Anyone elses 10 month old unable to sit unaided?

[AnArkIsAFineVessel]

I have a 10 month old DS who is a still unable to sit unaided for more than a few seconds. If he moves when sitting he topples over. He isn't crawling though does do swimming moves when he is on his front....cant get his legs under him though , he also doesn't try weight bearing on his legs either . He does roll well though!!!!
He is a big boy 100th centile for weight and height and is on the errrm chunky side!!!
I'm worried now , all the others at his baby group are at least sitting, most are crawling or at least making the effort to get around!
I spoke to my HV at his 9 month check and she was unconcerned and said he would sit when he was ready . I have however googled ( very bad move ) and found that its a red flag if not sitting at this check.
Apart from anything else it's getting a nightmare to entertain him as he doesn't want to be laid down and I am spending all day sat behind him to prop him up so he can see what's going on.
I just have this feeling there is something going on with him with his physical development and no one is listening to me

Ask your gp to refer you to a paed

agree, you might want to ask for ref to consultant. We were in a similar situation i.e. not sitting steadily at about 12 months and had to be a bit proactive. GP made ref no prob though we paid to see consultant initially (within couple of weeks). We then were ref on to NHS physio with good results.

I can't say your individual situation is the same, but that's what we did.

Don't panic about 'red flags' (been there, done that).

I agree you need to push for a referal to a paed. My DD didn't sit unaided till 7.5mo, and not crawling till 9mo. This is already considered late. I talked to my HV and she said they should be pulling up by 12mo and luckily she started doing it one week before her birthday.

She is the slowest in my mummy group. The others all sit unaided before 6mo and pulling up by 9mo.

Hope your DS gets the help he needs.

Does he try and sit, or does he immediately fling himself to the floor and try and crawl? If he doesn't try he'll be a lot slower to learn.

My dd2 crawled shortly before 6 months and so if I sat her up she just fell on her front and crawled away. She didn't sit up until 10-11 months, although she walked at 9 months . Even then she didn't sit up as reliably as dd1 who didn't crawl until 10 months. Because she didn't try to it took her longer to get her balance.

9 months is not late to crawl. 75% of children haven't at 10 months, and some don't ever crawl. 9 months is about average. I'd be amazed if 7.5 months was considered late to sit up too, as the average is 6-7 months.

But I would push for a referal. If there's nothing wrong it's better to have got it started and pull out, than leave it too late. Ask your GP for a referal as some HV are completely useless not totally up to date in baby development stages.

Ime (though I've never hear it professionally expressed) the chunky ones do tend to be later in physical development. I think they need to be that much stronger to do things like weight bear. You can encourage by trying to get them to pull on your hands to stand, if they hold a finger in each hand, then you gently pull them up. as with anything they need to get the strength up, so don't expect too much quickly. Swimming is good for strengthening muscles too.

DeWe Have you looked at the NHS timeline? I think this is what my HV based her opinions on. It says sitting at 6-8mo, crawling between 6-9mo, and pulling up 6-9mo too. So you are right in that my DD isn't late at sitting, but she is indeed late for crawling and pulling up. (If NHS is to trust on these things).

My nephew was unable to sit unaided at 12 mo. He lives in Thailand so no HV system. I was rather worried but my sister seemed really laid back about it. He's now just 2 and according to my mother who sees him more is now able to sit, walk and do all the things that average 2yo do. So he seems to have caught up.

If you do have a feeling that something is wrong (ie he is not meeting milestones in other areas either) then ask your GP to refer you to a paediatrician.

6-9 months it says "Starts trying to crawl" Not actually crawling. It then in the read more says "Some babies learn to crawl backwards before they learn to crawl forwards. Some learn to walk without crawling. Others are bottom shufflers".

Trying to crawl can be your baby flinging themselves on their front and moving arms and legs, or on all fours rocking. Some children spend a very short time on this phase, others spend ages. Yes, I'd agree that most start trying to crawl in that age bracket, however I stand by 9 months not being late to actually crawl.

