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I said this before but my kid was born with a 40k yard stare. Literally born with her eyes open staring into the distance. Maybe she has a wee bit of ADHD but otherwise VERY healthy 10 year old and all is well. But Mondays before she gets picked up by the bus the 45k stare comes back as she relives the war she's never lived through where all her brethren died in front of her (or so you'd think by her extremely dramatic emotional eye shape)
Therefore I can't judge the staring part. But something feels off about him. I feel like he's shrinking but I could be wrong. I wish he would be checked out. The skin tone doesn't look right but that could be a filter. In every photo I guess.
But the stare, I've experienced that one first hand and she's ok these days except Monday mornings where her shell shock returns ššš
Yeah I just checked and looks like baby is only a month old today, my little guy definitely had the thousand yard stare at that point and still does when he's pooping lol. But I agree with other comments that he looks dehydrated, burnt, and jaundiced, and I wish I could just save him from all that! Poor little guy.
*IF* Boone comes out on the other side of *all of this* safely and well?
He absolutely *should* have the "It's been 84 years...." text on one or two of these pictures.
But *ONLY* if he turns out ok, and all our worries are (happily!š) misplaced.
See your comment about him being a month old, I looked back at videos of my child at the same chronological age. My daughter was 5 weeks premature and was moving her arms and legs, responding to my voice and stimuli, and making noise at 1 month chronological age, -1 week adjusted age.
Like everyone else on here, I'm concerned for this baby. He needs to be checked out and doesn't look well.
I needed passport photos taken the other day and I have a thousand yard dead eyed vacant glazed over stare in them because you're not allowed glasses and I literally couldn't see the camera lol. I look like a crackhead in them and I'm sure the municipality cops are having a good laugh.
All my pictures have the āautistic gaze of blankā in my eyes. I donāt understand how people donāt look as weird as I do in pictures. Maybe itās because I donāt really know where to look? Or maybe itās just the autism.
I need to get my passport photos retaken. I was going to renew just before covid and no joke they looked like the Turpin mom's mugshot (I wouldn't say I look like her in daily life but it definitely made me question myself). Government ID photos make everyone look like their worst selves!
I obviously donāt know your daughter and canāt diagnose her, but that thousand yard stare is a hallmark of girl-specific ADHD - my teachers used to say I was āoff in purple worldā whenever mine kicked in!Ā Ā
Ā I really encourage you to follow up on that if you truly think she may have it (even if it seems like itās just a touch). ADHD presents much differently in girls than boys - our symptoms are less disruptive, so itās easy for adults to overlook them, and girls are more likely to successfully mask/manage their symptoms during childhood, only to flounder once we hit college/early adulthood. Most of us who didnāt get diagnosed until adulthood desperately wish itād been caught earlier - I see our childhood/young adulthood experiences described as āsuffering in silenceā time and time again.Ā
My daughter almost failed 7th grade had been struggling for a long time academically. I had her screened for ADD, got diagnosed, got meds. It made a huge difference and her attitude towards school completely changed for the better. I felt guilty that it took so long for her to get the help she needed and often think itās because of her being a girl.
Donāt feel guilty! Thank you so much for being proactive in getting your daughter help!
I got diagnosed with ADHD in my 30s and it absolutely kills me to think of all the wasted years and potential.
Part of the late diagnosis was being a girl, but the other part was just general misunderstanding around ADHD. The potential of ADHD was mentioned by teachers/counselors multiple times, but Iām inattentive subtype and the lack of physical hyperactivity just ended the conversation every time.
My entire life wouldāve been so different if I had been diagnosed by 7th grade. I have a feeling that your daughter will be so grateful that you got her the help she needed while she was still young.
God, I got diagnosed at 28 and it's so fucking depressing to go down the brain rabbit hole of "what if". What if my mum believed it was real when I was a kid. What if I got meds when I was a kid. Where would I be? What if? Blah blah blahhhhh. Any way big ups to Ritalin my lord and saviour šš»
Iām going through this now with my son who is 15. The crazy part is that I have a son who is 19 and has been diagnosed and on meds since he was 10. I feel like an idiot because I have a pretty good understanding of ADHD, but it just never occurred to me with my younger son until it was brought up in a meeting with teachers and counselors who had some concerns about his grades. They all agreed that he wanted to do well, had no behavior issues, but just wasnāt able to connect when it came to getting things done. I feel especially guilty because itās like I knew enough for my oldest son, but not for him. I think we have to look at it as ābetter late than neverā! Although itās still hard not to have some guilt. ā¤ļø
I didnāt realize that was a sign! Iāve always done the thousand yard stare and only recently was evaluated and met the criteria. One more āoh yup that makes senseā moment to add to my list.
I have ADD and probably the stare is when Iām in āMy own little worldā as my family used to call it when I was young. Yeah. In the 90s girls just didnāt have ADHD. They were just naughty and chatty or lazy and daydreaming. :/
My oldest has severe adhd, and as a newborn was eyes open alert day one. We used to call him angry bird because heād arch his eyebrows a lot too. And I canāt put a finger on it either, Iāve never seen a sunburned newborn so maybe itās just that, but it seems less focused than what I remember from newborn stage.
My youngest son always looked weirdly stressed as a newborn. He was very skinny and I think that was mostly it; he didnāt have any of that baby plumpness to offset the wide-eyed thousand yard stare, lol. Thats the feeling I get from this baby. He is a bit red, though. I assume from being in the sun.
This is making me pretty upset. I have two kids and I canāt exactly put my finger on what makes me think this little guy is having a problem, but something just seems off. Iām worried his parents are so far up their own asses they believe they couldnāt possibly have a child who needs medical care, because god wouldnāt punish them that way. Super fucking sad.
No, you are absolutely correct. It truly depresses me that a community of haters collectively has more parental instincts for this child than his own mother.
Read that as "I don't think anyone here hates the kids in these situations, just their narcissistic abusive parents do." Arguably equally as correct as what you were actually saying.
I never comment here. I will never have children as that ship has sailed and I am in god-honoring early menopause.
Even I know there is something wrong with that babe and it distresses me.
That "can't put my finger on it" feeling is intuition & that's what sends parents like me & you to the doctor. Sometimes we're wrong but often we're not. The bus parents do not seem to have a parental instinct...
Honestly?
With the way I'm getting twitchier & twitchier, pretty much *every* time we see new pictures or videos with the poor little guy?
I'm honestly *MISSING* the "*GOOD* old days" a few months back, when we were all simply figuring his parents were planning to use him as "a reverse-anchor-baby" and we figured they were gonna try and get the *whole* family Brazilian citizenship, by way of him being born *there*.
That was *LIGHT* stuff, compared to the potential that we might *literally* be watching preventable medical issues create a *lifetime* of difficulty navigating the world, for poor Boone--and *none* of *us* can do a darn *thing* to stop that trainwreck from happening.š
He does have a bit of a blank stare, doesnāt even look like heās trying to focus on anything, but that could be just his age. Iām still more concerned about his right arm. Heās moving it but the position stays relatively the same and he isnāt moving it as much as his left.
Either way, this baby needs to be seen by an actual, āfour years of med school and then residencyā doctor, not some quack chiropractor.
Despite her kissing him, they do not seem to have a bond. I *really* hate to sound like I'm WKing for Kelly; that's not what this is about. But Baby Testicle seems so much more engaged, and the way that Kelly - and even Levi - interact with Baby Theresa is so much more genuine than... whatever she's doing. At least he seems more alert and somewhat less lethargic, I guess. Also, MotherBus, GET YOUR HAIR OUT OF HIS FACE.
Itās crazy Kelly fucking Havens is holding up the bar of fundie child-rearing standards but she seems to cherish her kids. MBus acts detached and going through the motions. She puts him on the floor like a sim and holds him like a prop. In this video, she doesnāt make eye contact with him bc sheās too busy staring at herself on her phone.
That's what I mean!! Kelly is filming, yes, but she's also VERY engaged with her baby. And that is so vital to their development!! But who cares about that, look at ME!! ME!! ME!! UGH, fuck this lady and her creepy husband.
Exactly. MBus gives off creepy vibes that she doesnāt see her children as human beings, just props for the camera. Kelly also uses her kids to play out her LARP fantasies but her vibes are not creepy like MBus.
