Advice on Crawling

Every child develops at their own pace. If you're concerned talk to her doctor. I wouldn't worry if it was me. But my oldest didn't sit up unassited until he was 9 months old and didn't crawl until he was 10 months old. He learned how to army crawl and stuck with that.

Not every baby reaches milestones at the same time. My now nine month old JUST started crawling. EVERYWHERE. Now I miss him needing me to get him from point a to b. I just read in baby magazine that some babies do not crawl until they are 14 months, if they EVER crawl. My nephew skipped crawling and went directly to a walking tornado! As long as your pediatrician sees normal use of arms and legs, she is fine!
One suggestion, put her on her tummy more (I know she hates it) and watch her ROLL to her destination. That worked for my son! He would roll everywhere. I hope that other mommies know that we do worry enough about our kids without hearing that our children are behind. Your child is NOT behind. And do not let anyone tell you that how you care for her is putting her "further behind". Hog wash!
Make sure to put up your gates!

My advice is....Don't listen to people! Bring your concerns to your Pediatrician. They can give you the suggested time frame for all the milestones. Every baby is different. Some never crawl, they go straight to walking. I think she will do it in her own time.

My son is almost 8 months old and most people who know him think he'll be a late crawler, mainly because he has always disliked tummy time and is a cautious baby. I used to worry, especially when I compared him to other babies or read baby books. His DR said he is just fine and it's more important that he keeps developing from his past skills, not so much when he does them. Don't worry!

Hi R.,
I know how it feels when everyone is telling you that she should be crawling and thinking something is wrong. My son was a "later" crawler but still within normal limits. I work with a pediatric physical therapist who told me he was just fine and in no need of therapy. My son didn't crawl until 10 months which is late compared to most other babies but still within normal range. I know it seems to everyone else like your daughter may be behind but you can assure them she is not. What you can do is make an extra effort to get her on her tummy for longer and longer periods...(my son also HATED tummy time) but something that helped...we had one of those big exercise balls and put him on his tummy on that...we put very stimulating toys in front of him and slowly rocked him back and forth on the ball to get at the toys..this helped him stay on it a little longer. We also made sure to have our faces down there too (at his level) and made silly faces, etc. She needs to be on her tummy in order to gather the strength needed for crawling and I know its hard..but trust me if you just start out slow and gradually get longer and longer...it'll work. If not..and a few months go by and she's still not trying..you can always seek out a pediatric physical therapy evaluation because maybe there is a specific reason/weakness as to why she isn't crawling..it never hurts to check it out. But have no fear..she has a few months of practice to go before she's considered- "behind". :) Hope this helps!

R.,
I know how frustrating it can be to watch all the other babies crawl and your just sits there and watch. My daughter just started crawling at 17 months. We took her to an orthopedist, who said everything was fine. We had her in physical therapy through children’s hospital and that did help some. We just started her in physical therapy through the Millard school district (its free!!!). I can give you some exercises the therapist gave me or any advice on ideas. Please email me, maybe we can the two together to play.

H.

Hi Rachel
I just want to say every baby devlops at there own rate if you are worried than talk to her doctor at her next check up. You are doing a wonderful job as a mother. My son hated his tummy time also so he NEVER crawled. He started walking a 9 months because instead of tummy time he liked to stand so he built his legs strong and then he learned to crawl. Have a wonderful Day :)T.

I hate to sound harsh, but EVERY kid hates being on their tummy. You just have to listen to it. If she does not develop her stomach muscles, she will not crawl and she'll get further behind. Many kids are sitting up assisted at this age. My child was ahead in crawling, sitting up, walking and eventually running at 9 1/2 months. I give it credit to our regiment of tummy time. She's 4 now and has a six-pack stomach. (I did suffered for her, and I wish I could do it for myself too. (Sign...)

Anyway, start out by doing 5 minutes at a time, 3 times a day. Then, go to 10 minutes 3 times a day, etc...pretty soon, you'll notice that she will be holding her head up better and will hold herself up on her arms, etc. She's got to get frusterated enough to learn how to move her legs in coordination with her arms and trunk. You can't teach her to crawl, she's got to figure it out on her own. Be tough...it's for her own good.

Hi R.,

What does your heart tell you?

Don't fight it. For some children it just takes longer for them.

There is our time and then their is God's time. Each child is different. Each has their own blue print.

Have you tried anything else? Does she sit up okay?

Can she do other things? Find her strong points. She might surprise you one day and just get up and walk all in the same day!

If she seems frustrated, perhaps something is wrong. I would get a doc's opinion and then if he doesn't seem worried, I would give it some time.

Hang in there.

J.

my son didn't crawl until 13 mo. then walked (well) at 15 mo. he's completely caught up now, he must have just been lazy! i was going out of my mind thinking something was wrong. We used those gerber graduate puffs (he loved those) and set them a few feet from him. if he really wanted them he would scooch there, which then turned into crawling. Trust me, you have nothing to worry about!

Rachel,

When my oldest daughter (now 21) was a baby, we put babies on their tummies to sleep. These babies developed motor skills in a different way than babies of today, who are exclusively back sleepers. Some babies now days skip crawling all together. I would suggest that if you're worried, and especially if you're seeing other developmental delays, that you consult your pediatrician. If there is a developmental delay, you want to catch it early so you can begin intervention as soon as possible. Best Wishes to you.

Hi Racheal- I am a pediatric physcial therapist and agree with all the responses that include do not worry. Gross motor milestone norms have been shifting later as kids spend more time on their back sleeping for safety, in swings, bouncy chairs, ect. It is true kids need to be in their tummies to develop the strength in their arm and back muscles so I would continue to do this, but try to give her lots of attention or distractions...I used the tummy time boppy with my son (smaller than the original to prop under chest) and you could even try rolling up a towel if that makes her more comfortable. Babies also seem to like tummy time when you are lying down and holding them on your chest. My son did not crawl unitl 10 1/2 mos and hated tummy time as well and let me tell you, once they start, there is nor tunring back!! A more important skill I look for is sitting, which usually occurs independent between 6-8 mos, give or take a month, as that tells me the trunk is working well. Enjoy that little girl!