Baby referred to physio - what to expect?

[SpodoCommodo]

My 11.5 month baby is being seen by physio next week after an initial phone appointment. All his other development is on track aside from his gross motor skills. He can weight bear and stand while holding your hands, sits well but can't get into a sitting position by himself, or onto all fours to crawl. He also tires quickly on his front.

I'm a bit worried - what kind of things are they looking for?

My 13 month has been having physio for same reasons. We have been told she has low muscle tone and have lots and lots of activities and exercises given to us by the physio to do at home. Physio is all about the amount of time you put in to it at home once they have shown you the exercises to do.

Good luck!

Thank you - does she have a condition that leads to hypotonia? I've wondered about DS but he seems quite sturdy rather than floppy.

No condition but she was born 6 weeks early and the physio said she sees lots of prem babies with the same problem.

Her main weakness is her arms. She can pull to standing and is just starting to cruise around furniture but can't hold herself up on all fours. She gets about by rolling to something then pulling up to sitting then up to standing

She sounds like she's doing well! It's a bit of a mystery with mine, born at term with no problems. His fine motor skills are amazing but just can't move around much. He rolls over ok and has pulled himself to standing once. What kind of exercises do you do?

Sometimes there is some weakness in the core and there is n reason for it but I know it's a worry and hard to see other babies developing around you.

It all starts with the core really so lots of practice to strengthen the core. Sitting him on your knees and leaning back then slowly pulling forward again so he has to use his abs / core to sit up again. Lots of row row row your boat back and forward, lots of playing in side sitting and also laying him over your legs when you are set straight legged on the floor and reading a book so he is leaning on his arms and lifting one arm at a time off the floor to turn the pages. Also playing in high kneeling position at an activity table or similar.

Some babies don't crawl and there isn't a reason for it - NHS officially say it isn't a milestone however any physio you speak to will tell you how important it is for future skills like hand writing and sitting still at a school desk etc because skipping crawling means they don't have strength in their shoulders and back as they move in to childhood.

My baby has made so much progress but I still don't think she will ever be able to hands and knees crawl but we keep trying every day. Physio warned she will likely be a late Walker but not really a surprise to me

We saw a physio for ours at 16 months. She was unable to stand independently and resistant to bearing weight on her legs at all, not cruising etc. Never crawled traditionally but bum shuffled. Rolled quite late - near 9 months from memory.

The physio was really helpful - they were lovely with her, had diff toys out and did a full assessment while watching and encouraging her to move. They were able to identify/rule out any inherent physical issues and then offer pratical advice on exercises for at home, with follow up and goals to aim for.

I was worried, and actually felt like I'd failed her somehow, but in fact its just time and extra support needed in her case, and the physio was great for guiding that.

We were advised to self refer at 15 months for similar reasons. She watched her moving (bum shuffling!) and asked questions then tried to tempt her to pull herself up with exciting toys and perfect height things to hold. She showed us things we could try at home with our own furniture. She saw us monthly. Got concerned about the lack of progress, discussed referring us to a paediatrician then was as surprised as us when my baby just stood in the middle of the room and walked steadily!

@SpodoCommodo is this an NHS physio referral? My DS was very similar at 12 months. Sturdy boy who could stand with support and sit fine but couldn’t get onto all 4s/crawl or get up to sitting or standing and back down again. We were told to ride it out. He’s 1.5 now and can walk but is still nowhere near all 4s/crawling or getting off/back to the floor. Don’t know if I should maybe push a bit harder or consider some private physio…

Yes it's NHS, I had an amazing HV who referred him at 6 months. I had sort of hoped they'd dismiss the referral and say I was over anxious, but they didn't and wanted to see him in person.

That's really great the HV referred at 6 months. May I ask what she saw at that age to prompt referral so young?

To help keep your positivity up we have been doing physio for 6 weeks and today for the first time ever she piled on to all fours and started rocking. Before physio she would never ever have had the arm strength to do this!

@Fredsgirl19

That's really great the HV referred at 6 months. May I ask what she saw at that age to prompt referral so young?

To help keep your positivity up we have been doing physio for 6 weeks and today for the first time ever she piled on to all fours and started rocking. Before physio she would never ever have had the arm strength to do this!

Honestly, it was because I have postnatal anxiety and was worried. He wasn't pushing up on his hands and just face planting during tummy time.

Update for anyone interested/in the same boat. Physio was lovely. She doesn't think there's anything physically wrong with him, no hypotonia, hypermobility, weakness or stiffness, hips are fine. She's given us some exercises - side sitting, more tummy time things too.

@AliceW89 I said do I need to help him with cruising but it's the real basics she wants to focus on in order to help with those transitions - from tummy to knees to sitting up then standing unaided. You might want to look into exercises for that? This website basically has the ones I was given: mamaot.com/tips-for-helping-babies-learn-to-crawl/

I forgot to ask the physio - how often should I be doing these exercises?