Doesn't Sit Up.

Updated on August 22, 2010
S.T. asks from Iowa City, IA
16 answers

My almost 11 month old sits up on his own, but won't go from lying to sitting. He is also not crawling yet either. The crawling doesn't really concern me, since as I baby I skipped the crawling phase. I haven't asked my doctor about it yet, but thought I would at our next appointment. Does anyone have any experience with this? He sits up when I put him on the floor in a sitting position. He can roll over all ways, but won't roll to his stomach, as he hates lying on his stomach. He can go from stomach to back though with no problem. He can pull up holding on to my hands and pulls up on this bath seat in the tub, but I don't let him stand like that on his own, because his balance is terrible and he'll just fall over if I don't supervise.

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So What Happened?

Well I called my doctor and she wasn't concerned. She said to let him sit up on the floor as much as possible to encourage him to crawl. We have an appointment at the end of September and she can really evaluate him then. Thanks everyone for your advice.

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J.P.

answers from Boise on

By laying to sitting, do you mean laying on her back, and sitting straight up? Does he roll to his side and/or sit from a crawling position?

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L.C.

answers from Saginaw on

Is he a bigger baby? Like chubby through the middle? I've noticed that they tend to do the sitting up part later than their slimmer age mates... Some of them also end up the really slender toddlers, once they're up and running around.

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S.G.

answers from Oklahoma City on

I wouldn't worry about it hun, babies will learn, he'll get there on his own time

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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

So he is only sitting up? How is he sitting up, if he is not going from a lying down position (on his stomach or back) to sitting? He cannot sit up on his own, if he is already sitting....
So are you sitting him up.. and then he can then sit up on his own without support???

Next, does he roll over? In both directions?
Does he do any pulling up? Or standing against something?

If anything concerns you, yes, ask your Pediatrician...

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W.H.

answers from Phoenix on

I second the extra practice and talking to your pediatrician.

Each child does have his own timetable, so watch and see if there seems to be a problem or it's just his individual rate of growth/progress. Follow your gut feeling, dont be afraid to find out if there is a problem or not, because the sooner you get help (ie, therapy for your baby if he needs it, and I'm not sure he does) the sooner he can get back on track and the less of a delay he will have.

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M.S.

answers from Minneapolis on

S.,we had similar problem until my baby was 10 months.She would sit up perfectly,play with toys-if I sit her up.She did not roll over untill 9+ months.I talked to our ped at 9 months check=up,was worry(my son ,for example,never crawled,but started walking at 9 months-and by the way,I don't see any problem with that)so,yes,I was worry that something was not right physicaly in her development-like maybe low muscle tone.Seems,ped was not concerned,but gave us the number to call if we don't see an improvement in month or so.
Well,a few days later(a week before 10 months) my little chuby girl rolled over,set up and crawled in the same day.I was shocked how fast she took after the cat-like a pro!!!what happened???Why she did not do this before?Who knows...She didn't need it,I guess.
But there is a therapy or massage for kids with a weak muscle tone,maybe your son needs a couple of sessions.

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J.H.

answers from Sioux Falls on

My son sat like a pro since he was 5 months old, but had no desire to roll or crawl until around 11 months. I had started to get very concerned and everyone would reassure me that he would just take off one day. I found that hard to believe at the time, given he hadn't done much of anything in 11 months, but he did! He is now 13 months old and in the last few months has made leaps and bounds...he crawls, rolls, sits from laying position, pulls himself up, and cruises along furniture by himself. Don't worry, in his own time it will happen. I would just recommend giving him every opportunity to explore and one day it will happen. Good luck.

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D.B.

answers from Charlotte on

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K.A.

answers from Little Rock on

This might be something else to think of: Was he born premature? This can sometimes cause their development to be a little behind other his age. Second, if he was not born premature you will need to let your doctor know your concerns. We had a child at church who was a little behind in development and his doctor sent him for therapy until he caught up. I also know a baby that was born 3 1/2 months premature. She is now a year old, but she is at about 9 months in development.

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D.W.

answers from Fargo on

I would speak to your pediatrician. I too am concerned about the balance and not being able to sit up from a lying position. Also as mentioned previously crawling is a very important developmental milestone. May children may only crawl for a short period of time, but it is important step in development. If he is an extremely chubby child that may make a difference also as far as being able to do these tasks. Please speak to your pediatrician and perhaps ask that he be seen and evaluated by an occupational or physical therapist.

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J.K.

answers from Phoenix on

I'd just watch him and make sure he isn't favoring something like it hurts or something. When ever I was worried about something with my kids, I'd give them extra practice. Whether it was something like this, speech or math etc. I'm sure he's fine and will pick this up eventually. Good luck!