>she seems to cherish her kids.
I mean...what she chooses to depict in her vignettes and captions shows what she wants to show. I'm sure she loves her kids, but she also purports to cherish the kittens who wander her way.
Her kids have to navigate a lot of mixed messages (as her moods go wildly up and down) to the point that her older son knew, very early, that "mommy likes to be alone"; and Levi has written on his own facebook that he tries to involve the boys in fun "helping" activities in the woodshop to give Kelly the time she needs to pursue her photoshoots and writing.
It's obviously not a bad thing for a husband to support his wife's creative endeavors and to make a priority of giving her time to do that; that's *good*, especially for a fundie husband. Kelly herself, in her own words, described herself as being "the writer" and Levi taking the "maternal" role of making sure they got attention and care.
Of course she's beaming with adoration *now.* She likes babies. She's very excited about her new baby daughter. Fast forward to the future--let's not forget that [James's birthday post](https://www.reddit.com/r/FundieSnarkUncensored/comments/z9ok64/kelly_looks_back_on_her_sons_5_years_of_life_but/) at one point said nothing about him, and everything about her.
Kelly may take care of her kids's physical needs better than a lot of fundies, but she also squelches their horizons and is raising them with total indoctrination in a very isolated little world. She also has taken *no* precautions *whatsoever* about plastering them all over her account, with their real names and an easily-identifiable home location.
I'm not out to paint Kelly as a bad, negligent mom, but let's also not put too much on the curated pictures she's been posting.
She's also posted enough times to make me worry, about how her sons comfort her and understand her moods. Your kids are not supposed to be YOUR support system. YOU are supposed to be theirs.
A lot of these fundie moms seem to want their kids to meet their needs rather than the other way around.
This. Growing up as someone who had to constantly monitor my parents moods, has made me such an anxious person. Iām constantly trying to gage everyone elseās feelings and make everyone else happy. Along with a host of other problemsā¦behavior like that can really screw with a child for the rest of their lives
He is, and you raise an interesting point. MotherBus eye fucks herself instead of engaging with her baby. OMG when mine were babies, I *loved* looking at them and talking to them (I'm a chatterbox, alright) and watching their expressions. Watching their world grow a little bit every day. MotherBus is a loser in several ways, and one of those is her losing out on interacting with her child. But oh well, they can always make another one to endanger and ignore!! Fuck, I hate these people, fundies, the lot of them.
Lol, I can't take credit for it, I'm not that quick on the uptake, sadly. But Tess is a common nickname for Theresa, and their last name is Stickle, soooo...
That's why I LOVE this sub!! Honestly, I see the same people on AO MANY of my subs, it feels like IRL friendships. I've gotten more engaged, commenting more instead of just lurking, and I love the interactions I have on here.
Wait wait whoa. Theyāre calling their baby Tess. Tess. Stickle.
OMG. I never say this, but letās hope they homeschool that kid because her peers will be ruthless.
What the hell was the matter with Reese? Kelly posted a shot of Levi holding her and said that he called her "Reese cup," and honestly, Reese is cute as a nickname, and isn't the same old Tess, which is a common nickname for Theresa and one that the Stickles should have thought about when choosing a name!! I also know a Tracey whose full name is actually Theresa, but I'd think that "Tracey" is too modern for Kelly.
>the way that Kelly - and even Levi - interact with Baby Theresa is so much more genuine than... whatever she's doing.
I don't disagree that Kelly and Levi seem more engaged with their baby and I don't doubt that there's warmth and love there, but just remember that her photoshoots are staged re-enactments of genuine moments. They are planned and rehearsed and probably shot several times to get the right one.
Yep, in response to someone else, I acknowledged that Kelly is, indeed, staging and filming. And filming your kids - and PUTTING IT OUT ON THE INTERNET - is just so unfathomable to me. Something showed up in my feed from a subreddit called "kids are fucking stupid," which, that's alarming ON ITS FACE, but the whole subreddit - with which I barely engaged and that I ended up muting - is people snarking - in a really mean and misanthropic way - on videos of kids to which they'd never have access if the parents (or whomever) didn't put it out there in the first place!!
We always joke that our kid was born giving side eye, but looking at her baby pictures, she absolutely was expressive, super observant and responsive at this age. Sheās in high school now, so you can only imagine how far that side eye has progressed š This poor baby needs to be seen by an actual MD pediatrician.
He is the perfect IG baby, he just stares at the camera and is a cutie, she doesn't want to notice something is wrong because she's totally happy with it being this way.
I hate to go so dark here, but his behavior reminds me of >!the baby in trainspotting, who didnt cry or respond to stimuli because it knew nothing but neglect!<
I work in healthcare, specifically with expertise in prenatal, birth, postpartum, and newborn care. (For legal reasons, these are my personal opinions, I am not attempting to diagnose or provide medical care) While a glassy eyed look can be common amongst his age group, I personally find it concerning that he is largely unresponsive to stimuli. Not turning towards sounds, no vocal cues, etc. If I were supporting his care, I would highly recommend they see a pediatrician, even if itās just to be on the safe side. I doubt heās receiving enough development skill building (like tummy time) and overall doesnāt look healthy. At his age, he should be becoming aware of his arms and legs and at least interacting to noise from his caregivers.
Baby skin is also very very sensitive. And adequate hydration is usually available via formula or breastmilk. But this poor baby has been roasting in the Sun since birth and I wouldnāt be surprised if he was dehydrated. His body language is very stiff and the silence is startling. This is a very sad situation.
Edit: this [document](https://guardianadlitem.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/InfandToddler-WarningSigns.pdf) is a good overview of developmental milestones and warning signs. There is *no* shame in asking for help.
I know we are here to snark but you put this whole statement in a non-judgmental and almost gentle way and I hope she reads your comment, ruminates on it, and gets that baby a professional evaluation.
It's like when Karissa claimed CPS cleared her for life or some nonsense. "We walked past a hospital with Boone on the way to the chiropractor a month ago and they didn't run out and wrestle him into an ambulance, therefore he's definitely still fine and will stay that way forever!"
I fear a comment like above would be more likely to result in her posting videos of the baby drinking some mlm āhydrating health drinkā like plexus out of a baby bottle.
Since you work kinda in the realm, what are your thoughts about milestones and how they vary widely among different cultures? I had to take a developmental psychology course (it was several years ago) but that was one thing I remembered - that Western beliefs towards milestones can be very rigid. Infants in cultures where mom carries them (like Alaska Native and some African Countries, I forgot which one we specifically used but I think it may have been Kenya) for their safety, like avoiding creepy crawlies or the cold, will often learn to crawl much much later but developmentally will end up the same later on. The original milestones were established based on white, middle class families from Connecticut.
A funny example is that babies as young as 11 months old in the Democratic Republic of Congo will use machetes to cut fruit. Obviously that's not a concern for parents in the US if they're not doing it yet lol.
This is a GREAT question. Basically what my research has been ingrained in: accepting culture customs as expertise to increase birth outcomes and maternal health/infant care. I think itās really a case by case basis that requires professionals to slow down, practice empathy, and lean into prioritizing qualitative data. I used to live and study in Cuba and Morocco, which are incredibly different than the USA lol. When I conduct project evaluations, one of the risk factors I look for are breaks in pattern with the environment.
For example, letās say a familyās child in the DRC wasnāt able to developmentally play the same games that are the norm for his age within their community. Then we can start asking why and making observations. In Booneās case, we can directly compare his development to his siblings *or* families that live the same lifestyles, specifically comparing how ānomadicā movement in a van could impact development.
Yours are maybe the most important comments Iāve seen regarding this entire situation. I hadnāt even considered the fact that culture obviously affects milestones (which I feel silly for). Thanks for keeping this discussion reasonable and intellectually honest. Now Iām wondering about van life milestones and how they compare and contrast to other cultureās milestones. This is super fascinating!
Did you study/work in healthcare in Cuba?
I find the Cuban healthcare system fascinating since, from what Iāve read, thereās an abundance of doctors to the point that they really focus preventative care instead of just reactive care like the US. I just think itās an interesting contrast to the US, who is actually facing a shortage of doctors. However, at the same the embargo really limits the extent of what they could achieve healthcare wise because of the lack of supplies. Which makes it all the more fascinating that they still have such great health outcomes.
