Help! 11 Month Old Can't Sit On Her Own!

[Flutterpieandpinkieshy]

I have to support her back, she is able to hold the sitting position for no more than a few seconds. 10 seconds at the most before she either falls back or flops to the side.

She holds her legs rigid and straight out in front of her. Her feet slightly pointed in and constantly held in a curled fashion, as though she's trying to ball her toes as she would her fist.

She can and does bend her knees, though I have to force her to do so, and she'll immediately straighten them again.

She can roll onto her belly but not back again.

Nor does she seem to want to bare weight on her feet, she holds herself on tiptoes when held up.

She cannot roll continously, cannot sit, cannot pull herself up though she does bum shuffle... That's about it.

She is currently waiting to be referred to a paediatrician.

My main concern is she's going to have Cerebral Palsy. She was born Via ELCS and they had to use forceps on her as she was stuck.

She had horrific bruising, swelling and bad indentations from the forceps around her temple and above her eyes at birth....

Does anyone have any advice?

No advice other than to seek help, which you've clearly done, but wanted to offer a virtual hug.

Hang on in there, it may turn out to be CP or could not be. My son was the same re:milestones and worried the life out of us. He has had a lot of input all through his life and although he does have developmental delays these are only noticeable now (age 7) when you compare him to other 7 year olds. Compare him to the 6 year olds and he is just like them in terms of intellect, speech (except a stammer) and physical ability (though fine motor skills are still poor and he is a bit clumsy.) Noone would ever believe the worries we had over walking, talking, toileting, all the rest of it.

Just keep rattling cages, take all the support you are offered and actively look for any extra you can access, and celebrate all that your dd does achieve, whenever those occur. Look into Portage-early intervention within the home (not sure how you stand with Covid.) You are in for a long haul, so make sure you have support for you too. Best thing we did was a local group for developmentally delayed children, based on theory of Conductive Education. Physio, Makaton signing, sensory input, development of gross and fine motor skills ...all wrapped up in singing and playing. Amazing for him, and a great source of practical and emotional support for parents.

Don't despair, don't compare with others, just enjoy your beautiful baby and try your best to take each day as it comes. We can't know what the future will bring, good or bad, so just make sure you do all you can in terms of insisting on interventions and supporting her at home. It will be become clear over time, and she may well surprise you.

Best wishes.

@Lancrelady80

No advice other than to seek help, which you've clearly done, but wanted to offer a virtual hug.

Hang on in there, it may turn out to be CP or could not be. My son was the same re:milestones and worried the life out of us. He has had a lot of input all through his life and although he does have developmental delays these are only noticeable now (age 7) when you compare him to other 7 year olds. Compare him to the 6 year olds and he is just like them in terms of intellect, speech (except a stammer) and physical ability (though fine motor skills are still poor and he is a bit clumsy.) Noone would ever believe the worries we had over walking, talking, toileting, all the rest of it.

Just keep rattling cages, take all the support you are offered and actively look for any extra you can access, and celebrate all that your dd does achieve, whenever those occur. Look into Portage-early intervention within the home (not sure how you stand with Covid.) You are in for a long haul, so make sure you have support for you too. Best thing we did was a local group for developmentally delayed children, based on theory of Conductive Education. Physio, Makaton signing, sensory input, development of gross and fine motor skills ...all wrapped up in singing and playing. Amazing for him, and a great source of practical and emotional support for parents.

Don't despair, don't compare with others, just enjoy your beautiful baby and try your best to take each day as it comes. We can't know what the future will bring, good or bad, so just make sure you do all you can in terms of insisting on interventions and supporting her at home. It will be become clear over time, and she may well surprise you.

Best wishes.

Thank you for your reply. Its so worrying when your little one isn't reaching the milestones as they should be. It's good to hear your boy is doing okay despite being slow to reach milestones. Xx

At the same age my DD couldn't sit, crawl, pull herself up, weight bear or cruise. Turns out she's very hypermobile. She's now 11 years old, about to start secondary school and although she's never going to win a running race, she doesn't stand out from her peers.

Hypermobility and hypotonia were the physical parts for my son too.

My daughter didn’t weight bear until 18 months and no walking until 22 months, she had xrays but they said she was just lazy.

My oldest didn’t crawl till 11 months and didn’t walk till 18 months but was talking so all her focus was on that and she eventually got around to moving.

She is very cautious by nature and mildly hyper mobile and uncoordinated (but so am I). At 6 you wouldn’t notice (plus she can talk you into submission)

Dd was also really tall at that age and chubby so actually had a lot of her to try and organise to roll, stand and move.

She didn’t like sitting and preferred to lay Lounging on her side like a some sort of Roman emperor.

Do you have to support her because she can't hold herself up or because she can't balance? DD (almost 8months) can sit, but if I leave her in that position she will topple to the side.

It amazes me that in this country everyone is so lax about these things. In eastern europe is mandatory protocol to have developmental checkups + hip dysplasia + clubfoot, as a lot of things can be "cured/fixed" without a trace if caught early enough.

1. no, it's not normal, but it's also not the end of the world. Don't panic, but be prepared to have to work hard with your little one even when she doesn't want to.

Why would you think CP instantly? It can be so many other things. But you need to find out.

1. Look up Deveny method (www.dsgm.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=20&Itemid=2&lang=en)

Her method can work wonders if started soon enough. Try to find someone in your area who is trained. (I'm thinking it's goign to be a stretch here) (for context: I used to help run a childcare center for disabled kids so I know first hand what can be achieved with it. I am not affiliated with her in any way.)

