13 month old...can't crawl, stand up or walk, should I be worried?

[oakland42]

My 13 month old DD does not crawl, pull her self to stand or walk at all. More concerning she is unable to get herself into a sitting position from lying down and unable to lie down from a sitting position, but she can sit really well, but just has to be placed there. She hates tummy time, even though we continue to do this with her regularly. She has just started to spin around on the spot but hasn't worked out how to move backwards and forwards or sideways.

At the 1 year check the HV said they would call in a few months to see if any progress, but I am really starting to get worried. She seems very very far behind all of her nursery and NCT baby friends.

Yes I would be very worried. Especially about not being able to move between sitting and lying. What has your GP said?

Does she stand if you hold her hands @oakland42?

Did the HV use the Ages & Stages and have they said exactly when they'll assess your DD again?

The only situation where this would not worry me would be in a bottom shuffler, and it doesn't sound like your little one is one of those.

Babies develop at different stages however if you are concerned it’s always worth speaking to your GP….

I would be worried

My girl twin was like this and didn't crawl until well past 15 months- she did however do a sort of army commando move dragging herself along the floor - does your child do any kind of movement spontaneously?

Yes I’d say this should have been investigated before now, you could chase the HV but I’d probably skip at this point and make a gp appointment so you can be referred to paediatrics and probably physio.

I’d also speak to nursery - what are their thoughts? You could ask them to do a referral too - can speed the process up

@RappersNeedChapstick she can stand when I hold her hands but she is very wobbly, and occasionally does take steps forward but has to be really encouraged.

From the other posts sounds like I should be worried, although I don't know what it would actually mean, like what could actually be wrong with her which is preventing her from hitting these milestones? So many people tell me to relax and she will do it in her own time.

She doesn't crawl, pull herself along at all, just starting to use her arm to pivot on the spot, which makes me think she will bum shuffle soon.

I've not gone to the GP about it as when we saw the HV about 4 weeks ago she was quite relaxed about it and just said she would call in 3 months to check progress. I will make an appointment with GP though.

Is she babbling? And how's fine motor skills and attention ect

@Footballsunday727727227 they haven't flagged it as a concern but are working on activities to help her hit these milestones such as doing more regular tummy time .

@Sailawaygirl she babbles permanently and has excellent fine motor skills, and her attention is as expected for her age so I have no concerns there at all. * *

Was she premature at all? Would you say when she sits she tilts her head to one side?

My girl twin was premature and her head has always been on a much higher centile than her body - she just didn't had the muscle strength to hold her head up straight and this delayed crawling standing and walking

What about her weaning? Is she eating solid foods now?

As tempting as it is to compare to other children all kids hit milestones at different times - my girl twin was several months behind her twin physically but she got there in the end

My DD was like this. She was eventually diagnosed with developmental dysplasia of the hip. She walked around 20 months and is fine now at 4 years old. They will make a decision later this year if her DDH requires surgery to correct. If I were you I’d contact your GP and push for a hip scan to rule out DDH

@questionningmyself no she wasn't premature and I don't think her head does tilt to the side at all, but I'm not sure on the centile of he head as they never measured it at my latest check up with HV.

@BusyCM yes she is eating solid foods now, really well after a big struggle to start with but no issues there.

My 2 girls didn't walk until nearly 2. One crawled eventually, at about 14/15 months, the other bum shuffled at about the same time. They were both hypermobile (v flexible), which I think made them very cautious to try walking. Their speaking was insanely early though- they spoke like adults at age 2.

Our little boy walked at 16 months, speaking not so advanced. I always think they concentrate on one or the other!

So I wouldn't necessarily be worried, but get checked out just in case.

It sounds exactly like my DD and we are still worried about her now at 2. She did start bum shuffling at around 13-14 months and is a very efficient bum shuffler now but still not walking. We didn’t manage to get a physio referral until 18 months and are only now getting referrals for other services. I did push for it but was repeatedly dismissed by the health visitor and even the GP.

It's good that she can bear weight. Did the HV use the Ages & Stages?

I'd call her again in the morning and ask to make an appointment for a couple of weeks and ask her to do the 14 month Ages & Stages and the 12 month Social & Emotional Ages & Stages

You can download them and follow them in and either mark them yourself or ask her to mark them.

Don't forget though that on the 14 month one, your DD will be near the very early end and may just catch up a little.

Also, it's perfectly normal for them to score grey in a couple of areas. Babies aren't expected to get perfect scores as they will all develop at different rates.

I had one who wax a late talker. We had a lot of people and posters on MN giving reassurance saying that she would catch up. She did to a point but she also missed out on a lot of support.

My advice woukd be that if you think she's developing differently to her peers then trust your gut instincts.

Could be very late normal development, could be something else. Not walking at 13 months isn’t an issue but I would say not pulling to stand or even crawling is. I would book a GP appt and take it from there. Good luck! Usually if there is an issue it’s something remedied with physio such as hypermobility. The fact she’s on track in terms of communication etc is very reassuring that it’s not part of a global issue.

Whilst that is excellent news and reassuring, it is entirely appropriate to get OPs dd checked out to confirm there is nothing to be investigated.

Was she a breach baby?

Def get her checked out but try not to worry. My kids were the same and are fine now!! Just late movers.

You could get the ball rolling with getting her checked out out incase there is long waiting lists for physios etc. I’m sure she is fine though- my daughter never mastered rolling for example she could sit and crawl but if she was on her back could not get herself into her front. She wouldn’t even weightbare it was like she was allergic to the floor as soon as her feet touched it! So while I’m sure it’s fine I would just get the ball rolling incase appointments take a while!

@RappersNeedChapstick I filled it out and took it along to the 1 year appointment but the HV did nothing with it so will definitely give them a call again tomorrow as well as GP.