Learning to crawl on hardwood?

[amldaley]

DD is 5 1/2 mos so I am getting the house ready for crawling. We have hardwood floors and a couple of area rugs (bedrooms are carpeted). I need to get a large rug for the living room anyway....(ya like that justfication???)

What is learning to crawl on hardwood like? Should I get a rug now? And should I worry about what fibers? We are planning to get a play yard, too...so the rug would span that as well.

Ideas?

[brittone2]

If baby doesn't mind, no big deal. IME, I've come across quite a few babies in early intervention that use alternative means of mobility...scooting on their bottom vs. creeping on hands and knees. Anecdotally, I've seen it more in homes w/ hardwood in a large portion of the home. However, there are plenty of kids that creep/crawl on all 4s even with lots of hardwood, and kids that choose to scoot on their bottom, etc. who don't have hardwood.

[deannanb]

we have hw floors and ds is working on the crawling (6.5 mo)
more like scooting on his bum -
he does the same thing on the carpet upstairs

unless you "need" an area rug - I'd skip it -
DD will do just fine learning to crawl on the hw.

[amldaley]

unless you "need" an area rug - I'd skip it -


sssshhhh.....yes, I "need" it. ;)

[MontrealMum]

We have large amounts of hardwood with a few area rugs here and there. DS began crawling at 6 mos, and walking at about 9.5. The only issue I had was that he tipped over a lot when he began crawling, and fell alot as a beginner walker. I threw down old area rugs that we weren't using anymore over the wood in the rooms that he was in, and also laid pillows all over the place (especially against furniture since he banged into things). The place looked a bit strange for awhile, but since he's steadier on his feet it's all back in order. Of course, if you need to justify it, you might need *some* carpeting...our home isn't entirely hardwood ;) because of those, um, area rugs.

[WatchingThemGrow]

We have a very cheap thin rug from Lowe's with a thick pad under it. I feel better when I'm sitting on the rug playing with DC than on the HWs. We don't actually have any carpet, so yes, they can learn to crawl on HWs fine. You might want to make sure she's wearing pants/leggings instead of dresses. Some like babylegs for that purpose as well, but we never got any.

Didn't someone say there is a knockoff of BabyLegs at Target? I'm sure there is somewhere online you can find some.

[hillview]

Both boys learned on hardwood. We did keep a comforter on the floor for a few months in case they wanted to crawl there or I wanted to be down there with him.
/hillary

[eliasmom]

LOL - I purposely avoided getting a rug for months in a futile attempt to slow down DD when she was trying to crawl at 4.5 mos. It didn't stop her. She crawled a lot faster on carpet, but she was pretty darn efficient on those hardwoods too.

[ahrimie]

We have a very cheap thin rug from Lowe's with a thick pad under it. I feel better when I'm sitting on the rug playing with DC than on the HWs. We don't actually have any carpet, so yes, they can learn to crawl on HWs fine. You might want to make sure she's wearing pants/leggings instead of dresses.



We have half hardwood and half carpet downstairs. Personally, I like DD on the carpet rather than hardwood. She gets a better grip on the carpet. Especially with the winter in Michigan, I keep her in carter's footed jammies and n the hw, she would slip a lot more and land on her face. Now, we're in 12 month jammies so it has the rubbery lines on the bottom of the feet but for those first couple months, being on the hw made me really nervous.



Some like babylegs for that purpose as well, but we never got any.
Didn't someone say there is a knockoff of BabyLegs at Target? I'm sure there is somewhere online you can find some.

Yes, Target's Circo brand makes something very similar. I've seen knee pads made for crawlers at BRU in the safety section. That's the other thing with crawling on hw... when I change her diaper, I'll notice her knees are a little red when she's been on the hw rather than carpet.

WatchingThemGrow's suggestion to get a pad and thin rug sounds good.

[Momof3Labs]

I hate rugs and carpet for us - with two dogs, they are so hard to keep clean (more than just the fur, unfortunately). At least I can see that the hardwood is clean (or not). Both of my boys learned to crawl on hardwood with few area rugs, and it didn't slow them down one iota. We are in a cold climate, too.

To the PP who worried about sleepers without grippies on the feet: I have a tube of slick paint from the craft store that I use to add grippies to PJs that don't have them, or PJs who have lost them over time.

You can get an area rug to try to help her crawl, but once she becomes mobile, it won't matter. She'll go where she wants, and that includes all over the hardwood too.

