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.

Worth pursuing HV for sure but not necessarily anything to worry about.

My second didn't roll till her first birthday, bum shuffled at 16 months, crawled at 19 months and finally walked at 21 months. She hated standing, never pulled herself up etc. Nothing wrong though.

So could be something, might not be. Our nursery were helpful too, they observed her and arranged for HV to visit her there as well.

If you still have it I'd mark it yourself. I know that the HV service is really stretched but from what you e said about your DD I think she should have at least marked it and discussed the results with you.

How does your DD do on this simple speech & language progress checker?

GP is definitely a good shout, but if you're not convinced with the advice and can afford it I would also advise a physiotherapist with paediatric training. In some areas you can also get a referral via your HV (if GP doesn't give one).

@RappersNeedChapstick thansk for sharing the link, just gone through it and she meets most of the criteria for that. So it really is the gross motor skills that are the concern.

@Bearbookagainandagain thank you. Fortunately we get access to private healthcare through work so hoping the GP will do a referral to a paediatrician and won’t have to wait too long to be seen but will try the HV as well to see if they can do it quicker

Based on this I wouldn't be worried. But book a go appointment for reassurance

If it's of any help I'll throw my experience in.
My DD didn't move around much either. In fact your dd sounds very similar to mine, everything you've mentioned.

Mine put all her energy into language skills 😆
I remember going to a birthday party and she was just sat and her friends were crawling about.

Of course get her checked out but try not to worry too much.

Xxx

At 13 months I would be worried, particularly about the not pulling to stand and not being able to get into sitting herself. Age of Walking can vary a lot but her reluctance to weight-bear and struggling to sit up suggest that there is a delay in some way. Can she roll?

It might be something like a hip issue, torticolis, or something like a delay in primitive reflexes integrating. I would see your GP and be looking for a referral to physio. This may be quicker than a paediatrician, and more likely get you something you can be doing with her so it feels like you're working on it.

The health visitor scared me to death when she saw that my 13 month old daughter wasn't even trying to pull herself up and she convinced me that something was wrong with her legs, 2 months later she was up and walking lol she was just so chilled and lazy and took her time with everything

Hi there, am in the same situation and just wondered where you were at with stuff? @oakland42

As a positive example, my DD is now 18 and absolutely fine, she worried me a lot at 12-18 months and her nursery and health visitor were concerned too. She worked out how to get from lying to sitting at 15 months, crawled (slowly and not unless encouraged a lot) from 17 months and walked at 20 months. She also had excellent fine motor skills and communication skills. She didn’t want to bear weight on her legs until around 16 months. She did progress well once she could get herself from lying to sitting. She sat well at the usual time. Unsure whether it’s related but she has bad reflux and tummy time was next to impossible from birth onwards. TBH looking back I think she just wasn’t interested in moving, she was a very happy baby who loved playing with toys and developing fine motor skills. But I did see the GP, though nothing much came of it apart from being told to encourage her to move, which of course we already were.

I haven't RTFT, has she had her 1 year review by the health visitor yet? If not I would just wait for that as they will screen her during that anyway. If she has had it then call your health visitor to discuss your concerns.

I'd try not to panic though. My DC1 didn't move until 11 months (bum shuffler) and walked without issue at 16 months. DC2 crawled at 12 months, some issues were identified but he was given support (and still is to a lesser extent at 3), he was walking at 21 months.

I would say nothing to worry about! I bet this tine next month she'll be bum shuffling. My girls walked at 21 and 23 months. But by that age they could both talk like a 5 year old! Children develop at different rates, and the ones that walk late tend to speak sooner as they sit taking everything in. Sounds like you're being followed-up, so I'd just go with the flow unless you have any further concerns.

Might be worth bearing Ehlers-Danlos in mind for any hypermobile children https://www.ehlers-danlos.com/what-is-eds/

DN was like this. He went from bum shuffling for 2 hours to running by 16 months. He didn’t crawl or shuffle at all. So provided she’s meeting the non-walking milestones you’re fine. Apparently it’s common in vegetarians or those with low vitamin d and calcium intake so you might want to give her a multivitamin just in case.

Hi @Georgie198 DD is 16 months now and still not walking unaided. She is bum shuffling all over the place now and we are seeing such improvements in her assisted walking, she will walk around all day as long as she is holding on to our hands and has just this week started walking gradually whilst holding furniture. She just can't grasp the concept of bending her legs to sit down herself but is getting better at pulling herself to standing.

I'm not particularly worried now as we are seeing gradual improvements, and her communication and fine motor skills are brilliant.

It’s always good to get things checked out but I wouldn’t be worried at this point. Lots of babies skip the crawling stage. Not walking at 13 months is also not unusual nor a red flag. FWIW I never crawled, I just got up and walked across the room one day at 13 months. My DC didn’t crawl either and I know several other DC that didn’t crawl. I have some mild hypermobility that wasn’t picked up until I was in my 40s after a running injury, which I guess may be a reason for being later to get moving.

@oakland42 it sounds as though they're making great progress. You can always do the 16 month Ages & Stagess* for a bit of reassurance

Our daughter took ages to let go of hands when walking. A trick that worked for us was for you to hold a wooden spoon, and they hold the other end of the wooden spoon, and walk along that way. Sounds mad, but very quickly they get bored of the spoon as it doesn't feel as nice as a hand. And off they go!

My son was 20 months when he first did ANYTHING! He was chatting away but no crawling. I was getting him checked out by everyone. He crawled for a few days then walked. Yes keep an eye but developmentally he was no different as he got older

@oakland42 Thank you for letting me know and I am so pleased to hear that you are feeling more positive about the situation and your little one is now making great progress!
it’s such a worry isn’t it and you just never know if it’s something or nothing. My 15 month is the same she doesn’t weight bare on her legs at all, or crawl and that’s my main concern not weight bearing I think and I’m hoping she will start to bum shuffle soon as she spins around in circles very well that way! And is totally sharp as a button and makes up for lack of movement with sounds that’s for sure! They all get there in the end!

Really lovely to hear positive stories from you all about your little ones all being ok in the end aswell it’s really helping read them. So thank you x

@Georgie198 if they're not weight bearing, has the GP made any referrals?

I was in same position. Crawling eventually started at 16 months then standing in same week.
Under paediatrics for investigation. Doesn't talk either still :)
Still no major panic until they turn 2 I'm told but they always start investigation now at 18months as I think that is the line when they discuss developmental delay.

I had the same route you did, health visitor check up in few months after year review.

Just seen this, sounds like my DD 😅 were seeing lots of progress very quickly now.