7Month Old Development

I would just keep working with him. When hes ready for that step he will take it on his own. My youngest son didnt want to do it either but the good side to that was he was walking at 9 months which is somewhat advanced. Dont get too worried over it and if he enjoys just laying on the floor then let him. He will deffinately let you know when hes ready. Good luck to you.

Hi slivia! my son was very behind in development when he was 9 months old. He wasn't crawling, pulling himself up to stand, cruising or anything. I would put toys in front of him just to try and get him to crawl. His pediatrician refered us to a free program where people come out to your house to assast and help with thier development. When they came, they did a 2 hour assestment and said he was WAY behind. Being a first time mom, I was very upset! They wanted to schedule him for therapy 4 times a week and all this othet stuff. My hubby and I agreed to wait it out a little longer and just work with him at home. Sure enough, he caught up. now @ 12 month old, he can't be stopped! he walks, runs, climbs, dances, claps, sings and all sorts of things. The point: all children are different. Just because a text book says he should sit up at 6 months, dosen't mean he's ready to. If he has a clean bill of health from the doctor, then just continue working with him. don't worry, when he's ready to show you all his tricks and talents...he will! He just likes laying down, there's nothing wrong with that.

BUY A BUMBO!!!!! WE bought the Baby Bumbo Seat at 3 months for my daughter, and she sat on her own right at 4 months. It is wonderful, before she could sit up on her own, it allowed her to be part of the "action" so to speak. We could read to her, she could watch little videos, it was great. You can buy them on line from Bumbobabyseat.com, but I would reccomend Ebay. They are much cheaper. I hope this helps, let us know how it goes!

As everyone else said, don't worry too much! My son was a big baby & seemed to do everything a little slow, he didn't crawl till 10/11 mos old, but then began pulling up and walking w/in the next 8 weeks +/-. Sounds like your little guy is having a blast rolling around and is more interested in moving around than sitting up (and being still) at this point.

Dear Sylvia,

They all develope differently. Mine could not get up to sit until she was ten months. Then she never crawled. She did not speak or spoke very little until past age two. Now at 5 she has an advanced vocabulary. They have their own ideas sometimes.

If you are really worried you could always check with your doctor.

Deb

My daughter is also 7 months old and just started sitting up by herself. She was born a month early and her pediatrician said for about the first year of her life she might be a month behind developmentally. She did the same thing as your child when I would try to sit her up. We would do this everyday, and one day she started sitting by herself. Your son will sit when he is ready. You shouldn't be concerned if he seems to be developing normally otherwise. Good luck.

S., As a mother of 5 very different children, let me reassure that they all do develop differently. My first child did everything early, crawling, walking and talking. Now my second was different. He was obviously in no hurry to do any of those things and now as I sit here holding my fifth baby, who by the way is 8 months today and still not sitting up on his own, I know that they all move at their own pace and eventually they all end up in the same place.. So I hope this helps! Have a great day!!

I wouldn't worry, my son is now 13m old and has always been strong as an ox!! he was lifting his head before we came home from the hospital and he didn't sit up until he was 8 months old. I tried everything to encoourage him, but i guess he wanted his own agenda! Just be a patient!

I suggest you bring this up to your pediatrician at your next WBC. Sounds to me like he may have a slight gross motor skills delay. Your ped will most likely refer him out for a physical therapy eval. Now, before you panic, don't!! My son had a 30% gross motor skill delay. his was walking. He was not even pulling up to stand until he was just over 15months. He has only had the PT eval and one other visit to check his progress. He is now walking!! He learned it all on his own without therapy. But, the therapist gave me some things to try at home to try and coax him to do it. things i never even dreamed of doing. Yes, every baby develops in their own time. and you shouldn't rush him. the PT will not rush him, only help him to strive towards reaching his milestones. How has his other milestones been (ie rolling over, speaking, pincher grasping, pointing, stacking, all his fine motor skils) have they been on time? later? or on the last minute of almost beign late? I'd bring up your concern to your ped. Alert him/her to your concern and get some PT advice. Your boy may be just fine and just concentrating on other areas of learning right now. He may be within the time frame still to reach that milestone. Your ped should be able to answer these guestions more indepth. But don't worry so much, if the ped does order an PT eval. it is best to get therapy very early, so these problems are corrected early and they stay on track.

