Worried about DS's development

[boredbuthappy]

Am I being paranoid? Whilst googling, i cam across this article: www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/feb/17/children-fall-behind-nine-months

My DS is 9 months old and does not roll over and does not crawl. He has rolled over from his front to his back a handful of times since he was about 5-6 months old but not regulary and he has never rolled from his back onto his front. I think the few times he's done it it has been by accident somehow. He can sit unaided quite well and and does many other things such as babble, and pass toys from one hand to the other, can feed himself bits of food but it's the physical development I'm worried about. I try to put him on his tummy as much as possible but once he starts crying he becomes hysterical quite quickly so I have to intervene and turn him over or pick him up and put him back into sitting position myself. All the other babies I know his age are moving around, cruising on furniture and seem to be much more independent than him. I keep telling myself that every baby is different, but he's not 'learning new things at the speed of light' as everyone seems to say babies do at this age. I'm worried that maybe I should actually be worried that something is wrong instead of brushing it off as 'every baby is different'. I think he should definitely be movng around in some way at least, by maybe rolling around or shuffling, but he cannot do anything like this. His cot mattress is still set on the highest level because there is no worry him pulling himself up on the bars. It's as though he's still a 5 month old.

Should I push the doctor on this and have him assessed properly?

First stop is normally a health visitor, then GP and ask for a referral. Any concerns are worth checking out, and it may well put your mind at rest. Very often there's nothing to worry about, but sometimes there is and in this case it's better to identify it asap. Best of luck.

absolutely follow your instincts

we cannot tell on here if anything is ''wrong'' but if you are worried then yes, see HV/GP

my DS suddenly crawled at 9.5m, when friends babies were crawling at 6m, but then took 1st steps 2weeks later! Not to say don't go to the GP, but sometimes reading about other kids development or comparing babies at baby groups is lethal, as the range of 'normal' development is a massive arc and they all do things at different paces, I think we're all a little too obsessed these days with hitting milestones, - stay positive but do go see your GP if you're worried, as sometimes a parent can sense things that are worth checking out. best wishes!

PS my DS (now 25m and very physical!) never, ever liked being put on his tummy and used to cry madly if I put him that way.

DS sat properly only at about 7 months and was certainly not crawling until about 9.5 months. Once he'd mastered rolling front to back he didn't bother until he really needed to again months later. And he rolled from back to front much later. He's now 1 yo and extremely physical (not far off walking) and pretty much bob on with all his motor skills. I found that 9-12 months was a huge leap in his development in all aspects - physical, emotional, socially etc. It was a succession of "wow, you literally couldn't do that yesterday and today you can!" time and time again. I think you're probably worrying about nothing (don't we all?) but do speak to a professional to put your mind at rest.

PS boys have a tendency to be a bit lazy too and seem only encouraged to do things by mixing with other older children.... at least that has been my experience.

My dd never really rolled and still doesn't. She sat well early, crawled at 13m and walked at 16.5 months!! I wouldn't worry.

I used to have regular hv visits as I was an anxious person. She always told me as long as they can sit for at least twenty secs at 8m and weight bear there is nothing to worry about!! Babbling is a great sign and sitting up is too!!

But peace of mind from a HV is always useful!! They see a huge range of babies and know what to look out for!!

See your HV / GP, but try not to worry. My first chold was crawling at 5 months and walking at 10 months , so when second child wasnt rolling or crawling by well over a year I was really worried. She was fine, though - just lazy and used to being held a lot. Started crawling at 16 months and walking at 18 months. She is now 3 yrs old and is a strong, physically adept girl.

I think it sounds fine and would not worry but it is bothering you so worth seeing someone who can either confirm there is a problem or put your mind at rest.

FWIW ds1 rarely rolled, hated tummy time time and never crawled. He sat fine but no bum shuffling. Started pulling up at 10 mo and walked independently at 12mo (was a bit of a nightmare at first cause he still couldn't crawl and if he fell in the middle of the floor he had to be rescued - he fell a lot!). Finally crawled at 16 mo. Hurrah!

It is fine for babies not to crawl and ime it is the ones that don't that hate tummy time.

Can your lo weight bear (ie if you hold his hands or under his arms for balance, can he stand)? If not, I think that would be worth flagging up.

Dds were both delayed physically. Dd1 didn't sit till 10months, never crawled but bum shuffled instead, and didn't walk till after her 2nd birthday.
Dd2 didn't sit till 11 months, crawled at 14 months and walked at 22 months. One has tight tendons, one has loose joints and tendons and both have autism. The health visitor would not listen to my concerns and kept telling me nothing was wrong. Both girls got their dx of autism before their physical stuff was dealt with by physio.

Trust yourself, if your worried ask for referral.