[hellokitty]

Both of my kids learned to crawl on our HW floors. The playroom is carpeted and we have a rug in our family room. My oldest did learn to crawl kind of oddly. A ped in the family totally freaked out over it, but of course when he learned to walk, it was no longer an issue and now as an almost 5 yr old, when he does crawl on the floor, it looks, "normal." My youngest son had no problems learning how to crawl, in fact he was very efficient. I think that kids are quite adaptable. The only thing that I'd worry about is if you have staircases that are HW too. My nephew seemed to have a permant bruise on his forehead, b/c when he learned how to walk on sil/bil's HW floors, he would keep falling face forward into their HW steps (going upstairs). Poor kid. He looked awful during that time period. I don't know why they didn't just install a gate at the stairway to prevent him from falling face first each time.

[wellyes]

We have all hardwoods and my 9.5 month old has been heartily crawling for 3 months now. It's really not a problem at all. It can be a little loud, when she's moving fast you can definitely hear her thump thump thumping from room to room.

If you decide to get a carpet, I suggest you air it out somewhere for a week or two - in the yard, or the basement if the baby doesn't go there - for outgassing.

[Octobermommy]

My ds learned to crawl on hardwoods, no big deal at all. He never seemed to mind it and would actually crawl different to avoid carpet, probably since he was used to hardwoods. No worries

[hillview]

Oh and I hate area rugs. I have gotten rid of 2 of them in the past year (still have 2). The kids get so much JUNK in them -- UGG.
/hillary

[trales]

We only have hardwood. She was fine as long as she had robeez on for grip.

[amldaley]

We have a very cheap thin rug from Lowe's with a thick pad under it. I feel better when I'm sitting on the rug playing with DC than on the HWs. We don't actually have any carpet, so yes, they can learn to crawl on HWs fine. You might want to make sure she's wearing pants/leggings instead of dresses. Some like babylegs for that purpose as well, but we never got any.

Didn't someone say there is a knockoff of BabyLegs at Target? I'm sure there is somewhere online you can find some.

The BabyLegs at Target are the real thing, actually!

DD has only worn a dress twice...for pictures. But those Baby LuLu clearance dresses I picked up will look cute on her this spring!
Excellent point re: my comfort while playing with her.....I think that means I need a rug.

Now...what fibers? Wool? Or synthetic?

[amldaley]

We have all hardwoods and my 9.5 month old has been heartily crawling for 3 months now. It's really not a problem at all. It can be a little loud, when she's moving fast you can definitely hear her thump thump thumping from room to room.

If you decide to get a carpet, I suggest you air it out somewhere for a week or two - in the yard, or the basement if the baby doesn't go there - for outgassing.

Thanks for the outgassing tip!!!!!!

[amldaley]

We have large amounts of hardwood with a few area rugs here and there. DS began crawling at 6 mos, and walking at about 9.5. The only issue I had was that he tipped over a lot when he began crawling, and fell alot as a beginner walker. I threw down old area rugs that we weren't using anymore over the wood in the rooms that he was in, and also laid pillows all over the place (especially against furniture since he banged into things). The place looked a bit strange for awhile, but since he's steadier on his feet it's all back in order. Of course, if you need to justify it, you might need *some* carpeting...our home isn't entirely hardwood ;) because of those, um, area rugs.

Thanks ;) You bring up a good point...we have all wood furniture inclluding futon sofas (not dorm style futons, but really nice hardwood sofas with wooden frames and wooden arms). And there is a clearance sofa at Penny's....it would be safer for dd for me to get a new sofa...wouldn't it?

[MontrealMum]

And there is a clearance sofa at Penny's....it would be safer for dd for me to get a new sofa...wouldn't it?

Well, you want your DD to be safe don't you ? :p For me, it just justified my tendancy to keep everything, including old pillows, but they were a bit unsightly propped up against our furniture and walls. We have tons of wood - think modern Scandinavian meets Victorian...a recipe for lots of bruises. And pillows are terrible dustcatchers...see, I'm thinking of you and how you might word this to your DH...Good luck!

[amldaley]

Well, you want your DD to be safe don't you ? :p For me, it just justified my tendancy to keep everything, including old pillows, but they were a bit unsightly propped up against our furniture and walls. We have tons of wood - think modern Scandinavian meets Victorian...a recipe for lots of bruises. And pillows are terrible dustcatchers...see, I'm thinking of you and how you might word this to your DH...Good luck!

ha! We have alot of Scandanavian style wood furnishings and some Victorian antiques....you have such good taste :)

[MontrealMum]

ha! We have alot of Scandanavian style wood furnishings and some Victorian antiques....you have such good taste :)

Thank you, you're very kind :) Most people would just say that we're a bit, um, confused in our decor.