Went to 9 month check-up this morning and am concerned...UPDATE Post 21

[arivecchi]

My 9 month old sits but still tumbles to the sides and backwards at times. The ped was not really concerned but said we need to let him practice more in a pack n play so he masters that soon. He also said he needs a lot of floor time as he is not really crawling or moving yet. He only scoots backwards when on his back if he is angry and tries to get up if on his back. He rolls over from time to time but not all that frequently. He is usually on the go with DS1 and the nanny on the stroller, so I suspect that is why he might be a bit slower on all of this. Am I right to be concerned?

[sste]

DS was very slow on his physical milestones but I am pretty sure he was crawling at around 8 or 9 months and falling over from sitting pretty rarely. Our pedi referred DS to EI for speech at 15 months and we ended up with a PT as well because motor delay can often lead to a speech delay (the child is focusing on motor skills during the stage when other kids are acquiring language).

I wouldn't worry about it too much but I would think about calling Early Intervention on the theory that there is nothing to lose from that. They will do a free evaluation of your DS with a trained PT/OT and probably speech and developmental as well. It takes a while to get it set up so if you call now it will probably be a month or two. If your DS makes huge progress you can alway cancel the appt but at least you have it set up.

[happymom]

At 9 months, DD was not crawling at all yet-she was rolling all over the place, but not crawling. She was sitting pretty nicely, but couldnt go from sitting to prone position (on tummy) fluidly. SHe would sorta just dive and flop onto her stomach. She also would not stand ifyou tried to hold her up- she would just retract her legs. She did not go into quadraped position- on all 4's. At her 9 months appt, the ped saidf he was not concerned that she wasnt crawling (DH"s family crawls and walks very late), but he WAS concerned that she doesnt go up on all 4s, and doesnt stand. He recommended a PT eval. SHe was evaluated and qualified- her meeting is actually today and her therapy begins on monday. Turns out she has low muscle tone.

Don't know if that helps you- I guess I'm saying that the crawling isnt necessarily an issue if he seems to be able to go up on all 4s etc. It couldnt hurt to have him evaluated though just to be sure. DEFINITELY increase floor time as much as you can- on his tummy. Good luck!

[arivecchi]

DS2 actually stands really well on his legs and the ped said that was great. He is ready to stand if he gets more practice. The ped said DS2 definitely does not have low muscle tone. I think the poor guy does not get enough of a chance to practice like DS1 did :(, so we need to work on that. He can get up on all fours but does not know what to do next.

[arivecchi]

What is early intervention?

[elektra]

I think the standing is a good sign. My DD did not crawl until 11 months and was late with rolling over too. She did walk at 13 months though. I took her in to the ped at 10 months and the ped said if she didn't start crawling by 11 months then they would start looking into it a bit more (whatever that meant), but sure enough, she started crawling right before the deadline.
Compared to her cousins that are 4 months older, she is less coordinated and has that toe-walking issue. But the PT I took her to said she is completely fine. Se was just always a "squishy" baby.
She got lots of floor time too. DS, on the other hand.... with dogs and a 2 yo running around, it just isn't too safe to have him on the floor unless someone is right there next to him.

[doberbrat]

dd sat on her 6mo bday but I'm sure she was wobbly still at 9mo. she never really crawled. some kids just arent movers. I'd give him more floor time if hes' not getting enough but I wouldnt freak out about it yet.

[sste]

Early Intervention is a state program that provides assessment and therapy services to kids under age 3 with a 30% or more delay. Testing and assessment is free. Just phone and say you have some concerns and would like to schedule evaluation. Based on your income, if you need therapy services it would be $200 per month (we saw three therapists once a week, so 12 appointments for that flat fee which was great). You can also use your health insurance and not go through EI for treatment - - but still use the free assessment service.

