Should I Press The Panic Button? Normal Development?

[VTMom]

I have an 11 1/2 month old DCB that came to me when he was almost 6 months. I'm worried about his development, but not sure if it's just on the lower end of the "normal" spectrum.

When he first came (almost 6 mos), he was floppy like a newborn. He's firstborn to two very attentive parents (my guess is he's not put down all that much). He wasn't coming anywhere close to sitting up on his own. Fastforward to today, he'll be 1 in 2 weeks, and although he's pretty solid sitting on his own, he will flop down hitting his head to the ground on occassion. He's not making any attempt to feed himself. He isn't crawling although he can now lunge for things within 3 feet. He makes absolutely no attempts at pulling himself up and can't really bear his weight on his legs without them crumpling.

I've looked this kind of thing up online. A lot of these "symptoms" sounds like he could have hypotonia (low muscle tone), but a lot of other sites describe this as a case of developing on his own timetable. DCD mentions the fact that other kids younger (cousins, etc) are way more developed at a younger age at least once a week. He's seen regularly by a pediatrican, so my thought is that the doctor would be aware during exams and press the panic button if necessary. Last week while DCD was commenting on DCB not crawling, I asked if his doctor was concerned at all. DCD looked worried and said "no...should we be concerned?" I told him "I wasn't sure, but it would be worth asking at his next appointment". I added that all kids develop differently and may just be doing things when he feels like it.

I've always been concerned about his floppiness and that he's not really hitting milestones that the previous babies in my care have hit. I guess I'm looking for advice/thoughts from those of you that have broader experience. Does this sound like he's just doing his own thing to you? I'm not sure if I should push harder to get him checked out, or if I should just sit back and accept him as going at his own pace.

Thoughts?

[canadiancare]

I would document your concerns based only on what you observe and ask them to mention them to their paediatrician. I have one child whose gross motor is quite delayed and I told the parents who then conveyed the concerns to their physician who said we'll give it another 6 months as he is floppy but not so floppy as to cause immediate concern.

My kid is a big boy and a back breaker so I need him to get more independently mobile ASAP. Snowsuit dressing a 40 pound rag doll isn't easy.

[NeedaVaca]

I would think hypotonia would be diagnosed with the Dr. but here's the thing...when my son was born he had hypontia but NO ONE told me! As time was passing we noticed other things, he has some other problems and over time as we were asking for paperwork from the Dr's to give to therapists we saw Hypotonia listed on the paperwork and we were like WHAT?? WHY didn't anyone say anything to us? I think they should ask the Dr, maybe he HAS observed it but didn't mention it. They can also get him evaluated by the state birth-3 program for free That way if he is experiencing delays he can get PT or OT to get him caught up.

[daycarediva]

If I was dcm/dcd I would have already been getting an evaluation.

Does he hold his own bottles?

Does he mouth things?

Does he babble?

Does he turn his head to his name being called? loud noises?

Can he transfer a toy from one hand to the other?

Any pincer grasp?

Can he get on all fours?

You said his legs crumple, can he bear any weight on them (like when you hold his hands to keep him stable?

Does he flop backwards (arms) when you lay him down or hold them steady?

[itlw8]

do they have well checks between 6 and 12 months??? at 6 months when seen last at dr it would not be as concerning. At 12 months I would think it is a huge red flag.

[daycare]

its so hard to say with years old never crawled, never even rolled over, but he was a talker like no other. I took him to the doc and she was not concerned,but I was.

One day when he was about 8.5 months old, I come out of the bathroom and there he is standing up in the middle of the room. No table, nothing to hold on to. 3 weeks later, he was full on walking.

I guess what I am saying is that if the doctor is not concerned then I would just let it be. I know you have your best of intentions at heart.

Maybe you can just suggest that they ask about it at the next check up.....

[BBDC]

hard to tell! I dont think there is anything wrong with talking to the parents. If they are not concerned I wouldnt make a big deal out if it. But see how it plays out in the next few months. My one year old dcb just started crawling in the last week. My nephew still does not crawl and he is 13 months. He just started getting from laying down to sitting position on his own and docs are not worried so you never know. Talk to them and see how they feel!

[youretooloud]

I've had kids who never crawled, or put weight on their legs. I was concerned.

But, then they did some other weird type of movement, and become mobile...weird, but mobile.

I've had kids that didn't seem to have any strength, and even had a hard time holding their heads up at 12 months. You know how you are holding them, and then bend over to pick something up, most babies would hold on and brace themselves, but that one or two just flop, and wait to be supported again. (they also don't hold their own bottle, or play with toys very well either...they often drooled longer than other kids)

Those kids ended up doing some therapy.

But the kids who scooted for nine months and walked at 18 months turned out just fine. Heck, one of those girls is a very accomplished dancer right now. She eventually got there, but she got there on her butt for a long time.

[kendallina]

My daughter sounds very similar to this little guy. The doc never said anything to us about hypotonia until I sought help from an early interventionist who immediately said, "it looks like she may have hypotonia". I then brought it up to the doc when she was 14 months and he confirmed it. We started physical therapy soon after that. I would definitely mention this to mom and ask her to either bring it up with her pedi or to call early intervention.

Btw, my now 4-year old daughter is doing fine now. We only did physical therapy for a few months. She didn't walk until she was 20 months and still has a different gait, especially when she runs, but she's totally fine.

[Brooksie]

Have you done his ASQ? I think that will show you what is normal and what may be flagged as a concern.