1. start baby massage. It won't help massively if you just do it from heart, but it cannot hurt either.

The issue with tight muscles is - very high level - that the ligaments won't grow properly which can cause permanent damage. And because of this the surrounding nerves can be damaged as well or can't develop as they should.

1. Read up on books that help you with what to play/how to play with her so that it is stimulating the right areas of her brain or physically the right muscles.

1. Use your common sense, bang on GP's door and don't let them tell you she is just a little slow!! She actually might be, but it is highly unlikely.

1. Remember that whatever the diagnosis she is your lovely little girl :)

ps: any stimulation will only work if you apply it frequently and rigorously!

Some good advice here OP. You have probably tried the following already.

With regards to sitting up, try to get her to sit on floor against pillowsand sit near her facing her. Roll a ball towards her or any other she likes. Hopefully by sitting on floor facing her it will encourage her to stay vertical.

I second the PP about massage. Especially legs and feet, just to help with any tightness in muscles.

Try to see if gp can refer you to a physio whilst you're waiting for the paediatritian referral as those can sometimes take a while.

With rolling over try to put her favourite toy within reach on a mat on the floor. Keep moving it away from her just enough to encourage her to move towards it. I'm sure you've tried all these before.

Sorry posted too soon
*paediatrician

All the best OP. Ask for blood tests too to check her vitamin B12 as this can sometimes cause issues.

Hi, keep pushing for that paediatrician appointment.

Can your health visitor refer to paediatric physio in your area ?

There are some good resources on pathways.org while you are waiting. Good luck.

A good exercise is "Pancakes" or called in our house the wiener schnitzel :)
put the kid on a big blanket.

1. tender the meat: gently rub full body, then tickle a bit
2. roll on flour: what it says on the tin: roll the kid from side-to-side, not rolling over her fully and before she tips over let her go to get an automatic muscle response as she tries to stabilize her
3. roll in egg: tickle, cuddle and rock her whilst still on the blanket
4. roll in breadcrumbs: almost as step 2, but instead of you rolling her, use the blanket
5. pick her up and "drop her" in the sizzling oil (I know, it sounds sadistic): pick her up and whilst holding her drop your arms a bit. Just enough to make her laugh :)
6. When she's all cooked have a cuddle, tickle and laughs! :)

My son loved this, did it many times a day with him. When he could roll then I would just cue what's next and he'd roll to his tummy to be tickled on the back....

@TheSunIsStillShining

It amazes me that in this country everyone is so lax about these things. In eastern europe is mandatory protocol to have developmental checkups + hip dysplasia + clubfoot, as a lot of things can be "cured/fixed" without a trace if caught early enough.

1. no, it's not normal, but it's also not the end of the world. Don't panic, but be prepared to have to work hard with your little one even when she doesn't want to.

Why would you think CP instantly? It can be so many other things. But you need to find out.

1. Look up Deveny method (www.dsgm.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=20&Itemid=2&lang=en)

Her method can work wonders if started soon enough. Try to find someone in your area who is trained. (I'm thinking it's goign to be a stretch here) (for context: I used to help run a childcare center for disabled kids so I know first hand what can be achieved with it. I am not affiliated with her in any way.)

1. start baby massage. It won't help massively if you just do it from heart, but it cannot hurt either.

The issue with tight muscles is - very high level - that the ligaments won't grow properly which can cause permanent damage. And because of this the surrounding nerves can be damaged as well or can't develop as they should.

1. Read up on books that help you with what to play/how to play with her so that it is stimulating the right areas of her brain or physically the right muscles.

1. Use your common sense, bang on GP's door and don't let them tell you she is just a little slow!! She actually might be, but it is highly unlikely.

1. Remember that whatever the diagnosis she is your lovely little girl :)

ps: any stimulation will only work if you apply it frequently and rigorously!

I immediately thought CP as I grew up with a brother who has CP. Plus she recieved some nasty damages to her head via forceps when she was born...

Hi OP. It could also be dyspraxia or hypermobility as others have identified. My child has been diagnosed with hypermobility and possibly has dyspraxia but we do not have a diagnosis for that. She is six and is very happy, can run around fine albeit with more effort required than some of her peers. She couldn’t sit unaided until around her first birthday and walked at two. She was a failed forceps delivery and EMCS also. I have often wondered if there was a link but i have no proof and it doesn’t change anything of course.

Good luck.

@TheSunIsStillShining I love that little game !

Hi OP

DD has CP, hers is very mild and it doesn’t stop her doing much. She had a rough birth (premature and got stuck) and had to be resuscitated, was your DD breathing at birth (sorry for the brutal question)? CP is more associated with lack of oxygen I believe rather than dents to the head as babies heads are designed to squash...

I agree you should push for a referral to a paediatrician or paediatric neurologist. They may however say “wait and see” given your DD is so young still.

In the meantime, the best thing you can do whatever the issue may be, is massage and encourage movement as much as you can. Parents whose babies are diagnosed with CP are given physio exercises, stretches and massage to do - there is no harm in you doing these even if it turns out not to be CP.

My DD was diagnosed at 3 so I can’t help with details of exactly which exercises or stretches to do on a baby but google and you may find some (try spastic diplegia exercises).

Good luck OP and try not to panic, even if it is CP, there is a huge spectrum of CP including many very mild cases, and early intervention can make a huge difference.

Hi OP! Just wondering how your little one is doing now? My 11 month old will only sit unassisted if really distracted by toys, but can’t get into the position by himself. He is army crawling but not pulling himself up to stand or on all fours.

L

DS2 didn’t sit until 10 months. Later diagnosed with a hip issue.