Hth
B.

S.,
my son logan was born two months early and was a large baby as well. In the belly he developed a conditon known as torticallis (i have no idea if that is spelled correctly). This is a condition where a baby is crammed too tightly in the belly and basicly stays in one position and the muscles in the body become stronger on one side than the other. watch you child and see if when he lays down or just normally will mostly only look in one certain direction or will not follow a toy all the way around. My son only had to go through about three months of physical therapy to correct this. even with the therapy kids are only going to do it when they want...he didn't really sit up unsupported until he was about ten or eleven months old.

a few exercise that you might try are siting your son down and lean him foreward take his hands and place them on the floor in front of him between his legs. this shows him that he can support himself. also kindof push him to the side a little and when he starts to fall over grab his hand and show him how to catch himself. also a lot of tummy time is required to build up back strength. this if very key. his therapist told us that we needed to spend a lot of time on the floor with him working with him on this.

i hope this helps some. please let me know if i can help further.

S.,

I went through the same challenge with my now 3 1/2 year old twin boys. I asked my peditrician for a referral to a place call Early Intervention Program (EIP). They are a state funded program which helps children ages bith to 3. They evluated my twins and recommended that they both get Occupation Therapy and Physical Therapy. When they both stated with their therpy's neither of them could sit, walk or talk. They basically just laied there, now you would never know that they ever had and type of problem. They talk up a storm and run me ragged. The EIP also recommened a wonderful school where they would get pre-k curiculum as well as their therpys and the great thing about it is that when your insurance stops paying for the child the state picks up the tab. The school that they go to and have been going to for the last 2 years is called The lighthouse Learing Center, it is located in Orange Park. They are wonderful there. Good Luck and don't worry, your son will catch up.

hi..
have you ever seen the bumbo seat? it fully supports the children so they can sit up by themselves as long as they can hold their head up. it wraps around their lower back to keep them stable. it'll help your son realize he can do it on his own. and gives you the freedom of not having to be there to keep him up all the time. you can sit him in there and give him some toys to play with all the while it is helping to strengthen his back so eventually he'll be able to sit unsupported. i have one. they are 40 bucks, not cheap but money well spent. when i had my second child i got one and it really helped out. i could sit her on the counter and she'd watch me do dishes and was just as happy as she could be b/c she could look around, i think it made her feel more involved. i even brought it to restaurants and used it there for her before she was big enough for the highchair. and they cant easily get out of the chair either. so i would definitely go check them out and see if it'll work for you. maybe even open up the box right there and try it out to see how he responds. well, i hope everything works out...

Have you tried a bumbo seat type thing? It is a molded foam seat with a pretty high back, but doesn't go all the way up, so it is great for helping them develop the muscle control needed for that. If you want, I'll bring mine to playgroup if you go, (i emailed you directly about that)and you can see if it's something that would work for him!
K.

Do not worry about your baby. Every child is different and before you know it he will be pulling up. Just continue to allow him to explore everything and on the floor. When he is ready, he will complete each milestone. My son did not sit up until he was 8-9 mo and did not walk until he was 17 mo. Everyone was worried about him, but I never let it bother me. I was absolutely fine with him just being in one area. Although, he was not completing those milestones like the book says, he had an incredible vocabulary by 1 year old. No worries....baby boy is just fine!! C.

I bought my daughter a seat call a Bumbo chair. She loves it. It supports their backs. You can get them at Target, babie r us or online

Dear S.,
My son had no interest either in sitting up at 7 months but I swear it was almost overnight between sitting up and then pulling up and cruising which he was doing perfectly by 9 months. My son was always "slower" than his peers and even younger babies but now there is no stopping him. Motherhood is full of worries, isn't it? Good luck!!
K.