Parents of Bumshufflers

[shufflebum]

What are your DCs wearing in this heat, jeans are too hot but thinner trousers just get trashed in a day or two. Have raided all the charity shops nearby for cheap trousers, just wish he could be in his nappy and a t shirt but have to put socks and shoes on too as he is really scuffing the outside of his ankles on the ground. Any advice, would be fine if we didn't have hard floors inside and he didn't want to shuffle around on the patio outside.

Ah, fond memories. My daughter was a bumshuffler (taking after me in bendy joints and fair skin) and didn't walk until she was two, while son was charging around from 1 onwards (blond and tans easily, like his mum).

In terms of advice, er... just go with the flow, I'm afraid. There's nowt you can do. They'll get up in their own time. It can have some advantages. You may find that your little one speaks sooner - our daughter did, because she put her energy into that, instead of getting on her feet. (It's because they have their hands free, whereas crawlers have to stop and sit down to be able to handle something, so they get tired of doing that and learn to walk. Then, there's too much to do to worry about talking for a few more months!)

So, I'm afraid it's just a question of getting them more clothes. Have you got any contacts in the area who can give you hand-me-downs? If not, your idea of charity shops is prob your best bet.

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denim shorts?

Denim shorts, good idea, he does crawl occasionaly but I'm sure his knees will cope better than his ankles are fairing at the moment.

mulberryhall afraid DS is fairly slow in all developmental areas so no major advances on the talking yet. Sister in law has already given me all her hand me downs from her DS and we've used all of them upto age 4 (my ds is 15 months but a big boy!). Will go raid the charity shops tomorrow.
Good blog btw

I know its warm but I put my bum shuffler in jeans and thick socks if we are outside. Thinner trousers are just pointless! Inside he is in just a nappy (and we have wooden floors) and socks, but invariably they come off after 5 minutes. I worry about his ankles, they always look a bit bruised but it doesn't seem to bother him.

It's hard isn't it, would love for him to be toddling around in just a nappy but son't think that's going to happen for some time yet!

Shufflebum, have you bought any shoes for him yet? I haven't but a friend suggested I get some for DS just to get him used to having something on his feet. To be honest I didn't really want to spend £20 on a pointless pair of shoes but I think she might have a point, plus it might protect his little ankles a bit? Oh sorry just re-read your OP and I see he has shoes. By the way I dont know ANY other mums of bum shufflers...seems like my DS is the only one not onhis feet sometimes...I can't see it happening any time soon either

We have shoes but only hand me down ones from my sil. Otherwise he has those little leather slippers. I keep getting conflicting advice re shoes, some say they should be barefoot as much as possible whereas some say they need the support of shoes. I've actually requested a referral to the physio via my HV, I'm sure everything is fine but am concerned he may have some hypermobility in his right ankle joint so will ask about shoes then. Like you I'm a bit about paying for shoes that will never actually get walked in but if they'll help then I gladly pay for them several times over to put an end to all the trousers we end up going through!

I know the trouser situation is dire. Only jeans or thick canvas pants can stand up to the bum shuffle! I am also waiting for a physio appointment. My little fella was always going to be a bit behind as he had a hole in his heart when he was born, meaning he was really poorly and had no energy to learn to roll over etc. He had his open heart surgery at 5 months, and it took him about 2 months to recover so I always think he is about 7 months behind other babies. Who knows though, he may have been exactly the same had he been a 'normal' baby (and I tend to think this is the case)! His cnsultant said I had spoiled him because he was ill!! I'm not sure what I could have done differently though, maybe more tummy time but he always hated it and still does. He just doesn't seem interested in getting on his feet, and more to the point he doesn't seem to have the strength in his legs. Sorry I am rambling now, its just comforting to know I am not the only parent of a bum shuffler! Crikey he can get around quickly though . How old is your son?

Gah! You can't spoil a baby! DS is 15 months, very active but just not walking and like you say bloody quick! He started shuffling at 11 months and crawled and pulled up at 13 months. He was a month premature and has always been a bit behind. How old is yours?

I have the bum-shuffler to beat all bum-shufflers!

She is 8! I regularly repair trousers till they can last no longer then I chuck'em.

I am cheating btw, she has disabilities so bum-shuffling is a major advance!

I think Joe will still be bumshuffling when he is 8 at this rate!! Maybe we should invent something that goes over the trousers to protect them, rather like those little knee pads crawlers wear....hmmmmm. Joe is 18 months, only really started shuffling at about 16 months, now there is no stopping the little menace!! He is only just starting to pull up but doesn't go any further than his knees at the moment befor ehe gets stuck and looks at me to help him...

For shoes, the advice in France is they should be supported when in shoes but they should be bare foot as much as possible (i.e. no slippers or "fashion shoes"), which makes sense.
For the bum suffling DD1 started at 6 months and completely rubbed off the skin on the side of her feet (bleeding and screaming). So we put her in "proper" shoes all the time, (1st shoes from clarks), which had the effect of stopping her bumshuffling. Worth a try?

meltedmarsbars How do you repair her trousers, I'm a bit of a needlework novice and have been used those iron on patches but they dont last long.

zero I'm thinking about some paint on Teflon for trousers, you in?!

mamaloco right I will fork out for shoes and will expect walking by the end of the week! love the name btw

LOL at the Teflon trousers! I'm in! I'm seriously thinking about getting shoes now, but they will probably get worn down on the side he favours when shuffling! I'm not convinced the shoes will stop him shuffling though, they will just be something else to lob under the couch/sideboard/at the dog. Ho hum.

To repair, I just stitch the ripped bit together - or sew a patch on. I use the machine.

Have you tried those soft moccasin shoes instead of proper shoes?

My husband has some "teflon" work pants, may be you can cut several small sized one in them?

shuffelbum, we borrowed a playpen from a friend yesterday. I can't get anything done at the moment and after months of debating whether to borrow it or not, I decided to go ahead. Lo and behold after about 10 mins, Joe had grabbed the bars and started trying to pull himself up. He has never done that before, I was amazed! He mainly pulled himself up to his knees, but a couple of times he actually got one foot on the floor! Maybe he felt safe trying it in there as it's padded, and the bars are easy to grab on to (easier than furniture). Might be an option to help your little fella a bit? Now Joe will be spending ALL DAY in there until the little menace has learned how to do it

Will google teflon work pants (hoping you mean trousers )
zero DS does pull up but not keen on cruising although he has made a bit of progress in the last few days. Well done Joe though!
marsbars we have the soft bobux/starchild shoes if those are what you mean?

Dd2 bumshuffled ubtil 21 months, we saw a physio, on advice of HV, who said she had very soft ligaments, exacerbated by bumshuffling. She didn't really bear any weight at all, and if you stood her against something her feet rolled inwards, so it looked as though she was standing on her ankle bones. The physio recommended putting her in a pair of solid shoes (not cruisers, or crawlers). We bought a pair of sturdy up the ankle boy shoes, and she started walking very soon after wearing them, they gave her just the amount of support she needed.

I was just going through a bag of old clothes from the bumshuffling months, and she had about 25 pairs of trousers - mostly worn very thin at the bottom!

Shufflebum lol . I don't know, I wear underpants, underwears or knickers, with pants or trousers on top. But I am not a native english speacker. They are definitively trousers though.