worried mum - 14 months and no movement

[bh13]

Hi - my baby is 14 months and showing no sign of crawling let alone load bearing. I've tried to not worry but having looked on line this seems definitely not normal. Has anyone had this experience? Should I be going to a Doctor?

is your baby holding up its head on its tummY/ is it doing other things like grabbing, playing, babbling?
i would go to a doctor

Honestly,if you have any worries just go see health visitor or GP.Do other aspects of development give you any cause for concern?

Thank you so much for answering! No other wise she seems fine - she is holding her head up, grabbing, playing etc. She seems very double jointed - may be this plays a part?

My dd has been very active since very early, but one of my friend's has a dd the same age as mine, and she didn't start crawling until 15 months, and took her first steps last week, at 17.5 months.

She did have her checked out, as the h/v noticed that one ankle was at a bit of a funny angle, but the consultant saw no cause for concern.

My friends dd is 21 months and only just started walking about 3 weeks ago - she too showed no interest til about 4 or 5 weeks before that. She made no attempt to crawl either -tho she did start bum shuffling at about 18 months(I think). She took her to the gp as she was really worried, gp sent her for pelvic x-ray but everything came back normal. Her dd is now walking - still quite wobbly but walking all the same.

I think it is just a case of all babies are different and some are quicker at some things than others. Your dc will walk when she is ready - please dont worry about this - when she is walking you will wish she would just sit down for 5mins - trust me!

HI, this post worried me slightly as my son was exactly the same at this age and was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at 20months. I don't want to scare you, as your baby is probably perfectly OK, but I would get her checked out by a GP or Paediatric Consultant if you are worried. Does you baby wieght bear when you hold her up to stand on your knee or will she not put her feet down at all? You say she seems 'double jointed' - is this is any particular area of her body or all over. Are her arms or legs difficult to move? Do you have problems getting her dressed or changing her nappy? I am only asking these questions because these are the areas in which we (with hindsight) struggled with my son, and they are typical CP symptoms. I just which someone had picked up on it earlier and told me. (My mum had a suspicion something was wrong but didn't voice her concerns in case she upset me!) Good luck, and any worries, ask somebody in the know. I am sure your baby will be fine, and I am sorry if I have scared you.

If she's not load bearing I'd get her checked (more of a concern than crawling I think). Hypermobile joints can sometimes affect physical development as well- I've met a few children with that who were helped by physio.

Any concerns always get them checked out.

Thanks for answering
When I hold her up she brings her legs up - as if she is going to sit on the floor! When occasionally she does put her feet down she just crumples. She does bounce in a bouncer though...
She uses her feet for lots of things ie getting toys or even food as she brings her feet up in her highchair - and can easily do the splits or lie down and sucks her toes as her legs are up in front of her - if this makes sense. I suppose her double jointedness is really her legs. Her arms/legs are not difficult to move and I have no problems getting her dressed or changing her nappy.

My friend's first son was like this IIRC. He is now three and walks perfectly, but had to have some exercises etc. as he has a condition called hypermobility. It's nothing to worry about, means their little joints are very mobile and like someone said, double jointed.
I would suggest this to your HV or GP and see what they say.
Good luck

I have looked after babies and children who sound like your dd, who had a condition called hypermobility. One of these children is now a fantastic gymnast.

It's not terribly rare, and not something to worry about.

Does this describe your dd?

See your gp. 14 months is late to not be crawling, but some children are just late to get moving. Don't try to force her legs to see how mobile they are, btw!

x posts fa

I'm typing slowly this morning due to a late night on mn!

Wanderingtrolley. My dd1 is hypermobile but was not a particularly late developer. In fact she was weight bearing at 4 months. She missed out the crawling stage and walked around the furniture from 8 months though she didn't have the necessary co-ordination to "let go" and walk unaided until 2 weeks after her first birthday which is of course perfectly average.

My gut reaction is therefore that this is not what bh13's dd has.

Think 14 months is still not to worry re not walking unaided but not weight bearing seems a bit late. (DS didn't walk unaided til 15 months but was walking holding hands, holding on to furniture etc at 13 months)

Have absolutely no idea what could be (and may indeed be nothing at all to worry about ) but urge visit to GP and request refer to pead.

Wonder why health visitor has not said anything as presume she's had all her developmental checks?

Don't worry bh13 and good luck

HV said she was concerned as our baby was not sitting or load bearing at her 8 month check but gave no other help or advice.
I will go see GP! I wouldn't be so concerned if I thought she was going to crawl but I can't see any liklihood of it. She does roll lots though.

