This finger-walking 24/7 baby is going to be the end of us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ours did that. Cruised starting at 8 months, walking at 11. Never crawled - why crawl when walking is quicker. Gross motor skills at 2-3-4-5-6 are impressive. Try getting a walker for balance and see if that works. We ultimately bribed our daughter to walk by each holding phones and remotes[b] and making her walk without help to get one. It worked. After that, I wished I had waited as walking really changes your life.

OP's baby does not cruise on her own, pull up, or even sit well unassisted. Finger walking only. Big difference.

NP here.

Ha! We have spent so much time keeping these away -- great idea.

Hmm. The bold didn't bold on my phone. Meant the remote and phone part]

[Anonymous]

Crawling isn't used as a milestone anymore because there would be too many mistaken red flags. Lots of kids go directly to walking. In some cultures kids go from being carried/worn straight to walking.

That said, there are kids who avoid crawling because it is particularly challenging for them. Kids who are wired to struggle with bilateral coordination and midline crossing have a very hard time crawling. And the activity of crawling can help resolve some of these issues--which is why it is used by therapists for school-aged kids who have certain issues.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I am not at all concerned that she's developmentally delayed. She's protested consistently from very early on. We started more tactics to get her to pull herself up yesterday and today, and they are working better than before. I don't know why. Maybe I didn't give this leap enough time to set in before expecting changes. I asked my mom,who watches her during the day, if she thinks she sits up well, and my mom said yes, a lot better than before. "Just look! She can catch herself if she falls over!" And sure enough, she stopped herself. I just think my expectation was that I could leave her to (happily) play sitting for 5 minutes while I did something else. But she doesn't want to be left alone, so she tries to stand up, which she can't do yet, so she flops over.

When I got home from work last night, I plopped a boob on the blanket on the floor and told the hungry baby to come get it. She crawled/scooted/army crawled...I don't know what it was. She did some sort of crawling motion with knees and everything to get to me. After her first nap today, I didn't pick her up after nursing on my side a bit. I told her to come get me. She tried to stand up like we were helping her up, but she couldn't. Eventually, she rolled over, moved herself around, and crawled to me.

So, I think she can do it now. I think many of you are right that we need to encourage her to do so more.

Thanks, pp, for posting the link about the babies who don't crawl, they are just set down to walk after a year. That is reassuring.

We do have a learn-to-walk harness. She hates it. We have a walker, a push walker, and a jumper. She can't support herself with the push walker without assistance just yet. We have hard wood floors and that thing TAKES OFF! The carpet works better, but the rooms are so small here that it's hard to go anywhere without hitting a wall or crap. Yes, we'd love to knee walk more, but these hardwood floors are original from 80 years ago, and they are HARD. Her running from one end of the house to the other makes it hard to transition from knees to standing quickly.

We will try the spoon and blanket suggestions, though my mom is worried about not being closer to her if she falls on the hard wood floor. I do think it will give her confidence, but as pp said, require her to use other muscles. We have some padding and blankets, but this girl loves to run from one end of the house to the other again and again.

Thanks all, for the responses and suggestions. We are going to try to not let her be so depending on us walking her around at times to get her moving around on her own more.

[Anonymous]

NP here. I agree with other PPs that suggest not being so quick to "help" her and pushing her a little to do things herself. She's probably just frustrated she can't do the things she wants and is relying on you to help because it seems easier than learning to crawl/walk on her own.

I'm not sure this would work for you, but my DS learned to walk by pushing around a truck that was made for toddlers to ride on (like the type you sit on and scoot around with your legs). It wasn't supposed to be a walker/push-toy, but he discovered that if he pushed it in reverse (standing and holding the bars at the front and pushing it backwards), it could work as a great walker. It was a little lower than other walkers, slower because it had bulky wheels meant for a different purpose, and single-directional rather than some walkers that go in any direction. This really helped him be able to push it long before he could push anything else. Might be worth a try (and you can use it when she's older if it isn't a huge hit).

My DS loved to run from side to side of the house at this age, too. I think it's just part of the development of walking. He pushed his truck around mostly, but we also helped him. I think it should start reducing more and more in the coming 1-2 months as she gets more independent in her walking skills -- I know it's hard right now, but it should be over soon!

[Anonymous]

OP

I've been having to finger walk my very strong willed baby for the last 5 months. It's killing me. He can scream and scream and scream and only stops if I start finger walking.

