Crawling - Lockport,IL

My daughther hated tummy time as well. Then I tried the boppy. This worked miracles. She developed head control and upper body strength. Just continue to work with him and he will develop these motor skills.

S.

I agree with Mary F - crawling is a methodical and thought out activity and is linked to brain development. There may be other issues as to why he hates tummy time. My daughter simply went from a brief army crawl to walking and we always laughed that she was always in a hurry. Even now at 21 she has some attention span issues. If I had paid attention to her swiftness as a child as a symptom of something else she would have had help much sooner

What if you propped yourself up or sat in a recliner and played with him on your chest? Gradually lay down further and further until you are laying down and he's on his tummy on your chest...since you are playing and interacting with him, he may be distracted from being in his least favorite position!

My first son sounds like yours. He ended up not crawling and went straight to walking. I tried everything to get him interested. He has good co-ordination, but does lack upper body strength compared to his peers. He was a premie and is still "catching up", he does tend to give up on things he can't do easily. My second son, on the other hand, is 9months now and is strong as an ox in his upper body and not far from crawling...I guess kids really are individuals!

My son was late with the crawling too. I was told that sometimes they just start walking and skip the crawling phase. However, I was determined to teach him how to crawl because it was good for him to learn coordination. I got on the floor next to him and just did the crawl motions over and over until he caught on. He started crawling at 9 months, cruising at 13 and walking at 15. I think it's up to you. After a few tries if he doesn't even try I would call Early Intervention for the free evaluation and your peace of mind, they might assign him an Occupational Therapist and Physical Therapist depends on what he needs. I called EI because my son didn't talk. We see a speech therapist once a week and he's doing better. I'm glad I called.

Have you checked with his pediatrician? maybe being on his tummy causes him discomfort or pain, it could be an indication of a serious condition or illness. Occasionally children prefer to just walk and skip the crawling stage but definilty have the doctor check him.

have you talked to your doc about baby heartburn? Most kids I've seen with similiar problems is really due to that.

I second the suggestion that you have an evaluation from Early Intervention. This is a fantastic program! They might come across as a little bureaucratic at first, but if you qualify for the services they can be great. If your child exhibits a 30% or greater delay then he will qualify for physical therapy services (they also offer speech therapy and occupational therapy) which can help get him back on track. Two of my three have received PT through EI and we have been very pleased. Usually the provider(s) just come to your home, which is easy for you, and they show you things that you can do with your child and the furniture/toys you already have to promote muscle development. I think that not crawling all by itself is not such a big deal, but the lack of mobility is surprising and might indicate the need for some intervention. Remember, he is only 9 months old - problems at this age are very easy to fix because nothing is ingrained yet. Good luck!

Definitely get your doctor to write a script/referral for an occupational therapy evaluation through early intervention!
There are many things that develop that are part of "tummy time" including core stability and upper arm strength.
all the best!

A lot of kids are skipping crawling now a days, and if they never do it, they'll be ok. If he's on track in everything else, its not the end of the world. My dd never wanted to sit, she always wanted to stand, and consequently walked before she crawled, and it never hurt her.

He may just not be quite ready for crawling, but you are right to think about what you can do to help him. Crawling is a very important stage for brain development (even though some babies never crawl -- apparently I rolled.) I would talk to your pediatrician, there may be other things besides tummy time that you can do with him. But also remember that he may just be working on other skills (social, emotional....) and it's not time for him to be moving quite yet.

I am not really sure whether it is possible to develop upper body and/or arm strength without putting him on his stomach, because I believe these muscles develop when he props himself up with his arms and looks around from that position. I wanted to comment though, to tell you that my son was a late crawler as well because he absolutely hated being on his stomach. What worked for us was increasing his time being on the floor, on his stomach, doing it several times a day for short periods of time with rolled up receiving blankets under his armpits which helped him hold his head up and soon enough he didn't need the blankets at all. To encourage him to crawl we did something similar, by placing a rolled up towel under his stomach and placing him in a position on his hands and knees and then helped him rock back and forth. After he was comfortable doing that, and after he would mimic the rocking motion when placed in the hands and knees position, still with the towel under his belly, we would pull the towel forward a little bit, and his body would follow. Eventually he got it, and was pulling his body along with his arms when placed on the floor and as he became stronger he started crawling up on his hands and knees. It took awhile to get there, but it worked and there was very little crying in the process! Now I miss the days my son wasn't crawling and wasn't pulling everything off shelves and getting into absolutely everything!

First of all, I am a firm believer in Early Intervention. However, I think some of the moms here were a little "panicky" about this. Of course you should be cautious about his development, but crawling may never even happen with your son. He should be showing interest in getting around, like scooting, etc., but he seems to be doing just fine with other things like you mentioned. Both my chidren began crawling between 10-11 months and have turned out just fine. They both hated tummy time as well and would do what you said about "giving up" and crying. Once they began crawling (my second son would "bounce" on his bottom to get around before he crawled), they decided to crawl around for another 4 months! Yikes, I thought they would never walk, but they did.

So.....talk to ped. about your concerns and follow your gut. I personally feel an eval. for your son is premature, but if he still is not interested in getting around in a couple of months I would talk to your doctor again at his year check-up.

Sounds like you are doing a terrific job! Maybe when he is sitting on the floor, place toys out of reach that would really be of interest to him (try some safe kitchen gadgets that he has never seen before-that would surely catch his attention!) This may get him to scoot or bounce to get that item to play with.

Good luck and let us all know what happens!

You are right on target. (I"m a pediatric physical therapist). A lot of kids dislike their tummies these days. Nobody has figured out exactly why but it correlates with the back to sleep tummy to play. You can refer him for an evaluation through early intervention. If he hasn't had his 9 month appointment yet bring it up with the pediatrician and he should have the info for the referral. If not shoot me a message and I can give it to you. It can't hurt to have him evaluated. If he does need some strengthening and is behind in his skills he will get therapy in home to help him learn to be on his tummy. If not they'll give you some ideas how to get him there!