Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Noah at 8 months, week 4

I get updates from Baby Center for weekly developments for both Noah and Hope (hers are monthly.) But, rarely do I read them. They just get deleted with all the other clutter in my mailbox. But, since I have been a little concerned about Noah's development, I decided to read. This is what it says:

Almost walking
Your baby's getting closer and closer to full-fledged walking. She can probably crawl up stairs and cruise, moving around upright while holding onto furniture. A baby this age may even take a couple of steps. (A few actually do walk now — and some don't walk until well into their second year. There's a wide range of ages at which children meet this milestone.)Your baby's also learning how to bend her knees and how to sit after standing, which is harder to master than you might think! She might get "stuck" standing up in her crib. If this happens, gently show her how she can get back down.There are ways to help your baby with her walking efforts. Stand or kneel in front of her, and help her walk toward you by holding both of her hands. Eventually just hold your hands out to her in encouragement. Some babies enjoy pushing a toddle truck, which provides both support and mobility. Look for one with a wide, stable base.
Babyproofing your home is a necessity now. One good place to start is to put latches on the doors of off-limits cabinets — babies inevitably make a beeline for such things. (You could also move all cleaning supplies or potential poison hazards to higher cabinets.) Also, your baby's crib mattress should be at the lowest mattress setting.

Ok, now, I am concerned. Are you kidding me? Is he that far behind? Noah is completely non mobile. He doesn't roll around, scoot, crawl or anything, much less is he almost walking. Noah has not been an early achiever in the milestone department, and I have been in no hurry for him to be mobile. I have tried really not to compare him with Hope, who was crazy early on most milestones. I have tried not to compare him with other babies in his class, but that is getting much harder. Noah is the oldest in his class, and is the least mobile. These little 6 month old squirts are all over the place. The baby gate is officially up in his room at school. Mrs. Kim puts them all on the floor, and they all move to every corner of the room, except for Noah who is sitting right in the same spot she sat him down. He can roll over both directions, I have seen him, but I can't remember the last time I saw him roll from his tummy to his back. He has never rolled as a means of transportation.

He is doing other things on track. He babbles dada, bababa and now even mamama. He plays peekaboo by hiding behind a toy or person. He eats finger food like a champ. He plays and plays and plays with toys. His favorite is a little bucket that we fill up with little toys, and he just empties them out one by one, studying each one along the way.

So, I go back and forth from being concerned, to saying he is just content and will move when he is bored. I'm interested to see how his 9 month check up goes. I think right now, I am most concerned with the not rolling part more than I am with not crawling or scooting (or pulling up, standing, cruising.) Any other slow movers out there?

5 comments:

Unknown said...

The average kid crawls at 9 months. The average walker is 14 months. For walking, anything between 9 and 18 months is normal. Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about it. I think the BabyCenter thing is a bit early.

if it makes you feel better, baby p isn't articulating like the rest of the kids in his class.

Kelly said...

I wouldn't worry about this either. Annie is definitely delayed. She is almost 10 months and is still months away from crawling. I will be thrilled if she is crawling by her first birthday. All kids are so different. I know Annie and Noah have very different backgrounds, but all of the other babies her age at the orphanage were scooting around and mobile. Give him time. They both will get there and we will both be saying, why in the world were we worried about that.

Anonymous said...

Hey girl! I wouldn't worry about it. He'll walk/crawl whenever he's ready... I have heard that boys tend to be 'lazier' than girls in this regard... ok.. that sounds bad... I just meant that boys tend to be more content staying in one place than girls.... so, it's hard to not compare when you've had both I think.. anyway, he'll be fine!

-Samantha

Kerum said...

I had a friend in Hawaii whose little boy was the same...just content to sit in one place and play. He didn't walk until 18 months old...and I was always amazed when I met her and he was just as happy as could be in her lap.

The rolling things is probably because he doesn't want to be on his back at this point...he wants to be up on his belly looking at things.

I'm sure he's just a laid back kid who will do things in his own time.

Jen said...

Don't worry. There was a boy in my older daughter's room (Madeline) who didn't walk until he was about 16 or 17 months, but he walks just fine now! I know it's hard not to compare our kids to others, but generally, I think the milestones are bs unless your child is WAY behind. If he's 2 and not moving around, then you can worry. In the long run, this will be something you barely remember. Nobody puts on their college application that they were the first in their class to walk or roll around.

Of course this is coming from someone who is a chronic worrier. I like to say I'm not happy unless I have something to worry about!