DD can’t support herself on legs

[luska]

My DD is just six months old. She has very good neck control and can sit up on my knee with me holding her round the waist. She’s also showing signs of crawling by bringing her knees up towards her stomach during tummy time.

But... when I try encouraging her to stand (with me holding her, obviously!) her legs are just slack and she makes no attempt to straighten them. I know she can do it, as when I’m changing her nappy she will often straighten them very firmly whilst on the changing mat (which makes it a bit hard to change her!) A friend’s baby who’s the same age as mine can already stand with support from her mum, which got me wondering.

Should I be concerned?

I don't think so. It is important to resist comparisons.

She's six months old. She'll get there in her own time but she's still very young.

No big rush but I would get her checked for hypermobility
Standing and bearing weight is different ftom straighening legs lying down

DD2 was the same - she literally never stood on your lap as a baby, or if you tried to stand her up on the floor - her legs would just kind of slide if you tried to make her stand. She bum-shuffled rather than crawled and was a late walker (17 months 3 weeks) but had no trouble pulling herself up and walking when she finally got round to it. She is very flexible now (aged 9) and has quite flat feet (like me), not sure if that’s something to do with it.

So I wouldn’t worry at all at this point - other babies will stand (with support!) quite happily but yours may never do!

No big rush but I would get her checked for hypermobility

That’s basically impossible at the moment, as my GP is only doing phone consultations unless patients are in need of urgent medical attention

Absolutely not. My child was wobbly as anything until about 8 months - year old now and not yet standing fully unsupported but can certainly pull themselves up and cruise along furniture like a demon.

Are there any exercises I can do to try and encourage her to bear weight on her legs?

My daughter did this until she was over 12 months old, believe it or not. She just didn’t want to plant her feet down. They hung like she was in a parachute, IFSWIM.

Shortly after her first birthday she pulled herself up to standing and she walked at 15 months. No motor issues whatsoever.

At six months old a baby should be sitting up. Walking is a completely different ball game dependent upon how your baby crawls (which is next).

Scan she bear her weight on her legs? in other words, if you hold her upright just above the floor, does she put her legs down to the floor or does she curl them up? That's the test - not quite the same as standing, which few six month olds can do.

The weight-bearing test is a 6-8mohth check up target, so if she can't do it yet, keep checking every so often. If she can't do it by eight months, take her to see the HV as it may indicate a hip issue.

Poster who says "yours may never stand" I don't think they mean that! crawling - not every baby does that, not an issue. standing, hopefully most babies do do that.

She's only six months. Don't stress, this is perfectly normal, most babies can't stand supported at six months. None of my three could but they all walked at around a year.

We had the exact same thing. Don't bother with your GP, get in touch with your HV. Ours came out, assessed our DD and referred her for physio. She suspected hyper mobility and it was confirmed by the physio. She's 16 months now and only just pulling herself up. I'm not concerned however and I don't think you should be. I do have some exercises which the physio gave us to encourage her to weight bear. If you PM me tomorrow, I'll take a photo and send them to you (I'm in bed just now)

Not trying to worry you but my daughter was the same and she turns out to have hypotonia and hypermobility. Her legs seemed really strong and she would kick like crazy in her bouncer but when you tried to make her beat weight on her legs she just wouldn’t do it. At 6 months she is still little but by 8 months she should definitely be able to put weight through her legs even if she is very wobbly and you obviously still have to support her.

i dont think vertical weight bearing is expected at 6 months....more about 9/10/11 when most start 'cruising' at one stage they suggested not making dc stand much as their hips and spines/necks are still qite flexible .. tummy time to develop strong cores/necks is the prime movement activity at 6 months i think..

there is a good development guide here..
www.nhsggc.org.uk/kids/child-development/interactive-child-development-timeline/

if you are concerned contact your health visitor even if they are not doing home visits in our area they will video call ......

there is such a range of developemnet at this time its hard to tell.. my dc v keen on rolling then comando crawled and cruised moved constantly .... but didnt walk without support til 15mths, my bf daughter sat ....hardly crawled hardly moved then got up and walked at 12mths - her mum so worried.....her 2nd though on his feet at 9months....