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A.C.

answers from Madison on

As others have said, all of a sudden, one day he will probably do everything you're concerned he's not doing. However. Please also be aware that there is such a thing as hypotonia, or weak muscle tone/mass. My daughter did eventually do all the milestones she was supposed to do, but she was late on almost all of them. I wasn't too concerned, until I enrolled her in speech through the school district when she was three. When she was four, they had me put her in their Early Childhood program and then asked for our permission to do further testing because they had noticed that she wasn't at the milestones that other 3 and 4 year olds were at. Their testing revealed mild hypotonia. Through OT/PT (she just graduated from OT/PT after the fourth grade), they were able to help her strengthen her muscles and do jump rope, skipping, running, sit ups, push ups, and all the other things that we take for granted that kids grow up just "knowing" how to do. To this day, she has no interest in riding a bicycle (she can't; has to do with spatial issues). When she was five, we discovered she has Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), which helped explain A LOT of things. She is going into the fifth grade this fall, and the only extra help she'll still be receiving is speech.

So if you're very concerned, yes, I would definitely mention it. But you'll probably need to be like me and be your own advocate and push to have things happen. Our Pediatrician didn't believe me when I said my daughter was complaining that her eyes hurt and that light hurt them when she was three (an eye check up showed her to be very far sighted and to have Strabismus). When I finally had a diagnoses of SPD and told her Pediatrician, she got a look like--oh, yeah, that could be, why didn't I think of that?--but she never said a word about it and gave us no hint of what we could do to help her. I've had to buy my own books, take her to see a Childhood Specialist, and muddle through myself on what works/doesn't work. She also suffers from anxiety and OCD.

Follow your instincts and do what you need to do. Read about hypotonia and SPD and milestones of children (and anything else you think might possibly be wrong) and then, if you really, truly feel something is wrong with your child--please, make sure he gets the help he needs. I'm glad we caught most of the major issues my daughter had when she was three, four, and five, but I really wish we would have caught them a lot, lot earlier.

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C.R.

answers from Omaha on

I had this EXACT same problem with my son! He rolled over at 4 mos, sat up at 6 mos, and walked right at 12 mos. But he could not get from lying to sitting or sitting to standing on his own. When he wanted to walk, he would put his fingers out and go "eh, eh" and we would pull him to standing and then he would walk! He was a VERY chubby baby, never crawled but either did my husband. I asked my pediatrician and he said just to wait it out, and do as much tummy time as possible, but that it was no big deal. I was worried though and asked a friend who is a pediatric PT. She said to seek help because while it was probably just a combination of a weak core, a huge head and being fat, it could be more serious - like core or neck issues. We went to Monroe Meyer Institue and saw a terrific therapist who was FASCINATED with my son. She had never seen this before, he had nothing physically wrong with him except what I mentioned, but he couldn't do something that all babies just learn to do, without instruction. She figured out that in addition to his fatness, etc, he had very doting parents and he had a lazy personality! She worked with him for about 6-8 weeks and figured out how to get him to go from sitting to all fours, to standing. And then he finally crawled randomly one day when he was 17 months!
He is now almost 4, is totally fine but still has that lazy personality. He has no interest in getting himself dressed, going the bathroom on his own, etc. I know he would let us feed him if we offered!
Good luck!

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A.R.

answers from Omaha on

I know you said the crawling doesn't bother you as you skipped that stage, but I was always told that crawling was important for their development and let them crawl as long as they will. My SIL did not crawl and she was dyslexic as a child. I'm not saying if your child doesn't crawl he will be dyslexic, however, crawling does something important with development. I would talk to the ped. He/she may just wait and see or they may refer him to OT which will be a big help for him if needed. Better soomer than later.

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E.T.

answers from Rochester on

Ask your doctor about it, but I don't think it is anything to be too concerned about. Our son will be a year old next week and it has only been in the last three weeks that he has rolled over, sat up from lying down, and started crawling. He had been pulling himself up to stand and cruising around the furniture for quite awhile but wouldn't even attempt to crawl or roll. That all happened all at once.

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A.H.

answers from Omaha on

I wouldn't worry too much about it, but do talk to your doctor for your own peace of mind. My son started crawling around 11 months of age and was walking at 12 months. My daughter didn't really start crawling until 13 months and was walking by 15 months. I don't remember her pulling herself up much from a lying position w/o assistance very often either. Both of my children were bigger babies and the doctor said they would most likely develop these skills later. It sounds like your son does fine with assistance. My guess he will start crawling/walking in another month or two! Hope this helps!
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