9 month old not showing any sign of crawling, is it normal?

[LovingPinkMentor]

Hi, I'm new member and FTM🙋‍♀️. My 9 month old is not crawling yet. He can sit by himself on floor, or high chair. He loves rolling clockwise and anticlockwise on bed but he hates tummy time on floor on playmat! I'm getting anxious as I spoke with HV who told me that he needs to have more floor time or tummy time otherwise he will never learn to crawl or walk?!! Since then I have started the tummy time and every time I put him on his floor he cries his lungs out. I don't want him to cry but at the same time I'm very concerned. I haven't slept since 2 nights overthinking on it.I feel extremely guilty and failure when everyone keep asking why is he not crawling or walking yet. He is very active otherwise, he can say Mumma, papa, yay, wave bye bye, yes, no etc. He is very good at blw too. I'm just so upset. I tried all the tricks of putting favourite stuff around him where he actually cries only.
Please can someone help me. Thank you.

What an unhelpful HV. Many babies don't crawl at 9mo. Mine crawled at 12 mo and walked at 15mo. She also hated tummy time and I didn't force it. She's at school now and totally fine.

Yes totally normal. Some crawl sooner, some don't. Some then take ages to walk whereas some will crawl and within a month are walking too. All babies are all different. The only thing they like to check is that they're walking or at least able to pull themselves up by 18 months. Even if they're not they just check their hips are ok. Some babies are just a bit more lazy and happy to just sit, my dd1 didn't crawl until after starting nursery at 11 months and then didn't walk until 17 months whereas dd2 crawled at 9 months and walked at 14 months. Your babies fine 😁

Hey, thank you so much for your reply, it gives me some positive assurance. I think I will not force my ds now for tummy time. X

A lot of babies aren’t crawling by 9 months, a fair majority aren’t crawling by a year and some don’t crawl until they are walking confidently. Crawling isn’t an official milestone because the range of normal is so wide. There are some cultures around the world where crawling just isn’t a thing, especially in cultures with a high prevalence of carrying babies. The worry and obsession with crawling by 9 months here seems to have been imported from the States where private therapists pathologies normal baby behaviour to make money.

It has been many years since I had my children, but they all crawl or do other variations in their own time. There was no such thing as tummy time then, and it hasn't affected any children I know. Don't let her worry you, there is enough to worry about as a new mum without her adding to it.

My 13 year old didn’t crawl at all… she bum shuffled at 14 months (not very far) and then got up and cruised at 16 months. I was in a major panic… but all good. Shes very sporty now (football in particular) so definitely nothing wrong with her legs. I think she was just a lazy baby! (And yes she has lazy tendencies now).

My daughter didn't crawl until 9.5 months and walked at 14.5 months. Your child can say a lot of words for 9 months in my opinion so maybe has been focusing on that. They can't do everything at once x

Mine never crawled.
She’s a happy, healthy 13 year old who loves to dance.

My son just started crawling on his 1st birthday & only started showing signs a couple weeks before

For what it's worth mine both started crawling by going from a sitting position and experimenting with putting their hands out in front of them. They were both older than 9 months and some babies never crawl.

9 months would be pretty early for crawling. My youngest didn't crawl until twelve months and didn't walk until eighteen months.

Another non-crawler here. Only ever bum shuffled, then got to his feet at 14mo, and a week later was walking. Hasn’t stopped since, and plays multiple sports a week now. HV sounds less than helpful, tummy time isn’t an essential. DS hated tummy time that much he’d scream then vomit! So we didn’t bother and he got there in his own way, in his own time.

Don't worry, it varies a lot. Mine didn't crawl until 14 months and walked at 18 months. She was an early talker, late walker

Your health visitor is an idiot. Tummy time is only a more recent thing (last 20-30 years) and babies in all the centuries before that have learned to crawl and walk just fine. Mine hated tummy time and refused to do it ever since he could roll over, and crawled and walked without any issues.

Crawling isn't even a milestone because plenty of babies skip it entirely!

Please try not to worry (hard as that is), this is totally normal 😊- mine didn’t crawl until 11 months, but after that, nothing could stop him! Xx

My friend's daughter couldn't sit properly by herself at 9 months then between 10-13 months very quickly progressed from sitting, crawling and walking!

Another never crawled one here! DS hated being placed on his front. Never crawled, never really bum shuffled either. He walked “late” at 18 months but it made no difference in the long run. They do it all in their own time. Keep following your instincts about what your little one likes and dislikes. I hope reading all these messages is making you feel better.

My son was another non-crawler/bum shuffler. He started to cruise furniture around 10 months and was walking by 12 months. He also screamed bloody murder if you tried to do tummy time with him. He detested it.

I hope we've all managed to reassure you a little bit, OP. Very little is "normal" at that age. They usually do what they want, when they want and how they want!

I worried like this with dd1. Dd2 I was very happy she was a later crawler! Everything is much easier when they don't move from where you put them.

'Tummy time' was not a thing when my two, now 6ft odd 20yr plus something sons, were small.

One went from commando crawling to walking at 10 months. Learnt to finally crawl aged 13 months. Other one just decided to walk at nine months. 18m between them so I think younger one was trying to keep up with eldest!

Perfectly normal, your HV has made you worry for nothing! My eldest crawled at 7 months youngest at 9 months makes no difference now that one crawled younger! They're all different.
My friend's DD crawled at 12 months and walked at 18 months, fit and healthy 10 yo now who loves climbing!
Some babies never crawl, just go straight to walking

My niece didn’t attempt to crawl until around 15 months.

Mine crawled at 12 months walked at 18 months. It's not a big thing really! I used to sit him up with one of those vtech crawl and learn ball things as he hated tummy time also and one day when leaning forward to get it and it was out of reach he just crawled without thinking

I wouldn't force what he doesn't like

My first born never crawled, he sat like a little Buddha, master of all he surveyed and waited for his slaves/ parents to bring him things. I think he may of been a cat in a past life. Anyway he bum shuffled over to a coffee table just before he was one and pulled himself up. He was walking within a few days.

I do wonder if this is more common with precious first borns. My twins crawled at 4.5 months in opposite directions obviously. At the time I’d of much preferred them to stay put.

My ds crawled twice and 10 months and then took his first steps at 11 months. Then he was a further 8 weeks until he walked again.