I think you should go to your GP and request a referal to a community paediatrian.

An assessment will put your mind at rest and if there is a problem then the paediatian will organise help for your child.

My son didn't pull himself up until he was 14 months because of orthopedic problems. However he is absolutely fine at 5 years old.

I would not worry about cp unless the physio worries it might be cp.

My DD (17.5 months) was also completely stationary at 14 months, although she would load bear and I got her referred to Orthopaedics after my HV saw her and thought that she had an odd ankle (Can'tSleepWon'tSleep - do I know you?!). He couldn't find anything wrong and she eventually started creeping / commando style crawling around 15 months. She only started crawling properly about 2 weeks ago (hands and knees) and took her first steps at the weekend, although very reluctantly. She has been cruising for about a month.

I've just looked at the link to Hypermobility, and it basically describes me as a child (sat in the W position for years!), so I now think that DD has inherited this from me and is a factor in her slow progress on the movement front. Get a referral from your GP or HV to put your mind at rest - she'll probably start crawling whilst you wait for an appointment.

My ds2 was a very late walker. He didn't weightbear until 18mths and did that weird sit in mid-air too when we tried to get him to stand up. He bum-shuffled until he was nearly 22 mths before finally getting up on his feet in the park one day. He is now running around at 2.5 yo with no problems at all, in fact he rarely sits still!

I would mention it to your GP or health vistor, more for reassurance at the moment and to see if any further assessment would be beneficial. I was told that concern would only be raised if he was not yet walking by his second birthday (bum-shufflers are apparently much more likely to walk late). However ds2 was still referred to community paediatric team at 18mths as a precaution as the waiting list for assessment is quite long in our area. Knowing that he had been referred for an assessment put my mind at ease and in the end he was up and walking before he got an appt through.

All the best, try not to worry, 14mths is young still.

Laloop and tattycatty - thanks so much - reassuring to read you've had similar experiences. Were both your babies very limber/flexible?

Doesn't appear that DD is overtly flexible at the moment, although she does have a habit of sitting in the highchair with her foot on the tray, but will be keeping an eye on her now that I've read up a bit.

DS (now 5.6) was exactly like yours bh13. He started bum-shuffling at 14 months IIRC and didn't walk until 29 months (paed told us upper limit for bum-shufflers is 30 months). We've only recently found out that he has hypermobility (double-jointed) which probably explains it. He was and still is extremely flexible. The day he started to walk he ran for about 2 miles! He has no problems walking/running/jumping/hopping etc. He does however have a few problems (can do it but finds it harder) cutting with scissors & riding a bike. Paed told us this will get easier for him as his joints stiffen up.

Bh, I can't recall if ds2 was very limber/flexible but I do remember that he was able to tuck his legs right up underneath him when he shuffled along (as if he was in the yoga lotus position!) so he could well have been quite flexible in his lower body. Did you or her dad walk late, (as I think this can be a factor)?

Hi bh13, my dd (now 18months) didn't crawl until 15 months, then walked just 1 week later.
She sat up quite early (5 months) but then was content to just do that for a long while. She started pointing (and grunting for stuffs) at around 8 months, so never felt the need to move I guess.

Hi there.Your little one is still young but if you are concerned then I would advise contacting your hv,a paediatric referral will not hurt and will probably set your mind at rest.My dd has got hypermobility and a global delay,poor speech and movement and is awaiting speech and physiotherapy.She bumshuffled at 15 months but does not crawl and speech poor.Your baby is probably absolutely fine if there are no other issues and I do not want to worry you,dd has had other issues too so slightly different.At least if you highlight it you can get it checked and am sure set your mind at rest.Hugs Wrinkly.

It sounds v similar to my dd - she was extended breech and would always relax by holding her feet over her shoulders. Have a great photo of her in the door bouncer, holding her ankles and bouncing on her bum...
DD is hypermobile and didn;t bear and weight until 22 m - commando crawled at 26 mo and walked at nearly 3. She is autistic and has gdd, although we didn't know this at the time. You need a referral to Paeds and Physio, to get your dd a referral to Physio for some Piedro boots to help her stabilise. good luck - lots of children have this, but is it SUCH a worry, especially when you see all her peers walking, running etc. It honestly does get easier.

DO I understand that your child isn't sitting either? I am concerned because ,like Nat, my son wasn't sitting or crawling or weighbearing at 1 and was diagnosed with CP when he was 2 1/2. He was walking at that stage though, just very wobbly.

I would get your child checked at the hospital out patients TBH