My 9 month dd just started army crawling a bit. I was wondering, so some kids just do this or does it turn into the on all 4's crawling? She still really bears no weight on her legs, does not stand or pull up. She does not drag her legs when she army crawls, they move too (if that makes sense). I was just curious. I am concerned with her not pulling up or bearing weight yet, so I am having her screened to make sure to rule out any developmental problems with her lower body. She won't even bounce in her jumperoo, use her walker, or turn in her exersaucer.

By Melanie on Thursday, April 21, 2005 - 07:40 pm:

My oldest did the army crawl, never a regular crawl.

The funny thing is, he has a brother who is 20 months younger. When his brother started crawling around (on all fours), Alec would crawl around with him...doing the army crawl.

It's good that you are having her checked, just in case. I hope all is fine.

By Heaventree on Thursday, April 21, 2005 - 08:28 pm:

DS did the army crawl for months I thought he would never crawl, but he did eventually. I think around 10 months. I found that once he saw other kids doing things he sometimes picked up on it. Do you take her to play group or have other children around? I also find that sometimes the heavier babies take longer to due certian things. How much does your DD weigh?

He now crawls quite fast and has been cursing for sometime now.

By Dawnk777 on Thursday, April 21, 2005 - 09:05 pm:

My older dd army crawled for months. All those shirts were dirtier and more pilled than all her other clothes. She finally regularly crawled at a year and walked a month-and-a-half later. She could move pretty fast, army-crawling, though!

By Palmbchprincess on Thursday, April 21, 2005 - 09:30 pm:

Maddie low crawled for a while before starting to crawl normally. She did, however, pull herself up, and bear weight. It's good that you are having her checked out, better safe than sorry. Of course, each child is different, it may be nothing, so try not to get too worked up before you talk to her ped.

By Marcia on Thursday, April 21, 2005 - 09:47 pm:

It's very normal to commando crawl first. I wouldn't worry too much, since she's only 9 months. Babies do things when their bodies are ready for it. One of my kids was bearing weight at 6 months, and the other 2 didn't until they were over a year. She was the tiniest of the 3, and could easily bear her own weight. The other 2 were heavier, and were happy to sit and have toys handed to them.
Does she kick her legs when she's not in a position to put any weight on them? If you hold her feet, will she resist? If you have an exercise ball, put her on it on her tummy, and lower her to standing while you're holding her arms/trunk. You can play games like that and get her used to bearing a bit of weight. You can also sit on the floor and out her in a crawl position over one of your legs,rocking her back and forth a bit, to get her used to being up on all fours, rather than being flat on her tummy.
When in her equipment, is she in shoes or bare feet? You might want to try the opposite, to see if it makes a difference.
Again, all babies are different, and I doubt that you have anything to worry about.

By Debbie on Friday, April 22, 2005 - 10:06 am:

My oldest ds did the army crawl for about a month and then he did the normal crawl. I think it just depends on the child. My youngest ds would roll all over the place instead of crawl. He did this for several months before he actually crawled. He only crawled for about a month and then he started walking at 10 months.