9 Month Old Not Crawling/ Standing - Normal??

Updated on May 23, 2010
A.W. asks from Smyrna, GA
19 answers

My little guy will be 9 months old next week and I am concerned as he is not even trying to move. When I hold him up under his arms he has no interest in putting weight on his legs but kicks them up instead. He is sitting really well and rolls pretty easily from his tummy to back and rarely from his back to tummy. I do lots of tummy time to help encourage me and I am becoming more concerned. He was over 10 lbs at birth and is 22 lbs now. Please let me know your thoughts. I also have a 3yr old who only started crawling at 10 months but he seemed a lot more interested to get going.....

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M.A.

answers from Houston on

Dont be concerned. My friends kiddo is 14 months and still doesnt crawl/walk/stand-up. They all do it in their own time. :)

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Y.B.

answers from Seattle on

My son didn't start crawling until 11 months and he started walking at 14 months. My friends son who was 10 pounds when he was born didn't crawl until he 15 months and didn't start walking until he was 21 months. He is such a big kid. He isn't even 3 yet and weighs over 40 pounds. Each kid is different. Try not to worry :)

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J.K.

answers from Chicago on

Crawling is actually not a milestone since not all babies crawl; my husband never did. I think smaller babies tend to walk/stand earlier than bigger ones (center of gravity is an issue). If you are really concerned, call your local early intervention and have him tested. The evaluation is free, and it will give you peace-of-mind to know that he is ok, or even just a little behind. Sounds like he's fine though.

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A.D.

answers from Dallas on

Yep totally normal. They don't consider crawling a milestone because many skip it altogether or walk then crawl etc. My 4 year old decided to wait till he was 11 months old to crawl and 15 months old to walk. My 9 month old (Apr 23) started crawling May 1st and is starting to try to "bear crawl" but hasn't figured out how to pull himself up on anything yet. They aren't kidding when they say they're all different.

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C.S.

answers from Chicago on

i would go to early intervention my middle child did not do anything at 10months and she needed the extra help she is 2 now and still has therapy once a week she is improving and i think it has helped

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J.

answers from Spartanburg on

I would talk to your pediatrician or contact early intervention services for an evaluation (sc- babynet, GA- Babies can't wait). I would not be concerned about crawling but i would definitely look into the not taking weight through his legs. Good luck and don't worry too much!

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P.

answers from Spartanburg on

My 9 mo baby (27 lbs) is now trying to move, but still can't figure it out. My oldest one walked at 10 mo. I think having the older one to bring things to her makes her not need to move.
My ped said that this was okay, as long as there is muscle tone. She stands great and walks with my hands, so the ped said that she was physically able, just doesn't have the desire yet. I couldn't even get her to rest on her hands and knees at 6 mos, but the ped just set her up in that position and she stayed there. Sometimes they just won't do it for mom.
You may want to get him checked out (ask at the 9 mo visit) because he "should" be able to put some weight on his legs by now. But again, he may not have the desire. It may be more fun to kick them up!

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D.S.

answers from Tulsa on

he is to heavy to support himself give his legs time to develop. not all babies crawl at 10 months they are not the same kid dont expect the same thing

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R.Y.

answers from New York on

I think that is in the normal range but you can check a child development book or web site. My son walked at 10 months and my daughter didn't crawl until 11 months. A friend's child did not crawl until they got a rug for their hardwood floor (he was over a year and walking by then). My daughter, now 16 months, is taking her time about walking. She is really close now and I was told she was not officially delayed with walking until 18 months. If he is continuing to make progress on motor skills then don't make yourself crazy worrying. You can always check with the prdiatrician or early Intervention.

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E.M.

answers from Denver on

I know it is soooo hard not to compare your kids. I knew I shouldn't but I did anyway. My oldest crawled at 8.5 mos and my youngest was crawling at about 7.5 mos. My oldest started walking at 12 mos. so I figured since the baby both crawled and stood earlier than big sis did, she would walk earlier too. WRONG. I worried and worried. I took her to the doctor, I googled and googled and pretty much convinced myself that something was wrong. And then a few weeks later, she was walking (at 13.5 mos.). I felt a little foolish, but very relieved. I mean, she was only 13.5 mos--lots of babies walk much later than that. I was just so caught up in comparing her to her older sister that I overlooked the obvious fact. She was meeting all her milestones on time....she just did it her own way, on her own time. That being said, better safe than sorry, right?