What did you find worked best in the end?

He can crawl well just prefers the speed of walking. Dislikes all walkers/jumpers etc.

[Anonymous]

Ps my baby is 11 months old and has been finger walking since 6 months.

AB here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP

I've been having to finger walk my very strong willed baby for the last 5 months. It's killing me. He can scream and scream and scream and only stops if I start finger walking.

What did you find worked best in the end?

He can crawl well just prefers the speed of walking. Dislikes all walkers/jumpers etc.

If he were that strong willed it wouldn't take him 5 months to learn to walk. He's just spoiled. Let him scream a bit and he might be motivated to actually walk.

[Anonymous]

We have a fisher price walker type thing.Abd we also introduced Dd to the pack n play (never used it until now) which intrigued Dd so much bc it was a different way of holding on to something.
It will take awhile for her to develop a core for her to be strong enough to do a few things unassisted or not frustrated herself.

When she walks with your help, does she walk with her tummy sticking out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP

I've been having to finger walk my very strong willed baby for the last 5 months. It's killing me. He can scream and scream and scream and only stops if I start finger walking.

What did you find worked best in the end?

He can crawl well just prefers the speed of walking. Dislikes all walkers/jumpers etc.

If he were that strong willed it wouldn't take him 5 months to learn to walk. He's just spoiled. Let him scream a bit and he might be motivated to actually walk.

Something I did with my son is I put him in the playpen and would stand at the opposite end so he would just have to walk one or two steps to reach me, then a couple more, then he himself began practicing running from one end to the other over and over again. I admired his determination!

[Anonymous]

If she is 11 months old and can't reliably set up alone, you need to get her into intervention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If she is 11 months old and can't reliably set up alone, you need to get her into intervention.

Old thread. I'm sure her 3 year old is great at sitting up now. But would be interesting to see where she is now (developed normally, no issues or ran into difficulties )!

[Anonymous]

OP, having low tone or being in need of some PT in these early years doesn't mean she's developmentally delayed. She can be right on point in all other ways. My friend's DD had similar issues and EI diagnosed low tone. She had PT for a period of time but that was that - she's not developmentally delayed, and is now a healthy, thriving tween.

I would have her evaluated - it's their process to evaluate all areas of development but she will likely only qualify for PT (if anything).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our DD was exactly the same and she qualified for services for early intervention. Not sitting well at this age is huge missed milestone and also not crawling for a school of thought in child development.

Crawling isn't even considered a developmental milestone by many pediatricians.

That's exactly what I said. Why do I have the impression you're trying to start a fight here?

Might be what you meant. Wasn't what you wrote.

NP here. She very clearly stated that not crawling is considered a problem by ONE SCHOOL OF THOUGHT. Either learn to read or drop the superior attitude.

Another NP here and also agree it is exactly what she wrote. And, based on your second response, you are trying to start a fight. Breath deeply, and try to find a more positive release for your negative energy, like running.

OP, I'd also be concerned about sitting. That very likely relates to the other issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our DD was exactly the same and she qualified for services for early intervention. Not sitting well at this age is huge missed milestone and also not crawling for a school of thought in child development.

Crawling isn't even considered a developmental milestone by many pediatricians.

There is now some research that suggests that crawling is important for brain development. When my DC was in EI, they stressed the imperative of crawling.

There is also research that shows crawling is important for fine motor development.

[Anonymous]

My LO is the opposite - DOES NOT want help with anything. At 12 mos, he cruises and crawls, is thinking about walking. Since he was a young baby, I have rarely helped him with anything during playtime. I'm always there to catch him if he is doing something that looks risky, but I have made a concerted effort to not help him out. If he wants something that is just out of his reach, he has to figure out how to get it, to reach, go around etc. At Gymboree, if he wants to try to climb something, he can try, but I don't push him up slides/ladders/ etc. I just keep my hands close to make sure he is safe. I never finger walk with him. He's one of the smallest and youngest kids at his Gymboree class, but I've noticed he has fantastic motor skills and can hold his own with the bigger kids. I've seen parents pushing their kids up ladders etc and I feel it robs the kid of the opportunity to learn. I would steer clear of those body walkers, tempting as it may seem, because it sounds like your kiddo needs to strengthen her muscles, and a device like that is going to support your kid when her own muscles should be developing enough to support her.