[blparent] How to tell when your child is smiling or looking at something

[Chad Allen]

Hi,

Not at all silly.

I ask all the same questions too. I get a lot of feedback from sighted folks
which I like but there are other signals I get from my son, Harrison.

First, of course, cries. He's very good at telling me when he does not like
something. That could be a myriad of things like hunger, tired, diaper
change, etc. 

but what about the more subtle things like smiling? I find that I can get
Harrison to make a sound pretty easily when he is happy. I get a coo or a
giggle or just a high pitched yea at times that tells me he is enjoying
something. Then, I investigate. Sometimes it's a toy or something I'm doing.
other times we play by making silly sounds or faces and sometimes we wrestle
baby style where I just let him crawl all over me. 

We bounce and I get happy and not so happy sounds out of him at times
depending on his mood. Sometimes if I hear nothing for awhile, it means he
fell asleep. One time he fell asleep in his jumper sitting up which was
great fun. But even his breathing can give me a clue to his mood or interest
too. 

Since I can't see him, I need to get creative in experiencing other things
with him. It bums me out that I can't see his peaceful sleep like others or
some of his silly faces but there are so many other wonderful elements to
our interactions that few understand so I consider that to be the trade off.


I think the most important part is to enjoy every bit and not to dwell too
much on the struggles. We do so much together and if I can't see something
he does, it's OK because we are buds. I know he won't care when he's older
because we will be friends and I'll play games and be a part of his life in
a unique way. Love is what matters most. 

  

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Ronit Ovadia Mazzoni
Sent: Wednesday, June 08, 2011 10:40 AM
To: 'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'
Subject: [blparent] How to tell when your child is smiling or looking at
something

Hi everyone,
I have kind of a silly question but I hope someone can help. My two month
old is definitely interested in being interactive some of the time during
the day and when I am alone with him, I find it hard to know when he is
smiling or looking at something. I have rattles and toys and I make faces at
him but he's not really making a whole lot of sounds to let me know he is
happy or interested. When my sighted husband is around or my mom is around,
they tell me when he is smiling or when he is looking at me or a toy, but I
find it frustrating that when I am alone, I don't feel like I know how to
effectively interact with him. Any tips on this, or is this something silly
to be worried about?
Thanks.
Ronit
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