6month old seems behind developmentally?

[PfizerFan]

I'm extremely worried about my daughter. She will be six months old next week and can't roll from back to front (can the other way) and can't sit unassisted for more than a few seconds without falling. Is this normal? It seems everybody else in my NCT course have babies who are rolling everywhere and already sitting
The health visitor is refusing to visit (got a six week check up and after that nothing until a year!) and the GP isn't interested. I have had to stop going to baby classes as they make me too anxious.

Am I right to be concerned?

Absolutely no evidence that crawling is crucial for neuro development. Hence why it isn’t a ‘milestone’ per se. Not crawling can be linked with other developmental disorders, but many children don’t crawl or crawl after walking and have no ongoing issues.

I think that the poster who made the Uni point was trying to be reassuring, as was I when I echoed her point.

Nothing you've said so far has indicated that there is any kind of problem with your LO but it's only natural to worry. As I said my first didn't crawl until 11 months. Every group we went to there were younger DC on the move. Comparison really is the thing that will stop you enjoying the here and now with your LO.

If you are still worried, after all of the many posts offering reassurance, I would go to the weigh in clinic this week and just ask for a quick chat with the HV

I don't think that poster was saying that it's essential, more that it is an example of a marker that shows they have achieved that milestone.

The time for concern isn't if they aren't doing something on the day they should it is when they aren't doing anything in a category or they still aren't doing it months after the "should"

I said in a previous post my daughter had delays. At 18weeks she couldn't smile. Smiling typically occurs 6-12 weeks so a 6 week window and for her it still hadn't occurred after a further 6 weeks.
She wasn't responding to any sounds at 1 8 weeks. This usually occurs between 0-3 months so at 4.5 months. It took until 4.5 months for it to be a concern and it was a bigger concern that she couldn't do any form of responding to sound.

Roughly if a skill is typically learnt over 2 months 4-6 months for example and it's been a other 2 months so 8 months that would be outside of normal. If it's another 2 weeks it's not abnormally out of that window.

A friend of mine has twins and one of her twins has cerebral palsy and it was quite apparent really early that one twin was slower than the other. He was 1 before there were enough significant delays to get a diagnosis and additional support. I have family friend who has a son with severe autism and he is nonverbal. It was only when he was 18 months and he was still not making any noises that assessments and tests were arranged.

You don't need to see the GP or HV unless she's not sitting by 9 months, but if she can already sit for a couple of seconds then I'm sure she will be. She's well within the normal range at the moment.

It's natural to worry but the likelihood of something being wrong is tiny. My first was textbook. My second was walking at 8 months. But his speech took ages to come. My third was very slow physically. Never really crawled and walked at 19months. Rolled at 10 months. He is now two and can hold a very complex (for his age) conversation. My fourth is 6 months and can't sit unassisted. Not rolling either. Has very good eye contact and responses. I can't say I am worried at all.

I know it's a big ask but try not to worry. You will miss out on some really special moments worrying instead of enjoying them.

Loads of children don't crawl! I didn't, my DM didnt (bum shuffler), DC1 didn't (also bum shuffler). It's really not that unusual.

She's just turned 7 months and started rolling both ways on her 7-month birthday. Is also sitting better although still wobbly. So feeling a little less anxious. However, she still doesn't do much on tummy time (except roll over). Apparently she should be pivoting by now? Is this normal?

I watched the bluey episode too and it was really sweet :)

@PfizerFan Glad you’re feeling a bit less anxious now 😊 and well done to your DD for mastering rolling over 👏🏼 Tummy time in general is great for building strength. Remember there is a huge range of “normal” 😊 Just have fun with her.
When doing tummy time I used to lay toys round DS literally just out of his reach. or his dummy! If he wanted them he had to move 🤷🏻‍♀️ never made it a stressful thing or let him get upset obviously!

Pfizer I’m glad there has been progress since you last posted. I think you should try to take that as reassurance. None of it sounds particularly alarming. I get that she isn’t seeming super advanced but babies (and children) have bursts of rushing ahead. I think your LO might just be going to do some of those early things towards the slower end of normal, and it doesn’t mean that rolling late ( for instance) means she will be, for example, a slow reader. Please try to just enjoy her day to day and don’t compare her to other babies. If you really feel it is something indicating a profound slowness you need to seek professional advice. But everything you have posted sounds like she is just taking her time but getting there.