8 months and not even trying to sit also can't hold small objects

[teazle]

My 8 month and one week old daughter does not make any attempt to sit up. If I sit her up she can't support herself at all and sometimes arches her back to lie down instead. Developmental guides seem to suggest she should be sitting for ten minutes now. She is also nowhere near crawling and doesn't like lying on her tummy for very long. Should I be worried?

Developmental guides should be thrown into the nearest bin. All babies are different, and while one may be sitting happily at five months, another may not sit until nine or ten months.

Same with crawling; in fact, some babies just never bother to crawl.

If you are concerned, have a chat with the HV. But the chances are everything is fine

Have you got any other concerns?

She can hold her head up, hold rattles, spoons, lego pieces etc but not pick up a raisin. Otherwise, no other concerns.

What is her muscle tone like?

I have to admit I would be a litle bit worried.
however I also agree with WWB. all babies are different, and she may just be late developing these skills.

but, I would go and see the gp. because if there is something wrong then the sooner you get it sorted the better. and if there is nothing wrong then you haven't lost anything by seeing someone about it.

sorry, meant to say as well, I wouldn't be at all worried about not wanting to crawl/be on tummy. a LOT of babies never crawl anyway.

I would only really be getting a bit unsure about the not sitting up and not picking things up

I suppose her muscle tone is probably rather weak, although I don't know what it should be like at this age.

She can feed herself easy finger food (rice cakes etc)

You need to get her checked for hypotonia.

does she use pincer grip? (thumb and forefinger) or does she just grab stuff with the whole hand?

does she use pincer grip? (thumb and forefinger) or does she just grab stuff with the whole hand?

I think she grabs things with her whole hand.

Thank you all for your comments, they've been very useful. I think I will contact hv / gp and get her checked out.

You will need a consultant to dx hypotonia.