8.5 month old has stopped sliding backwards.

[Mumof3bb1]

Hi,

Looking for some advice my DS has been sliding himself backwards for a good 6 weeks and has suddenly stopped, it’s been about a week, like he’s totally forgotten.

Instead he now pulls himself into a sitting position each time I put him on his belly.

Has anyone experienced this? Could this be the start of like a regression or something!?

Any advice would be appreciated!

thanks.

I think this is normal! Mine went from sitting to crawling quite fast.

Could he put himself into a sitting position before? To me sounds normal - even progress!

Hi @Cantgetausername87
@GHSP

thanks for the replies.

so he’s been sitting up since 6 months but the past week he’s learnt how to get into the sitting position and it’s all he’s doing as soon as I put him on tummy time.

He still cannot roll back to belly so if he’s on his back hes stuck there.

My concern is now that he’s learnt how to get into the sitting position will he ever learn to crawl as he’s not attempting to stay on belly.

I feel like he was doing so well with sliding and pushing himself onto all fours going backwards how has he forgotten it overnight 😞

I don't think he's forgotten. My DD learned how to crawl, then stopped. I was getting concerned after a few days, then suddenly she started crusing and never crawled again. I assumed she didn't like it and wanted something different.

*Cruising

Yeah my one didn't crawl much at all and went straight from sitting up to pulling up and cruising! I think it's all normal and the main thing is he's moving and able.to support himself! All steps (pardon the pun) in the right direction x

If he is delayed on any milestones get advice from the GP but if not, try to manage the worries.

Hi @Hadalifeonce

Its been 9 days since he last did it, I hope it’s not the start of a regression or anything😭

how old was your DD?

This sounds normal. My baby is just a few months older and seems to learn a new skill, do it loads and then not do it again for a while (like pulling to stand or clapping)

@qwertyqwertyqwertyqwerty

we saw the physio for the rolling and she didn’t have any concerns with him, she said to just keep practicing with the rolling.

@peonyjam thank you.

he still hasn’t clapped, waved or pointed so I get a bit overly worried 🙈

@Mumof3bb1 it can be so anxiety inducing! My baby hasn't got pointing either despite my best efforts

@peonyjam my anxiety is honestly through the roof, everything you Google points to autism which petrifies me even more.

I wouldn't worry about that OP
Sljtz

I wouldn't worry about that OP. Isn't sliding like army crawling
Lay to sit is progression definitely
You can encourage all 4s position with some exercises. Crawling should come soon. X

He's probably given up trying to go forwards when all he ends up doing is going backwards. It's common at this age and quite sweet. He'll soon figure out another way. Most autistic children can walk by the way.

I'd agree, he's not forgotten how to slide backwards – he's just got a new trick and is enjoying doing that.

Rolling can also be a funny one, my first sat early, cruised early, but just wasn't bothered about rolling back to tummy (she wasn't that bothered about rolling tummy to back either, but at least she could do it!). I used to wonder if one day she'd be cruising, fall and get stuck on her back like a turtle. She did it once she wanted to – it just wasn't her priority.

With gestures, I think it's a bit early to be worrying. You'd expect to start to see one gesture (clapping or waving or playing peekaboo) in the next couple of months. Some babies point by a year, but for most pointing tends to emerge between 12-15 months – and it's not late until 18 months, which is a huge amount of time in the life of a baby.

You need to find a way to keep your anxiety in check and just let him be. Maybe stop googling things.

Infant and child development isn't linear. He's most likely absolutely fine. He's learnt a wonderful new skill.

Totally totally normal.

They often practise a skill for a bit, then seem to abandon it while they work on something else. Then it comes back again. Completely utterly normal development

Also, being able to get into a sitting position is important. Crawling isn't a necessary skill - quite a lot of children do it only briefly or not at all and that's totally fine.

(Also: don't Google things!!!! It'll drive you mad. If your child is going to be autistic you can't change that My eldesf has ASD & ADHD. Doesn't change how I love her. She still has a great life I think and is a very happy little girl)

@TinyTeachr

Thank you.

if you don’t mind me asking did you see any signs with your daughter when she was around this age?x

@eliayd

hes only getting into the sitting position when I lay him on his belly, not from laying down, when he’s on his back he just stays there wriggling his hands and feet, as he cannot roll over.

Some children do not crawl they bum shuffle x

Babies start to clap wave and point between 9 - 12 months, I think you are worrying unnecessarily. X

@Mumof3bb1
How does he go from his tummy to sitting? Does he get up on all 4s and then sit back?

There's quite a lot going on here...
If he's autistic then he's autistic, nothing you can do will change that. And it's not a death sentence, just a bit of a different way of being.
That said, this is not a red flag for autism! Sliding backwards has got to stop at some point hasn't it, because he ultimately needs to learn to go forwards!
Babies do do this, they drop something while they work on new skills, that's the most likely explanation here.