Laughing

[cwolff]

How old are babies usually when they laugh freely?  My dd laughs sometimes, but I wouldn't even say it's once every other day.  I never know what's going to get her laughing though, and she tires of it quickly.  She's not too ticklish either, which I thought all babies were.  I also thought that babies around her age smile all the time.  But she's conservative with her smiling too.  I don't think anything's wrong with her behaviorally, but it's hard to know if I'm making her happy.  We had our 8month old nephew stay with us (with his mom of course) for two days.  And he is all smiles and laughs and giggles.  And he's been that way for a while.  I kept expecting Rachel to develop this, but so far she hasn't.  What does that mean for her temperment?  Also, I have noticed her getting fussy or whiny more when she's playing.  Like if she can't reach a toy or even sometimes when she's playing with something.  What do you think that means?

[Debprins]

I am also interested in this topic as I am in the same situation..

[Katet]

I think all babies are different. Liam (5mo) is always smiling & laughing. that said dh & I are always commenting we just don't remember Aiden (2yo) ever being like that... he laughs & smiles lots now, but my memories of him as a 4-6mo are just him watching & playing with a toy, he also didn't seem tickelish... where as Liam is under his chin.

[alligirl]

Both my kids were the same way.  They were pretty happy babies (esp. Z) but they made you work for the smiles and giggles (esp. Stephen)!  But now, they are free with them and they aren't "serious" kids or anything.  And the fussy/whiny while playing may just be frustration from not being able to make her body do what she wants.  She may be developing desires to do stuff, but hasn't developed the ability to do it....and that's where the motivation to crawl/get mobile begins!

[sandraorion]

Dh was always much better making Adrian laugh then I was. I'm the one getting hugs and he is the one getting the laughs.

Adrian finds high-pitched noices funny. He finds my dad, who is bald and has a beard hillarious. Also, loves to laugh at hand puppets. Not really ticklish either. The game of suddenlly appearing and disappearing cracks him up.

That being said, from what I gathered some kids are just plain more serious and reserved than others.

As for the frustration level going up, that's normal. She is getting to understand now what she wants but can't do. Adrian's frustration level was the highest just before he started crawling (7-8 months).

[Joey'sMom]

I was really hoping my DS would take after me, bc my mom always said that of her children, I was the cuddly one.  But Joey was born with a furrowed brow, and his since proven himself to be a deep thinker.  He has his silly moments, of course, like when he's kooky mommy is dancing all around the kitchen to Solid Gold Oldies, but for the most part he has what my dad calls his "CPA Face" (my husband is an accountant).

[Ennypen]

My William is smiling and laughing for most of his awake time usually. It only takes a smile from anyone he sees and hes smiling away. He laughs at funny faces and today I let him watch a Baby Einstein DVD on my laptop and he was laughing away for the 20 mins it was on.

[klt]

Once my dd started to crawl and get where she wanted to go by herself she passed through that whiny phase too.  And also dh gets more laughs than I do from her.  What she finds funny is me singing a song and then at the end making the last note suddenly really deep like a surprise - she thinks it's hilarious!

[corrina01]

My DD smiled and laughed at about 8 weeks.

My mother has always said that babies have their own mind and they will smile, laugh, roll over etc. when they are ready to do it.

My DD is advanced in many things and not so advanced in other things, one baby to the next is very different.

[cwolff]

That's so true.  The weirdest thing about Rachel's laugh is that it seems to take a lot of effort to do it.  Just doesn't come out and laugh, she kind of works up to a state of laughing.  She loves hand puppets too, that's how I got her to laugh today.  I was hoping she would be less like my personality.  All my little toddler pics and even my childhood pictures I'm frowning.  I don't know why, but I was a deep thinker and sometimes unhappy kid.  I must've been born that way but I always told myself I would do anything and everything to make my children the happiest babies in the world.

[Katet]

I think that is where nature & nurture come into play... the apple often doesn't fall far from the tree, so her nature is probably simular to yours, but how your nurture her as a baby & a toddler can influence that.
Can't remember which BW book it is but there is a great section about accepting them as they are & not forcing babies children to be what you want them to be... that is not to say you don't work to help them become a better person, but as I find it is better to work slowly within your lo's nature than try to rapidly force them to be something else.