Crawling - should I be worried?

[Pumpkinlatte]

7mo DD seems to be concerning her doctors, as she is not crawling, not mobile, hates being on her front, and is showing little sign of doing/liking any of the above any time soon. She can sit bolt upright for ages, without support.

Personally, I think she will get there in her own sweet time. She gets frustrated at not being mobile, and I think sometimes the point of frustration = the Eureka moment. So I don't think there is anything "wrong" with her, as such. But am I being blinded by PFB-ness?

Did your child crawl late?

Did your child progress to walking/standing without crawling?

I'd be grateful for any reassurance!!

TIA

Concern at 7 months? Huh?

Dd1 didn't crawl ever. She bum shuffled bit not until around a year old and she disnt walk until 18 months. No one was even slightly concerned. At 3 she can swim 25 metres unaided and ride a bike and is cracking in with gymnastics do her late mobility led to nothing of concern.

All four of my dds were 'late'!
Dd4 didn't crawl until 10m & didn't walk until 23m.
Unfortunetly we have it drummed into us about 'milestones' when the majority of babies vary around them or long before or after.

She sitting up unaided, so she's reached that milestone at the right time.
Crawling at 7m is very early so don't worry she'll do it in her own time

Hi, my DD didn't sit up till she was almost 8 months and finally crawled at about 8/12 months. She is now 11 months and has been walking for just over a week! I wouldn't be concerned at all if I were you, they all progress at different rates.

Crawling isn't a developmental milestone (and 7 months is quite early anyway!). lots of children never crawl, either bum shuffle or just walk.

My DD didn't crawl til 12 months and was a late walker at 18 months (turns out she had weak core muscles but she's fine now at 2 years, just not as confident as some other children).

I think yu're really over worrying (meant nicely!)

My dc1 didn't crawl at all. sat upright from an early age. At 8 months dc1 stood up and started cruising. Was walking unaided at 9months.
I don't think that 7 months is in anyway late for crawling. Dc2 couldn't sit unaided until gone 1year. And even then the doctors weren't interested. they are now, funny what hindsight does

even with hindsight I don't think not crawling at 7 months is an issue.

My DS only started sitting up at about 7 months (maybe later) and only crawled from 9 months. He is now 10 months old and pulling himself up on anything and everything! I have a group of friends who I met on my antenatal class and I'd say my DS is in the middle of them developmentally. Seem have been crawling for a couple of months and a couple and crawling at all yet. They were all born within a month of each other. I'd say 7 months is early to be crawling - let alone worrying about!

DD1 sat up at 6 months, crawled at 8, walked at 10. Hated being on her front. If 7 months was late to crawl, I'd have been stricken with pfb angst, but I don't remember worrying.

What does she do when she's sitting, OP, does she play, reach for things, watch the world go by?

7 months is early to crawl I would say, not late.

7 months is not 'late' for crawling - who told you that?? That's just incorrect.

Sitting independently at 6 months is a good start.
Does she roll/bum shuffle/commando crawl?

My DS1 walked at 11 months and early took to crawling thereafter - because he fell so much less... He was never on his front for more than 5 seconds because he hated it so much.

Your DD sounds like she is doing fine.
Is there a concern for her muscle tone ie too stiff? I might just be reading too much in to your OP.

only took to crawling... sorry

Please don't worry, 7 months is so little. My 2 could not even sit up without tipping straight over at that age!

DS1 never crawled, hated being on his front, sat on his bottom till he started pulling iumself to standing around 13 months and walked at 15 months.

DS2 is 9 months, has never crawled and makes no effort to try!

My first son wasn't crawling by 7 months. He never really did it properly either, his was more of a commando crawl. He was late walking too, but no problems now.

My second son never crawled - he was a bum-shuffler. Also fine now.

DD never really crawled. She stood up and cruised the furniture instead, spent one day doing some weird thing on all fours, and then walked at 10 months.

A friend's DD could not sit unsupported unitl about 10 months - she is fine.

Where in the world are you, Pumkpin? I presume not in the UK?
I am just asking because I don't think a dr would be interested in a non-crawling 7 month old unless there are other concerns.

