The Next Step

Don't worry. The average age for crawling is around 9 - 10 months. She does need some tummy time - even if she hates it. She will come around. Good luck!

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Your daughter is way too young to be crawling yet. Also, keep in mind that some kids never crawl. My daughter didn't crawl until she was 9 months old, but was walking 2 months later. At 3 1/2 months, just make sure she is having some tummy time every day with something stimulating to look at or try to grasp (like a toy within reach). My daughter HATED tummy time, but we did it a little bit every day and eventually they get into it. She should be learning how to roll over (either front to back or vice versa), but again, this may take a little while. Don't worry yourself just yet about crawling and buy the book "What to expect the first year". It's got great info about child development milestones and will help you better guage what your child should be able to do at certain ages.

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She probably isn't comfortable on her stomach precisely because her muscles are weak, as we aren't comfortable when we start an exercise program. I would start putting her down on her stomach every time I needed to put her down for just a minute, and also when I had time to lie on my stomach in front of her and talk to her and encourage her with silly faces and toys. Let it be just a minute each time at first, but build up to maybe 4-5 minutes at a time. If she is still screaming the whole time, I wouldn't increase it past there, but I feel certain she will get used to the position. If not, continue with 4-5 minutes, and pretty soon she'll figure out how to flip over on to her back! That will be the sign that her muscles are developing. Keep doing it and soon she'll figure out that those muscles will get her up off the floor.
That said, I'm sure lots of people will tell you that 3 1/2 months is way too young to push up or crawl, but I think you're doing great to recognize that she needs some type of stimulation for development!

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My two children didn't start crawling until around 8 and 9 months. My oldest, who is 3, hated tummy time and therefore I didn't put him on his tummy alot. But, he still crawled and walked without any problems. Your daughter is still so young. Don't worry. First she needs to learn to sit up on her own, which happens around 5 - 6 months and then she will start wanting to reach objects far away. That is when the crawling will start around 8 or 9 months.

You may want to purchase a book on child development. She is way to young to crawl. Most children start by the age of 6-8 months. Some children skip crawling altogether. They slither. Also, you can research your concerns online. Just google search any question you have.

I have a 9 1/2 month old daughter. I think that at 3 1/2 months she will not even be close to crawling..My daughter didn't start to crawl until she was 8 1/2 months. Which is the normal timeframe to crawl. Your daughter is still too young for that. She just needs to have some tummy time during the day, and she will learn to push up on her arms. She is lifting her head which is good...give her some time..she is still so little...

She's a bit young to be crawling. Her neck is still building muscle. Gooogle Developmental Milestones and chart how you think she's developing.

Your daughter is totally normal, S.. They don't generally like being on their tummies for tummy time! At her age, lifting her head for a moment might be all she can do, and it's ok. She shouldn't be crawling or pushing up yet, and it's rare for her age to even be turning over. Babies develop at their own pace. Talk to your pediatrician if you're really worried. The doctor asks questions at that well baby visit every couple of months, and she/he would tell you if there was cause for concern. Sounds like she's fine to me, mama!

Just keep doing what you're doing. Maybe place the boppy under her (with you there) or put her little arms iunder her to encourage that. Be where she has to look up to see you! We also did a lot of "tummy time" on my chest. She was still practicing pushing up, but the reward was seeing mama's face! crawling is a long way down the road.

My son is almost 6 1/2 months old and he hasn't started crawling yet either. I read they usually start that at about 7 or 8 months. When I used to put my son on his stomach he would lift his head and start to cry also. I figured out that he was doing that because he didn't know how to roll over yet so he would get scared. Once he figured out how to roll over he started doing a lot better, he still cries sometimes which i joke and say is because he forgets that he knows how to roll over.

I saw this really cool mat at Babies R' Us, its called a Tummy Time Mat and it has a cushion at the top that holds them up. I don't know if that would help at all with the crawling but I'm sure it would help her figure out how to push up. I hope that helps! :)

You should be working on rolling over at this age. She is way too young to worry about crawling yet. I have 4...ages 13 to 2 and mine didn't really crawl until 5-6 months and one never crawled just started furniture surfing and on to walking. All mine were early walkers though, and didn't crawl a lot.

