is my baby developing at the right speed?!

[fairycakes]

my dd is 18 weeks old, and i have just spent the day with 2 friends with babies of 16 weeks and 17 weeks.

their babies are pulling themselves up, rolling over and reaching out to pick things up.

my dd can hold something if you put it in her hand, but wont reach out for something, and is no way trying to roll over or anything - i know all babies are differnt, but should i be orried that she is not developing at the right pace?

when did everyone elses babies start doing things?

thanks!!

[Libb]

The short answer is no. You shouldn't be worrying as babies are very different from each other!

I don't recall DS being able to roll at a 18 weeks and it is only recently that he has learnt that it can come in handy whilst assessing if crawling is for him - but it would appear he has DP's lazy genes. I am sure he'll get there in his own time. He is 8 months (36 weeks).

Please try not to worry, there is every chance that your friends are stressing about something else

[blossom2]

Worrying about developmental rates is, i'm sure, what gave me grey hairs. If you start this early, its only going to get worse and is never ending ... don't go down that route!!!

[KathH]

my ds (16 wks) is not doing any of those things - the only thing he manages quite well is sticking his fingers down his gob until he gags!

[KathH]

just to prove my point i've just gone over to him and he has two very slimy fingers and a nice puddle of sick on his top - he already has reflux so this new trick is not very helpful!

[fairycakes]

LOL KathH at your baby's trick, i can just imagine it.

thanks for the reassurance! i know im just being silly, but i suppose dp is really slow at everything, and she cant have my brains as well as my looks! ha ha x

[KathH]

tbh and i know everyone says babies are all different etc and you think yeah right but ds is the youngest of 4 and i can honestly say that they've all done different things at different times and i think with each one i've worried about something different and now when i look back i cant believe that i was stressing over it.

[Lonelymum]

Some babies never really go through the rolling stage, at least not until they are already doing much more advanced things.

Your best reassurance would come from taking your baby to the clinic and talking to your HV about her. I can't remember specific times my children did things off-hand but I do remember one thing: comparing your child with anyone else's is almost bound to end in worry.

[Twiglett]

oh gosh .. a new mums' favourite sport .. compare and contrast

we all do it .. but only with our first ... its natural

I would say that whatever your baby sounds perfectly normal and don't sweat the little things

you probably won't believe this but when you have your second (or last) you will be sitting there thinking 'oh no, please don't start doing that (rolling, crawling, feeding self, whatever it is) because it all goes so fast .. and the easiest thing to look after is a baby that can't move under its own steam"

relax and enjoy .. your baby is normal

[LapsedGymJunkie]

The best piece of advice I was given was, do not take part in the Baby Olympics, they are all stars in their own way. But some one has to come 1st 2nd and 3rd, everyone else qualifies but some get there slightly quicker than others.

[Fran1]

I remember having same thoughts about my dd and she seemed to take forever to learn to roll over.

Then i decided it was because she had such a lovely mummy that played with her all day, she didn't need to roll over etc, toys were just brought to her!!

Not true i'm sure, but made me feel better!

[Rarrie]

Try not to worry, my dd didn't really roll until she was almost 8 months... despite the fact she was sitting at five and crawling at 7! They all do things in their own time and get there in the end!!

[fairycakes]

she keeps arching her back and sticking her bum in the air whilst she is lying on her back - maybe that a sign of starting to roll or just being a crazy baby?!!

[Linnet]

My dd1 rolled over at 16 weeks, crawled at 5 months and started walking round the furniture at 8 months.
Dd2 didn't roll over until she was 6 months old. is now 8 months old and hasn't quite figured out crawling yet, but boy can she get around the living romm to get what she wants, and shows no interest in pulling herself up on furniture, the cot or anything else.

All babies are different and you never get two the same. Don't worry your dd will learn these things all in her own time

[NotQuiteCockney]

My DS1 took ages to roll over, too. I think rolling over at 16 and 17 weeks is quite early.

It's also worth being aware that the only early developmental milestone that even vaguely relates to the child's eventual intelligence is early speech. Early rolling over etc might indicate a more sporty child, not sure.

[lunavix]

From what I remember ds rolled over either the day after he was 3 months or the day after he was 4 months (whichever indicates an early roller!)
Since then he's turned into a little porker, and is the last of his friends (h's 9 months, most of them are 7 - 8 months) to crawl and he shows NO interest, one's even walking!

I think he's learned crying is an effective way to be carried

[monkeygirl]

My dd1 did most things early (rolling/cruising/walking etc) but now that she is 3.6 years, I notice absolutely no difference in what she can do physically with her peers.

Ds1 is 7.5 months and is showing absolutely no interest in rolling or crawling and I'm really not worried cos having a baby do all those textbook stuff early can be a bit of a nightmare (dd1 would stuff her mouth with lovely things like ciggie butts and whatever else she could get her hands on as she raced away from me).

[fee77]

i worry about this too - DD is 15 mths and not walking, she was quite late to sit and roll - BUT she is a very contented baby and sleeps 12-14 hours each night! Also ahe is "bright" in other ways such as shape sorting, signing and jigsaws. I think it is natural to worry, but try not to, as others will tell you, by the time they are 4 there is very little difference between children.

[Yurtgirl]

Message withdrawn

[fairycakes]

well, just spent the aftrnoon with an 11 month old who DOES NOT STOP moving everywhere, was a nightmare when i have been used to littlemiss stay-put (apart from the sofa incident - different thread) and i think i will be quite happy for her not to start crawling for as long as possible now!!

[beansprout]

Same here Fairycakes. Every time I hope ds will start doing things soon I remind myself not to wish away the time when I can just plonk him down and he stays there!

[cat82]

Just like libb, dd is 36 weeks and i can only recall her rolling 3 times!
I worry about the same things, but to be honest your dd is probably doing stuff that your freinds babies aren't.
Believe me i know it's hard, but try not to worry too much.

[OldieMum]

Just to echo everyone else - don't worry about it like this. DD is 24 months and I can't answer your question because I can't remember when she rolled first. All I know is that she did it at some point and then she started doing a lot of other things! They all get there in the end. If I manage to have a second child, I must say I'll be very much more relaxed about all this than I was with dd.

[ThomCat]

ditto everyone else. Comparing - Natural to do it, but don't! Some kids are motor driven, like your friends and some aren't like yours. They may well crawl, walk before your little one but if that's the case I'd bet my last pound on the fact that she'll be more advanced in her speech.

[Casmie]

I was a bit concerned about ds2's development recently (babbling) so looked up what ds1 was doing at the same age. I was stunned at how late (in retrospect) ds1 did things. He didn't crawl until 10 months old so couldn't be bothered to roll until 11 months (don't think he could see the point)!! Didn't babble until 10 months either (hah, and the HV is trying to put the frighteners on me now that ds2 isn't babbling at 8 months old!). On the other hand, ds1 sat up unsupported at 21 weeks, whereas ds2 only started doing that at 7.5 months. All babies are so very very VERY different.

Oh, ds1 now runs jumps climbs talks your head off with the best of 'em...