19mo not walking

[TheresABearOverThere]

My DS is turning 19m and still not walking. He can climb EVERYTHING including slides and stairs, can crawl, cruise and bum shuffles very speedily. He has recently started standing unassisted to dance and can balance for about a minute. When we encourage him to take steps though he thinks it's funny to instead dramatically fall forward onto us.

He is massive, 99% for both height and weight. Fine motor skills are excellent and no concerns at all about his social or emotional development.

Is it just a case of patience?

Yes I expect so! It's obviously harder for bigger babies/toddlers to get walking. My DS2 wasn't big, but he was hypermobile, and therefore found weight bearing hard as joints tended to give way. If all other milestones are completely as expected i wouldn't worry at all. Neither my nephew or niece walked until 23 months and they are completely normal now.

My DD walked at 19 months after doing all the same things as your DS for what felt like ages. All her friends walked before her and she was the oldest in the "baby"room at nursery for a long time, as they only get moved up to toddler room when they can walk confidently. I worried about it a lot before she started walking but now that she is walking I can see that they really do just take their time with some things. She excelled in some areas but just took her own sweet time in this particular one. Try not to worry, but do get in touch with your HV if you think there could be something else at play - they won't mind and should be able to reassure you that all is well with your DS if needed.

DC2 walked at 21 months. Around 18 months she had a morning in hospital because of a bad virus affecting her breathing. Taking general history included the fact she wasn't walking yet and doctor initially raised an eyebrow but ad soon as I said she was a bum shuffler he just said that explained it. Both his were bum shufflers and late walkers. Less impetus to get on their feet because they are already able to look forward and get around pretty quickly.

My friends baby just started walking last week at 19 months, he was cruising for 8 months before he walked.