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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Very active baby attempting to cruise - advice wanted ...

22 replies

Kiki21 · 30/04/2009 21:23

Hi! My baby boy is at the stage where I can't leave him alone for a minute ... he sits very well, but will then launch himself at anything interesting just out of his reach, landing PLOP on his tummuy (and crying, more often than not).

If I'm nearby, he's only really happy if I let him stand up and hold onto furniture so he can try and walk (he's also just started being able to pull himself up). But he's not safe on his feet yet - I have to hover behind him to catch him when he falls, or shuffle along on my bottom while he takes a few steps away from the furniture ... (which is a bit embarrassing)

It's exhaussting!

Any advice on keeping him (safely) occupied while I hang up the washing etc.? What toys are good for kids at this stage?

We have a brick trolley, but he can't use it on his own, plus it's too light and falls over when he tries to pull himself up. I've also had to get rid of our lovely ELC play arch as it fell on him while I was out of the room and he tried to pull himself up on it.

Thank you!

PS: Is it only boys who are this busy? He's just 7 1/2 months and I thought I'd have it easy for a bit longer although I'm quite proud of him too.

PPS: He's crawling backwards at the moment - very frustrating for him! Hasn't seemed to discover commando crawling yet.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

thisisyesterday · 30/04/2009 21:25

i just used to sit mine up and surround them with cushions. OR, leave them on their back/tummy and let them wriggle around a bit

FAQinglovely · 30/04/2009 21:26

ermm...........well I just left mine to it at that stage - they soon get used to falling over and learn to land on their bottoms (and then quite frequently continue the movement onto their back )

Northernlurker · 30/04/2009 21:27

I had an early cruiser - you can either give up doing anything other than following him around or you can get an old fashioned playpen with bars and fill it with soft things. He doesn't need elaborate toys - he just wants to experiment with standing and sitting and falling and wriggling upright again. Maybe you could chuck a Iggle Piggle to suck on and a set of stacking cups in there too but that's as far as I would go.

Original poster

Kiki21 · 30/04/2009 21:32

Ha ha! The poor darlings ... We have wooden floors where the furniture is and only a little bit of carpet in the centre of the lounge, so am feeling a bit sorry for him - are kids tougher than I think?!?

Leaving him on his back will work for a bit, but he flips over and starts crawling backwards and ends up stuck under furniture ... should I consider a playpen, perhaps?

What thoughts do people have about baby walkers?

OP posts:

Original poster

Kiki21 · 30/04/2009 21:35

Thanks, Northernlurker - oops, missed your posting before I posted again. We've just lowered his cot so it's now a mini-playpen - will try it out but am worried about him falling backwards and hitting his head on the bars - guess that's where a playpen is useful.

OP posts:

Northernlurker · 30/04/2009 21:37

A child unsupervised in a baby walker is an accident waiting to happen. They flip up and onto things and I don't think the child really gets to explore - there just scooted around too fast - I think a child is safer exploring at their own height and speed tbh. Doubtless others will diagree though. I would go with a playpen - we had one for dd1 who sounds like your son and it was great.

ShowOfHandsNoLongerKissesKunes · 30/04/2009 21:40

Not just boys btw. DD was up, cruising and falling down again a long time before she cracked crawling forwards. At 7 months she was flying round the furniture/

We had one of those flying saucer leapad whatsit thingies and that was good for 15 minutes at a time. Honestly, when she learnt how to sit back down again and effectively crawl it got much easier.

ShowOfHandsNoLongerKissesKunes · 30/04/2009 21:40

Not just boys btw. DD was up, cruising and falling down again a long time before she cracked crawling forwards. At 7 months she was flying round the furniture/

We had one of those flying saucer leapad whatsit thingies and that was good for 15 minutes at a time. Honestly, when she learnt how to sit back down again and effectively crawl it got much easier.

Original poster

Kiki21 · 30/04/2009 21:48

I think I'm with you on the baby walker thing, Northernlurker ... I suspect it's also going to fall into the same category as the door bouncer I got him - fine for 5 minutes but needs supervision (and some parent-entertainment) anyway

And thanks for reminding me that things will change, ShowOfHands ... this too shall pass!

OP posts:

sundew · 30/04/2009 22:06

I know what you are going through dd2 was a very early crawler and walker. Have you tried a baby door bouncer - worked with dd2 for long enough to hang up the washing.