Thanks all for your replies! It's nice to know there are lots of slow pokes out there. I am going to make an appointment with our GP, if for no other reason but to ease my mind like some of you have said. He can bear weight if Ihold him up, so that's a good sign I guess.

My DS never rolled, and didn't crawl until his 1st birthday; he walked just before 15 months. He was very content to just sit and watch, smiling and laughing away. Or he liked being walked around and we had constant backache! We assumed he'd never bother with crawling, so were surprised when he did. I did take him to the GP at around 10/11 months I think, who just tested his muscle tone, and all was fine.
He's now 7, very bright, sporty, musical ...
There are no signs of genius in any of the early movers we knew!!!
Hope this puts your mind at rest!

Mine is 10 months old and he doesn't crawl neither and was never keen on rolling. Although he could roll from back to stomach from around 4 month he never did much of it and couldn't roll from stomach to back until quite late (perhaps 7 months+?)

I know baby all suppose to develop at different pace, but I think at the end of the day, you should have a mummy's instinct as to whether there's anything wrong with your baby.

I could have kicked the HV in the teeth every time she told me not to worry about my ds1 not moving. The fact is, some people may have lazy babies who can't be arsed to try, others DO have babies who want to move and can't and all the following the crass and stupid advice to put their toys out of reach so they have to make more effort will do nothing but distress them further. And being stupid enough to advise a mother to take their ds to tumbletots when he is 13 months old and still can't bottom shuffle or crawl, or roll or get himself into a sitting position, will just distress the mother - I mean, honestly, what did she expect me to do with my ds1 there????? Slide him up the ramps on his bottom????? Watch all the other babies crawling and walking in the hope he would be infected with the ability to move????? There is at least one pretty bl**dy obvious difference between babies that are taking their time and babies that definitely have a problem ime - one is quite happy and the other isn't.

Can your ds get himself to a sitting position, boredbuthappy? Because my ds couldn't at that age (in fact he couldn't until after he'd started physiotherapy, which he started at 15 months when still unable to roll over, pull to stand, get to sitting, crawl, bottom shuffle, cruise or walk...). He could sit if put into a sitting position, but still had mild head lag (not that the HV noticed...) and didn't have the physical ability to get himself up into a sitting position from lying on his back, which scuppered him being able to do it at all since he couldn't roll onto his side or front, either and if put on his front would lift his head a few inches off the floor for a few seconds, cry furiously then give up and collapse onto his face, exhausted. He had to be taught how to roll over and how to get from sitting to lying. Other than that, he was and is an exceptionally bright little baby - albeit this counted against him, as the HV seemed to have the odd assumption that a child is either globally delayed or not delayed at all. He is now 7 and a very active little boy, albeit he tires more quickly than other children his age (he has a mild connective tissue disorder, making him extremely hypermobile and slightly low tone).

Sorry for the rant - when your child has had an issue with moving, it is slightly grating to hear all the reassurances that were trotted out to you when he was little which delayed insisting on something helpful being done about it sooner.

ps weight bearing is not the be all and end all - you have to look at HOW your child does things. My ds could bear weight on his legs if you put him in a standing position, but only by locking his knee joints so that his legs looked like bananas, curving back the wrong way. The result of standing like this was, of course, he was then utterly immobile - he couldn't bend his knees to sit down, but was stuck standing, utterly rigid until he was helped down. He didn't have sufficient muscular strength or joint stability to genuinely support his weight, but apparently standing like that was good enough for the HV... Frankly, I think it would be more helpful to ask a parent if their child can transition from one position to another, because an ability to remain in a static position is entirely different from an ability to move into that position and you can't develop normally if you have to remain static to be stable...

rabbitstew, no, he can't pull himself into sitting position. If he's sitting, he stays sitting, if he's lying on his back, he remains on his back, and if I put him on his front, occasionally he will find a way to flip onto his back, but most times he ends up with his face in the carpet crying within 3-4 minutes. I have to say though, recently (I mean literally in the past two days) he has developed the ability to stay standing if I put him up against an ottoman and he can hold on with one hand and stay upright for quite a long time. I wonder if he IS just lazy...in any case we are seeing the gp tomorrow. Hopefully there is nothing to worry about, but I'd like some reassurance.

My DS wasn't sitting or crawling at 9 months - he has ASD and dyspraxia.

I expect he's fine OP, but the truth is you just cannot tell at 9 months. Both ds2 and ds3 were at very high risk of developmental disorders and so I hawk watched them (especially the rolling which neither did :rolls eyes:) but really just couldn't tell.

Does he imitate you? Drink from a spouted cup? Is he pointing yet (although it's a bit early for that).

By 18 months there are some fairly robust screening tests but until then I'd try to enjoy him. I got through the early days with ds2 and ds3 by saying 'ok if he isn't pointing by 18 months then I'll get him referred'.

Both ds2 and ds3 are fine btw.