When a child does not fit in

[Inspired by Reggio]

Yup I would not give up hope at this time - IME for an infant who has never been in daycare those skills are typically 'normal' of an only child ... most parents who only have one child at home have no need to teach their one year old to feed themselves - they enjoy that bonding time of holding and feeding the babe so tend to prolong it as long as possible ... so baby will need a learning curve to master those skills in 'daycare' so in the beginning it is that balance of giving them a chance to 'try' to hold it themselves and feed themselves and coming along behind and 'helping' to make sure they get enough to eat.

Same with crawling or walking ... if a child is not given lots of time to lay on the floor and get motivated to MOVE than they are going to take longer to learn to crawl or walk - however they pick it up fairly quickly once the NEED arises ... so in group care where if they want the rattle that moved out of their way they might either have to WAIT until a diaper is changed or someone else is finished having their needs met so they 'wiggle' and realize that CAN move and get it themselves and then slowly that light bulb of trial and error results in crawling and so forth

I am another one that as long as they are sleeping - everything else will fall into place ... they will eventually eat for you once they 'trust' you so to speak in the meantime it is one of the few things they can control as long as the child is drinking enough not to get dehydrated I would not be concerned at all - just keep offering him food at regular intervals!

How is babes temperament - are they crying all day or at least consolable and able to observe the other kids?

[apples and bananas]

Yup I would not give up hope at this time - IME for an infant who has never been in daycare those skills are typically 'normal' of an only child ... most parents who only have one child at home have no need to teach their one year old to feed themselves - they enjoy that bonding time of holding and feeding the babe so tend to prolong it as long as possible ...

I agree, I started 2 at the same time, both a year old (2 weeks apart) Child one was an only child, child 2 was a second child. HUGE difference. Child one wasn't holding the bottle, hard time self soothing, needed to be held all the time. Child 2 ate and drank like a champ from day 1, walking, moving around like crazy, very independant. Sleeps for 3 hours at a time (and can sleep through anything)

Baby 1 has been catching up. Not walking yet, but get's around his own way and now holds his bottle. It's a tough couple of weeks to get them into the right habit, but you can't expect them to come ready for the way you run your house.