip -- I'm sure you'll have a stroller and/or carrier/sling. Maybe plan to bring a towel to drape over the stroller to give shade and block out noise/crowds (good for naps anyway). Try to stick to her normal routine as much as possible (naps, eating, etc.), even if that means splitting up at times so your son can enjoy the parks. And be aware that some young ones don't sleep well in a hotel room -- different bed, different room, etc. so she may be more tired than usual during the day.

Good luck and enjoy your vacation!

 

[SueM in MN]

lanejudy wrote just about the same things I was thinking.

Stranger anxiety would be kicking in about now and it is a healthy sign - it shows she is differentiating you from other people, is attached to you, sees you as a safe person and is doing some things to change her environment when she is unsure.
The throwing up part happens to dome kids with excitement, overstimulation, etc. and 20 sort of strangers in the house is a lot for a 9 month old. It could be that she was just fine with her 'safe' people around during the day and it just sort of bubbled over (literally) when she got up to be rocked.

All the other things could very well be variations of normal and partly due to inexperience. Some of it may be related to trust issues rather than sensory.
People vary a lot in their sensitivity to things without being out of the range of average. I know adults who don't have sensory processing issues, but sleep with all their covers tucked in very tight. My MIL, on the other hand, can't stand the sheets tucked in at all - they all have to be loose.
My oldest DD did not like to touch anything slimy, sticky or sandy feeling (no fingerpaints for her!). When she ate, if any food got on her hands, chin or the outside of her lips, she needed it wiped off right away. In fact, one of her first words was "wipe".
By the time she got to school, she had outgrown that. She's still very neat, but as an adult, she is an artist who works with clay, paints and other messy things.
I personally have no sensory issues except for crew neck shirts feel like they are strangling me and I can't wear them.
So, lots of variation in normal.

Chances are she is doing just fine and, if you knew she had issues, you would be doing the same things you are now - sensory toys, calming her when she gets upset by dome thing, etc.

 

[lanejudy]

...I know adults who don't have sensory processing issues, but sleep with all their covers tucked in very tight. My MIL, on the other hand, can't stand the sheets tucked in at all - they all have to be loose...

I cracked up reading this! I live it. My side is all tucked in neatly with extra blankets on top; DH needs everything loose and no extra covers. Years ago I gave up making the bed look nice each day.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

as a daycare worker for 25 years and a mother for 30 plus years, your Easter reactions both the hiding of her face and the throwing up are not unusual. most kids from 8 months to around 2 years stranger danger not liking strangers. I would not put much into the throwing up at end of day unless you see something today that makes you think it was something other Easter excitement. I had a special child that we could not rock as a baby as rocking or a swing made her throw up all the time, motion sick but she could ride in car fine. her thrashing about, how does she do if she is sitting not flat on floor? one thing that came in handy when I was in daycare, keep a notebook near you and write down right away anything that causes the thrashing. write date, time and what was happening. see if you see a pattern and it also give you something to show Dr if you feel it needs to be looked at. also this works for teachers as she gets older. hope you do get to be her forever mother and best of luck to you and your family

 

[Sparkly]

I cracked up reading this! I live it. My side is all tucked in neatly with extra blankets on top; DH needs everything loose and no extra covers. Years ago I gave up making the bed look nice each day.

I'm another one who likes to be tightly snuggled into bed at night. I sleep cocooned up in my covers- the warmer and puffier the duvet the better!

 

[alicia080979]

I cracked up reading this! I live it. My side is all tucked in neatly with extra blankets on top; DH needs everything loose and no extra covers. Years ago I gave up making the bed look nice each day.

I love this...my mom likes tight tucked sheets and the first thing I do when I walk into a hotel room is rip all the sheets off the bed. I don't make my bed as an adult (I will toss the blankets on the bed but no tucking here) because I hate...hate tucked/fitting sheets, lol.

 

[alicia080979]

Thanks for all the replies. I am not looking for or worried about a DAS for her when we go in June...I will be sitting with her while DH, my mom and DS ride rides unless she is awake and happy and we are doing things she can ride. Now that she is interacting with her environment, I don't want to overwhelm her so I will be wearing her or pushing her in the stroller facing me for the most part. This is a trip for our foster son since he might be going back to his bio family this summer and will likely not get to have a family vacation for a long time.

I really appreciate all the replies though and glad to hear lots of what is going is normal for her age. I only have my daycare kiddos to go on and haven't really seen the same behaviors before. The thrashing about has been the only consistent thing from birth but at 6 months the Dr said it could just be something from being exposed to so many drugs in utero. I definitely don't want to look for something that isn't there and feel much better now. She will have her 9 month check up next month so I will just casually take note of anything that seems out of the ordinary but hopefully we are just going through normal stuff for all the new experiences she is having every day!

 

[alicia080979]

as a daycare worker for 25 years and a mother for 30 plus years, your Easter reactions both the hiding of her face and the throwing up are not unusual. most kids from 8 months to around 2 years stranger danger not liking strangers. I would not put much into the throwing up at end of day unless you see something today that makes you think it was something other Easter excitement. I had a special child that we could not rock as a baby as rocking or a swing made her throw up all the time, motion sick but she could ride in car fine. her thrashing about, how does she do if she is sitting not flat on floor? one thing that came in handy when I was in daycare, keep a notebook near you and write down right away anything that causes the thrashing. write date, time and what was happening. see if you see a pattern and it also give you something to show Dr if you feel it needs to be looked at. also this works for teachers as she gets older. hope you do get to be her forever mother and best of luck to you and your family

Thanks for your input. She does the thrashing randomly but then I have noticed it lately when there is lots going on. When she is on the floor, she will be content then lay backwards (she doesn't throw herself backwards) and then thrash her entire upper body and turn her head back and forth quickly and repeatedly. She has had to be swaddled, rocked, held pretty tightly from birth.

My biggest concern is that bio mom has only spent 2 hrs a week with her for the first 2 months of her life and then disappeared until recently. She was just incarcerated and has now decided at 8 months old that she wants to have visits again so we have to take her to visit her in jail for 1 hour twice a month. So frustrating that now that we have worked so hard on bonding/attachment, use sensory toys, etc. to have to put her through this. Sad

 

[WheeledTraveler]

The majority of what you've notices sounds pretty typical for a baby that age. I'm almost 30 and a gather of ~20 people in a single house can make me feel sick (depends on the size of the house and how many of the people I know). If there were a bunch of people that she really hasn't seen since Christmas, it might also be worth trying to get some of them over in smaller groups before the next big event/holiday. Swaddling is probably personal preference (I don't absolutely have to have my bedclothes tight, but I must have something with weight to it on me; a sheet isn't enough. Tighter bedclothes are also good, just not a requirement). It does sound like the thrashing (rather than crying) is probably her way of saying she's overstimulated. She might also be looking to be touched so that she knows she's safe. She may associate the swaddling and being held feeling with the people who she knows take care of her.

It's worth bringing up the thrashing (and any other concerns) at her 9 mo check-up and they might decide to do some tests to make sure there's nothing else going on. Even if they do more tests, it doesn't mean the pediatrician thinks it's something worse. It's a matter of being thorough. Being thorough might make even more sense because she's a foster child and there's probably a chance that something could show up that would impact any custody disputes.

I think when it comes to WDW, you have the right plans already in place. If you ever need it, you could use the Baby Stations or First Aid if she really needs a short quiet time and you can't/don't want to bring her back to your resort. There's also a list of quieter places in the guide for guests with cognitive disabilities so you could try those if they're closer to where you are at any point.