8 mo. old and not crawling

[lmariana]

I'm not terribly concerned, because Gabriel is actually more interested in walking than crawling, but how can I encourage more crawling? He will get on all fours in his crib, but no where else! He can get from a sitting position on to his belly, but then he just flops around like a fish. :) He will scoot backwards by pushing with his arms, but overall, he just doesn't like being on his tummy AT ALL!

He will get really frustrated on his stomach very quickly, but LOVES to stand up and hold on to things. He can stand, holding on to our coffee table, forever, and he evens takes a few steps. We've stood him up and let go a few times, and he will balance himself for about 10-15 seconds before falling.

So, I'm not concerned about the lack of crawling, becuase I know some babies just go straight to walking, but I would still like to encourage it.

Any thoughts?

Mariana
www.heinzandmariana.com
Mother of Gabriel, 08/14/2003

[flagger]

Why do you want to encourage it? My nephew never crawled at all and just rolled everywhere and went right to walking.

[Marisa6826]

I was told by three separate pediatricians that crawling is a completely inconsequential milestone and that many kids will go straight to cruising (walking while holding onto furniture).

I really wouldn't worry about it. Sophie would sit and push herself backward on the hardwood floor as her mode of transportation for quite some time.

In fact, I don't think she crawled for very long at all.

Since Gabriel is already cruising, why would you want to encourage kind of going "backward" to crawling? Especially if he is noticably uncomforable on his belly. Just curious ;)

-m

[lmariana]

Hmmm, I guess I never thought of it as a "backwards" milestone! It's so funny, as first time parents, we have this "mental checklist" of things that our baby should do, and we were just trying to cross off crawling. :)

Oh well, I guess I should just chill and go with the flow! It's so cute how proud of himself he looks when he's standing!

Thanks for helping me feel better!

Mariana
www.heinzandmariana.com
Mother of Gabriel, 08/14/2003

[ralu]

FWIW, my DS was the same. He started cruising before crawling. He accidentally discovered crawling around 9mos and then he quickly became pretty good at it.

Raluca

[lrucci]

Mariana,

Just a few weeks ago I was wondering the same thing. DD was pushing backward, pulling herself up, trying to walk, and she even figured out how to get across the room without crawling. This week, right after she turned 9 months, she started crawling. I never did do anything special to encourage her, she did it when she was ready. So maybe, Gabriel will start soon. It sounds like he's almost there. If he never crawls, it's no big deal. It is not a real developmental milestone.


Lisa
Mom to Kyleigh Elizabeth 7/19/03

[JLiebCamm]

Apparently I never crawled because I hated being on my stomach and just ended up being a very early walker, and as far as I can tell I'm OK :-) The one interesting thing to add to this is that a co-worker who is an occupational therapist saw me using scissors (I have an unusual way of holding them) and asked me if I knew if I had crawled as a baby. I called my mom to ask, and sure enough, I hadn't. Apparently non-crawlers don't build up the strength of the shoulder girdle so they overcompensate by the way they hold things in their hand (essentially, I overstabilize my grasp of a pen or scissors with my hand because I don't have as good control of my shoulder). This in no way makes me unable to do certain things; it just makes a distinct pattern of hand use with various tools. I found this to be fascinating, especially the fact that she pegged me as a non-crawler when I was in my 20's!

[lmariana]

Wow, that is really amazing! How interesting!

This board has been so good with putting my mind at ease about things. Thanks for all your input!

Mariana
www.heinzandmariana.com
Mother of Gabriel, 08/14/2003

[JenCA]

We're in the same boat...my DD (who's 2 days older than your son) still isnt' crawling. Occasionally, she'll get up onto all fours from a sitting position, but then she sits back down again. And if we put her on her tummy, she either flails around, or rolls onto her back. She doesn't pull up on objects (crib, furniture, etc.), but if you hold your fingers out to her while she's sitting down, she'll grab them and pull up like a champ. It's hard not to be concerned (although I've been told time and time again not to worry about it), especially when we go to GymCrawlers and there are babies younger than her crawling all over the place.

[cvharris]

DS didn't crawl on all fours until he was around 8 1/2 months old. I didn't do anything to encourage it, he just started to do it.

I know three babies who are much older than Gabriel (about 11 months old now) and they are still not crawling. I suspect they will be walking soon and skip the crawling stage altogether.

My DS is a big crawler and has actually shown no interest in walking - he likes to stand, but if I try to walk with him he immediately gets down on all fours and speeds away. I suspect he will be the last of his little baby buddies to walk, since he would rather crawl then walk. And then I'll be posting here about my 1 year old who is not walking. :)

Carolee and Ben (6/14/03)

[MelissaTC]

My DS never really crawled. He was a big roller and would do an army crawl of sorts but basically hated being on his tummy. He was standing for awhile and then cruising. Once he got the walk down, he mastered crawling...LOL. Go figure! He is now a marathon runner and I am right behind him, running after...

[bnme]

I didn't getto read the other responses, but my DS didn't crawl until about 8.5 months and he took his firststeps by about 9.5 months. He then started crawling mor eoften too. He was running by 1 yr old.

[Sarah1]

Audrey didn't start crawling until around 10 months. She started pulling up around 7-8 months, and would even cruise, and we were convinced she'd skip crawling and go straight to walking. We were sort of surprised when she eventually DID start crawling!

I do think that when Audrey watched other babies crawl, it made her more interested in doing it herself. She started crawling a couple of weeks after we started a class in which several babies were crawling around.

[josephmama]

I just had to chime in since my son is about the same as as Gabriel. No crawling here either! He just started to really roll onto his tummy about a month ago. He hates being on his tummy and only recently will tolerate it. He loves for us to help him stand up so he can "pretend" to walk with us so I'm not worried about him as far as learning to walk in concerned. My sister and I never crawled, either. It's good to hear we're not the only ones- especially since everyone is always asking, "Is he crawling"?

Also, it's good to see so many babies born the same week as my son :)