My DD at 7 months sounds like yours, and I only really remember what she could and couldn't do as she had a 7 month review thing with the HV (who didn't bat an eyelid at the non crawling, tantrum on the tummy behaviour). She walked at 9m, confidently (over confidently if anything, with a few bumps) until 10m when she started crawling and now does that instead at 10.5m. I'm not slightly worried that she got things the wrong way round, they all take their own routes to the same place.

Do you know any other mums with babies the same age? It might help to try and meet some as you will soon see what a varied bunch they can be.

Wow, thank you all for your kind replies. I am in the US, and am indeed a little isolated from other Mums (new to the city, only now starting to make friends etc).

The birth and early years experience is quite different here from what I hear about the UK. All medical care and review of babies is conducted by a paediatrician, there doesn't seem to be an equivalent to HVs or midwives.

Pacific you are spot on: she has tight muscle tone in her upper thighs. You may be surprised to learn that this means that, after a number of assessments, we are on a State-funded physiotherapy program for DD, to rectify this (or 'rectify', perhaps).

I am in two minds about this. Instinctively I think it might be much ado about nothing, but there isn't harm in it so I may as well go ahead with it. The thing is that in order to be eligible for the programme the assesors had to make out that she really needed the physio, and their written report almost makes out like she is disabled.

So, thank you all very much for reassuring me. I will show DH this thread too. She is our first child, so we lack the confidence of experience. Our folks are so long out of the baby stage that they can't really remember!

Incidentally, love the idea of bum shuffling. Whatever gets you from a to b, eh? [hgrin]

Just to add, ds sat up from 6 months, rolled at 9 months and crawled at 10.5 months :) he is now 14 months and a super fast crawler (always getting comments!) and getting close to standing I think. Oh, and cruising everywhere too.

Crikey, just had our one year check on Friday where we discussed DS not crawling, let alone walking! And I was told the only thing they want to see is that baby can sit at that age. She said they would start to look into it if he wasn't crawling by 18 months but also stressed that some babes skip crawling altogether. DS shuffles on his bum a bit, doesn't much like being on his front and is happy as larry. He is way behind the other babes from my NCT group but he'll catch up and it will even out one day. He never stops babbling so maybe he'll talk first!

I do know that the Americans are very hot on milestones, to the point of being way overinvolved. My niece-in-law is stationed here on a US base with her DH and DD (1 late December) and she is being monitored to within an inch of her life. It's very stressful, and there is nothing wrong with DD at all! Since it is a military situation she does not even have the option of saying no to all this checking up, it's madness.

FWIW 7 months is early for crawling - my DDs were both around the 8 month mark. Then they got up on their feet 2 weeks later, little fiends, so I had to re child proof at standing level! They cruised most of the time, DD1 walked at dead on a year, DD2 at 11 months (but she was chasing DD1 at the time). They both hated being on their tummies and would go to crawling from a seated position, not a lying on front position.

Your DD is perfectly normal.

God they'd have been very concerned about my DS; he wasn't even sitting up unaided at 7mo (which tbh concerned me greatly and was the subject of my own frightened thread!). He never crawled, went straight to walking at 15 mo - which, again, was late according to many. He's grand though, runs about like a mad thing now. Don't worry.

Ok, high muscle tone can be as much of a problem and low muscle tone. Or an imbalance between muscle tone in different areas, if that makes any sense .

FWIW, I don't think you need to worry, but physiotherapy sounds like a good idea. In the early months/years, physio is mainly about training neuro-muscular pathways.

My niece, now 5 1/2, had problems in the movement/muscle tone department as a baby and is now fine but had a fair bit of help along the way.

Blimey, my DS didn't sit up til 9 months! He was sturdy and sat perfectly in a chair but just refused to be folded. He used to plank rigidly

He didn't crawl at all until 10 months, and it was more like 12 before he had any kind of speed.

He's now just taking his first wobbly zombie steps at 14 (almost 15) months.

He's just a cautious one. Won't even let you rock his rocking horse never mind go on a swing. I have a horrible feeling he's going to be one of those people who goes to Alton Towers and spends all day holding everyone's coats