Child and Family Connections (CFC 11)
Early Intervention
945 W George St, Suite 300
Chicago, IL 60657

Phone: (312) 942-7800
TTY: None
Fax: (312) 942-7811
Toll Free: (800) 289-7990

Child & Family Connections, North Chicago

[slworld]

I am no expert but I would think kids have a very wide range when it comes to sitting, standing, crawling, etc. I have heard of kids starting to walk with very little crawling. DS would only drag himself on his tummy until almost 10months and he started to pull himself to a standing position before he did any crawling on 4's. He only started crawling at 10months and sitting without support a little after that. He also started walking a bit more stably only after his 1st b'day. Since your doctor is not too concerned, you could follow his suggestion for now regarding more practice time & followup again at his 1yr checkup.

[crazydiamond]

Early Intervention is a state program that provides assessment and therapy services to kids under age 3 with a 30% or more delay. (we saw three therapists once a week, so 12 appointments for that flat fee which was great)......Our pedi referred DS to EI for speech at 15 months...


Did this program help your DS with Speech issues?

[khalloc]

My DS didnt crawl until a few weeks before he turned 1. My DD didnt crawl until 2 weeks after she turned 1. I wouldnt look at crawling as a cause for concern. Both could sit up very well at 9 months though. Neither kid went to EI. Crawling isnt a milestone anymore.

[lilycat88]

Sounds like our DD. At 8 months, she was sitting but still sort of wobbly. She had not rolled over and was not crawling. In fact, she was unable to even maintain the 4 point crawling position. Her ped was not really concerned but I trusted my gut and pushed for an early intervention evaluation. I was right. She had some trunk instability due to weak muscles and her hips were very tight. She worked with a physical therapist for 6 months at the most and everything was fine. She rolled over after only 3 weeks/sessions. By the time she was 15 months old, she was entirely where she should have been.

[arivecchi]

Thanks everyone, especially sste for the EI info. I have a call into my ped to ask if they think I should contact the EI program. I am more worried about the sitting. Like I said, he can sit independently but eventually topples over or throws himself backwards. We are going to do a 2 week stretch of intense floor time/pack n play time and see what happens. DS1 did not blaze through the milestones either but he was sitting well by 8 months.

[mecawa]

Thanks everyone, especially sste for the EI info. I have a call into my ped to ask if they think I should contact the EI program. I am more worried about the sitting. Like I said, he can sit independently but eventually topples over or throws himself backwards. We are going to do a 2 week stretch of intense floor time/pack n play time and see what happens. DS1 did not blaze through the milestones either but he was sitting well by 8 months.

I think that sounds like a good plan. DD2 who is almost 10 months just started crawling the other day, she was sitting REALLY well, and getting up on all 4's but just scooting backwards until this past weekend really, now she is crawling and able to sit herself up from either a lying or crawling position. I was concerned because DD1 did all of this by 8 months, but DD2 was a month and a half early, and spent 3 months hospitalized last winter/early spring so my ped told me not to worry, even though as a mom of course I still did and do.

EI is great, btw, they come right to your house and everything. I had them come in June to evaluate DD2 because I was concerned about her meeting her physical milestones( not rolling over at 5 months), she met of exceeded all of them, so she didn't qualify, but it was great to have an experts opinion.

[saschalicks]

Well your DS2 and my DD are the same age. My DD cannot sit by herself w/out toppling over. She cannot crawl either, but is rolling around on the floor like a mad woman. I guess I'm not too concerned and she has her 9 mo check up next week. I'm curious to see what the ped says about it all.

[arivecchi]

Well your DS2 and my DD are the same age. My DD cannot sit by herself w/out toppling over. She cannot crawl either, but is rolling around on the floor like a mad woman. I guess I'm not too concerned and she has her 9 mo check up next week. I'm curious to see what the ped says about it all. Let me know please!

[arivecchi]

I think that sounds like a good plan. DD2 who is almost 10 months just started crawling the other day, she was sitting REALLY well, and getting up on all 4's but just scooting backwards until this past weekend really, now she is crawling and able to sit herself up from either a lying or crawling position. I was concerned because DD1 did all of this by 8 months, but DD2 was a month and a half early, and spent 3 months hospitalized last winter/early spring so my ped told me not to worry, even though as a mom of course I still did and do.

