Developmental Questions for 6 Month Old

I feel for you. My 3rd child was as laid back as they come!! The only thing he hated was being on his tummy. He is 10 months old now, and is doing great! I think that he is an observer, and does not try to tackle things until he is certain he can do it. At 8 months he wasnt crawling at all, but then all of the sudden at around 9 months, he started crawling, then cruising, and self feeding etc. It was like in 1 month the light bulb went off, and he is really getting bigger now. I do wonder sometimes if the use of the bumbo seats (which I never used so this is just a guess) might not allow them to learn the muscle coordination needed to sit on their own, so I agree with using the boppy and sitting her in the middle of it. Also, a big ball, like a beach ball, to sit in front of her will help her balance as well, as she holds onto it alittle for support, but it will move just a little so that she still needs her muscles. Good luck, and have fun, things are going to move so fast before you know it! ~A.~

Hi M.,

I think your daughter sounds like she is developmentally on track. My second son is 7 months old and he doesn't sit up on his own independently either. He has a Bumbo seat, but I try not to use it as much now - I try to get him to sit up with a Boppy or in a booster seat so he has to work his muscles a little more to stay upright. And, tummy time usually isn't fun for a while, my son is just now getting more comfortable with it.

I have had to quit reading the books on what they should do at certain times, they just worry me and I really think they are kind of advanced in what they say babies can do. I remember worrying when my first son was not right on track with the books, and he's 2 now and absolutely on track developmentally.

C.

Hi. I am a mother of a 15 year and a 3 year old. I wanted to let you know of an organization that is set up that is basically free. It's a group of therapists that specialize in developmental issues for children from the time that they are born to the age of three. Their fee is based solely on your income. I utilized them for my three year old who was experiencing a lot developmental delays mainly in the speech department. As an example of what their fee could be. I paid $20 a month and they billed my insurance. You don't have to have insurance however. They bill it to insurance companies when they can. They come out to your home when it is convienent for you or wherever your child happens to be during the day and as often as needed. Here is their website so you can check it out if you like: http://www.eci123.com/contactinfo.htm

As you will see they cover a large area of developmental needs. I had used them for a little over 2 years and my child thrived on it. She is now in what they call a PPCD program at her school to continue the help with her speech. ECI's program is really great and you can't beat their cost!! But like the others, I agree every child progresses differently. I wouldn't be too worried. I wasn't but I figured with the convienence and the low cost of ECI, it wouldn't hurt. And also for your piece of mind it might be worthwhile to contact them. Their first visit is an evaluation to determine if your child needs therapy of some sort and it is absolutely free. I hope I've been a little helpful.

It sounds like your child is right on track. Every baby is different and some are perfectly happy processing the world in thier heads while other want to touch and taste and move to explore. The bumbo seat was invented by an orthopedic pediatric surgeon to protect the spine while encouraging upper body strength, so it is a great tool and helps her to sit upright and see the world. Some time sitting up with a boppy or hugster around her is good also, but needs your attention. tummy time while you are playing games with her can make it fun and using a pillow or boppy or hugster helps. I know of a 10 month old that will lay down and roll over, but still doesn't crawl. She apparently doesn't see a need to. She is however very observant and communicates effectively for her age.

As long as your child is content the way she is, the milestones will take care of themselves.

K. @ The Nestingplace

Remember every baby is different, my son HATES to be on his back, if he is on his back that means he should have a bottle in his mind. He figured out how to roll over onto his tummy and I think when he goes onto his back it's an accident, because he always has a look of shock when he lands there. They all do thier own thing when they want to. I know a baby who is I think 9months old who shows no interest in crawling, she is just as happy being stationary as my son is army crawling the day away. I am sure she CAN she just doesn't want to because she has no reason, in her mind, to be on her belly. I would give her another 4 weeks before you get too worried. You may even want to try exposing her to other babies who are around her age to show them what they can do and show her the joys of tummy time, I know that inspires my boy to do new things. Good Luck and dont worry about it too much

I woudlnt really worry at this point as I am sure she is fine. I heard that a child after your first usually does things later than the first cause there are other kids around bringing them toys and stuff so they dont push themselve as much. :)

I wouldn't worry at all. All babies do things at their own pace. I have a baby boy that will be 7 months on the 28th. He didn't start rolling from his back to his tummy until a week after he turned 6 months, he is not able to go into a sitting position on his own either, although when he is on his tummy he is starting to get in the crawling position and rocking back and forth, maybe your baby girl will just skip the rolling from tummy to back. Another great example is that my best friend has a baby that is 6 months and she doesn't roll either way and has no teeth, my son is only 2 weeks older and has 2 teeth, so it just goes to show you that all babies are different. Good luck and don't worry!

I don't think you have anything to worry about. My son was 7 months before he was rolling both ways. And neither of mine did things "by the book." My daughter did the "army crawl" at 9 months, then regular crawl at 12 months, then didn't let go of my finger to walk independently until 17 months. My son didn't crawl until 8 or 9 months, but he was climbing everything in sight by 11 months (literally, found him standing on the changing table at 11 months)...and he still didn't walk until 15 months. The developmental milestones our pedi uses are really misleading. You might get a better idea of developmental milestones by checking out the Early Childhood Intervention website. They have a good PDF on this that you can download http://www.dars.state.tx.us/ecis/resources/development.shtml

We called my oldest "buddah baby" b/c he would just sit and play. he didn't roll over at all until he was 9 months old! he would sit up, but would not roll!
When you go in for your 6 month check up the Pedi should have you filling out a developmental questionaire- the is how he/she keeps track of your child's development. Make sure to run your concerns by the Pedi- that is what well child exams are for.

D.