11 month old not moving - so worried 😟

[Isittimeforbubblesyet]

Hi all,

I am not sure if anyone can help here but I am becoming so worried about my 11 month old. He is such a gorgeous, slightly grumpy (!) boy who loves being with his family but at his review, he failed his gross motor skills section and the HV said he would be reviewed in again in a couple of months.
He just doesn’t move. He sits up well and can bend one leg in but he doesn’t roll, crawl, pull himself up or do anything mobile. If you put him on all fours, he just slides down onto his tummy and cries.
We have tried putting toys out of reach but he just loses interest if he can’t reach them. If I place him standing against the sofa, he will remain standing but won’t move. Sometimes his feet are flat, sometimes he is on his toes. He has a walker which he can hold on to but again, doesn’t do anything on it.
I know some babies don’t crawl and to be honest, that isn’t the bit I am worried about. It’s more the lack of pulling up etc as I made the mistake of googling and now I am worried something is seriously wrong.

I am so sorry for the long post. If anyone has any words of wisdom, I would truly appreciate it.

If you're really worried you need to take him to the doc, but I just want to let you know that my second daughter didn't move around much until she was 13 months! Then she got up and never stopped walking :) Some kids develop slower than others. Did your son have a high birth weight?

Well I can tell you that my children and my grandchild were exactly the same, none of them rolled until they were a year old, most crawled at fifteen months (one bumshuffled so never crawled) all of them walked at eighteen months and within a month there was no difference in their abilities between them and their friends who walked at nine months. They did though talk early and were far easier because they were able to communicate. Try not to worry too much.

If in doubt check it out is always a good moto to use when it relates to childrens health or development. There's no harm in seeing your GP to make sure everything's ok. Has he had regular tummy time? Putting him on his stomach, not up on all fours. Can be done on your legs with your knees up if he doesn't like being flat on his stomach. It helps strengthen muscles. Is he going from floor to sitting or is it more he will remain sitting if you place him sitting up?

He is very chatty and he loves to babble away. Is the GP or the Health Visitor the best way forward? He can’t move from lying down to sitting but he is so sturdy when he is sitting up. He reaches out for toys but if he can’t reach, he just leaves them. He does lift his head when lying on his back and can push himself backwards on his back (like when im changing his nappy) but that is pretty much it.

I will try and get him more on his tummy. He had horrific reflux when little so we couldn’t do a huge amount of it but he was holding his head up pretty early. It’s all such a minefield and I always said I would never compare but when friends have babies 2-3 months younger than him and already moving around, it makes me panic 😩

He was 8lbs at 39 weeks which I think is pretty average?! But he did drop a bit due to the reflux and is hovering between the 25th and 50th percentile now

My now four year old did roll at this age but didn't crawl til she was over a year and didn't walk til she was 2. We went to physio after an HV referral but there was nothing wrong, just slower to develop in this area. She was also early to speak with sentences at 18 months. She still can't dress and undress without help at 4 and she's at school, but there are no big concerns as she hits every milestones just quite a few months later than the average.

My dd wouldn't even put her feet on the floor at 15 months. If you tried to stand her she'd pull her legs up to her bum. She started eventually Aden 16 months then at 17 got up and started running around like she'd been doing it for months. I'd honestly not worry about not pulling up at this stage

Ps I know how you feel about comparing but please try not to. When my eldest was still only just about to roll one way some of my NCT friends' babies were walking. I found it really hard. But honestly comparing just makes everyone feel rubbish. I think go to the HV again with concerns - they will be able to refer to a paediatric physio who can check if there are any muscular issues

In my experience they either walk or talk but never both. My eldest was a good talker, but late to moving about and walking, my youngest moved well and walked early, but didn’t speak until she was 3.5/4!

I wouldn’t worry, they do catch up eventually. I know it’s hard but try not to stress over it.

In my experience they either walk or talk but never both. My eldest was a good talker, but late to moving about and walking, my youngest moved well and walked early, but didn’t speak until she was 3.5/4

I had the opposite experience, as I said in pp dd2 wouldn't even put her feet on the ground at 15 months and didn't say any words at that point. She barely spoke sentences til she was 3.5 really then, as with the walking, started doing so as if she'd been an expert for years. Dd1 was cruising by the time she turned 6 months, running around at 10 with already a few words by 18 months she could speak in simple sentences and sing simple songs in 2 languages. I think there are no rules and all kids are just different.

And fwiw if you were to compare them both at 8 the age dd2 is now dd2 is far more academic and the one always getting picked for things like reading parts, musical instruments etc so it's no reflection on how they will be in a few years either. Comparing at 18 months/2 you'd put money on it being the other way round

If he's had reflux he may find certain positions uncomfortable (or they were).

