Sitting unsupported - what age?

[thatdarncat]

DD is almost 29 weeks and can't yet sit unsupported. Is this normal? She loves tummy time (will always roll onto her tummy when you lie her down) and has had very good head control from a young age but just cannot sit for more than a few seconds before tumbling over. I do daily exercises with her as advised by HV team but to no avail. I'm very concerned now that I'm doing something wrong or failing her from reaching this milestone.

Simple answer is don't panic, you are not failing her, she will do this in her own time, promise!
The fact that she can sit for a few seconds means she is learning this skill.
Babies develop at different rates. You are not failing her.

Relax and enjoy her

Just practice. Cushions behind for falls.
Mine loved the vtech spinning top and would sit for ages with it.
Does she tripod her arms for support?
Was she early at all?

DS1 was 7 months before he sat at all, how many months is 29 weeks? He crawled at 8 months and walked at 11 months so was developmentally normal.

Mine sat quite early, I sat on the floor with her between my legs so she could lean on me or hold my leg for support if needed, as much as possible with toys in front of her. I wouldn’t worry at 29 weeks.

My DD will be 6 months on the 23rd and she's no where near ready for sitting unaided. If I prop her up with cushions she tends to fall forward.

Dd was five months, but I think that's quite early. I just put her in a square of pillows and let her work it out. I think I was actually holding her back by constantly stopping her from falling before that. She didn't have the opportunity to learn how to balance and at which point she would topple over. Once i gave her the chance and space to learn she picked it up very quickly.

DS2 sat at nearly 10 months. he was prem, I asked the paediatrician about this, she said normal was between 6-9 months, and then correct for prematurity (before 27 weeks). DS2 was 5 weeks prem, so sitting at nearly 10 months was fine.

Don't worry about it. There are so many milestones for children and they will be early to some, late to others. Eg dd sat, 'crept' and walked early but 6 months in still struggles with potty training! Ds can't sit unaided at 8 months but slept through from 3 weeks and has been rolling and commando style pulling himself along the floor for a while now. I have friends with 8 month olds who have been sitting since 6 months but have never rolled from back to front and can't move around on the mat at all. In short, please don't worry about stages or get caught up on what others are doing if everything else seems normal, ie baby is alert, interested.

My first sat early (about 5 months) but never rolled or crawled and hated tummy time.

They're all different.

Thanks everyone, I'll not worry too much about it then. Koothrapanties I will try the chair of pillows as that sounds helpful

Mine didn't sit up until nine months, crawled at 13 months, walked at 18 months. Hope that puts your mind at rest