Very clingy as a baby?

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There's been a lot here and elsewhere about the babies that go very stiff when held and such, but I'm curious if there was anyone else like me.

If you look through the records my parents wrote down about me in my first year (and compare them to a normal baby first year), the thing you really notice about me is that I was abnormally clingy. I needed to be held. I'd be very fussy and crying if I wasn't held. I was so insistent on being held constantly that people kept telling my parents that they were spoiling me too much.

I find this interesting because even now, I react very strongly to being held and to deep pressure. If I'm even a little upset I am very insistent to have my boyfriend hold me. I have a weighted blanket that's done a lot for me. If I have nothing available (boyfriend to hold me, cat to sleep on me, blanket), that can give me the deep pressure that I really need then I have major difficulties functioning and have far worse, longer, and more common shutdowns and meltdowns.

So, I'm curious, are there any others on here that went to this other extreme as a baby? (I mean, reading about normal baby development, babies like being held, but not to the degree that I'm reading about myself. When other parents are saying that my parents are holding me too much that says something I think)

My daughter needed to be held a lot. She still does at 10.

Tuttle, I can't help you out with the baby stuff. But I did see some videos on Youtube by an aspie named Temple Grandin who spent time in a squeeze chute for cattle. She claimed it calmed her. Since I've got a small cattle operation myself, I've tried the deep touch of a chute, and it does help me a little, but to me it's not worth the effort. If there are any cattle in Mass, you may want to look into trying this. If it does help you, you could look into buying a small calf or goat chute, but they aren't cheap.

I use a weighted blanket instead, I was able to make a queen size one for myself for under $50.

Though I am tempted to try that once I have more money.

The whole idea of parents holding a baby too much is utter tripe. In general babies want and need to be held. There are some babies who don't of course, but mostly babies need holding. It won't "spoil" a baby. This is an old idea that I really wish would die out.

I'm quite glad that my parents reacted similar to that. They said that it was better for me for me to get the attention I wanted and told people that it wasn't wrong of them to do that (or at least that's what they wrote down). They also claimed that them holding me so much is possibly associated with why I developed certain abilities quicker than usual.

That is very possible. The "don't hold babies" nonsense was on its way out when my eldest were born in 1975 and 1980, at least in the alternative crowd. My 21 year old was held as much as he wanted and nursed until he was 3. He has CAPD but I think he's done better than he otherwise would have. When my youngest was born attachment parenting was coming into vogue in some circles. I carried her in a sling as much as she wanted, which sometimes she tolerated and sometimes not due to sensory issues. Good for your parents for following their instincts.

Now that I think about it, it might be just the ticket for somebody like you. Unlike your boyfriend or a weighted blanket, a chute can be adjusted as tightly as you want it, and then some; it has to be to hold squirming animals for shots and such. Just be careful that you have somebody to let you out. You'll be stuck in the thing until they do:)

Seriously, if you have cattle anywhere close by, just ask the owner to try out their chute. That way you'll know if it works or not. You could also probably buy a used one cheaply, at least in agricultural areas. But it wouldn't be very pretty.

Temple Grandin's squeeze machine had a lever so she could let herself out. Pretty, maybe not, but if it's effective who cares? If you do a google search you'll find the info easily.

That's correct. She also either had a custom-made machine, or one substantially altered--probably very expensive. Look at it this way: If Tuttle could let herself free, so could an animal.

A new calf squeeze chute will cost one to three grand. Customizing one would up that price in a hurry. I've seen used ones go for less than a hundred dollars.

I do agree though that if it works, it's money well spent.

There is a company that makes human versions, but yes, it is expensive.

Yeah i was very much like that as a baby, and im glad you mentioned weighted blanket. I actually need a heavy blanket over me to sleep with, otherwise i cant sleep or have a very bad nights sleep.
aaah the joys of life. I also like to be held or cuddled especially when im upset or feeling down.
when usually i hate people touching me, i usually chose when to hug another person cause i feel like it but its a problem when i "need" a hug (that feeling of someones light squeeze on me) and the only other person around is my aspie mate who doesnt midn being hugged but refuses to hug in return... I tried asking him once and he said "remember touch issues here... i dont do hugs"
Which sorta annoyed me cause i do his "soothing things" for him which is rubbing his head like im sratching my cat behind the eear only with my finger tips though. (long nails).
But yeah back on track, ket, I also have that need to feel the pressure against me, but not too tight.

I was the opposite (of the original post). Apparently I was unconsolable and very difficult to cuddle when I was a baby. I was never a cuddly person.

I was the complete opposite as well. No one could touch me when I was a baby unless I needed something. My brother who isn't on the spectrum but has possible ADHD was 100% clingy though. He used to drive my Mum bonkers!

I thought Autistic babies didn't like being held? My mum said that I wasn't very cuddly as a baby. But when I was older I always loved to hold my mum's hand when walking, even at 10. But I don't consider that as an Aspie thing, I just think that's me.

I am emotionally clingy to my mum now. If I know I am going to be with her a lot the next day, I can sleep better the night before. But I think this is because I am anxious and feel that people are out to get me, and that I feel secure with my mum.

My son, now 6, used and still does compression therapy. The sling swing was his favorite or we would 'taco' him in the futon mattress. (easy way to make a weighted blanket, btw.

He would only sleep strapped into the swing and tucked in tight with many blankets. Or if he was in his crib we used a wedge and again swaddled tightly in blankets.

But he only wanted to be held by me, it's like he picked one person to accept into his world and I was it, I couldn't even leave him home alone with his own father until he was almost 5.

He has naturally gravitated towards compression therapy as he is always jumping to calm anxiety and begs to wrestle with his dad to get more compression.

So yes, he wanted to be held all the time, but he also wanted to be face out, if he couldn't see what was going on around him he would have a meltdown, and if you stayed in the same place too long he would get angry and start screaming until you moved and he had new scenery to observe. My parents accused me of spoiling him, it took them a long time to understand there was something special about him. Good thing I listened to my son and not my parents as their advice was to give him a good swat and make him submit.