BTW I correct the statement above 75% of children have learnt to crawl at 10 months

I think a lot depends on your family history as well. My older two were sitting at 8 months, and neither were crawling on their first birthdays. DS1 walked at 16 months and DS2 at 18 months, but my mother thought they were both very advanced as my sister was the earliest of the 3 of us to walk at 20 months... My MIL also says my husband and his siblings were late developers. And DS3 is following by not sitting til 9 months and is now 13 months with no interest in going anywhere!

I think it's important to remember that all babies develop differently and timelines, such as the one you linked to, are very much a general guideline.

Hitting milestones later doesn't necessarily mean that there is a problem. One of mine didn't ever crawl, one crawled when she was over 11 months old and one crawled when she was 6months old (and she is the heaviest of my bunch btw), so all different, and two very 'late', but you would never know now which one crawled when.

What I would say though is that you feel that there's a problem, please get it checked out. Us mums can be paranoid at times but I'm also a great believer in mother's instinct. It doesn't necessarily mean there's a problem, but there's not harm pushing for a referral to be on the safe side.

Good luck.

I would ask for a referral. Not sitting at 10 months is quite late and the not weight bearing needs to be looked at.

Onelittlebayterror, not sitting at 7.5 months really wouldn't be considered late, and when ds was assessed for delays they didn't even take crawling into consideration, because so many babies don,t crawl.

Thanks for your replies , it's appreciated
The not crawling I'm not hugely worried about tbh, but it's the lack of sitting and the way he wouldn't move his legs in his jumperoo that worried me the most. When held up he curls his legs up like a newborn and although my other son is now 7 I'm sure he was kicking his legs and trying to stand when given the opportunity . I have just separated from my husband so I think DS2 issues have been a bit overlooked in all the fog off moving etc.
He is going to be weighed again in thurs , if I can't get any sense out of the hv then and she doesn't address my concerns I will pop him into the Gp and get a referral I think

My DS didn't sit up until 11 months, was 14 months before he could crawl and was about 20 months before he took his frirst steps. Some are just faster at things than others. Personally based on my experience I wouldn't worry just yet. I can remember speaking to my HV about it and sh said that she wouldn't worry about sitting unaided until 12 months. Also you say that your DS can sit for a few seconds so he can sit just not for very long.

my 1st used to throw himself back when I sat him up (he knew there were cushions behind) and made no attempt to move himself anywhere, other than roll around the room. I can't remember when he sat unaided but he loved the bumbo and used to sit with me several times a day while i did the dishes, loved the jumperoo as well. I 'made' him crawl at 10 1/2months after spending a weekend with him and a new toy that moved and played music. He was a very laid back baby!

if you are concerned go to your gp and ask for a referral to physio or paed consultant. i was in a similar situation with my dd1 she didn't weight bear or sit at a similar age. In both areas we've lived she got a referral to a child development/early intervention centre. pleased we did as now we get regular checks / support from a physio and she is doing well

Hi I am experiencing the same thing with my son who is 10 months. Any progress on what happened? Pls update

My DS didn't sit unaided until probably about 10/11 months but lockdown happened and then he suddenly started sitting. We couldn't tell if he wasn't able to as he was so active and he was commando crawling at 5 months, crawling on all 4's by 7 months and cruising by 8.5 months, so there was literally no time for him to sit down. He is a very very active boy and won't sit to save his life. I used to place him on the mat where he would sit unaided for a couple seconds and literally do a flip and crawl or stand up and be on the go again.

Any updates on here will be useful. I seem to read people’s problems but never their outcomes☺️.

