I don't want to be this mom! (Milestone worries)

[rachieface]

Alright, I just need some reassurance.  I don't want to be that mom that worries about milestones....but here I am anyway!  Ha.  Tell me BTDT stories??

My happy, easy-going almost 9 month old doesn't seem to have much interest in being mobile.  He can get up on hands and knees but can't seem to figure out how to go anywhere from there....and he also doesn't like being in crawling position much.  He's never liked being on his tummy.  He loves to sit.  He can pull up to standing kind of, but hardly ever does.  However, he LOVES me to hold him in a standing position.  

So, is this normal?  I mean I'm pretty sure it is, but I guess part of the problem is that I WANT him to be mobile.  It might be more work for me, but I know that he would really enjoy being able to move around on his own and gets frustrated that he can't.  I feel like my friends' babes who are the same age are crawling up a storm....is there something I need to be doing to help him crawl?

Like I said, I think I know the answers to these questions....but hearing this from someone else would be nice.  So did you have a later crawler?  Did you have a babe who suddenly started crawling even though they didn't particularly like being in crawl position?  Do I need to encourage him to have more tummy/hand and knees time even though he doesn't really like it?

[eclipse]

Some babies just skip crawling - he might be one of those. It's really not a problem if he goes right to cruising and walking - which he might do, considering that he likes you to hold him up to walk. OTOH, he might just be a later bloomer. My DD didn't crawl until her 1st birthday (also cut her first tooth that day - it was a big day at our house!), and was just shy of 16 months when she started walking. So she was a later walker, but not late, iykwim. And I probably won't be the only one to say this, but be careful what you wish for! It seems like it might be easier to have a mobile baby, but it often is a lot harder .

[AislinCarys]

You might want to check out when babies actually do learn to crawl according to WHO. They have charts for it, and at 9 months old, your baby isn't late, as average is about 8 1/2 months. DD crawled at 8 1/2 months, and comparing to friends' babies that seemed late, but, obviously it isn't!

Click on Percentiles and means in days and months:

http://www.who.int/childgrowth/standards/motor_milestones/en/index.html

[northerngirl]

My babe started crawling just after turning 9 months. Before that she really didn't have any interest in going anywhere. I did place her on her hands and knees sometimes and kind of moved her legs in a crawling motion. But what really helped was putting something really enticing to her just out of her reach and she would go from sitting to leaning forward on her hands and then to her knees, then a lot of the time splat right on her belly. It did take her a couple weeks to get to actual crawling. Now at almost 11 months she is EVERYWHERE, does not sit still. One minute she's here the next second she's on the dog bed with the dog bone almost in her mouth. EEEKKK.

DD1 never really crawled, then walked after turning a year.

I know it's hard to not compare your babe to other babes in terms of milestones, but they will get there, at their own pace.

[nola79]

It's normal. He sounds like he's doing great to me. Like a pp mentioned, some kids never crawl.

[marinak1977]

DS started to army crawl at around 9.5 months and didn't do a 4 point crawl until after 10 months. He is developing just fine as far as I can tell. It really depends on your baby's personality what they would focus on learning.
Your DS sounds very similar to mine at that age.

[octobermom]

My first LO took her first steps at 7.5 months and the next day was climbing stairs...

 My current didn't even attempt crawling till 9 months she at almost 11 months is jsut now good at it, shes sits very well but has yet to pull herself into a standing position

 Babies are diffrent...

Deanna

[sarahr]

I could have written your post a few months ago. All my DS liked to do was sit -- he didn't like being on his tummy, he very rarely rolled, and was making to moves to either crawling or pulling up or anything else. Then, over one week when he was 10 months old, he started rolling, getting to sitting on his own, crawling, and the ocassional pulling up. So, no worries!

[memz]

My DD started army crawling at about 9 months, crawling at 10 months and walking at 11 months....Your LO sounds just fine to me!!

[Mosaic]

I think this graph is even more helpful than the percentiles... Hate to tell you this, but your son is perfectly normal so far! My DD is 9.5 months and can crawl backwards sorta but isn't going forward at all, and she's still well within the normal range, too.

[rachieface]

Thanks so much everyone.  That's what I figured, but it's just nice to hear it from someone else.  I am grateful that he's a bit easier at the moment...I'm sure before I know it he'll be crawling up a storm!