9 month old still can’t sit or roll

[Moonshine160]

I’m a bit concerned about my DS who has just turned 9 months old. He still cannot sit independently and just topples over. He can roll from his front to his back (only learnt how to do this at 7 months, so this took a lot of time) but still cannot roll from his back to his front. Even if he sits with support in his high chair he still ends up slumped to one side. Friends have advised to try and help him to strengthen his muscles through tummy time but he doesn’t like to play on his tummy and just rolls onto his back again. He has showed no signs of learning to crawl and I don’t think he ever will because of how little he’s on his tummy. He has been seeing a paediatrician at hospital as his spine is slightly curved, he had x rays and they said there is no abnormality and his spine will not have any bearing on his physical development. We have a follow up appointment to discuss this but the waiting list is huge so it won’t be for weeks yet. Our GP and health visitor aren’t interested in discussing it and said I need to address my concerns with the paediatrician!
His weight is 25th centile (hes very long and slim) but his head is 98th centile. Is it possible that the weight of his head could have an impact on his development?!
When did your baby sit independently and roll from back to front? Does this sound normal?

My son sat at 6 months but didn't roll either way until he was at least 8 months old. He was crawling at 9 months though. He didn't bear weight until he was 12 months old! He had torticollis and hypermobility but is catching up now. We did force loads of tummy time on him though which I do think helped.

Has your daughter been referred to a physiotherapist? My son was and it was great. The health visitor referred him. Could that be something you push for?
Alternatively, or additionally, if you can afford it, you could get a consultation with a private physio. We paid £120 I think for a physio to come to our house to see our son for a second opinion as we were really worried about him when he was really young.

@surreygirl1987 thank you, I think I need to be a bit more assertive with our health visitor and suggest a physiotherapist. Our DS also has torticollis, up until he was about 3 months old he would only ever look to the right and that’s how his curved spine was picked up. I definitely feel that this physical issues have got to be linked to his late development in his motor skills! I just feel a bit lost with it all.

Oh interesting!! My son would only look to the right as well! It was such a stressful time. Then because of his torticollis he barely used his left arm for ages. That's why we got a private physio involved (a neuro-physio) in case there was anything neurological going on (there wasn't).

Now I think about it, it wasn't actually the health visitor that referred him. It was a random nurse at the health clinic drop in at our old children's centre (which sadly closed last summer). But a HV should definitely be the first port of call.

Torticollis is well known for leading to delays in development of gross motor skills. I researched it pretty obsessively in the early days as developed real anxiety about it all. My son also has a giant head but he is a giant in general and I don't think that helped - he's so huge! I don't know anything about curved sounds though I'm afraid.

I would probably go to the HV and demand to get an urgent referral to a physiotherapist. If she says no, I'd tell her you are making a formal complaint, and then I would do so. I would also then go to the GP and ask for an urgent physio referral and see what they say. Does your child have a 'red book'? I'm sure there is a helpline there too, to speak to other HVs which may be another route if you're isn't helpful. I also rang a line called OneStop once (different issue - I needed a dietician referral as my son also has a dairy allergy- he was hard work!!) ... I don't know it they can do a physio referral but could be worth a try. Failing all that, if there are still any children's centres near you, you could drop in to the health clinic if you have one and speak to a nurse there. My children's centre also ran a monthly session for anyone worried about their baby's physical development; my husband took our son and it happened to be run by our physio!! So thst might be another way in.

Also if you have to compete the ASQ at 10 months in your area, this should flag up physical skills as an issue too. My son scored just 1 for that area so was in the black for it (you get black grey or white) and we got a phone call to discuss him. So the ASQ should flag up an issue as well.

Good luck!!

Wow @surreygirl1987 thanks, you’ve been really helpful. Funny you should mention about the large head too as DS’s is strangely large, it doesn’t look out of proportion but he’s 25th centile in weight and his head is above the 98th! It sounds like there’s definitely connections to all of this... and yes we will have a 10 month review with the health visitor. I’ve left an urgent answer phone message with them but I suspect they’re going to tell me to wait until the review especially as he’s awaiting an appointment with a paediatrician at hospital but the waiting list is huge! I feel like I’m getting nowhere fast but I’ll keep persisting. Thanks again!

Yeh the large head is what led to a difficult birth thst ended up with ventouse ... and that's how he ended up with torticollis as it damaged his neck. All connected!

Best of luck. And don't be afraid to play hard ball. I had to threaten people with formal complaints at one point and I actually did send a couple of complaints in to NHS England. I hated having to do thst as I have a massive respect for the NHS ... but I had to get my boy seen to. Hope all goes okay!!