To be concerned about my daughter's apparent disinterest in crawling?!

[thebartenderandthethief]

My daughter is eight months old. She is my first baby, and she is wonderful. She is happy, bright and sociable. She loves singing and eating and she loves her toys.

We go to various baby groups which she really enjoys. She is also in nursery two mornings a week. However, I can help but notice that she is the only baby (literally the only one!) who is not moving around yet. The other babies are all around the same age as her (some are even younger) and are at least bum shuffling or commando crawling along the floor. Not my daughter. She's happy to just sit in the one place, playing with toys and watching the others.

I wouldn't be so concerned if she was trying to crawl but not quite managing it yet. My concern is that she doesn't seem remotely interested in it! If I put her on her tummy she will push up with her arms and kind of half heartedly kick her legs, but she will never voluntarily roll over to her front in an attempt to move (she can roll - I've seen her do it a couple of times - it seems she just chooses not to). My friends baby is two weeks younger and every time you put him down, he's flipping onto his tummy and fighting to crawl.

I do understand that babies do things at different times and I am trying very hard not to compare too much. But I'm not exaggerating when I say she is the only baby in all these groups who is not able to move around yet. My husband thinks I'm worrying about nothing and that she'll crawl or walk when she's good and ready. He says I've maybe just been "unlucky" that my experience is that babies of her age we have come across are moving around - that it doesn't mean they all can, and that she is falling behind. I just feel like these other babies are changing all the time but she seems to have plateaued a little bit.

Any thoughts?? Please be gentle. I'm an anxious mother, I know that really. I just want to help her if I can!

My DD didnt show interest in crawling till around 9 months. She didnt walk until 18 months. I can't begin to tell you the cruel comments it caused, even from my parents and some so-called friends "theres definetely something wrong, get her to the doctor...oh so & so's child walked at this age..". Really upsetting although I can hold my own and told them to piss off it still gets to you then you look at other babies and start wondering...

At 18 months she suddenly stood up and walked and then there was no stopping her. Running around everywhere. She's 19 now just finishing a HND in Dance & Performing Arts. No probs there then

& also like your DD she had strong legs would sit in the walker and just chill etc. In your place I wouldnt be worrying too much. You could get further advice to reassure you though. Its hard to remember that not all babies are the same and often won't reach milestones within specified timescales.

You could be describing my son. He liked supported standing from about 7 months old, but didn't attempt to move on his own in any way. At 12 months he could only barely roll and usually got his arm trapped when rolling onto his belly. His pediatrician and multiple physiotherapists couldn't suggest any reasons for his lack of movement.
Something seems to have flipped a switch for him now, though. At 12.5 months he started rolling proficiently, at 13 months he took his first steps, and at 14 months he started to crawl. Now, at 14.5 months, he's walking halfway across the room, his crawling (and motivation to crawl) has improved rapidly, and he can now pull himself into a standing position relatively easily and transition between sitting and crawling. He still needs to pull up on something to get himself from lying to sitting, but he's actively trying now. I have no idea what caused the change, but he really did go from almost zero mobility to being able to get to most places on his own in less than two months.
The only thing I can think of is that my son does seem unusually cautious for his age, and is easily frustrated even for a toddler. Your daughter might just have a cautious temperament when it comes to big scary stuff like moving around by herself?