14 month old not weightbearing

[Neetie]

Hi.
Should I be concerned that my 14 month old son is not weightbearing on his legs? When prompted to stand, he crosses his legs in the air.
Also, has been commando crawling for 1 month now.

Any suggestions??

Thank you.

Hi Neetie...my Ds (now 4 and three quarters !) was the last in his little peer group to walk at 18 months and then I couldn't stop him ..though he was cruising and standing up around the furniture for what seemed like ages before then (it was probably only a couple of months if I think back)...if you're really concerned have you thought about going to see a health visitor ? I'm a great believer in going with what your instinct as a mum is telling you......

Hi Neetie
We've had a similar issue with my DS, now 14 months. He wasn't really mobile until he was 12 months when he started to try commando crawling which he perfected by 13 months. At the time he wasn't pulling up on anything and when you held him up to stand he would often lift his legs off the floor. I was getting worried so we saw the HV and got a refferrl to a childrens physio at our local hospital, by which time DS was bum shuffling at great speed everywhere. He was and still is having problems keeping his balance - if you stand him up against something he wobbles and will fall but is happy to have his feet on the floor.
Anyway, the physio told us that DS has slightly low muscle tone in his legs, probably as a result of previous medical issues which prevented him from seing properly and therefore unable to get himself about like other LO's the same age. The problem with his legs isn't at all apparent to anyone but a trained physio who can 'feel' the tone. We were given exercises to do with him and now he is beginning to learn to stand, pulling up and moving more 'normally'. The physio told me that many babies who commando crawl/bum shuffle are often late walkers as they aren't developing their leg muscles in the same way as those LO's who 4 point crawl. She said it can be the case that these LO's have slightly lower muscle tone, often not referred to physio, but all get there eventually, just takes them a litle longer to develop their leg muscles. The exercise just advances and encourages the process somewhat.

Maybe you can get a referral from your HV or GP to a physio who can give you some exercises to do which will encourage her to be weight bearing and strengthen her legs. Door bouncers are particularly good for LOs with lower muscle tone.

I'd say see your HV to put your mind at rest - most likely there is nothing wrong that a bit of time and practice won't sort out. My DS has progressed massively in the last 4 weeks, it's amazing. Who knows if he would have got there so fast without the extra help anyway, probably!

Feel free to ask me anything, apologies for the v long message, but thought I should try and reassure you as I do know how worrying it can be when all the other LOs are running around.

One of the girls on my Nov 2003 anenatal group (on babyworld) only started walking at the end of August.

3 days before her physio appointment was supposed to be (because of her lack of walking)

It is extremely possible that this is just his natural development

However, yes I would say I would be concerned and I would seek medical examination to ensure there are no muscular or skeletal issues that is making it difficult for him to bear weight

Thank you ...thank you ....thank you...
for all your ideas. It's really helpful.
I'll book my DS into the physio this week to see what exercises I can give him to strengthen his muscles.

I think you need to go through a primary physician and not straight to physio .. it could be muscular but could equally be skeletal .. it could also be nothing .. get your GP / Paed to check it out first

Neetie - Twiglett is right, you need to get a refferal from your GP or HV to get to see a physio, but for me it was enough to show the HV what he wasn't able to do and she then reffered him on. We also got a peadiatician referral and the paed told us that where the issue is with muscle tone, if it is very mild, as in our case, a physio is the best person to pick it up, (our paed couldn't 'feel' it). Obviously any skeletal or broader issues would be picked up by the paed.

Unfortunately our referral to a physio took a good 6 weeks to come through but at the same time the HV told me to call the physio and get some verbal instruction and exercises sent out to us so we could begin the process. HTH

Almost certainly normal, unless you have specific reasons to suspect problems. Age of walking, crawling etc. is highly heritable -- worth finding out at what age you/dh did these things.

None of my three were mobile at all until after their first birthdays, then went on to bottom shuffle, and walked at 18 months, 20 months and 18 months respectively. At 14 months both ds and dd2 when held up in a 'walking' position used to hold their legs out stiffly in front of them like little plastic dollies.

All are now completely normal, though you may find that knock-on skills like hopping and pedalling trikes are slightly delayed too.

Good news...my DS started weightbearing on his legs 3 days ago....Oh for joy!! He loves standing. Looks like it was developmental.

Thank you all for your comments. They were really helpful.

my ds 14months still not walking, he really wants to walk and he push the walker at nursery (those that need to be pushed from the back)
but when he walks often seems Charlie Chaplien...is it because he has flat fleet or is it normal in baby that start to walk before they find the balance?...I booked an appointment with a specialist..but is in 2 weeks...and I want to buy some Chicco boots tomorrow..that support him..
in the meantime I'm worried....did you experience that?

sasa15 , who has advised you to buy Chicco boots for your DS ?

My DD started to walk at 15.5 mths. She had a stride to ride & a first steps push around which she loved. At 15.5 mths she just decided to walk.

At around 14.5 months she looked like there might be a problem with her foot, but it naturally straightened itself out.

Barefeet are the absolute best for starting to walk or if cold the socks with the non-slip sole - I would stay well away from anything that prevents his feet muscles developing naturally. Having said that, one of my friends little boy has just had an op to adjust his flat foot, but his is over 2 & was a very early walker.

thank you for your advise...but at nursery all the babies were shoes..and he goes up and down on furniture,,,,he's wearing trainers at the moment but they are not good....support...proper walking shoes....they seems to be good for first walker....

don't know....

Bare feet is best for walking and learning to walk (both I, my brother and my dd have all have mobility problems and we have always been advised NO SHOES)

but babies don't need their feet supported when they are learning to walk ! their little toes grip the floor & their muscles develop to do this. Just because others are potentially ruining their kids feet, doesn't mean you have to follow !

Trainers are also terrible first shoes, unless they are the special soft cruiser types & even then they aren't necessary - he's hardly going to be running a marathon.

What a shame fashions dictates the health & welfare of the futures children...

sasa please don't be swayed by fashion considerations here, I agree with others, babies who are not walking do not need any kind of shoes really.
Certainly not trainers or boots.
14 mo is fine to still be pushign toys and cruising, the average for first steps is actually 15 months. The other babies at nursery are just early walkers, that's all, yr ds will catch up but please let him have bare feet.

Agree - no shoes for non-walking babies.

My friend's dd who is perfectly normal didnt' walk until 18months. She runs about everywhere now.

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