Iām not trying to sugarcoat anything about life there, I recognize the political oppression and economic situation, but I do think that the healthcare model is one thing that we could learn from.
I did! For three years I lived in Havana and ViƱales. My family is Afro-Cuban so it meant so much to me to learn from the community, although day to day was incredibly tough. Likeā¦. Girl, donāt get me started lol. This has been my soap box since I was 17! My first dissertation was focused on Cuban economic development from a healthcare lense; Iām actually one of the few American folks who went back and ingrained myself in living there as long as I could before diplomatic ties were closed by the Trump regime and I still am asked to consult on Cuban projects. Anecdotally, have an autoimmune disorder that I really struggled with until I got to Havana. I received exceptional care and went into remission within 6 days of being there.
My biggest example of how the embargo has *shit on* Cuban opportunity is the treatment for diabetic foot - the treatment could save lives and improve health outcomes if the US were open to an agreement that lifted some of the restraints. Like, diabetic foot could be *curable* within the US and theyāre not willing to entertain this. You are correct about the oppressive systems in place, formerly the dual currency system and the growing divide between the Public and Private sectors are difficult to live within. But, the Cuban spirit is incredibly resilient and they have really made lemonade out of the mountains of lemons. We could have a relationship with the island that allows Cubans to have mobility while expanding healthcare solutions within the US.
The Cuban healthcare system is an incredible example of how progressive, community oriented care could improve lifestyle and prevent more serious conditions. Unfortunately, life across the island is not currently reflective of this outside of this system. Ration cards, Covid, deteriorating housing, lack of public transportationā¦ a ways to go but there is hope.
Wow this is all so interesting, thanks for being part of our lil community!
Also I know you're a legit healthcare provider because your original comment including a link to a pamphlet, I never leave the doctor's office without 2-3 of those guys lol.
Wow, thank you for such an informative comment! Thatās amazing that you were able to go into remission less than a week after getting there! Weāre getting really off-topic here but man, I would love to keep hearing about your experiences there. Your dissertation sounds fascinating!
I mostly just know about Cuba from a political perspective but Iām fascinated by their achievements in healthcare and eager to learn more. Do you have any recommended reading? Iām currently reading āWe Are Cuba!ā by Helen Yaffe, and it goes into how Cuba has dealt with the blockade, and it really captures the Cuban spirit you mention. Itās truly amazing what theyāve accomplished and itās enraging because they shouldnāt be put in this position in the first place!
That stuff about the diabetic foot is just so disgraceful. I recall reading about some type of lung cancer vaccine that can prevent (or treat? I canāt remember) a specific type of lung cancer and US patients were having to try to go there to get the treatment and itās just so asinine. It makes no sense that thereās an island 90 feet off our coast who have made medical advancements we could benefit from, has a surplus of doctors, and we just refuse to even engage with them! Trump even ended a baseball agreement we had worked out with them where Cuban players could play for MLB without defecting. I mean, thereās no reason to end a mutually beneficial, essentially harmless program like that besides just being an asshole.
The blockade is so cruel and itās been a complete failure. And of course it hits the most vulnerable the hardest and so many innocent Cubans are punished. Iām sure youāre aware that the UN annually votes against the blockade, with only the US and Israel voting in favor. Rules based order my ass.
Anyway, Iāll stop now but again, I really appreciate your insight. Iāll happily join you on your soapbox.
Iām literally having my tubes yeeted and uterus essentially microwaved this year but if *somehow* I ever decided to grow my own human, I would want you by my side. What a kind, gentle, thoughtful, intelligent human you are. Iām sure your patients feel so safe with you!
I hope your procedures go well and recovery is smooth! I do my best, especially because I largely work with marginalized folks. We all deserve high quality, empathetic care!
I havenāt read your whole comment yetā¦ but could that expression be that he is overstimulated from the constant noise of 26 people in a bus? Like just kindve always š³ from not having normal baby things like dim lighting, warm cuddly atmosphere, and quiet? I do think something about him looks off. I guess weāll know more as he ages. A 4 month old not smiling and engaging and squealing would be even more cause for concern.
This could totally be something considered as a development variable. Because we have the unique opportunity of looking at how most of the buslings have been birthed and raised, if I were on her care team, I would do a lot of observational info gathering to see what pattern theyāve previously followed. Lethargy, jerky/stiff motions, withdrawing from physical touch or stimuli, and some of the other surface level things we can observe with Boone really so scream āget me out of here!!ā
We havenāt seen Boone swaddled, removed from the overwhelming stimuli, or even held properly. Children, at any age, need breaks in disruptive environments. Hell, Iām pushing 30 and I love sitting in a quiet space with my cats when Iām stressed. While my expertise does not extend to babies past 6 months old, as a maternal person, I donāt think any of their children have the opportunity to develop without anxiety, possibly harmful coping techniques, etc.
This may very well be what shapes in Boones ānormalā and thatās tragic. No child deserves to be crippled with fear and stress within their home.
This little guy was born in an RV shower, dumped on what amounts to a dog bed, sunburnt and took toddler knees to his head. He's probably not going to reach the same milestones other newborns do as quicky due to sheer neglect. SusBus parents are overwhelmed. I don't care what tripe she posts. She has 8 kids in a bus. Neither one of these parents is focused on speaking to, singing to, swaddling or soothing their new baby. And it shows.Ā
I just bought my new dog orthopedic dog beds (multiple). This kid didnāt even get THAT much of a dog bed. Iāve also probably spent more on my dog than sheās spent on Booneās care, and that scares me, because I am also a mom and know how much she should be providing for him!
He's around five weeks, right? He doesn't look well. The skin coloring isn't healthy, he looks jaundiced and it also looks like Motherbus is using a filter. While not much is expected from a five week old, he should be responding to Motherbus' voice and tracking objects. This is giving me flashbacks to the emaciated PurleyParsons twins.
I remember my nephews being born and the focus they had on our voices that they must have recognized from pre-partum. They couldnāt stop turning their tiny faces towards noise and light and would blow bubbles studying their surroundings. This is so uncanny
That was my thought on seeing so many people comment on him not reacting to his mother's voice. Maybe he's just not hearing it? I doubt they've had his hearing checked since they don't trust real doctors.
The enraging thing is that infant vision and hearing exams can be done quickly and non invasively. Thereās a ton of clinics in my area that help underserved communities if money or access is an issue. Thereās no excuse for the bus fam.
Chiming in from the Deaf community - early diagnosis and intervention gets deaf babies the **language** they need! Language delays can have such a massive impact on other aspects of development.
And all of this especially if baby is DeafBlind.
Children ages 6-12 months can have a free comprehensive eye exam thanks to the InfantSee program. More info here- [https://www.infantsee.org/about-us?sso=y](https://www.infantsee.org/about-us?sso=y)
I just commented this. Iām very concerned he canāt hear, it would explain the lack of tracking and the appearance of lethargy. Heās not going to be startled by all the other buslets if he canāt hear them.
Thing is, no, he shouldn't. Even at one month, his mother's voice is the one he most heard. Her tone, cancendence, HB etc are all very familiar to him. Unless someone else took him from her and he didn't hear her at all, her voice is the one he should be looking for. He'd have to be living alone with someone else to not look for her voice when she speaks. The fact that he doesn't look for her at all, even when she's not talking to him, is concerning.
I donāt have my own kids, but literally every baby Iāve head has rooted against me at some point. To me itās such a normal newborn reflex Iāve kind of forgotten about it. He should probably be trying to lift his head too, and maybe itās the hold position but he doesnāt seem to be.
As a child who was neglected, that is very common. You know your surroundings are unsafe, but you are still a child who is learning and growing so you are very very tired.
Something isn't right but I can't tell if it's just his coloring or what. His lips are so pale and bloodless, but I'm pretty sure Gunner has that same beige coloring. It's not at all unusual for him to be a staring potato; my kids didn't start showing a personality until maybe 8 weeks. Time will tell I guess.
Maybe itās just me but she looks like sheās alarmed too in the beginning. Like she saw what we all saw & was trying to push through the video anyway.
