17 month old not walking

[CatsRidingRollercoasters]

I might be over thinking this but would really appreciate hearing about your experiences. My son is 17 months old tomorrow. He's been cruising since 9 months. He's a very fast crawler and climbs the stairs, onto the sofa etc.

A few months ago we noticed that he didn't like having his left leg pulled straight during nappy changes etc. He seemed to be in pain. A few weeks ago he had an ultrasound and they said that the bones looked normal but there was more fluid than usual in his joints.

He still isn't walking. He's not even close. When he cruises along the edge of furniture he doesn't put his left foot flat - he sort of drags it on its side sometimes, but doesn't seem to be in pain.

Tomorrow we're seeing our GP to go through the ultrasound pictures. Should I push them to investigate the not walking or is it still not that late? Does it sound like he might have a disability or does this sound fairly normal for a non walker?

He is very tall for his age so it might just be a balance thing. Am I worrying over nothing? My daughter walked at 11 months but I know it's pointless to compare! Even so, she was saying several words and phrases by now and ds isn't saying much at all.

He is a lovely, happy, friendly and affectionate little chap. He was born at full term, still breastfeeding, good eater etc. No obvious problems apart from this.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

I have no experience but I'd push the 'he doesn't put his left foot on the ground flat' point not the he isn't walking as it's still not out of the normal age range.

I would say push for everything you can. My DS was born 11 weeks early, and isn't walking yet. Currently at 17.5 months. Cruising for the last 5 months or so. He'll walk holding 1 finger, but his feet are definitely at 10 - 2 and has an xray scheduled on his hips. Only after my and the OH pushing and pushing have we had Paed see him who suggested the x-ray and physio come round and suggest Kaye frame and orthotics referral etc. Sadly you need to push.

17 months is quite late. Push all you can to get referred to the appropriate NHS department. On the speech thing, My DS was a bit late with talking. He's now 2.5 and never shuts up!

Do push the GP for everything you can and follow this up, at least for your own peace of mind if nothing else. Doesn't ask doesn't get and your baby needs you to ask for him. Ask about the extra fluid in his joints and definitely make a point about his left foot and not wanting you to straighten his leg and keep following up with more appointments if they just try to put you off.

As others have said, 17 mos is late but still within 'normal' range for walking and talking. The real worries start more at 22 - 24 mos so you are right to begin investigating now. My completely normal niece was quite late to walk (22 mos+) but later doctors determined that she had hyperflexible joints which made it much more difficult for her to balance. Although she could make her needs/wants known, she was also slow at actual talking with words so they took her to a speech therapist who had some great, easy ways to encourage her to build up her vocab. It's also important for adults to hold back to that children have to make the effort to talk - if they really want/need it, they will tell you.

Thank you everyone for your replies! I really appreciate it.

We saw the doctor and basically he said that ds's hip bones definitely looked normal in the ultrasound. There is too much fluid in the joints which is just about within the normal range but still unusual and needs investigating.

He's referred him on to a physiologist as he thinks whatever is wrong could be delaying walking, especially as ds drags his left foot a bit.

My poor little boy