12 week old trying to walk - product advice

[Insomnimummy]

My DD is almost 12 weeks old and has been demanding to be held upright so she can walk with our support. She has been doing this for the last 4/5 weeks and now cries if we do not help her.

I'm very proud of how fast she is developing, but its exhausting and painful spending most of the day hunched over someone whos under 2ft, helping them walk!
I have been seraching for products to help my DD develop her muscles and practise walking, such as door bouncers and walkers. However I can't find any that are suitable for a 3 month old, they all appear to start at 6 months.
Does anyone know if and where I can get a baby walker for a 3month old? At this rate by the time she reaches 6 months she will no longer need one!

[LilllyLovesLife]

can you not just go to a normal pool that's not in a school?

[FabBakerGirl]

A 12 week old trying to walk?

Blimey.

[furlinedsheepskinjacket]

oh I remember this with dd - she stood in my lap for months on end

didn't walk or crawl especially early though

[SimLondon]

tummy time

[HanSolo]

It's really, really important that babies do not skip the crawling phase- it's a major part of their development, so encourage them to sit, to lie on their tummies, put toys just out of reach, so they'll roll, shift over to them etc.

It affects another part of their development later, but I cannot remember which (I think it is speech and language).

[FannyFifer]

I assume this is your first baby?

Are you honestly going around bent over to support a 12 week old "walking"?

Your baby is 12 weeks old & honestly,really really not trying to walk.

[Martorana]

There used to be a theory- I don't know whether it's still around- my children are past that age- that crawling was important for developing the skills necessary for writing. There were some experiments that seemed to show that making older kids crawl, doing assault course type things for example, made a huge difference to the ones that found the physical act of writing difficult. It could all have been bollocks, obviously. But interesting.

[ameliarose2012]

I work in a school, and they did some training based around this while I was pregnant. They say it can link with dyslexia and dyspraxia if babies don't crawl. I tried everything to get my DD to, but she was having none of the rolling/ crawling malarkey. Just went from sitting to walking. Never even pulled herself up! The hype seems to have died down now, and it has almost been forgotten, so surely it can't be that big of a deal?

[furlinedsheepskinjacket]

neither of mine really bothered crawling

both fine

[LucyBabs]

The study regarding crawling didn't find children who didn't crawl had problems just that it is important that children CAN crawl.
Something to do with using both sides of the brain to develop speech and language skills.

[Fozzleyplum]

The crawling/development point is interesting and I'd never heard about this before.

DS2 hardly crawled at all - and certainly not when anyone was looking. He'd sit quite happily on the floor, and only occasionally "teleport" to the other side of the room when we weren't looking, eg if we went out of the room for a few seconds. He was also not particularly quick to walk.

Developmentally, he was a self-taught, phenomenally early reader. 2 or 3 months before his 3rd birthday, we and the staff at his nursery used to catch him reading out loud from quite complex material that he'd not seen before (eg packets and flyers as well as books). However, the mechanics of his writing were (and still are) very poor, although the content of his work has always been very impressive. I wonder whether there's some connection with the non-crawling?

[RubyrooUK]

Can your baby sit up OP? My DS1 was always pushing himself to standing as a young baby and bouncing his legs. He could "walk" in the way that you describe.

He learnt to sit unaided at 14 weeks and that really pleased him as he could reach for toys and control his own movement much more. Then he stopped being so obsessed by standing.

He was a champion crawler but despite loving to be upright and cruising from 7mo, he didn't walk confidently till 13mo.

[HanSolo]

frusso- I know- my eldest did not crawl at all nor pull herself up to standing. She spoke late too. (I probably shouldn't be allowed on MN! )

Early walkers also struggle to understand that they can't just walk into things IME- the ones I know that walked prodigiously early (7mo, and 7.5mo) were both constantly covered in bruises from where they walked into walls etc.

[Insomnimummy]

Let me reassure those of you who are assuming I'm forcing DD to do laps of the living room, that its not the case.
We spend lots of time with her laying on her playmat grabbing her toys. We also do tummy time at least 3 times a day with me down on the floor crawling slowly next to her to show her what to do. We spend time talking, singing, reading books, doing baby massage, going out for walks etc. I'm very conscious about helping her develop 'normally'.
But let me also reassure you that she IS WALKING and not just having an automatic reaction to being held upright - I am not supporting her weight when we do this, she is.

RubyrooUK - no she can sit up unaided yet, although she is enjoying being propped up in this position and is getting stronger every day.

Frusso, HanSolo, ameliarose2012 - Thank you for not making me feel like I'm failing at being a mum in some way. I'd been starting to get paranoid .

I have decided I am going to get a walker for DD. Even though she won't be able to move around in it yet, she can at least enjoy being upright and playing with the toys.

[FabBakerGirl]

"crawling slowly next to her to show her what to do"

She really isn't looking at you thinking I need to copy mummy.

[ExBrightonBell]

I wouldn't get a walker. They are not safe and can hinder normal progress towards walking (eg see this article, or this from Which, or this).

[IdaClair]

I have a photo of 11 week old dd, just into 0-3 month clothes, standing next to me holding onto one of my hands, otherwise supporting herself entirely.

I believe your baby enjoys being upright.

What I think it is important to note though is that your dd will develop normally without products, and without you worrying about it quite so much. Babies are designed to develop whilst being held close to an adult and part of an adults everyday life. Most of that will be upright, so babies get good at that and joining in. Hold her close to you, in your arms or get a good carrier, and go about your everyday life - she will be held upright as she likes, develop the same as when doing your tummy time sessions, and learn more from your face and everyday activities than wpshe will from a million Lamaze toys, baby classes or baby walkers.

[lonnika]

OMG - I don't thnk you are being a failure of a mum - just trying to support Dd which is perfectly natural. Please talk to HV before purchasing walker though.

[JuniperHeartwand]

OP - did you read the article I linked about 9 reasons not to walk babies? She needs to learn how to do it herself without support otherwise she won't learn how to balance, for starters.

[Minnieisthedevilmouse]

Bollocks. Whose ever heard of kids in walkers not walking.
If the kids don't walk it's for reasons other than bloody walkers.

Now, it can encourage tip toe walking. That is actually an issue.

[honeybunny14]

Ds 2 always wanted to stand from a few weeks old he started walking at 9 months much earlier than ds1.

[FabBakerGirl]

If you do buy a walker, please don't use it upstairs.

[girliefriend]

'I am not supporting her weight when we do this - she is'

This worries me a bit, aren't her bones too soft to be supporting her weight? She is 12 weeks old, if you are getting back ache holding her up then don't do it!!