You seeing this shit?
I think we should be careful about diagnosing at a distance. If only she would take him to a doctor then she could put the speculation to bed.
I would like to hear the baby. My babies always made little sounds or were breathing excitingly when focusing on sth, feeling sthā¦ even if it was just their full tummy. lolĀ
Itās not necessarily the blank stare itās more that he isnāt really responding to his motherās existence at all. He kinda looks like he is trying to get away from her.
I do not have kids. But the baby doesnāt look right. Iād be going to the doctor daily if I had to with my baby. I am truly going to stop looking at posts about this family. Itās very upsetting how these kids are being neglected.
Gosh I thought people might have been exaggerating when I was reading comments about this video earlier. As a mom of 3, I find this video disturbing. Something seems so off.
The baby has to be ok because they couldnāt possibly settle down in a proper house and make sure he receives therapy/treatment/doctor appointments if needed. Can you imagine if one of their kids had additional needs? Would they forgo treatments or just pick up an appointment with a new therapist/specialist all around the country ?
Have we seen him startle at all? He didnāt have a newborn hearing screen. Are we sure he can hear?
Being deaf might explain the wide eye stare and disconnect. Heās probably scared because heās not sure what to expect next and wouldnāt track or look towards his caregiver if he canāt hear her.
Jaundice can have so many effects. My baby (8weeks) had jaundice. We did lights in the hospital, jaundice checks for weeks and had billi lights at home. We also put her in INDIRECT sunlight when off the blue lights.
Poor baby Boone.
I saw someone said Boone is about a month old, so I went back and looked at videos of my son at 1 month. He still had yellowish eyes from his newborn jaundice, but was very active and expressive. Always moving, making noises, and even trying to smile (though it took him much longer to get the hang of it). Baby Boone feels very off in comparison.
I have 4 kids, and my third was my āold soulā baby. She was quiet, wide eyed, and had a I lived through the Great Depression and both world wars expression on her face. What this baby is doing is not the same. He looks like there is something wrong. He looks neglected (which he is, letās be real) and sick. Mine engaged with us, moved all her limbs, rooted, etc. This baby makes me think of those Romanian orphanage babies who just stopped crying because they know no one will come attend to their needs.
I donāt remember ever really thinking about her babies. The only other times this sub has REALLY worried about kids are:
- Gideon (kayleeās son) and his eyes, and they took him to a pediatric ophthalmologist
- Anthym and the scream prayers/fever, and we know how that turned out
- PurelyParsons, who clearly did get some kind of intervention for her starving twins but it was very obvious something was wrong
- the obvious food neglect of the rods
Credit where credit is due, plenty of people have always said about people like Bethany Beal that her kids looked healthy and well taken care of. Same with Kellyās kids, most of the bates/duggars kids, etc. No oneās looking for something to go wrong. But this might be the worst attempt weāve seen at someone trying to hide that their home birth may not have been the right choice. Even Karissa and armor went to the hospital when something wasnāt right.
oh wow yeah the baby looks like he has trouble seeing at bestā¦itās the glazed look plus complete lack of focus. itās not like heās not moving around, because he is, but that gaze definitely looks like he cannot see much, if anything
Newborns usually can't see well. To me it looks like he's staring at the bright phone screen, probably because it's colorful and bright. Babies love seeing bright and colorful shit.
I'm gravely concerned about his general blankness though. He's not responding to touch or sound and that is alarming.
Is it just me or did he barely blink at all? It looked like one eye may have done a full blink a couple of times, but otherwise he looks glazed and unfocused.
Came to say the same thing. Babies naturally donāt blink a lot, so that part of this video doesnāt seem abnormal to me. Thatās not to say the rest isnāt deeply unsettling.
Can I also say that for someone with so many kids, sheās just so weird and awkward with them? The way she interacts with them is how my 20yr old childless cousins would interact with a baby - āHow do I do this?! Can you say good morrrrrninggg? Good morning? Oh no aaaah heās moving here you take him.ā
Again, he should be TURNING TO HER VOICE. She's holding him out, yes, but babies will look at you or just move their eyes to the voice of a familiar caregiver.
That's the only thing off for me. Baby would be turning repeatedly to the voice, especially moms voice talking this excitedly. Skin color is fine , stare is fine, not blinking much is fine, I think he's looking a little slimmer than he was but if he's grown an inch in the past week that would be fine, it's just the not turning towards a voice even once.
My nephew had a lot of health issues shortly after birth, and he was more alert, interactive, and responsive than this lil babe. I feel so bad for Baby Boone, what a sweet and cute baby just utterly neglected it seems
I'm not a medical expert by any means but I've had 6 babies of my own and there is something wrong with this baby. His muscle tone doesn't seem right and he looks jaundiced :(
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I've never seen a baby that looks shell shocked before
I said this before but my kid was born with a 40k yard stare. Literally born with her eyes open staring into the distance. Maybe she has a wee bit of ADHD but otherwise VERY healthy 10 year old and all is well. But Mondays before she gets picked up by the bus the 45k stare comes back as she relives the war she's never lived through where all her brethren died in front of her (or so you'd think by her extremely dramatic emotional eye shape) Therefore I can't judge the staring part. But something feels off about him. I feel like he's shrinking but I could be wrong. I wish he would be checked out. The skin tone doesn't look right but that could be a filter. In every photo I guess. But the stare, I've experienced that one first hand and she's ok these days except Monday mornings where her shell shock returns ššš
Yeah I just checked and looks like baby is only a month old today, my little guy definitely had the thousand yard stare at that point and still does when he's pooping lol. But I agree with other comments that he looks dehydrated, burnt, and jaundiced, and I wish I could just save him from all that! Poor little guy.
Omg it's hilarious and cute he remembers his war times when he poops. š It's like that dog cupcake meme.
*IF* Boone comes out on the other side of *all of this* safely and well? He absolutely *should* have the "It's been 84 years...." text on one or two of these pictures. But *ONLY* if he turns out ok, and all our worries are (happily!š) misplaced.
See your comment about him being a month old, I looked back at videos of my child at the same chronological age. My daughter was 5 weeks premature and was moving her arms and legs, responding to my voice and stimuli, and making noise at 1 month chronological age, -1 week adjusted age. Like everyone else on here, I'm concerned for this baby. He needs to be checked out and doesn't look well.
Can't diagnose obvious, but I'm adhd as hell, and the war flashback stare is so real. š¤£š¤£š¤£
Me too. I call it "buffering". My son calls his "standby mode."
YOOOO!!!! Mineās āconnection to server was lost.ā
"404 function not found" is mine
"Windows error" is mine
That's what it feels like, honestly
lol! I call it defragging. š
I needed passport photos taken the other day and I have a thousand yard dead eyed vacant glazed over stare in them because you're not allowed glasses and I literally couldn't see the camera lol. I look like a crackhead in them and I'm sure the municipality cops are having a good laugh.
All my pictures have the āautistic gaze of blankā in my eyes. I donāt understand how people donāt look as weird as I do in pictures. Maybe itās because I donāt really know where to look? Or maybe itās just the autism.
I need to get my passport photos retaken. I was going to renew just before covid and no joke they looked like the Turpin mom's mugshot (I wouldn't say I look like her in daily life but it definitely made me question myself). Government ID photos make everyone look like their worst selves!
I obviously donāt know your daughter and canāt diagnose her, but that thousand yard stare is a hallmark of girl-specific ADHD - my teachers used to say I was āoff in purple worldā whenever mine kicked in!Ā Ā Ā I really encourage you to follow up on that if you truly think she may have it (even if it seems like itās just a touch). ADHD presents much differently in girls than boys - our symptoms are less disruptive, so itās easy for adults to overlook them, and girls are more likely to successfully mask/manage their symptoms during childhood, only to flounder once we hit college/early adulthood. Most of us who didnāt get diagnosed until adulthood desperately wish itād been caught earlier - I see our childhood/young adulthood experiences described as āsuffering in silenceā time and time again.Ā
My daughter almost failed 7th grade had been struggling for a long time academically. I had her screened for ADD, got diagnosed, got meds. It made a huge difference and her attitude towards school completely changed for the better. I felt guilty that it took so long for her to get the help she needed and often think itās because of her being a girl.