Hang tight mommy, give her lots of tummy time to strengthen those muscles, time flies and they grow so fast!

Good luck...

Relax momma! she's pretty tiny to be crawling just yet. My boys seemed to like to "fall" into crawling from a sitting position - so you can try her in a boppy pillow sitting up a little with support. eventually she'll hold herself up with her arms in front and start to rock and take off crawling eventually. the other thing that a boppy is good for is tummy time. You can lay her inside it on her tummy, with her head,arms and torso pointing outward. The boppy lifts her up so she can see around and also give her practice on her tummy. Just be sure to watch her while she's doing this in case she flips over.

my other advice - enjoy what stage she's in now and don't worry about rushing to the next milestone. soon enough, she'll be running away from you and you'll wish you could keep her in one spot! :)

My baby is 10 months and she didn't start crawling until about 9 months. You have plenty of time.

My daughter never crawled. She walked at 10 months. My son slithered like a lizard, he's a year and not close to walking. Both hated tummy time. So I skipped it. They are intelligent, compassionate beings and are doing just fine. It is possible that tummy time is uncomfortable for baby and so why force them? They don't communicate desires at this age, only needs, so in my case, I just go with the flow and listen to what they're telling me.

Your daughter is perfect. Her body knows exactly what it is doing. With first babies we all worry about every little milestone and wonder if baby is normal or not.

Have fun with her. She'll be talking back before you know it ;)

Good morning S.! I promise you have nothing to worry about, she will do this on her own in time. My little girl didn't crawl until she was 8 months old. She crawls all over the place now (at 10 months) and pulls to stand on everything. She HATED tummy time too! I would put her on her tummy and she would scream. I used to worry about it too, because she would only stay on her tummy for about 30 seconds. I didn't really force it, but I put her on her tummy probably 2x per day just so she would become comfortable with it, and learn how to lift her head and crawl. It takes a long time with some babies, and it has nothing to do with how they will turn out later in life. Just because she takes a while to crawl (but 3 months is still so early to expect this) doesn't mean she will be slow in life. Trust me, these little ones grow up so fast, don't push her or worry about it, they all eventually get it, and once she starts going you're going to wish you could go back. I hope I helped out some! Good luck!

Hey, S.--my little girl is 3 1/2 months too! Like yours, she is NOT a fan of tummy time, and neither was her older brother (now almost 3 years old). Your daughter's developmental level sounds fine to me--keeping in mind that there really is a wide range of "normal"--and is pretty much right where my daughter is: enough strength to hold that head up for a bit, and that's about it. While tummy time isn't absolutely necessary, it will help her develop various muscles and reach milestones sooner than if she doesn't get it. Just let her go at her own pace, and one day she may surprise you--like my son did at 14 months, having never before taken a step unsupported by something, suddenly walking perfectly across the room without a single stumble.

It's still too early for her to start crawling. She has to work up the muscles in her arms and legs first which is really hard for them to do. There are other milestones that she needs to reach before she starts to try to crawl like lifting her whole body off of the ground and being able to push with her feet. My son hated tummy time from the beginning. I was told to start him off at 1-2min at a time throughout the day and to stimulate him with toys or colorful/shiny objects in front of him to get his attention. And as you feel she's ready you can push the time up to 3-5min and so on so she learns to exercise her muscles. My son didn't like tummy time until he was about 4mths old. But once he got the idea he was like speed racer. He achieved all of his milestones as far as crawling(6mths), pulling up, steps, and walking alot earlier than my other two boys. It's all up to her and she'll let you know by surprising you when you least expect it. Be patient and have the camera ready at all times!!!

3 1/2 months is extremely early to be crawling. No worries, babies usually learn to crawl between 6-9 months or so. In the next few months just put her on her tummy a lot, and she will learn it on her own. For now, enjoy the time she isn't crawling, because she will be into everything before you know it!!

C.- Stay at home mom of 3, ages 8, 3 and 2.