Nearly five months old and I’m worried about his milestones

[SamJTony]

Hi all

My baby boy will be five months old in a couple of weeks time. He has hated tummy time since he was born and will only tolerate a few minutes at a time. I try to do this four or five times a day. He lifts his head no problem and turns it from side to side but he is yet to really push himself up on his arms. He also does not appear to be anywhere close to rolling over and when sitting, I always have to hold him otherwise he crumples and almost folds double at the middle. Friends babies of a similar age seem to have better core strength and mobility than he does - should I be concerned by this or just chalk it up to babies being individuals and developing at their own rates? It’s especai frustrating as my son also has positional plagiocephaly so I’m desperate for him to start spending more time on his front to try and counteract the flatness that has developed on the back of his head! He met his other milestones reasonably well, including smiling, laughing, tracking objects, reaching and grabbing for things and pushing down on his legs to stand. It’s just the rolling and sitting that seems to have evaded him. Does anyone have a similar experience that might help to put my mind at rest or is this something I should be concerned about? Many thanks

Hi! When it comes to concerns, perhaps a visit to your HV/child nurse/community team will help? They obviously see lots of babies and can let you know what they think , potentially with some facts from studies/data.

Anecdotally, my DD (6.5 months) HATED tummy time with a passion, but as soon as she could roll herself both ways, you cannot keep her from her front now. Equally, the folding in half thing seems familiar, as it still seems now when she sits that her head is still a bit too heavy for her core to handle for long periods of time. I think it might be worth you seeing how you go in a month - lots of development happens between now and then :)

My little girl is now just over 12 months and has certainly not been in the first few of her group to do most things, hard to tell exactly as I only know one other baby exactly the same age as her and he is very advanced physically. She hated tummy time and wouldn't do it until she knew that she could roll herself off her tummy again if she wanted to. I just carried her in a sling instead of lying her down and her head has not been flattened at all. If your baby will tolerate being in a sling then it is a good alternative to tummy time for those who don't like it. Incidentally, she is now crawling like a racecar and pulling herself up to standing on the furniture and is definitely developing just fine, she is just choosing her own path for doing it. There was one baby a few months (I think 3 months) younger than her who was crawling before my little girl did, so at least 4 months earlier and my little girl did a funny commando style tummy drag across the floor for a couple of months before she properly crawled. She was definitely slower than this other baby, but every curve has to have someone of the leading edge and someone on the back edge. What they do now, is no indicator of what they are like in later life.

You need to stop worrying about milestones.

Unless he is wildly falling behind (he isn't) then there are huge variations in what is 'normal' for the first couple of years.

My DC2 has gone from not being able to sit upright on her own to full on crawling, sitting and being able to pull herself up into a standing position in the space of 3 weeks. She's 7 months.

Your friends babies aren't exactly the same age as yours, and even if they were they would still all be doing things at different times any way.

DC1 has a friend a few days older who we have known since birth. They have both hit 'milestones' at completely different times, DC1 sometimes first, her friend sometimes first. At age 2 they are both walking/talking at who hit which milestones first in their first year has made little difference to where they are now.

A lot can change in a few weeks at this age. Just try and enjoy it rather than worrying too much.

Hi all thanks for your replies. I guess I’m worrying more than most as my son was born with a hearing loss. We are still waiting on test results which may pinpoint a cause for this as it really did come completely out of the blue and knocked me and DH for six. One of the causes that we have been told about can cause developmental delays which is why I’m over analyzing every little thing he does or doesn’t do. It would just be reassuring to know he is not wildly off track!

My Dd is 7m (today actually I've just realised) and first rolled front to back at 4m when naked but has only rolled in clothes this week. She hated tummy time. Just this week she can roll both ways happily.

She has been sitting in a fashion for a month or so but I totally get what you mean about folding in the middle. Again this week I've suddenly seen a massive improvement in her sitting.

Try not to worry, my husband worries she's not crawling yet but dd1 didn't crawl until 9m but walked at 11. They're all different

Time in a sling counts as tummy time.

If he's not even five months I would be quite surprised if he was confidently sitting? I think rolling is so hit and miss too.
If you would like to get some tummy time in will he lay more happily on your chest? Or would he manage a jumperoo?

I can understand the anxiety but they sometimes achieve a lot in a couple of days. There is no harm in contacting the hv though?

My baby sat up really early (4.5 months) but didn’t roll until he was 9 months and already crawling. Tbh it was great as I could put him down on his back and knew he’d stay there! He also always hated tummy time so I didn’t make him do it. He never commando crawled, just went straight to hand and knees at 7.5 months. 5 months is tiny - nothing to worry about.

My son is 9.5 months, he has only just been able to sit unaided. He doesn't even attempt to crawl let alone walk. We didn't bother with tummy time as he hated it. He can push up off the ground but only mastered it at 8 months . He doesn't roll either 😂

Some babies don't roll at all until much later

Average time for sitting to appear is 6-10 months so he has plenty of time for that

Does he have a tummy time play mat or yes, use a sling ? Positional plagiocephaly is common in babies who haven't done much tummy time but sometimes it just happens. If it is one sided, does he have a tight neck muscle ?

Some babies that are a little extra flexible (hypermobile) can be at the later end of normal for anti gravity milestones

He sounds fine to me at the moment bit speak to your HV to put your mind at test

My DS1 hated tummy time and was a late roller compared to his friends but he caught up and was the first walker. He also only rolled once first thing in the morning each day for a good few months. God knows why. If you missed his window he wouldn't do it 🤷🏻‍♀️

DS2 is almost 6mths and rolled and sat for the first time this week. He's only rolled twice since and not sat.

I kind of feel babies of this age do things when they feel they need to. If a baby can reach things or is happy just watching the world go by, they aren't bothered about learning to roll etc until they decide they want more.