Development Delay?

[FirstTimeMummyDS88]

My DS will be one in three weeks time, he was born 7 weeks early and only weighed 2lb 9ozs. He is the happiest little boy you could ever meet, his weight is now perfect for his age although he does still look small when next to children the same age but I suppose that's to be expected. I'm just a bit worried that he doesn't seem to be hitting his physical milestones, he can sit up for a while unaided but then just tends to fall to the side As if he has forgotten to support himself, he makes no effort to try and crawl and when I encourage him by getting down on floor with him and rolling a ball or a toy for him to crawl to he just lies down on the floor or rolls over until he gets to the toy. He also make no attempt to try and stand up or pull himself up in furniture. I have discussed this with HV who gave me some play ideas to encourage movement and we have been doing these daily but he doesn't seem to be making any progress

Hi FirstTimeMummy I think you might get more help if you move your post somewhere else with more traffic. Not sure where the best place would be, though. Maybe you could ask MNHQ for advice, or scroll down the index?

When you talk and think of your son do you take into account his adjusted age. 7 weeks early is almost 2 months.
So at the age of 12 months should be on target for a 10 month child.

Hmm, that is a bit of a worry, even if you take in his premature age (10 months) you would be expecting him to be able to sit up by himself.

@Knitclubchatter my HV did give me forms to fill out for milestones based on a 9-10 month old baby so even with his adjusted 7 weeks count back there are still some concerns

I suppose I'm just waiting for the HV to get back in touch and review, it could just be that he's little and a bit lazy

Hi
I have a daughter who has some developmental delays and you have my sympathies because it’s so worrying and I found it quite isolating too.

She was born at term but wasn’t able to sit up (or even look up) at 9 months. We started physio and it made a MASSIVE difference.

She’s still behind she’s 20 months now and isn’t walking but is making progress. What I’ve found is you get a lot more action and help from a GP rather than a health visitor. Make an appointment and discuss your concerns with a GP as soon as you can. I always felt like I was wasting their time when I did this. I didn’t want to be that over worried mum but I wish I’d done it sooner because we got referrals right away for physio and a pediatrician.

Not dissing health visitors at all they are amazing but sometimes a second opinion from someone with a different perspective/ set of qualifications can be the thing that gets you on the help you need.

to you it’s wonderful to hear your son is so happy. My dd is a very happy contented soul too. I do think sometimes that does stop them progressing as they’re just happy to watch the world go by, but do be pushy and ask for more help. The earlier you start the better xx

@greatandpowerfulozma

Thankyou so much for this
I do feel there is something just not quite right with his development, I think part of my reluctance is every time I say something my DP family tell me i need to stop comparing him to other children and I've even been called a bully. In the past though I had worries about him, when he was a few week old I thought his head was too big for his body, this was when I was called a bully by MIL, then when he was at the hospital for a review they did say his head was too big for his body and he had to have extra tests, thankfully it was just due to him being prem and now he is fully in proportion. I'm now starting to realise that the saying "no one knows your baby like you" is totally true. He is booked in for his 1 year review in ten days one so I will discuss my concerns with the doctor then

Yes I had a lot of the “every baby is different” and “ she’s just taking her time” type comments but I knew something wasn’t right. I’ve never been called a bully though! Poor you! I’m glad you got the head thing checked and it turned out ok.

I think some people (esp. grandparents in my experience) are very uncomfortable with the idea of something being “wrong” and it makes them quite defensive on behalf of the baby. My mom has said sooo many times no one would have made a fuss about dd in the 80’s .

Good luck with the review. I hope it goes well. The special needs boards are ace for discussing this kind of thing if you have more questions. People are lovely there