EI is great, btw, they come right to your house and everything. I had them come in June to evaluate DD2 because I was concerned about her meeting her physical milestones( not rolling over at 5 months), she met of exceeded all of them, so she didn't qualify, but it was great to have an experts opinion. My ped did say that he sees a lot of 2nd children being a bit slower than the first because they do not seem to get as much attention/floor time as the first. I wonder if that is indeed the case. Thanks for the info.

[arivecchi]

The nanny tells me DS2 has been sitting all day and has only toppled twice when he got mad and threw himself backwards so that is good news. Is it normal to be really upset about this? DH thinks I am totally overreacting by being so upset. :(

[happymom]

:hug: Sorry youre so upset about it...honestly I wouldnt worry too much because the worst case scenario (your child needs a little PT) really isnt bad! Besides, it doesnt even sound like he needs PT! But dont beat yourself up about it- its certainly not your fault. Sounds like he just needs some more floor time- which youre planning to do already!

[DrSally]

DD didn't start crawling until 10 months. I think she was slow to roll over too. She's 15 months now and walking. The ped thought it was just that some babies don't feel the need to move around as much. She was mostly happy to just sit and play and watch. I would just do more floor time and let nature take it's course. I don't think at this age I'd worry about not crawling quite yet.

ETA: I think it's a great sign that your DC stands well. DD was just collapsing her legs and the ped was concerned about that at 10 months. We worked on it (holding her up) and she caught on right away. She just wasn't getting the "practice'. I think contacting EI if you're concerned would be a good idea. They can give and eval and tell you if anything needs to be done. I know it's hard not to worry, that's part of being a mom. Hugs.

[arivecchi]

UPDATE: DS2 has been spending a lot of time on the floor and in the pack n play. LOL. He is already sitting without flooping! :boogie: He can also stand in the pack n play for long periods of time if I place him by the "railing". He is showing lots of improvement on these two fronts, but not much movement yet. I find it comforting that he is sitting so much better though, because he needs to master that in order to move. I also talked to the ped again and he said that he felt bad that I was worried about it because while a bit slower than most kids, he did not feel his development was abnormal. He is pretty sure it is just a matter of more floor/pack n play time. I did call EI, but am wondering whether to cancel that now as he does seem to be improving a lot with practice. The initial appt is next week. What do you all think?

[elektra]

I would cancel since the ped just saw him and said he was fine even before he started sitting better and standing. Sounds like he's doing great. :)

[happymom]

Yay! Thats great news!2 things- first of all, why the pack n play? That doesnt give him much room to move...Second, DD's PT told me not put her down sitting up because she will just play with whats near her, or pivot in circles, but not really MOVE! So it would prob be good for you to put DS on his stomach a lot as well. Now that DD knows how to sit herself up, thats what she does whenever I put her on her stomach. But if ur DS cant sit himself up yet, put him on his tummy with toys out of reach and see what he does...

About the appointment- it seems you were able to get one fairly easily so you could always cancel and reschedule again if you want. Or you could reschedule it now for 2 weeks from now, and then cancel then if you think its unnecessary. OR, you could just go through with it since its free anyways and worst case scenario, you'll feel reassured when the therapists says he's fine!

[lchang25000]

Yay! :applause:I would cancel the appt. also.

[JBaxter]

I would NOT cancel the EI appt. The evaluation is free and they can also give you tips on how to encourge some milestones. So even if he doesnt qualify they can help you with certain baby exersizes.

It will set your mind at east to hear from a therapist he is on mark.

[AnnieW625]

I would at least go the EI appt. once to see what happens. FWIW my daughter finally got her speech therapy group services about six months after her tube surgery and finally started talking on a more consistent basis (just about a year ago) and I thought about cancelling the program all together, but I was soo glad we stuck with it. It kept her working on her language skills and it really helped her in a small group setting outside of daycare. DD was also a late crawler (9 mos)/late walker (16 mos) so I know how frusterating it can be when other kids his age are doing soo much more. Don't let it discourage you. Congrats to DS2 for making those milestones!

[o_mom]

I agree with keeping the EI appointment. If nothing else, they can set a baseline so that if he isn't progressing in a few months they can look back to see if he is getting farther behind or just staying on his own curve.