When do I start worrying?

MickeyM04 · July 2013

*Mobile: When do I start worrying? DS is almost 14.5 months. He is not walking. He has taken a few steps here and there but not every day, and usually not more than 2 or 3 steps at a time. He is also not saying much at all. He says "mama," "dada," "byebye" and "more." But I don't think he knows what any of them mean other than "more." He says byebye all the time, like literally all the time. He says mama to pretty much everyone, and dada he says rarely. My friend's baby (I KNOW I shouldn't compare but I am only human) is 16.5 months. We saw him yesterday and he seems BRILLIANT compared to DS. If they tell him to bring them his shoes, he grabs them and walks them over. If they say bring me the banana, he picks up the banana and walks it over to them. Granted, we've never really tried any of those things with DS, but considering every time we tell him "No," he doesn't listen, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't respond to, "Bring me the ____." I know he's obviously behind for walking, and at this point shouldn't he be saying more? He has a ped appointment in a couple weeks and I'll obviously bring this all up then but I just have no frame of reference as to whether DS is WAYYYYYY behind or only a little bit behind, since I am basically comparing him to the only other baby we know. TIA ladies!

JulyMomma2U2 · July 2013

I would not be worrying if I were you.. granted, my DS is almost a year, but he sounds pretty on par to what you're describing. At DS's 9 month appointment he wasn't crawling.. I talked with the Ped then.. she said all they care about is that by 1 year they are "mobile" somehow.. whether that's crawling, scooting, walking, etc. Now at almost a year, DS cruises along everything, but has only taken 2-3 steps here and there on his own, and that's with a LOT of prompting from us. As for speech.. DS says baba.. and pop pop.. the only time he'll ever say Momma is if he's crying/whining.. but NEVER on command.. Dada I occasionally hear him babbling in his crib, but again, never has he said it when we're prompting him..

My girlfriend's little boy is almost a month younger than DS and he's been walking for over a month now (since like 10ish months!!).. and, another friend of mine's son was saying Mama and Dada at like 6-7 months..

They say not to compare, but that's so difficult.. you can't help but compare to what you see around you..

Honestly though.. I wouldn't be worried.. I think he sounds like he's just fine.. I'm sure your Ped will give you even more reassurance

Missa_g · July 2013

Walking has a HUGE range of normal, I think anywhere between 9 and 18m. J has been walking for three months and S is just now taking steps. The fact that your kid has taken steps makes me think you have nothing to worry about in that respect. Speech also sounds normal. Receptive language might surprise you if you try! J has no words but understands way more than I expect he does, he always surprises me when I try new things.

MickeyM04 · July 2013

Thanks so much for the responses so far. It's weird because in some ways I feel like he is SUPER advanced and in others I'm like what is going on? He has been able to put shapes in their matching spots in those little shape toys for like 3 months, and he can stack cups and nest them like super fast and that's been the case for over a month now. But he didn't start crawling til 10.5 months and still isn't walking. I am starting to wonder if he's just going to be brilliant and lazy. LOL

orangegoggles · July 2013

I don't have any personal experience as my DS is only 6 months but what I've heard from friends and through my sisters kids is that there is a wide range of normal when it comes to walking. Some kids just don't see the point if they are mobile by crawling or scooting.

As far as language goes, its the same thing. In my language development classes I learned that receptive language develops quickly (which is why your friends child was able to complete a command). I bet your DS can understand a ton, give it a whirl. I also don't think your pedi will be concerned either.

spincat9 · July 2013

First, if you have concerns, you might address them with your pedi. I imagine they will reassure you that both walking and talking have a very wide range of developmental times. My daughter took her first step when she was 13.5 months, and didn't really start walking for another couple months. Never once did my pedi say "she is way behind for walking". Along the same lines, DD was slow to start talking a lot. Then all of a sudden, maybe around 18 months, she added so many new words and it took off from there.

I can't tell you not to worry, because that's what moms do. And I can't tell you not to compare, because I think many of us tend to do that too. But what I will say is a LOT happened for our DD developmentally between 12-18 months and again from 18-24 months. Leaps and bounds. Be patient, and again, if you are concerned maybe check in with your ped! I think there are lists of typical developmental milestones in some of the baby books and online, so maybe check it out to get an idea of where your baby falls so you aren't too shocked by what they ask (and hopefully even reassured) when you do go to your appt.

Good luck mama!

hopefulmom81 · July 2013

Peanut2929:
Thanks so much for the responses so far. It's weird because in some ways I feel like he is SUPER advanced and in others I'm like what is going on? He has been able to put shapes in their matching spots in those little shape toys for like 3 months, and he can stack cups and nest them like super fast and that's been the case for over a month now. But he didn't start crawling til 10.5 months and still isn't walking. I am starting to wonder if he's just going to be brilliant and lazy. LOL

I am guessing if you feel he is advanced in certain areas, then those are probably the areas that he has been working on. Maybe he is just focusing on fine motor for now.

The weird thing about gross motor is that he can literally start walking lots of steps tomorrow. You never really know when it is going to happen. DD was doing the 2 or 3 steps between furniture for 3 weeks before she took off and walked.

DD also didn't have a language "boom" until after she started walking, so I can see that she was working on gross motor for a while and then moved to language.

Like missa said, there is a huge range of normal.

hopefulmom81 · July 2013

theresat858:
Our pedi actually said that they don't start worrying about babies not walking at 15 months; they start to be concerned at 16 months. And if he is taking steps already, he will probably be walking by 16 months.
Regarding the speech, I personally feel like our babies are pressured to talk before they might be ready....I don't know. I started talking at 2.5 but did so in complete sentences. So my LO's babbling and only saying a few words (mainly "hi") does not bother me at all. But I know her receptive language is good b/c she does respond to simple instructions.
Also, I'm not sure that not responding to "no" doesn't mean your LO doesn't know what it means. My LO will walk over to a drawer we tell her not to play in, look directly at us, shake her head "no", and proceed to open the drawer with a mischievous look on her face.
ETA: My LO has been walking everywhere for a month now, but she cannot put shape sorter toys in the right things on her own at all, nor can she fit the large puzzle shape pieces in the right place...so it sounds like your DS is just focusing on different skills.

I want to add the same thing as theresat, my LO cannot shape sort at all or place puzzle pieces correctly 100% of the time.

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