Good to know. I am planning on talking to her pedi when she goes to her 9 months. Her lack of crawling interest wasn't a concern of mine since I never crawled. DH and I were talking about it this morning. It might be a good idea for us to start working on it with her, give her more opportunities to try to crawl. We worked on rolling since she hated tummy time, sitting unsupported and now standing (which she loves), but never really with the crawling.
I have new and important information to share! Not really, but we had DDs last pt appt this morning and thought some of you might like the PTs pov on crawling.
She said they are starting to take it out of official milestones, but she still thinks it's really important and at this age all babies should be crawling or at least starting to. Not that you should worry yourself sick about it, but there are things you can do to encourage it and work on it if your baby is not naturally inclined. Also, as far as EI, she said if you're ever concerned about development ask your pediatrician for a referral for an evaluation.
I have to say I thought pt was pretty useless for us at first because we determined the first week that it wasn't going to help the flat head, which is why we were there. Ultimately though I did learn a lot about how to encourage gross motor development and that It seems my DD needs that encouragement. Both with rolling and standing she wasn't really doing a lot on her own, but after just a day or two of putting her through the motions and practicing she was doing both - the strength was there, just not the will. Today we worked on some ways to position her and work on crawling. Again, she's strong enough to hold herself up on her knees, she just splays out and doesn't do it on her own. So my job now is to hold her in the crawling position to encourage it. Also, she loves to sit so we're working on going from sitting to crawling position and back to sitting and she seems to tolerate that much better than being put on her belly then lifted into crawling.
So in summary, look into/ask about ways to help teach your baby crawling, and ask for an EI referral if you'd like one.
How exactly do you get your little one into crawling position? I've tried to in the past, but when I try to bend his knees, he locks them up so I can't move them. Our pedi appt is next month, where I'll definitely be bringing this up.
Thanks for the info comicSans I have always had to push my baby to do things. We did the holding while he crawls thing, and putting objects in front to encourage. I also lay him down and make a game of pulling himself up to sitting and then standing. He thinks it's hilarious and I try to help him pull up less and less each time. I felt a little guilty pushing him, like I was "that mom" trying to make her kid do more. But idk... It worked with the crawling and he hit it right before the marker.
Us Canadians have a slightly different process with not seeing pediatricians unless there is concern - also, doctors won't readily send you to a specialist (you really have to push for one) due to the system paying our health care and referrals often being viewed as a drain on our provinces medical funds.
emmagk - what I found has worked for us, was working within the system to get the best family doc I could (that took me a long time, seeing I was with a miserable doctor for so long who wouldn't release my file within a reasonable time frame). Once I got that good family GP, I simply built a solid relationship with her and if I had ANY concerns, she'd send me to the pedi to consult (which she did when LO was showing signs of GERD).
From where we stand, we're not concerned right now, she crawls, stands, cruises, babbles, the only thing she's weird about is acknowledging her name (but I know she knows it). I've been thinking about making an appointment with the GP about the name issue (but I also chalk that up to her being stubborn when she doesn't want to do something). I guess I'm saying, after 6 months our next check-in is 12 months but you certainly have every right to make your baby an appointment if you're concerned.
kittyriot I actually love our GP, we got really lucky getting him. There's such a shortage of docs here that people have been on the wait list for one for over 5 years! I know I can make an appointment to talk about any concerns but I hate sounding like the nagging first time mum. At the moment I'm not worried. If he's still not moving in 2 months time then I'll probably go talk to him.
Oh! Glad to hear that emmagk - I had a miserable, misogynistic old sod for so long and it took forever to get a new one (I'm in a region with too few doctors too, so wait lists I understand). And I'm with you. I feel like like my concern is just me being a silly FTM.
There are some videos on YouTube with techniques to help baby crawl. Maybe those will have something to help you? It's kind of hard to describe.
Basically I put one hand under her chest to support her and use the other to tuck her knees under. It's easier to do the knees if you hold baby up a bit off the floor, then lower down. Dd likes to kick her legs out too, but the more we do it the more she tolerates the knees in position.
If baby will pull the leg forward in more of an army crawl position, you can put your hand behind his/her foot to push off of.
From sitting she'll lean way over one leg/ a little to the side and from there I move her into hands and knees. When she gets tired I push her hips back on the diagonal to help her back to a sit.
You can also position baby into a high kneeling position in front of a step or box with toys to encourage that position which will help with strength and getting comfy on their knees.
Oh also, I think someone mentioned before that babies may be more willing on a bed or softer surface rather than the floor. At pt they put her on a big mat, like a high jump pit. I was shocked when she held the position 2 weeks ago since she'd never done it at home, and then I wasn't able to get her to hold it again at home until today.