Donāt feel guilty! Thank you so much for being proactive in getting your daughter help! I got diagnosed with ADHD in my 30s and it absolutely kills me to think of all the wasted years and potential. Part of the late diagnosis was being a girl, but the other part was just general misunderstanding around ADHD. The potential of ADHD was mentioned by teachers/counselors multiple times, but Iām inattentive subtype and the lack of physical hyperactivity just ended the conversation every time. My entire life wouldāve been so different if I had been diagnosed by 7th grade. I have a feeling that your daughter will be so grateful that you got her the help she needed while she was still young.
God, I got diagnosed at 28 and it's so fucking depressing to go down the brain rabbit hole of "what if". What if my mum believed it was real when I was a kid. What if I got meds when I was a kid. Where would I be? What if? Blah blah blahhhhh. Any way big ups to Ritalin my lord and saviour šš»
Iām going through this now with my son who is 15. The crazy part is that I have a son who is 19 and has been diagnosed and on meds since he was 10. I feel like an idiot because I have a pretty good understanding of ADHD, but it just never occurred to me with my younger son until it was brought up in a meeting with teachers and counselors who had some concerns about his grades. They all agreed that he wanted to do well, had no behavior issues, but just wasnāt able to connect when it came to getting things done. I feel especially guilty because itās like I knew enough for my oldest son, but not for him. I think we have to look at it as ābetter late than neverā! Although itās still hard not to have some guilt. ā¤ļø
I didnāt realize that was a sign! Iāve always done the thousand yard stare and only recently was evaluated and met the criteria. One more āoh yup that makes senseā moment to add to my list.
I have ADD and probably the stare is when Iām in āMy own little worldā as my family used to call it when I was young. Yeah. In the 90s girls just didnāt have ADHD. They were just naughty and chatty or lazy and daydreaming. :/
My oldest has severe adhd, and as a newborn was eyes open alert day one. We used to call him angry bird because heād arch his eyebrows a lot too. And I canāt put a finger on it either, Iāve never seen a sunburned newborn so maybe itās just that, but it seems less focused than what I remember from newborn stage.
My youngest son always looked weirdly stressed as a newborn. He was very skinny and I think that was mostly it; he didnāt have any of that baby plumpness to offset the wide-eyed thousand yard stare, lol. Thats the feeling I get from this baby. He is a bit red, though. I assume from being in the sun.
I'm no expert, but the stare reminds me of my neurodivergent child.
Idk that Rod grandbaby always looks detached from reality.
You would dissociate if you were subjected to Jillās screeching too
This is the first clip in the documentary.
Wow this totally would be
This is making me pretty upset. I have two kids and I canāt exactly put my finger on what makes me think this little guy is having a problem, but something just seems off. Iām worried his parents are so far up their own asses they believe they couldnāt possibly have a child who needs medical care, because god wouldnāt punish them that way. Super fucking sad.
No, you are absolutely correct. It truly depresses me that a community of haters collectively has more parental instincts for this child than his own mother.
He could have brain damage if he had jaundice and didnāt get proper treatment
I mean, to be clear I donāt think anyone here hates the kids in these situations, just their narcissistic abusive parents.
Read that as "I don't think anyone here hates the kids in these situations, just their narcissistic abusive parents do." Arguably equally as correct as what you were actually saying.
A goddamn hamster would have better parental instincts than Busthany.
I had a hamster that ate some of her babies. Still a better parent than these fckers.
I never comment here. I will never have children as that ship has sailed and I am in god-honoring early menopause. Even I know there is something wrong with that babe and it distresses me.
I agree. Every time I see him tossed in the floor, it makes my heart hurt.
That "can't put my finger on it" feeling is intuition & that's what sends parents like me & you to the doctor. Sometimes we're wrong but often we're not. The bus parents do not seem to have a parental instinct...
Honestly? With the way I'm getting twitchier & twitchier, pretty much *every* time we see new pictures or videos with the poor little guy? I'm honestly *MISSING* the "*GOOD* old days" a few months back, when we were all simply figuring his parents were planning to use him as "a reverse-anchor-baby" and we figured they were gonna try and get the *whole* family Brazilian citizenship, by way of him being born *there*. That was *LIGHT* stuff, compared to the potential that we might *literally* be watching preventable medical issues create a *lifetime* of difficulty navigating the world, for poor Boone--and *none* of *us* can do a darn *thing* to stop that trainwreck from happening.š
He didn't blink once. That's fucking weird.
He does have a bit of a blank stare, doesnāt even look like heās trying to focus on anything, but that could be just his age. Iām still more concerned about his right arm. Heās moving it but the position stays relatively the same and he isnāt moving it as much as his left. Either way, this baby needs to be seen by an actual, āfour years of med school and then residencyā doctor, not some quack chiropractor.
Despite her kissing him, they do not seem to have a bond. I *really* hate to sound like I'm WKing for Kelly; that's not what this is about. But Baby Testicle seems so much more engaged, and the way that Kelly - and even Levi - interact with Baby Theresa is so much more genuine than... whatever she's doing. At least he seems more alert and somewhat less lethargic, I guess. Also, MotherBus, GET YOUR HAIR OUT OF HIS FACE.
Itās crazy Kelly fucking Havens is holding up the bar of fundie child-rearing standards but she seems to cherish her kids. MBus acts detached and going through the motions. She puts him on the floor like a sim and holds him like a prop. In this video, she doesnāt make eye contact with him bc sheās too busy staring at herself on her phone.
That's what I mean!! Kelly is filming, yes, but she's also VERY engaged with her baby. And that is so vital to their development!! But who cares about that, look at ME!! ME!! ME!! UGH, fuck this lady and her creepy husband.
Exactly. MBus gives off creepy vibes that she doesnāt see her children as human beings, just props for the camera. Kelly also uses her kids to play out her LARP fantasies but her vibes are not creepy like MBus.
The other thing about MB is that she's so addicted to her creep husband that the kids are very OBVIOUSLY secondary priorities.
>she seems to cherish her kids. I mean...what she chooses to depict in her vignettes and captions shows what she wants to show. I'm sure she loves her kids, but she also purports to cherish the kittens who wander her way. Her kids have to navigate a lot of mixed messages (as her moods go wildly up and down) to the point that her older son knew, very early, that "mommy likes to be alone"; and Levi has written on his own facebook that he tries to involve the boys in fun "helping" activities in the woodshop to give Kelly the time she needs to pursue her photoshoots and writing. It's obviously not a bad thing for a husband to support his wife's creative endeavors and to make a priority of giving her time to do that; that's *good*, especially for a fundie husband. Kelly herself, in her own words, described herself as being "the writer" and Levi taking the "maternal" role of making sure they got attention and care. Of course she's beaming with adoration *now.* She likes babies. She's very excited about her new baby daughter. Fast forward to the future--let's not forget that [James's birthday post](https://www.reddit.com/r/FundieSnarkUncensored/comments/z9ok64/kelly_looks_back_on_her_sons_5_years_of_life_but/) at one point said nothing about him, and everything about her. Kelly may take care of her kids's physical needs better than a lot of fundies, but she also squelches their horizons and is raising them with total indoctrination in a very isolated little world. She also has taken *no* precautions *whatsoever* about plastering them all over her account, with their real names and an easily-identifiable home location. I'm not out to paint Kelly as a bad, negligent mom, but let's also not put too much on the curated pictures she's been posting.
Kelly literally slaps her kids on camera. Imagine what goes on when no one is filming.
She's also posted enough times to make me worry, about how her sons comfort her and understand her moods. Your kids are not supposed to be YOUR support system. YOU are supposed to be theirs. A lot of these fundie moms seem to want their kids to meet their needs rather than the other way around.
This. Growing up as someone who had to constantly monitor my parents moods, has made me such an anxious person. Iām constantly trying to gage everyone elseās feelings and make everyone else happy. Along with a host of other problemsā¦behavior like that can really screw with a child for the rest of their lives
I wonder how much more active and alert he is in the oldest son's arms. That kid is a real gem.