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N.G.

answers from New York on

I had the same concers with my 2 oldest kids. The oldest didnt crawl until 10 months; walk until 14 months. My 2nd didnt crawl until 15 months, walk until 18 months! For her, I did have early intervention come in. To my relief, shw was ok in all other areas, but she had poor trunk control. Probably due to the fact that she was never really on her belly since she couldnt stand it. My fault in part! Plus, since she was always in a sitting position since 7 months, she started scooting on her butt to get her from place to place. that was her means of moving around. I would keep doing tummy time with him. if your Dr. didnt notice poor trunk control, maybe he will just get around to doing it when he feels like it.

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P.S.

answers from Macon on

My children didn't crawl, they started walking at the usual age of 12 months.
P. S

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J.P.

answers from New York on

Does he tried to get up? like holding onto things? some kids do things faster than others .My daughter never crawled and walked at 9 months but was standing by 7 months.

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J.C.

answers from Columbus on

I am not sure if this is helpful, but I was so afraid that our first daughter would not crawl. We pretty much had to teach her how or convince her to crawl. She loved to knock down a stack of cups, so we would put those right in front of her while she was on her stomach, then we would inch them away so that she could swat at them. We slowly moved them further and further away until one day she crawled towards them. I remember having to put her up on all fours to get her into crawling position. It wasn't easy. She was however, up on her feet standing up before that. I think because babies now sleep on their backs, that rolling over and crawling don't come quite as naturally for some babies. If you are really worried, just ask your pediatrician what his or her opinion is!

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M.H.

answers from Washington DC on

There are certain developmental milestones for babies. If you are concerned, you may discuss this with his pediatrician. When my kids were babies, we took them to their pediatrician every month until they were a year old. Each visit would involve a check list of weight, height, and motor skills development. So if you are concerned, consult your pediatrician. If ever there are any problems, the earlier the intervention is introduced, the better for your child.

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M.O.

answers from San Francisco on

My daughter did not crawl at all. She stood up and started walking at 9 1/2 months. She tried to crawl, but her feet were so strong and she couldn't. She figured out by herself it was more efficient to walk/run to chase her sister. (My other daughter did crawl and did not walk until 1st birthday, so the development speed of each child is vary, I think.)

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P.D.

answers from Macon on

I would take him to a physical therapist! Call your local Infants and Toddler's Program, sometimes called 'Help Me Grow' and tell them your concerns. I would want an expert to examine him asap. I don't want to scare you, you already are. I'm an early intervention specialist and I recommend that you have a pediatric physical therapist see him.

Children are not suppose to skip crawling. It does happen; these children are later usually diagnosed with learning disabilities and motor planning difficulties. I am not saying that skipping crawling caused these problem, but rather that skipping crawling is a symptom of the disability. My own son was not able to figure out 'crawling', I had him in early intervention. I actually guided him through the motions of crawling to teach him this motor pattern that comes so easily to many children, but not to mine. He is 7 years old now and has dyslexia and dysgraphia. He always triumphs over challenging motor mapping when given training. But is always challenged by new motor skills. My son is on a gymnastics team. Thanks to all the hard work that his father and I have put in to help normalize his motor planning difficulties.

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H.S.

answers from Cleveland on

My son will be 9 months on Friday of next week. I had the same concerns because he was not crawling yet so I asked his Ped last week when he was in for his last checkup. She said we had no need to worry as nowadays crawling isn't even really considered a "milestone" as some babies skip crawling all together! Although he can bear weight on his legs when I stand him up he always chooses to jump or flop back onto his bottom like its a game or something. LOL. He does however, roll all over the place. Maybe he has no concern about crawling because he can get from point A to point B by rolling? I don't know. Just make sure he has plenty of tummy time (and maybe try putting his toys just out of reach on one side or the other to encourage him to start rolling more to get around). But at this point I wouldn't be concerned as all babies are different and reach their milestones at different times. He will get it!

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N.W.

answers from Dallas on

Call early childhood intervention. It may be fine but there is no harm in getting more information. My son is autistic and I saw signs early on (after 6 mom vaccinations) when the doc said everything was fine. At 18mon I told my doc my son is autistic. I'm just saying this so you understand sometimes docs don't take your concerns as seriously as you would like. Crawling is important for the brain. Anyone with a special needs child who is doing neurodevelopmental therapy like NACD or Little Giant Steps will be doing crawling exercises no matter the age. So don't panic but do seek to gather morne information.

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