My 10 month old boy isn’t sitting unaided. He went for a dermatology appointment and a paediatric consultant was brought in due to him not sitting up (the derm consultant was concerned about this). His head measured out of proportion with his body and now he has been referred to physio and for and MRI scan. We had to have bloods taken that day. It was an awful shock. Until then I could convince myself he was a late learner. Now I am beside myself with worry. He loves playing on his belly, however I have been worried for months about him not sitting/waving/pointing. I’ve just had that “feeling” for a while. I raised concerns a few times with HV and GP but was told to wait and see. If I hadn’t have gone to dermatology that day, I wonder how long I would have been fobbed off for. It just goes to show, you should follow your instinct and not take one “professionals” opinion. Fingers crossed for my little boy.

@Cockermummy88
How did you get on? I'm in a similar situation with my 10 month old. 9 months corrected. She can sit up but flops back after 1 minute. She can't roll yet. She also suffers with reflux and weve had numerous issues with feeding. Due to Covid we've had to wait months for appointments. Finally spoken to a paediatrician and seen a physio who want to do a MRI to rule out cerebral palsy. I'm obviously beside myself. Having a 4 year old too I know her development doesn't seem quite right and her movements are very rigid. Would love to know how you got on x

@Mumofgirls17 thank you for getting in touch We were waiting for our MRI which just so happens was on Friday. I’ve not got much to update as yet as the follow up is in a couple of weeks(hopefully!) It has taken so long to get to this point but once we were there the staff were incredible. All I can do at this point is out your mind at rest about the MRI. It was a very anxious day and DS had to have gas and air to put him under, which was upsetting. Seeing him go through this strengthened our bond and he was so brave and the nurses will support you through every step. The day flew by and it wasn’t as half as bad as what I was imagining. Once it is done it is another hurdle out of the way and you will be on the right path. DS still isn’t sitting and was 1 on Tuesday and is still crawling in a very strange way using one arm only and dragging legs. Physio for us starts at the end of April. Sending you strength and hope to your family. I know how you are feeling

@Cockermummy88 I'm so sorry for the delay. I hope you're doing ok? Did they not give you some sort of explanation after the MRI. Its the waiting thats killing me. I've waited months to get to this point and nos still waiting. Weve seen a physio but she screams hysterically forbthe whole session so they can't actually do anything. I'm not sure if its because she is a lockdown baby and hasn't seen many people.
How is your little one? Do they seem in pain or anything? X

You are exactly on point there! He has gotten to a point that he is terrified of everything and everyone which means anxiety is through the roof..for both of us. Every appointment is taken up with me consoling him and not actually getting him seen as he won’t cooperate. No explanation, they were radiographers so say they aren’t trained to asses the images. The waiting was killing me, I seem to have reached a point where I am coping a little better. He seems happy in him self, and I really don’t suspect any pain. I hope he hasn’t grown to accept any pain he feels. That really upsets me. He seems emotionally and socially well developed but physically, he really is so behind. No body has given me any names of conditions they are looking for. Maybe I haven’t wanted to ask. Do you have a date for MRI? I really wish I could help, I hate the thought of someone else feeling this way. Feel free to private message me, although not really sure how it works.

We have had MRI results back-they are finesmile! Brain and spine both scanned and no findings there. So relieved, but now we are being referred to a specialist who can look at rarer muscle disorders. Also still waiting for chromosome test result but rest of bloods and urine fine.

my son is abt to be ten months old and stil is not even anywhere close to sitting up. He does do the "crunching" motion but never lifts his back more than an inch or hakf inch off the ground. That said is i sit him up myself he will stay sitting up i just put 1 flat pillow behind him so he does not fall backward and his his head but it does not support him. He has been to all his doctor visits and doctor has not metioned anything abt this. I see lots of people suggesting recources but dont know what any of those acronyms like ds, hv, gp, or paed mean. Any suggestions are healpful.

@Cockermummy88 - hoping you’re still here to give an update? Hoping everything resolved itself for you both. I’m cruising through threads as my DS (and general-mum-anxiety) has me on pins!

I’m here! How are you? Things have resolved, thank you. Now discharged from physio and consultant care. Still advised to use orthotics so am trying hard to do this!