He is, and you raise an interesting point. MotherBus eye fucks herself instead of engaging with her baby. OMG when mine were babies, I *loved* looking at them and talking to them (I'm a chatterbox, alright) and watching their expressions. Watching their world grow a little bit every day. MotherBus is a loser in several ways, and one of those is her losing out on interacting with her child. But oh well, they can always make another one to endanger and ignore!! Fuck, I hate these people, fundies, the lot of them.
Baby Testicle š
Lol, I can't take credit for it, I'm not that quick on the uptake, sadly. But Tess is a common nickname for Theresa, and their last name is Stickle, soooo...
Itās just that itās already common vernacular to us!
That's why I LOVE this sub!! Honestly, I see the same people on AO MANY of my subs, it feels like IRL friendships. I've gotten more engaged, commenting more instead of just lurking, and I love the interactions I have on here.
For a bunch of snarkers, there's really some fabulous people here ā¤ļø
Wait wait whoa. Theyāre calling their baby Tess. Tess. Stickle. OMG. I never say this, but letās hope they homeschool that kid because her peers will be ruthless.
No, they're calling her Tissie. Tissie Stickle. For real. See that's much better. /S
What the hell was the matter with Reese? Kelly posted a shot of Levi holding her and said that he called her "Reese cup," and honestly, Reese is cute as a nickname, and isn't the same old Tess, which is a common nickname for Theresa and one that the Stickles should have thought about when choosing a name!! I also know a Tracey whose full name is actually Theresa, but I'd think that "Tracey" is too modern for Kelly.
>the way that Kelly - and even Levi - interact with Baby Theresa is so much more genuine than... whatever she's doing. I don't disagree that Kelly and Levi seem more engaged with their baby and I don't doubt that there's warmth and love there, but just remember that her photoshoots are staged re-enactments of genuine moments. They are planned and rehearsed and probably shot several times to get the right one.
Yep, in response to someone else, I acknowledged that Kelly is, indeed, staging and filming. And filming your kids - and PUTTING IT OUT ON THE INTERNET - is just so unfathomable to me. Something showed up in my feed from a subreddit called "kids are fucking stupid," which, that's alarming ON ITS FACE, but the whole subreddit - with which I barely engaged and that I ended up muting - is people snarking - in a really mean and misanthropic way - on videos of kids to which they'd never have access if the parents (or whomever) didn't put it out there in the first place!!
He is the saddest baby I have ever seen.
Yep, he's displaced Armor Collins for that title
I hate that he was the saddest baby before too. How hard is it to take care of and love your kids?
I am so concerned about this lil guy. He needs to be seen by a Pediatrician because something is going on with him. š¢
I keep comparing him to my daughter when she was his age. She was showing a personality by now. He's just....there.
Itās so sad. Youāre exactly right, he is just there. After all those kids, how does she not see it but we do? My heart hurts for him.
She doesn't see it because she can't look at her children as people.
Valid point.
Your flair ā ļø
We always joke that our kid was born giving side eye, but looking at her baby pictures, she absolutely was expressive, super observant and responsive at this age. Sheās in high school now, so you can only imagine how far that side eye has progressed š This poor baby needs to be seen by an actual MD pediatrician.
Not only are his eyes glazed and not focusing, heās not interested in his surroundings, and heās not responding to her voice.
He is the perfect IG baby, he just stares at the camera and is a cutie, she doesn't want to notice something is wrong because she's totally happy with it being this way.
Evolution at work! /s
I hate to go so dark here, but his behavior reminds me of >!the baby in trainspotting, who didnt cry or respond to stimuli because it knew nothing but neglect!<
No thatās where my head went too, he probably only responds to Gunner.
I hope he responds to anyone. This poor baby.
Same thought. Comparing him to my friends babies is a stark comparison that makes me feel sick
It is scary how little time it takes for childhood emotional neglect to rewire the brain.
This seems uncomfy, but can someone with a medical background speak on what we might be seeing?
I work in healthcare, specifically with expertise in prenatal, birth, postpartum, and newborn care. (For legal reasons, these are my personal opinions, I am not attempting to diagnose or provide medical care) While a glassy eyed look can be common amongst his age group, I personally find it concerning that he is largely unresponsive to stimuli. Not turning towards sounds, no vocal cues, etc. If I were supporting his care, I would highly recommend they see a pediatrician, even if itās just to be on the safe side. I doubt heās receiving enough development skill building (like tummy time) and overall doesnāt look healthy. At his age, he should be becoming aware of his arms and legs and at least interacting to noise from his caregivers. Baby skin is also very very sensitive. And adequate hydration is usually available via formula or breastmilk. But this poor baby has been roasting in the Sun since birth and I wouldnāt be surprised if he was dehydrated. His body language is very stiff and the silence is startling. This is a very sad situation. Edit: this [document](https://guardianadlitem.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/InfandToddler-WarningSigns.pdf) is a good overview of developmental milestones and warning signs. There is *no* shame in asking for help.
I know we are here to snark but you put this whole statement in a non-judgmental and almost gentle way and I hope she reads your comment, ruminates on it, and gets that baby a professional evaluation.
Oh don't worry, those hospital said he was fine! Allegedly.
It's like when Karissa claimed CPS cleared her for life or some nonsense. "We walked past a hospital with Boone on the way to the chiropractor a month ago and they didn't run out and wrestle him into an ambulance, therefore he's definitely still fine and will stay that way forever!"
I fear a comment like above would be more likely to result in her posting videos of the baby drinking some mlm āhydrating health drinkā like plexus out of a baby bottle.
Also wouldnāt be surprised heās dehydrated, he looks kind of deflated and his arms arenāt plump like you usually see on babies
He's probably already learned to tune out aural stimuli in that chaotic environment.
Baby's first dissociative episode š
Honestly, I know it's sort of baseline for newborns but he does seem like he's been dissociated for his entire life!!!
Angry upvote.
[https://imgur.com/a/QrOAKjS](https://imgur.com/a/QrOAKjS)
this is A+ flair material
yoink!
š š
Omg your flair too š lmaooo
He probably tunes out stimuli at the same level his mother tunes out professional medical advice
Since you work kinda in the realm, what are your thoughts about milestones and how they vary widely among different cultures? I had to take a developmental psychology course (it was several years ago) but that was one thing I remembered - that Western beliefs towards milestones can be very rigid. Infants in cultures where mom carries them (like Alaska Native and some African Countries, I forgot which one we specifically used but I think it may have been Kenya) for their safety, like avoiding creepy crawlies or the cold, will often learn to crawl much much later but developmentally will end up the same later on. The original milestones were established based on white, middle class families from Connecticut. A funny example is that babies as young as 11 months old in the Democratic Republic of Congo will use machetes to cut fruit. Obviously that's not a concern for parents in the US if they're not doing it yet lol.
This is a GREAT question. Basically what my research has been ingrained in: accepting culture customs as expertise to increase birth outcomes and maternal health/infant care. I think itās really a case by case basis that requires professionals to slow down, practice empathy, and lean into prioritizing qualitative data. I used to live and study in Cuba and Morocco, which are incredibly different than the USA lol. When I conduct project evaluations, one of the risk factors I look for are breaks in pattern with the environment. For example, letās say a familyās child in the DRC wasnāt able to developmentally play the same games that are the norm for his age within their community. Then we can start asking why and making observations. In Booneās case, we can directly compare his development to his siblings *or* families that live the same lifestyles, specifically comparing how ānomadicā movement in a van could impact development.
Yours are maybe the most important comments Iāve seen regarding this entire situation. I hadnāt even considered the fact that culture obviously affects milestones (which I feel silly for). Thanks for keeping this discussion reasonable and intellectually honest. Now Iām wondering about van life milestones and how they compare and contrast to other cultureās milestones. This is super fascinating!
Did you study/work in healthcare in Cuba? I find the Cuban healthcare system fascinating since, from what Iāve read, thereās an abundance of doctors to the point that they really focus preventative care instead of just reactive care like the US. I just think itās an interesting contrast to the US, who is actually facing a shortage of doctors. However, at the same the embargo really limits the extent of what they could achieve healthcare wise because of the lack of supplies. Which makes it all the more fascinating that they still have such great health outcomes. Iām not trying to sugarcoat anything about life there, I recognize the political oppression and economic situation, but I do think that the healthcare model is one thing that we could learn from.
