Late walkers come in

tondraluv

Brayden still isn't walking; he loves to stand and cruise. Our Pediatrician said not to worry until about 18 months and then we can consult with a PT. I saw one of my PT clients anyways and he also told me not to worry especially since I didn't start walking until 18 months. I know every baby is different but it's just hard not to worry when all the babies around us are walking. Can anyone relate?

JSS1002

Yep yep -- James is one of the oldest (and biggest, I think!) babies on here, and he crawled late, only has like 2-3 words, and has just started walking in the past week and a half... He was pulling up and cruising really well, but it took a long time for him to get confident enough for those first steps.  One day he just started doing it -- whereas before, he wouldn't do it no matter how much we encouraged him!  After about 10 days, he is getting more confident every day, and probably can string together about 15 steps now before he falls, either intentionally to crawl, or unintentionally to cry. :-)  \

He will get there, mama.  Try not to compare (easier said than done I realize), and let nature take its course . Doctors are risk-averse and if they thought you should be worried, they'd definitely tell you!

tondraluv

Thanks for the reassurance mama's! Sometimes I feel like others (even my husband), can't relate with the worry part. It's nice to be able to hear it from other moms

Lhyacinth888

A just started standing independently on Saturday and took 5 steps on Sunday. In the past few days she has been taking 2-3 steps here and there. I really thought she would be 18 mths and not walking but now I feel like it could happen any day.

audreyjem

My dd will be 15 months this week and she's still not walking. She started crawling at 11 months, cruising at 13 1/2. I'm curious to see what her pedi will say at the 15 month appt, but like others have said I think it's normal until they are 18 months. She also isn't saying many words and it's hard not to worry, but she seems very sharp and healthy to me, so I'm sure it will all come in time!

skidderdo

Brayden is such a rock star, don't worry he is still well within the "completely normal" range! Ten bucks says pretty soon that dude will just start walking around like it's NBD! I had the same concerns about Warner's vocabulary- it's SO hard not to compare to other babies. Until my pediatrician was like "stop being neurotic your child is doing great!"

ChicagoBroad26

I get it. I was worried about Mila (since Ava was an early walker and talker). Mila didn't walk until a few weeks ago, and only has 2-3 words. She went from cruising ONLY to walking in 1.5 days. It will happen for Brayden soon. He's too busy looking cool to be bothered  

arschm02

I have had babies walk late several times (not until 16-18) months in the 7.5 years I have done daycare. One boy, in particular, wasn't even crawling at 1 year old. I was convinced something was wrong with him. He had very little muscle tone and showed no interest whatsoever! He caught up eventually though... Even without pt. He's now almost 4 and runs around just as fast as all the other boys. I would say if his muscle tone seems normal and he cruises while holding your hands or pushing a toy then he is simply taking his time. He'll get there and he'll probably start off as a pro since he's simply waiting to start until he's got it perfected.

pinottoparenthood

Rhys is pretty much twinsies with James ( @jss1002 ). He has JUST started walking within the past week or so. Do you and your hubs sit a few steps apart from each other, hold out your arms, and encourage Brayden to walk? That's how we got R started. We practiced every night and slowly moved further away. At that point, we knew he was physically capable of walking but he still chose to crawl. We put all of his push toys away so that he wouldn't have that crutch and tried to encourage him to practice walking as much as we could. He was still crawling 75% of the time on Friday, but over the weekend, my friend stayed with us. She has two kids, an almost 3-year-old girl and a son that is one day younger than Rhys. All of a sudden he is walking like 95% of the time, and I really think a big part of tha is from being around other kids, interacting with them and watching them walk. Sorry if this is completely unhelpful, but I know how you feel 100%! Just keep practicing and encouraging him, and B will get there soon!

bumpuser5078523

Wednesday Logan decided he was done crawling and he has mostly walked since. Before that, he would walk a few steps and fall, then crawl the rest of the way. When he took his first steps, it was completely out of the blue. He is a little over 15 months. I swear that kid would never walk!

arschm02

Totally agree with Pinot! Lots of kiddos just take off when they're around other older walkers!!!

CoachTay

B walked at 13 months, but my nephew didn't walk until almost 16 months. His docs were never worried. Now, he's 19 months and is RUNNING everywhere! He went from taking a few steps, to fully walking, to running within a few weeks.

I also noticed that my nephew didn't take as many tumbles when he did start walking. I'm not sure if it has anything to do with him walking later, or he just happens to be steady on his feet naturally. B still will take tumbles pretty often, but is gettin better at falling to her butt if she's not steady.

JBDamonM

I feel like I could have written this myself.

My dd will be 16 months next week and is still not walking. My pedi is not remotely concerned but I am. (Although I admit my concern is new in the past week.) I'm concerned bc I know she can do it, she's taken about 15 steps at various times. Each time I think this is it and she will take off, but nope!

My mom tells me this is exactly how I was as a baby.....my dd has been late on everything physical so i am not surprised but am hopeful it happens soon.

And I agree with PP. two weeks ago we were away with her cousins and she took several steps and cruised all day, since we came home she just wants to be carried!

JSS1002

JBDamonM said:

I feel like I could have written this myself.

My dd will be 16 months next week and is still not walking. My pedi is not remotely concerned but I am. (Although I admit my concern is new in the past week.) I'm concerned bc I know she can do it, she's taken about 15 steps at various times. Each time I think this is it and she will take off, but nope!

My mom tells me this is exactly how I was as a baby.....my dd has been late on everything physical so i am not surprised but am hopeful it happens soon.

And I agree with PP. two weeks ago we were away with her cousins and she took several steps and cruised all day, since we came home she just wants to be carried!

Think how brave a tiny human has to be to take those first steps over and over again... She'll get there!

danuli8

Yup, I can definitely relate. DS took his first independent steps right at 13 months but then insisted on having someone hold his hands while he walked until two weeks ago! I think it's his personality--he is pretty cautious and I think he didn't like the idea of constantly falling down. He still does the "hold my hands" thing if we are in a new place, right after he gets up in the morning, and when he is tired.