4 1/2 doesn’t weight bare on legs when supported

[Dani00]

Hi , a while ago I had one of those horrible milestone development emails come through saying that babies (most babies) should be able to weight bare on legs by the time they are 4 months old. My son (a chunky baby) cannot do this at all and will crumple his legs or go on tip toes first and then crumple . My older son was definitely doing it by 2 months and i know I shouldn’t compare but I’m worried. Spoke to HV who also said he should be doing this by now. Has anyone else’s children done this at a later time and been okay? Thank you x

Sorry that should read 4 1/2 month old

Urgh those milestone emails are the absolute worst aren't they! Hit the unsubscribe button would be my first piece of advice.

I think the majority of babies can briefly weight bear by 4 months but he's only just 4 months so I wouldn't worry too much yet as long as he's meeting other gross motor milestones. It's good the HV knows so they can monitor but things change rapidly at this stage. If he's a bit chunky it might take him a little longer. Has the HV recommended anything?

They are ! HV just says to bring him in to be seen but there are no appointments for a few weeks yet 🙈 I’m not really sure which other gross milestones he should be meeting at this age, he can grab with his hand and hold his head up on tummy time etc? Thanks for your reply x

Having looked at the 4 month developmental questionnaire, it doesn't actually ask about weight bearing. For gross motor skills, you'd be looking for a 4 month old to be doing 4, or ideally 5, of the following:

• Move head side to side when on back
• When on tummy, lower head rather than just letting it drop
• When on tummy, hold chin 3 inches off floor for 15 seconds
• When on tummy, hold head straight up looking around (can be leaning on arms)
• Hold head steady when held in a seated position
• When on back, bring hands together touching fingers

The 6 month questionnaire does ask about taking own weight when held standing, so they'd start to expect a fair number of babies to be doing it at that age, but a baby could easily 'pass' that section without doing it, so if he's doing other gross motor things, you probably have a while before it becomes concerning.

Thanks for those! Could I ask what country you live in? I’m in England and have never seen a 4 month questionnaire so just curious.

You generally don't get given the questionnaires for all ages just when a check up is being done which varies from area to area. You can search 'asq questionnaire 4 months' and should be able to find it.

Sorry for the slow reply. I'm in Scotland, but I think the ASQ questionnaires are used in England as well. As Bluebell says, you can find them on google – ideally you want to find one that has the scoring sheet at the end. They never expect 6 yeses in a section (or virtually never, I haven't looked at all of them), but sometimes they're actually only expecting a typically developing baby to be doing 3 or 4 of the 6.

Thank you both for your replies, really helpful. I’ve had a look at questionnaires and he seems to be doing lots of the things listed , however I did note a question at the end saying does babies feet stay flat on the ground when helping to stand, he definitely goes on tiptoes before crumpling his legs so maybe something I should mention.

@Dani00 hiya OP. How did it turn out with your LO?