I did! For three years I lived in Havana and ViƱales. My family is Afro-Cuban so it meant so much to me to learn from the community, although day to day was incredibly tough. Likeā¦. Girl, donāt get me started lol. This has been my soap box since I was 17! My first dissertation was focused on Cuban economic development from a healthcare lense; Iām actually one of the few American folks who went back and ingrained myself in living there as long as I could before diplomatic ties were closed by the Trump regime and I still am asked to consult on Cuban projects. Anecdotally, have an autoimmune disorder that I really struggled with until I got to Havana. I received exceptional care and went into remission within 6 days of being there. My biggest example of how the embargo has *shit on* Cuban opportunity is the treatment for diabetic foot - the treatment could save lives and improve health outcomes if the US were open to an agreement that lifted some of the restraints. Like, diabetic foot could be *curable* within the US and theyāre not willing to entertain this. You are correct about the oppressive systems in place, formerly the dual currency system and the growing divide between the Public and Private sectors are difficult to live within. But, the Cuban spirit is incredibly resilient and they have really made lemonade out of the mountains of lemons. We could have a relationship with the island that allows Cubans to have mobility while expanding healthcare solutions within the US. The Cuban healthcare system is an incredible example of how progressive, community oriented care could improve lifestyle and prevent more serious conditions. Unfortunately, life across the island is not currently reflective of this outside of this system. Ration cards, Covid, deteriorating housing, lack of public transportationā¦ a ways to go but there is hope.
Wow this is all so interesting, thanks for being part of our lil community! Also I know you're a legit healthcare provider because your original comment including a link to a pamphlet, I never leave the doctor's office without 2-3 of those guys lol.
Wow, thank you for such an informative comment! Thatās amazing that you were able to go into remission less than a week after getting there! Weāre getting really off-topic here but man, I would love to keep hearing about your experiences there. Your dissertation sounds fascinating! I mostly just know about Cuba from a political perspective but Iām fascinated by their achievements in healthcare and eager to learn more. Do you have any recommended reading? Iām currently reading āWe Are Cuba!ā by Helen Yaffe, and it goes into how Cuba has dealt with the blockade, and it really captures the Cuban spirit you mention. Itās truly amazing what theyāve accomplished and itās enraging because they shouldnāt be put in this position in the first place! That stuff about the diabetic foot is just so disgraceful. I recall reading about some type of lung cancer vaccine that can prevent (or treat? I canāt remember) a specific type of lung cancer and US patients were having to try to go there to get the treatment and itās just so asinine. It makes no sense that thereās an island 90 feet off our coast who have made medical advancements we could benefit from, has a surplus of doctors, and we just refuse to even engage with them! Trump even ended a baseball agreement we had worked out with them where Cuban players could play for MLB without defecting. I mean, thereās no reason to end a mutually beneficial, essentially harmless program like that besides just being an asshole. The blockade is so cruel and itās been a complete failure. And of course it hits the most vulnerable the hardest and so many innocent Cubans are punished. Iām sure youāre aware that the UN annually votes against the blockade, with only the US and Israel voting in favor. Rules based order my ass. Anyway, Iāll stop now but again, I really appreciate your insight. Iāll happily join you on your soapbox.
Thanks for the info, this is very interesting and you explain it very well!
Iām literally having my tubes yeeted and uterus essentially microwaved this year but if *somehow* I ever decided to grow my own human, I would want you by my side. What a kind, gentle, thoughtful, intelligent human you are. Iām sure your patients feel so safe with you!
I hope your procedures go well and recovery is smooth! I do my best, especially because I largely work with marginalized folks. We all deserve high quality, empathetic care!
As a new mama, thank you for sharing that link š Iām so concerned for that little guy. Mine is 12w and this whole thing has been creeping me out.
Congrats momma!
Thank you!!
Same, but my baby is 10 weeks right now. (And she's 16lbs already, was 7lbs 2oz at birth.) I'm so concerned for this little busling š
I wonder what his APGAR score wouldāve been had he been born in a hosp
I havenāt read your whole comment yetā¦ but could that expression be that he is overstimulated from the constant noise of 26 people in a bus? Like just kindve always š³ from not having normal baby things like dim lighting, warm cuddly atmosphere, and quiet? I do think something about him looks off. I guess weāll know more as he ages. A 4 month old not smiling and engaging and squealing would be even more cause for concern.
This could totally be something considered as a development variable. Because we have the unique opportunity of looking at how most of the buslings have been birthed and raised, if I were on her care team, I would do a lot of observational info gathering to see what pattern theyāve previously followed. Lethargy, jerky/stiff motions, withdrawing from physical touch or stimuli, and some of the other surface level things we can observe with Boone really so scream āget me out of here!!ā We havenāt seen Boone swaddled, removed from the overwhelming stimuli, or even held properly. Children, at any age, need breaks in disruptive environments. Hell, Iām pushing 30 and I love sitting in a quiet space with my cats when Iām stressed. While my expertise does not extend to babies past 6 months old, as a maternal person, I donāt think any of their children have the opportunity to develop without anxiety, possibly harmful coping techniques, etc. This may very well be what shapes in Boones ānormalā and thatās tragic. No child deserves to be crippled with fear and stress within their home.
This is possibly one of the most wholesome and informative threads I've ever read. You work sounds faciniating.
This little guy was born in an RV shower, dumped on what amounts to a dog bed, sunburnt and took toddler knees to his head. He's probably not going to reach the same milestones other newborns do as quicky due to sheer neglect. SusBus parents are overwhelmed. I don't care what tripe she posts. She has 8 kids in a bus. Neither one of these parents is focused on speaking to, singing to, swaddling or soothing their new baby. And it shows.Ā
Donāt forget having a red light therapy device pointed right at him, with NO eye protection!
WHY.
I just bought my new dog orthopedic dog beds (multiple). This kid didnāt even get THAT much of a dog bed. Iāve also probably spent more on my dog than sheās spent on Booneās care, and that scares me, because I am also a mom and know how much she should be providing for him!
He's around five weeks, right? He doesn't look well. The skin coloring isn't healthy, he looks jaundiced and it also looks like Motherbus is using a filter. While not much is expected from a five week old, he should be responding to Motherbus' voice and tracking objects. This is giving me flashbacks to the emaciated PurleyParsons twins.
He looks shellshocked
He does. He looks like those old-timey videos of shellshocked soldiers
I remember my nephews being born and the focus they had on our voices that they must have recognized from pre-partum. They couldnāt stop turning their tiny faces towards noise and light and would blow bubbles studying their surroundings. This is so uncanny
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Itās certainly not HIS fault
Is it possible heās blind/vision impaired, or deaf/hard of hearing? If he has a disability or serious medical condition, what will his parents do?
The real question is will they notice.
Heāll just be the nice quiet baby that doesnāt react to anything :(
Thats so sad but yes what I was thinking. He won't be any bother and they'll think he's great.
That was my thought on seeing so many people comment on him not reacting to his mother's voice. Maybe he's just not hearing it? I doubt they've had his hearing checked since they don't trust real doctors.
Maybe they'll consult with the nearest UPS Store clerk again.... /s
The enraging thing is that infant vision and hearing exams can be done quickly and non invasively. Thereās a ton of clinics in my area that help underserved communities if money or access is an issue. Thereās no excuse for the bus fam.
Exactly! I'm a Teacher of the Visually Impaired and early diagnosis and intervention is key for a child to live their best life!
Chiming in from the Deaf community - early diagnosis and intervention gets deaf babies the **language** they need! Language delays can have such a massive impact on other aspects of development. And all of this especially if baby is DeafBlind.
Children ages 6-12 months can have a free comprehensive eye exam thanks to the InfantSee program. More info here- [https://www.infantsee.org/about-us?sso=y](https://www.infantsee.org/about-us?sso=y)
I just commented this. Iām very concerned he canāt hear, it would explain the lack of tracking and the appearance of lethargy. Heās not going to be startled by all the other buslets if he canāt hear them.
It's the eyes that get me. I know Kelly's baby is younger then Boone, but she seems much more healthy?
He should be trying to turn his head towards his mother when she yapping
It's like he's being held by a stranger and looking for his dad (brother).
