Baby personality??

Apparently, well according to some anyway, babies exhibit their personality early on and it's a glimpse of what they'll be like when they're older. According to an article I read, Romy would be categorized as the "Self Absorbed Child." Oh boy. Here's the article:

The Self-Absorbed Child

Behavior: The self-absorbed child may appear apathetic, easily tired. As an infant, she may seem quiet, perhaps even depressed and uninterested in exploring people or objects. She may not respond quickly to touch, sound, or other stimuli. As a preschooler, she may sit passively rather than explore her world. More than most toddlers, she may appreciate familiar routines. As an older child or a teenager, she may appear self-absorbed and disinterested in the world. However, her powers of fantasy and capacity for independence may become assets as she matures.

Physical Makeup: Unlike the highly sensitive child, the self-absorbed child needs a lot of stimuli: a great deal of sound before she takes notice, stronger touch before she feels pressure, plenty of movement before she perceives kinetic pleasures. The loud slamming of a car door, a roaring vacuum cleaner, noisy older siblings - these noises don't attract her attention as easily as they would other children's. Parents of a baby with this self-absorbed temperament find that it takes twenty or even forty seconds of energetic talking to get her to take notice. They may find that she craves bright lights, loud sounds, lots of motion and speed (big swings, exciting carnival rides) because she simply isn't sensitive to subdued activity.

The self-absorbed child may appear to prefer her own thoughts and fantasies to the outside world. Given her lack of reactivity to outside stimuli, it is much easier for her to tune inward and become self-absorbed.


This child may also have difficulties with auditory-verbal processing and expressive language (the ability to put thoughts into words). She may be slow to talk, and later finds it difficult to express herself. It is hard for her to find the words to describe what she did or what she feels or wants.

How Parents Respond: It is all too easy for parents to neglect or give up on a self-absorbed child. She requires intense input from them and other caregivers and teachers to attract her interest and capture her emotional engagement. If people close to her are low-key or laid-back in voice tone and speech rhythm, this child is likely to tune them out. Parents and others need to reach out energetically, responding to her cues (however faint) to help her engage, attend, interact, and explore the world.

Holy Moly! I know she's still little, and she might not be this child after all, but according to my own Mother, this is me too! I've noticed Romy's willingness to observe but not participate. She studies people's faces for a long time before she reacts to them. She isn't much of a crier, more of a whiner. She likes everything to be exaggerated. She loves loud music and for me to swing her really high on her swing (if you saw how high she likes it, it would blow your mind!) She's pretty content laying on the floor looking around at stuff around her. She gets mesmerized by lights. She likes it when you gets in her face and squeal in a high pitched voice. She is starting to show who her "favorites" are. She doesn't mind when random people hold her, but she'll only smile and giggle at some of them. In particular, Mom (duh!), her Lola, Uncle Gino and "The Dudes" (my parents). Overall, she's a pretty laid back kid. We'll see how right this article is....Here's the link if anyone's interested to gauge their own child's personality:
http://life.familyeducation.com/child-psychology/personality-development/40418.html?page=1&detoured=1 (Copy and Paste)

Also, Yaya Schuck, (Ray's Mom) will be here tomorrow! She hasn't seen Romy since right before she left the NICU. I'm excited for her to see how much Romy has grown up!

An update on Daddy Ray: He's doing fine, just ready for a break. He should be home for a little over two weeks in November, so we're looking forward to hanging out with family in Florida. He'll be home for at least a year (hopefully a lot longer) between March-July. According to him Iraq is starting to cool down, he says it's usually 100 degrees now, versus the usual 115+. Yuck! We're trying to get out of Texas, and we have our hearts set on Georgia. We both really miss the south, and don't really consider Texas the south. It's also only a few hours from his family in Florda, and about 6 hours from my little brother in NC and all the friends we grew up with. So keep your fingers crossed!