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9 months old not reaching all milestones

5 replies

Rraluana · 11/06/2023 03:08

Since this is my first baby and I am quite the anxious type I really hope I can find some peace of mind here. My 9 mo baby girl just started sitting unassisted but will not pull herself up in the sitting position (she sits if i put her that way and will also engage in playing), however, she is army crawling, but only using her right hand and foot properly (we are seeing a kinesiotherapist to correct this).
Now, here is why my anxiety kicks in: she does not extend to push on her arms while on belly, she started babbling at 7mo but is not really vocal, sometimes we get only several babbles a day (she surprised us 3 days ago with an almost all day long babble including mamamama for the first time, however, now is back to her quiter self), she rarely laughs out loud, only when i engage her, tickle her, and seems to respond to her name only from time to time (90% of the time she won’t). She is also not imitating me (sounds/funny faces, although at 2-3mo in the cooing phase we played a lot with sounds back and forth). She does smile back at me and is keeping good eye contact.
We will see a pediatric neurologist just to be safe, but the first opening is in a month from now, and am I trying to find ways to keep my anxiety to a minimum as reading about milestones is not helping.

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Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
SiouxsieSiouxStiletto · 11/06/2023 07:30

I'm so sorry that you're struggling with anxiety and that it's getting in the way of you enjoying your DD.

I'm not sure where you're reading the milestones but I'm not sure that some of the things mentioned are regular milestones for 9 months? Are you in the UK @Rraluana?

Have a look at this SLT progress checker for 9 months. If it says that "you answered no to some important questions" I'd say the first thing to organise is a hearing test as Glue Ear can get in the way of communication.

Have you filled in and scored an Ages & Stages for 9 months? I don't think that they're supposed to be perfect in every section.

As for your anxiety, what strategies do you normally have? Wink

Rraluana · 11/06/2023 07:57

Thank you for the reply! I am not from the UK.. i just took the test and scored no at some important questions - we did the hearing test when she was a newborn, before leaving the hospital, as it is a standard test here, and by the way she reacts to the smallest sound around the house I’d say she has no issues with her hearing (also when she is dropping things on the floor she waits to hear the sound they make then starts looking for them).
As for me, I use breathing techniques to calm me down whenever I feel overwhelmed. I do have days when I feel all is on track and days when I feel she is behind and that scares me lots

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SiouxsieSiouxStiletto · 11/06/2023 08:01

We have a newborn hearing test here too but she will still need to have a hearing test I think? It's pretty routine here in the UK if their speech and language isn't on track.

Scirocco · 11/06/2023 13:01

If she has difficulty with moving one or more parts of her body, it'll be difficult for her to meet motor milestones without addressing the movement difficulty. I'd suggest getting an appropriate healthcare professional to assess and treat her. I know in some places kinesiotherapy is used as a term in place of physiotherapy and refers to a registered professional, but in case you're using an alternative therapy or unlicensed professional, definitely get a professional opinion.

Rraluana · 11/06/2023 13:45

We’ve been seen by a neurologist at 6mo, all was good then, and because she had a slight delay using her left arm she referred us to a kinesiotherrapist - she is a registered professional

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