Is this really so different?

[joannqn]

"She's so alert!" I hear that saying a lot. I don't see why it's so strange that an infant is awake and looking around. I still get these comments frequently about my youngest, who is now 9 1/2 months old. Of course, she's alert! She's 9 months old, not 9 hours old. Is it really that unusual for a 9 month old to be alert and looking around when out in public?

 

Then, on a related topic, she did surprise me last night. We went to a "opening celebration" for a festival that involved an MC speaking, a comedy/juggling/balancing show, more speaking, a song, more speaking, an African drumming/dance group, more speaking, a group that blends hip hop and classical violin, and some final words. She paid attention to the entire show which was 90 minutes long. I mean really paid attention: watching the speaker, watching the various acts, peering around the person in front of us when I had her sitting in a way that they blocked part of the stage, etc. She was enthralled. That does seem a bit unusual to me. She didn't want to nurse, eat snack foods, sleep, or anything...just watched the show. Is that normal for a 9 month old to have that kind of attention span?

 

Sitting quietly in a grocery cart and looking around the store seems normal/typical though.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Many people don't seem to have a connection to babies anymore - perhaps because society is more segregated? I used to get "Oh, her eyes are open!" What did they think she was, a kitten?

[Jennifer in MI]

Is she small? I used to get that a lot with my dd. too. She was (and still is) tiny! Combine small size with an early talker and people were in awe!!!! She was walking and speaking in complete sentences at 14 months, yet she looked like an 8 month old.

 

I do think that watching a show like that for 90 minutes is a long attention span for a 9 month old! Maybe she'll be easy to teach!!!

[joannqn]

She's approximately 21 pounds and wears 12-18 months size clothes. For a 9 month old, I don't think that is small even if she is small compared to my other kids at that age.

[Pretty in Pink]

I think some people just aren't familiar with babies anymore. My youngest is 21 months old. The other day a stranger asked me his age and then remarked at how well he is walking... :confused: Huh?! I just smiled and replied that he's quite active and likes to keep up with his older brothers, but of course inside I was kind of laughing.

[Natalieclare]

Many people don't seem to have a connection to babies anymore - perhaps because society is more segregated? I used to get "Oh, her eyes are open!" What did they think she was, a kitten?

 

 

People really do say that. I get it all.the.time about my 7 week old. lol--a kitten!

[GoVanGogh]

DS was a preemie and very small. He didn't open his eyes until he was one week old, but "hasn't closed them since!" we like to joke. He was always very alert and looking around, absorbing everything. It always freaked people out. Once he was holding his head up well, we carried him around in a chest carrier, facing outwards. Oh, the looks we would get! (He was about the size of an average newborn then.)

But - like you mentioned - DS sat through a Riverdance production when he was around a year old. Didn't miss a bit of it. When he was three, he would draw complete maps of anywhere we had gone that day. :tongue_smilie: I think some kids are just 'wired' to be more visual.

That said. I also think that people are so used to babies being "containerized" lately - toted around in car seats carriers, pushed around in a stroller. Not that those things are always bad... But a baby experiences so much more if they are up at the table during a meal at a restaurant, vs left in a car seat carrier in the corner, which is what we often notice when we dine out.

[Danestress]

I think some of us try to be complimentary of babies. "She's so alert" is one way of saying, "I'm sure this baby is going to be very smart" which is what we assume Moms want to hear:) I know what is more or less normal in a baby - having had three and been around others a fair amount. But I still probably make comments like that.

[kwg]

Prob they do not mean awake but more watchful, paying attention to everything...i.e. smart and 'soaking' it all in.

[Rosie_0801]

Then, on a related topic, she did surprise me last night. We went to a "opening celebration" for a festival . She was enthralled. That does seem a bit unusual to me. She didn't want to nurse, eat snack foods, sleep, or anything...just watched the show. Is that normal for a 9 month old to have that kind of attention span?

 

My daughter did the same when i took her to the orchestra when she was about 6 or 7 months. We were right at the front and the orchestra members at the front of the stage got kicks out of watching such a small person absorbing it all. I daresay it was more fulfilling for them than performing for the disinterested school kids behind us! Six months later we were doing a castle tour and one of the rooms had some musicians performing. I thought she'd just run around, since she'd just discovered her walking legs, but she sat on my lap and stared every time they started playing. I regret I haven't been able to provide any similar experiences since!

 

Rosie

[CactusPair]

I've been getting that, too, about my 8.5 month old dd.

 

I've heard it from family and the dr.'s office.

 

It strikes me as a bit odd, too. I'm sure what they expect. I think my other dc were the same way at this age.

 

We have a long, loud dance recital coming up next month. I hope she'll be as entranced as your dd was during the show.

 

Your post gives me some hope. I've been wondering what's gonna happen.....Just hoping she doesn't blow and I wind up fleeing the building during the dc's ballet number!

[joannqn]

Your post gives me some hope. I've been wondering what's gonna happen.....Just hoping she doesn't blow and I wind up fleeing the building during the dc's ballet number!

 

I've always taken my kids places when they are little, and during a certain period of time, expect to have to make a hasty exit. However, I'm not adverse to cheating. Madelynn is teething so I gave her some preventative ibuprofen before we left for the show. Just keep taking her places with the expectation of needing to leave and she'll learn to sit still and be quiet as she gets older. Then you'll have the best behaved child in the room by the time she's 3 or 4.

[kokotg]

I think people just have a very limited repertoire of things to say about babies:

 

"Wow, he's big!"

"He's so tiny!"

"How is she sleeping?"

"What a cute hat!"

 

I got "so alert!" with one of mine and "he sleeps so much!" with the last one (that was nice while it lasted!) Those seem to be the only two things anyone can think of to say about baby behavior.

[Rosie_0801]

I think people just have a very limited repertoire of things to say about babies:

 

"Wow, he's big!"

"He's so tiny!"

"How is she sleeping?"

"What a cute hat!"

 

I got "so alert!" with one of mine and "he sleeps so much!" with the last one (that was nice while it lasted!) Those seem to be the only two things anyone can think of to say about baby behavior.

 

Ha ha! It's so true and it doesn't even need to make sense! I had someone telling me my dd was "so petite" when she was slightly taller than this person's son and six months younger. :lol:

 

Rosie

[Alphabetika]

I get that with my 9mo old, who is exactly the size of the OP's.

 

Once when I was at the farmer's market with my then-9yo, she was doing farm business with one of the vendors, completely independently. When he saw me behind her, he said to me, "She speaks so clearly!" Maybe he thought she was preschool age because she wasn't "in school" on a weekday?

[happi duck]

We've noticed babies and toddlers who sit in their strollers with vacant stares. Perhaps that is what some people are accustomed to seeing.

[Teachin'Mine]

My daughter had an attention span like that. At the zoo, we could spend half hour or an hour just at one exhibit. That all changed and now she's like okay I've seen it - let's move on. :tongue_smilie:

[joannqn]

My daughter had an attention span like that. At the zoo' date=' we could spend half hour or an hour just at one exhibit. That all changed and now she's like okay I've seen it - let's move on. :tongue_smilie:[/quote']

 

My kids are like that at the zoo. Have you ever tried a docent led tour? They make the zoo so much more interesting...for the parent, at least.