That sounds awesome @kitchen - while I love our Canadian health care system and am so grateful that the birth of our daughter was entirely free - our system is riddled with challenges and pitfalls (many like the one I mention, some doctors not being willing to refer to a specialist).
That issue came up time and time again for me, feeling like I had some serious autoimmune challenges and my my doctor repeatedly ignoring my legitimate concerns (bc he didn't want to get yelled out for "referring" too often). The key in this country always seems to be, finding the best doctor you can, one who listens, is thorough and doesn't care that referrals come at a cost (to the province).
So far O will sit unassisted, brace herself with her arms, and rolls 3 or 4 times to get around. We saw our pedi this week to check her head shape and we also discussed her developments. He was surprised that she sits so well but won't pull to stand, sit up, or crawl yet. I was worried that she would never have interest in crawling bc as soon as she learned to roll she would never stay on her belly. But after a couple weeks of rolling she will stay on her belly for long periods of time. So she is a little behind physically, but is ahead when it comes to speech, which he said matters more. There is a lot of Dada and YaYa and she's now going "Bwa" and blowing raspberries at the same time. No mama yet though. At PT last week, we also discussed ways to encourage pulling up and crawling. becole I too am realizing that she needs to be challenged and I need to do more to let her do things for herself. To add to what comicSans said, I went on Pinterest and here are a couple links I found helpful.
Using a play table 5 Ways to Promote Standing Today we tried using the large couch pillow with her keyboard and she did well. Also tried sitting her in front of her bouncy chair and she enjoyed that too. I am hoping that by our 9 month check up she will be crawling, pulling to stand, or will go from back to sitting. What I find hardest is that our babes are up to 6-8 weeks apart in age. I feel like I compare O to other babies that may be 9 or 9 1/2 months already, she's only 8. So I am trying to pull back a little and know that she will do things on her own schedule.
Us Canadians have a slightly different process with not seeing pediatricians unless there is concern - also, doctors won't readily send you to a specialist (you really have to push for one) due to the system paying our health care and referrals often being viewed as a drain on our provinces medical funds.
emmagk - what I found has worked for us, was working within the system to get the best family doc I could (that took me a long time, seeing I was with a miserable doctor for so long who wouldn't release my file within a reasonable time frame). Once I got that good family GP, I simply built a solid relationship with her and if I had ANY concerns, she'd send me to the pedi to consult (which she did when LO was showing signs of GERD).
From where we stand, we're not concerned right now, she crawls, stands, cruises, babbles, the only thing she's weird about is acknowledging her name (but I know she knows it). I've been thinking about making an appointment with the GP about the name issue (but I also chalk that up to her being stubborn when she doesn't want to do something). I guess I'm saying, after 6 months our next check-in is 12 months but you certainly have every right to make your baby an appointment if you're concerned.
kittyriot , that sounds just like us. She only intermittently responds to her name. Usually it seems like she's too focused on what she's doing to be bothered with an interruption. In every other respect she's developmentally on target or ahead of schedule, so I'm not too worried, but I do plan to discuss at her 9 month appt,
I decided to try to work with DD on crawling. She rather stands. I try to put her on the floor, she stiffens so she'll stand. Think she'll be cruising before she crawls. Going to keep trying.
Us Canadians have a slightly different process with not seeing pediatricians unless there is concern - also, doctors won't readily send you to a specialist (you really have to push for one) due to the system paying our health care and referrals often being viewed as a drain on our provinces medical funds.
emmagk - what I found has worked for us, was working within the system to get the best family doc I could (that took me a long time, seeing I was with a miserable doctor for so long who wouldn't release my file within a reasonable time frame). Once I got that good family GP, I simply built a solid relationship with her and if I had ANY concerns, she'd send me to the pedi to consult (which she did when LO was showing signs of GERD).
From where we stand, we're not concerned right now, she crawls, stands, cruises, babbles, the only thing she's weird about is acknowledging her name (but I know she knows it). I've been thinking about making an appointment with the GP about the name issue (but I also chalk that up to her being stubborn when she doesn't want to do something). I guess I'm saying, after 6 months our next check-in is 12 months but you certainly have every right to make your baby an appointment if you're concerned.
kittyriot , that sounds just like us. She only intermittently responds to her name. Usually it seems like she's too focused on what she's doing to be bothered with an interruption. In every other respect she's developmentally on target or ahead of schedule, so I'm not too worried, but I do plan to discuss at her 9 month appt,
Thanks for sharing! I'm glad I'm not alone. I plan to just keep close track about all her verbal milestones and if anymore seem off track I'll make an appointment for her.
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