My DD with undiagnosed silent reflux spent most of the first 6 months being held and was very late with gross motor skills as a result. Didn't even sit reliably until about 11 months.

Hi OP,
the HV is is doing the right thing to monitor. The next step after a review with the HV if they still aren’t happy would be for them to be referred to a paediatrician for a developmental review. If you are worried and mainly for your own piece of mind you could try and fast forward to this by asking your GP for a referral to your local child development team. As many previous posters have said there is a lot of variation in normal development. As a professional in child Heath I always say if you are worried get it checked out - if nothing else to put your own mind at rest….

Dd2 sat on the floor at her 12m check and gazed at all the toys. She did nothing she just sat there and the HV couldn't tick any boxes I'm not going to lie, I'm confident there is no chance of her being an Olympic runner, she's certainly still one of the slower ones in her class. She's fine but her talents lie in other areas!

Knowing her better now, she's not very brave and it takes a lot of persuasion for her to try something new. So maybe that was the problem, she wasn't prepared to try crawling or walking until she was confident she could do it.

Thanks so much everyone. Maybe I will give the health visitor a call tomorrow and see if we can get booked in for the new year. I just assumed with nursery, he would be up and running around in no time but there you go!
Will keep persevering over Xmas 😬

Neither of mine ever crawled, bum shuffled (and delayed walking as this was faster for them), or could go on all fours without sliding down. Both hated tummy time and I felt like a failure for not pushing it.

Both walking by 20m and talking incessantly ever since. Please try not to compare x

Hi OP,
I hope everyone's input has been reassuring. Just for the process of elimination does your little one eat well? Do they drink formula milk or breastfeed? Are you or they vegetarian or vegan. B12 deficiency in infants can cause developmental issues/delay. A diet without/low in animal products needs B12 supplementation - obviously take advice before giving anything to your baby (the breastmilk of a mother that is deficient in B12 herself will be lacking in the vitamin).

If you are concerned why not have a chat with your GP and see where you go from there.

My 2nd was like this. Did roll (accidentally) in their sleep at 9 months. Sat well at 6m but that was it. Eventually crawled at 12.5 months. I cried I was so overwhelmed, I’d been so worried. Wouldn’t pull to stand, eventually walked at 16m.

Now a perfectly healthy 6 year old!

It’s so hard to hear ‘don’t worry’ when it’s your child, but if the HV was concerned they would tell you. They absolutely weren’t concerned about my DC and they were right x

He is a great eater. Eats everything we give him really and has lots of cheese, bread, chicken, vet etc. He has been formula fed since birth though and as his formula is reducing, we do give him a vit D supplement but I didn’t know anything about B12?

At 11 months mine was the same. Then 2 weeks before he was 1 I put him down on the floor and he crawled off at high speed! A month later he was walking and never crawled again. He just couldn't be bothered tbh

I'm sure he has plenty of opportunity to get his B12 then so don't worry. I just wanted to ask as, for example, a strict vegan mum breastfeeding and giving baby a vegan diet might unwittingly lead to a deficiency in their baby.

The formula milk will be fortified with B12 and his diet will also contain it in the animal products.

If it is relevant to anyone reading who is vegan here is the info on the vegan society website
www.vegansociety.com/resources/nutrition-and-health/nutrients/vitamin-b12/what-every-vegan-should-know-about-vitamin-b12

I was basically this baby, except I continued it until 15 months . My mother's back was destroyed heaving me around. I could talk up a storm by then, including replying to encouragement to shift myself by saying "No. You carry me."

At 11 months, neither of mine would stand, either with someone holding them or by putting them in front of something (like the sofa). Their legs just seemed to collapse beneath them. They could crawl though and walked at about 15 months.
My friend's little girl didn't crawl, drag herself, walk, roll or anything until she was about 18 months. She could sit and had good head control but wouldn't move a muscle if left. Then one day she just got up and walked across the room!
So, while it doesn't mean that everything is definitely ok, lots of babies are slower to move. Ask for GP referral if you're worried.

My first son was very energetic and a climber, crawler etc
But the 2nd just sat there like a big fat Buddha pointing at things and babbling until somebody picked it up and gave it to him!
So he was a bit lazy! He crawled quite late must have been past 1year

He kept trying to grab my phone
So I slid it across the floor one day and wow I've never seen a child move so fast

DD barely moved until she was 15 months and then walked at 18 months. She now hurtles around non stop at 3yo.

Definitely get him checked out if you're worried, but just wanted to reassure you that there is still time!