I'm also in the leave them to get on with it camp - I surrounded dd2 with cushions and tried to make sure there was nothing too awful to fall on.

It is a really hard stage and really exhausting so I do feel for you.

acebaby · 01/05/2009 08:51

DS2 is an early cruiser (never crawled). Don't despair! They go from the hovering stage to cruising without help surprisingly quickly. At that point, I emptied my cupboards of anything absolutely life threatening and pretty much left him to it. We have all wooden floors as well. DS2 has had a few falls but only one remotely serious (fell out of the patio doors that his idiotic mother had left open). He has quickly learnt how not to shut cupboard doors on his fingers. The only child proofing I've done are those door anti-slammer horseshoe things, mainly because I'm concerned about DS1 accidently shutting the door on DS2 or vice versa. I may get a stair gate when DS2 masters stairs.

good luck!!

fledtoscotland · 01/05/2009 09:35

i second the playpen. we are just selling ours at the moment as DS2 is able to right himself and is on the move so babygates are ok now. he is trying to pull himself up and stand against the toy box.

i think its just a phase and it will pass as soon as he works how to get up when he falls. as long as you move things that are really dangerous they have to learn.

Original poster

Kiki21 · 01/05/2009 10:09

Thank you everyone - have lots of ideas to try out now! (I've tried the door bouncer a few times without him being happy for much longer than 5 minutes ... but babies change so quickly it'll be worth trying it again.)

OP posts:

Northernlurker · 01/05/2009 10:20

Just a thought re childproofing - it's as important to think about what they can pull down on themselves as it is what they can get at at their level - so I never ever leave an unplugged iron on the ironing board because if they pulled against it could tip - and the iron that was out of reach would be on their heads. Also bookcases etc - is there anything heavy they could dislodge - or the bookcase itself? Apologies if this seems patronising - just that I know from experience that they will always find the thing you didn't think of!

fledtoscotland · 01/05/2009 10:27

mine tries to use my ever-patient dog to pull himself up. the baby gates are for the dogs benefit as much as DS2's safety

wastingmyeducation · 01/05/2009 10:29

I've got our travelcot set up in the living room as a playpen and I can stick him in there if I need to nip to the loo, hang washing out etc.

Entertainer - it's basically a babywalker without wheels! They have a swivelling seat and lots of toys to play with. Fab for when you need to concentrate on cooking for instance. They aren't cheap, but can be picked up second-hand for a reasonable price.

It's hard to not worry about them slipping though isn't it?
Our downstairs is all laminate and tiles and I'm always on edge when he's wandering around.

frustratedmom · 03/05/2009 20:55

Mine walked along furniture and unsteadily at 6 1/2 months a fall knocked his confidence but he was quickly crawing. The travel cot was my saviour when i needed to do things but i had to quickly learn as long as it wasn't life threatening he would only do something once if it hurt him. The exception was dropping the toilet seat on his willy whilst learning to pea standing up and that only happened twice. Kids are fast learners and programmed for survival. Try getting some ball pool balls and leaving them lying about. They have an older age group on them but this is mainly for in a confined space. my DS loved to bat them about. And as there were so many kept him busy in a fairly consistant space until he got more confident moving.

BiscuitStuffer · 03/05/2009 21:32

How about a travel cot for when you HAVE to leave the room (to go to the loo etc)? that way you can flick it down at the end of the day and it goes away plus you get to use it as a travel cot too.

When you're in the room, just leave him to it but keep an eye and ignore as many of his calls of frustration as seems reasonable

BiscuitStuffer · 03/05/2009 21:34

A big box of duplo/megablocks with plastic animals etc whipped out just before I need to leave the room is often enough distraction for him not to notice that I've gone!

Also - any toy that isn't out all the time and anything to bang on - eg wooden spoons/tablespoons and saucepans etc

tryingtobemarypoppins · 03/05/2009 21:49

These are great www.amazon.co.uk/LeapFrog-Learn-Groove-Activity-Station/dp/B0002C6N16/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=toys&qid= 1241383694&sr=8-6

tryingtobemarypoppins · 03/05/2009 21:50

No wheels so stay in one place!

ThingOne · 03/05/2009 21:58

Poor you. I had this with my DS2. It was a nightmare! All our rooms were too small for a playpen so I just had to take him with me where ever I went. It will pass!

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