7.5 Mos Old Twins- One Stopped Babbling This past Month. Why?

I would have the doctor rule out an ear infection or other problem first. If you don't think your concern is being addressed ask for a referral for a pediatric ENT and/or early intervention. If you can bring one baby to the doctor at a time, great. You could also see if you can get a second person to help if you have to bring both. I have a 1 year old and a rather demanding almost 4 year old and dr. visits with 2 kids and just me are kind of a zoo. It is hard to talk to the dr. about all my concerns.

Buy and use a timer. I am mother to two sets of twins. The equity issue starts at birth and doesn't ever stop. One of mine never complained about where she sat in the stroller and the other always wanted one seat, so I let it go. Then, months later when the "quiet" one demanded to sit in the other seat, it was terrible every time we had to go somewhere. I had to mark the stroller so we could be sure each one got equal time.
Set yourself and your twins up now so that EQUAL means just that: equal time, equal food, etc. There will be plenty of times when equal will not be possible, but if YOU set it up to be equal most of the time they won't complain - much!!

I used to say that B loves A, and so does A! One is always more self centered, one is always more discerning regarding what "equal"
is, remembers clearly when owed, etc. And equality isn't always scientific to them: it is perceived! My A was never satisfied that she got "equal" unless she actually got more!??

Did she recently have an illness? Perhaps her hearing has been impaired for some reason. I would be concerned when a baby stops doing something. Its different if they are behind in development, but if she used to babble and now doesnt you need to get her to the dr asap.

Please contact your Pediatrician as soon as
possible. Please ask your doctor if your daughter
may be developing early signs of Autism.
If you are unfamiliar with autism. Please use Google
to read about this illness. It is quite serious. But
naturally early intervention is always the best
chance of correction. Please do this right away.

DS in New York

I don't believe in being alarmist, but better safe than sorry. You should get it checked out, like ASAP. Any regression in behaviour is merited to be reviewed by a doctor. I agree with the other mums - don't take no for an answer and get the testing you need now. I wish you the very best and good luck. Please let us know what happens.

did they just have their vaccinations? have any other motor skills stopped. if so, check it out asap. OR, she could just be steeping back and letting her brother take charge, but i doubt it

You really should take your baby girl to doctor asap....you might want to take them both but at different times so you can focus on them individually. Hope all goes well.

I don't have a lot of ideas about what this means except maybe she is working hard to develop a physical skill - crawling? Pulling up? They say that sometimes they focus on one area and everything else kind of halts until they master whatever skill they are working on. I had the opposite issue with my daughter who is also a b/g twin. She focused on talking and put off walking until 18 months. She could say the word, "walk" before she could do it on her own.

That said, I absolutely think that you should share your observations with your pediatrician and see what he/she thinks.

Now, here is what I don't want you to do. Please don't feel guilty about how you parent them or think for a moment that some sort of unequal treatment by you has caused this. Being a twin parent is HARD! You are only one person, yet two little people need you and sometimes it seems like they got cheated because it seems only fair for every infant to have his/her own mommy! You spend a lot of time putting one twin in some device (swing, exersaucer...) so you can be free to pick up the other one who needs you more. The "squeaky wheel" does end up getting more of your attention. That used to break my heart, when I wanted to play with the twin who was happy in the particular moment, but I couldn't because I needed to comfort the one who was being fussy. At their birthday party, my daughter stuffed too much cake in her mouth and got really, really upset. I was torn between wanted to take her away to a quiet place where she could calm down, but I also really wanted to enjoy my son enjoying his first taste of cake. So I held her and stood in the doorway so I could still see him. I think that is a pretty good analogy for twin parenting - sometimes the best we can do is to "stand in the doorway." Things aren't always equal and needs aren't always met perfectly. But you do the best you can. If they are both attached to you and bonded with you, then you've succeeded. Hang in there, you do survive the first year! I am still working on surviving the second. Remeber that there are others out there who are "in the trenches" with you.

I would also be concerned. I would address your concerns with your pediatrician. Another thought is that you could contact your town's health department and ask them to come and do an evaluation. If they feel it is warranted, they will come to your home and do an evaluation and provide services if she qualifies. The earlier you address the issue (if there is one) the better. Don't let anyone deter you if you really feel it is a concern.

Best of luck to you.

she didn't stop babbling because she's jealous of the time you spend with the other twin. something has happened. first thing's first your pediatrician (you'll hear the well a lot of babies backtrack on their babbling). just ask for recommendation for ENT. have her ears checked. ENT will possibly want to do an ABR.
trust me. do not wait. i don't have the time or energy or honestly the tears to explain where i am coming from. just do it

is she still doing everything else... like rolling over, is she watching an object.. is she holding things... if this is good.. than that's one good thing. As for the smiling.. try to make her laugh... do peek a boo... ask your husband to take care of your son.. and just play with your daughter.. rub her belly.. and talk to the dr.. good luck

I can understand you're concern, I think you should get your daughter evaluated by early intervention. It can't hurt to have it done, it's free and they can help with your concerns. All kids do develope differently so it might just be the way she is, but it's always best to check to be sure.

I agree that you should voice your concerns with your pediatrician, but I would guess he is going to tell you to "not worry and to wait and see". So that is not going to help you. What you can do, though, is try to respond more to the little babbling and smiling that she makes. When you see her smiling, say "Ah, do I see a smile? Is that really a smile..." go down on her level, with a big smile yourself and then maybe tickle her and try to achieve that she smiles more and looks at you. Also, if she babbles, just respond to her, even if you just repeat the babbles and see if that makes her curious and wanting to babble more. See if you can get this kind of interaction going and if she establishes eye contact with you. If not, that is a more serious observation and should also be shared with your pediatrician. If he says "wait and see", agree with him on a time-frame when to come back and when to refer you to a developmental pediatrician.
Also, singing songs with your children is great, something easy like "Rubberducky" or "Ensy weensy spider" is very helpful for interaction, especially if you do the same thing every time and try to make them clap or hit the table and babble along...
This could be nothing, but it is important that you stay on top of these things...
Hope this helps,
A.

I completely agree with Kristina L! I do think for your sake you should see your doctor!!

My b/b twins are 15 months and I am just now satisfied with the amount of time I spend with A. B was very demanding and needed most of my attention until he began to walk. Try to make some time just for her. Good Luck to you!

I would talk to your doctor. As a mommy I would be worried too. That is because you care so much. Take them both back to the pedi and go over all of your concerns. Taking care of twins has got to be a challenge that they offer ideas for. Your pedi knows if there is a cause of concern. Best wishes and hugs to your babies.

I would definitely talk to my pediatrician. Maybe your
daughter is intimadated by your son. That sounds crazy
doesn't it. Who knows! These babies are much wiser than
we think. Hope you get an answer from your doc. In the
meantime, just keep doing what you are doing. Give her
as much attention as you can. Maybe your son will just
learn to stop screaming if you do not give in to him.
Good luck.