At six months? no I would not be, I am sure there are parents with stories about specific medical conditions that effect their children that you should take your child to the doctor to rule out but generally no I would not be concerned at 6 months

No need to be concerned @ 6 months

If she is not weightbearing @ 9 months speak to your HV to get her checked out by a paediatrician or paediatric physiotherapist

Some kids do things in their own time and need to feel confident first. My niece crawled for ages and then walked. She didn't do the standing up and walking around the table thing for more than two days. Same with talking. She refused to talk till she could say whole sentences. Some kids are like that. So we all worried but the child did what she had to do on time in the end, just followed a dofferent path to get there.

DD didn't crawl until her first birthday, and started holding herself to stand at around 13 months. She started walking at 15 months and by 18 months she was as mobile and agile as the early movers.

I think at that age they are supposed to be able to bear weight on their legs, but I don’t think it’s something you need to worry about as it’ll very likely sort itself out. I’d speak to the doc to make sure

I have fat babies. They take ages to learn to walk but have been further ahead with vocabulary. Don't worry about the walking. If baby stands too early/forced to stand too early for long periods of time it can result in their bones not growing straight because they aren't ready for weight bearing.

@Wigeon

DD2 was the same - she literally never stood on your lap as a baby, or if you tried to stand her up on the floor - her legs would just kind of slide if you tried to make her stand. She bum-shuffled rather than crawled and was a late walker (17 months 3 weeks) but had no trouble pulling herself up and walking when she finally got round to it. She is very flexible now (aged 9) and has quite flat feet (like me), not sure if that’s something to do with it.

So I wouldn’t worry at all at this point - other babies will stand (with support!) quite happily but yours may never do!

That sounds like hyper mobility to me? (I'm not an expert, I just have a friend with hyper mobility and she was very similar to how you're described your child).

I really wouldn’t worry.

Two friends had what I call “vertical” babies. Their babies were sitting up solidly at 6 months and loved to be held in the standing up position. Their babies didn’t crawl until around 10 months but moved quickly on to walking by 11/12 months.

My DS was a “horizontal” baby. He didn’t mind tummy time, was an early and efficient roller and was commando crawling everywhere around 6 months and proper crawling by 7/8 months. He didn’t sit up loosely until almost 8 months, so I never got that period where I could sit him with some toys and he couldn’t move, he was on the move before he could sit!

Anyway, he did not like standing up. As he got older, he would choose to cruise but if I tried to stand him on his legs, he’d pull them up. As he came up on 10-12 months, we’d try to walk him around holding his hands. Nope! Pull up his legs every time, or sit down with a plonk. Simply was not interested. Then he decided one day he wanted to walk at 13 months and just got on with it one day.

So my DS resisted a standing position far past the age of 6 months. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with him, he just didn’t want to do it. He could kick hard enough on a play mat so it wasn’t a strength issue. I really wouldn’t worry about this, especially not at 6 months. Some babies love to stand, some don’t. It didn’t hold my DS back from standing/cruising/walking on hid own terms.

My daughter did this until she was over 12 months old, believe it or not. She just didn’t want to plant her feet down. They hung like she was in a parachute, IFSWIM.

This is exactly the same as my DD.

Scan she bear her weight on her legs? in other words, if you hold her upright just above the floor, does she put her legs down to the floor or does she curl them up?

She just has her legs bent in the “parachute position” mentioned above and won’t straighten them. I don’t think she sees the need or understands that she could straighten them just because I’m holding her in that position, IYSWIM!

At six months old a baby should be sitting up.

Sitting up on their own or with support? My DD can sit up for a long time but only if I’m holding her round the waist. If I let go she topples over.

Is hypermobility a serious condition?

I understand why you are worried , but...

Do NOT compare your child with others.

When mine were young the NHS provided a list of milestones. I found this one (which hopefully is still current): www.cambscommunityservices.nhs.uk/advice/childhood-development/milestones

But you might have something specific from your area - your local health visitors will give you a list perhaps.

If you have any concerns, ring your GP. They don't mind you asking and there's no harm in checking.