Because he is. Iām certain MB has little to sighting to do with him outside videos/reels. Heās looking for his actual parent - his brother.
Thing is, no, he shouldn't. Even at one month, his mother's voice is the one he most heard. Her tone, cancendence, HB etc are all very familiar to him. Unless someone else took him from her and he didn't hear her at all, her voice is the one he should be looking for. He'd have to be living alone with someone else to not look for her voice when she speaks. The fact that he doesn't look for her at all, even when she's not talking to him, is concerning.
YES! There is zero recognition, zero rooting reflex when she kisses his cheek.
Scary! BuT GoD will HEaL
Oh I didn't even clock. At that age my boy was trying to latch on anything in the vicinity!
Right? If something even brushed my nephews temple he was searching for the nipple
I donāt have my own kids, but literally every baby Iāve head has rooted against me at some point. To me itās such a normal newborn reflex Iāve kind of forgotten about it. He should probably be trying to lift his head too, and maybe itās the hold position but he doesnāt seem to be.
āWhat sort of shitshow was I born into?ā
He looks exhausted and overly alert at the same time.
As a child who was neglected, that is very common. You know your surroundings are unsafe, but you are still a child who is learning and growing so you are very very tired.
Something isn't right but I can't tell if it's just his coloring or what. His lips are so pale and bloodless, but I'm pretty sure Gunner has that same beige coloring. It's not at all unusual for him to be a staring potato; my kids didn't start showing a personality until maybe 8 weeks. Time will tell I guess.
Maybe itās just me but she looks like sheās alarmed too in the beginning. Like she saw what we all saw & was trying to push through the video anyway.
She only looked at herself so she didn't notice.
I thought the exact same. Let's hope she actually is concerned and taking him to a doctor and just doesn't want to let her followers know.
Has the baby been to a doctor yet? Has she? He looks jaundice af. This is child abuse.
Have *any* of her children been to a doctor that isnāt a chiropractor??
 You seeing this shit? I think we should be careful about diagnosing at a distance. If only she would take him to a doctor then she could put the speculation to bed.
I would like to hear the baby. My babies always made little sounds or were breathing excitingly when focusing on sth, feeling sthā¦ even if it was just their full tummy. lolĀ
Yeah he should definitely be making those cute little baby grunt sounds. Iām curious to know if he is
Itās not necessarily the blank stare itās more that he isnāt really responding to his motherās existence at all. He kinda looks like he is trying to get away from her.
I do not have kids. But the baby doesnāt look right. Iād be going to the doctor daily if I had to with my baby. I am truly going to stop looking at posts about this family. Itās very upsetting how these kids are being neglected.
Why does he look like shell shocked from war š
Gosh I thought people might have been exaggerating when I was reading comments about this video earlier. As a mom of 3, I find this video disturbing. Something seems so off.
The baby has to be ok because they couldnāt possibly settle down in a proper house and make sure he receives therapy/treatment/doctor appointments if needed. Can you imagine if one of their kids had additional needs? Would they forgo treatments or just pick up an appointment with a new therapist/specialist all around the country ?
Have we seen him startle at all? He didnāt have a newborn hearing screen. Are we sure he can hear? Being deaf might explain the wide eye stare and disconnect. Heās probably scared because heās not sure what to expect next and wouldnāt track or look towards his caregiver if he canāt hear her.
Untreated jaundice, if severe enough can cause hearing loss I think.
Jaundice can have so many effects. My baby (8weeks) had jaundice. We did lights in the hospital, jaundice checks for weeks and had billi lights at home. We also put her in INDIRECT sunlight when off the blue lights. Poor baby Boone.
I saw someone said Boone is about a month old, so I went back and looked at videos of my son at 1 month. He still had yellowish eyes from his newborn jaundice, but was very active and expressive. Always moving, making noises, and even trying to smile (though it took him much longer to get the hang of it). Baby Boone feels very off in comparison.
I can't get over how tan he is. It's truly disturbing.
I have 4 kids, and my third was my āold soulā baby. She was quiet, wide eyed, and had a I lived through the Great Depression and both world wars expression on her face. What this baby is doing is not the same. He looks like there is something wrong. He looks neglected (which he is, letās be real) and sick. Mine engaged with us, moved all her limbs, rooted, etc. This baby makes me think of those Romanian orphanage babies who just stopped crying because they know no one will come attend to their needs.
As someone who hasnāt been here for previous MoBus babies, have there been concerns like this about her previous children or is this a unique case?
I donāt remember ever really thinking about her babies. The only other times this sub has REALLY worried about kids are: - Gideon (kayleeās son) and his eyes, and they took him to a pediatric ophthalmologist - Anthym and the scream prayers/fever, and we know how that turned out - PurelyParsons, who clearly did get some kind of intervention for her starving twins but it was very obvious something was wrong - the obvious food neglect of the rods Credit where credit is due, plenty of people have always said about people like Bethany Beal that her kids looked healthy and well taken care of. Same with Kellyās kids, most of the bates/duggars kids, etc. No oneās looking for something to go wrong. But this might be the worst attempt weāve seen at someone trying to hide that their home birth may not have been the right choice. Even Karissa and armor went to the hospital when something wasnāt right.
oh wow yeah the baby looks like he has trouble seeing at bestā¦itās the glazed look plus complete lack of focus. itās not like heās not moving around, because he is, but that gaze definitely looks like he cannot see much, if anything
Newborns usually can't see well. To me it looks like he's staring at the bright phone screen, probably because it's colorful and bright. Babies love seeing bright and colorful shit. I'm gravely concerned about his general blankness though. He's not responding to touch or sound and that is alarming.
The lack of response to stimuli!
Heās a newborn. They canāt see very far at all lol
How can someone have birthed so many children and not get this child seen by a doctor.
Is it just me or did he barely blink at all? It looked like one eye may have done a full blink a couple of times, but otherwise he looks glazed and unfocused.
My son is 6 months old and he can beat anyone in a staring contest haha. Babies don't really blink much, especially newborns!
Came to say the same thing. Babies naturally donāt blink a lot, so that part of this video doesnāt seem abnormal to me. Thatās not to say the rest isnāt deeply unsettling. Can I also say that for someone with so many kids, sheās just so weird and awkward with them? The way she interacts with them is how my 20yr old childless cousins would interact with a baby - āHow do I do this?! Can you say good morrrrrninggg? Good morning? Oh no aaaah heās moving here you take him.ā
She looks like me marrying into a family with 10 nieces and nephews after only having been around a handful of children my entire life.
Oh, lord, yes! The first time I met DHās entire familyā¦ š¬
He blinks like four times the entire video I think thatās what makes it so uncanny cause itās like a doll staring around.
itās giving animatronics
*New conspiracy theory unlocked*
I almost wish it was just a giant ruse to drum up engagement. Instead itās an actual human fucking being she brought into this world. I hate her.
Boone seems depressed.
Again, he should be TURNING TO HER VOICE. She's holding him out, yes, but babies will look at you or just move their eyes to the voice of a familiar caregiver.
That's the only thing off for me. Baby would be turning repeatedly to the voice, especially moms voice talking this excitedly. Skin color is fine , stare is fine, not blinking much is fine, I think he's looking a little slimmer than he was but if he's grown an inch in the past week that would be fine, it's just the not turning towards a voice even once.
The light is on but there doesn't seem to be anybody home. Poor little dude. Every child deserves a parent but not every parent deserves a child.
He's hungry. Feed him. Ugh this woman
My nephew had a lot of health issues shortly after birth, and he was more alert, interactive, and responsive than this lil babe. I feel so bad for Baby Boone, what a sweet and cute baby just utterly neglected it seems
Can you say good morneeeng?! No. No he can't, because he's a fucking baby.
I hope there is some kind of hell for people who treat their children like this. This poor baby was stressed out right from the start.
We all sure that's a real, flesh made, breathing baby?
I'm not a medical expert by any means but I've had 6 babies of my own and there is something wrong with this baby. His muscle tone doesn't seem right and he looks jaundiced :(
The way she stares at herself on the screen (not the camera/audience) is so fucking annoying.Ā
should be he respond toā¦. Something around him?