Wow! This week has honestly been the biggest jump in development for Molly since she was born! Honestly, I kind of felt like the last couple months weren’t huge in terms of development. She was just kind of doing the same things over and over. People kept saying to me, “isn’t it crazy how much they change all the time?” And I would think “not really”. Ha! I almost started to worry that maybe Molly wasn’t developing the way she should be. I mean I always thought she would be crawling at 10 months old. Actually I thought she would be crawling way before 10 months. I was always assured by my pediatrician that she was developing just fine and everything was “perfect” (her words. AND mine ?). But man, I think Molly was just waiting for the right time to blow us away with all of her new skills!
This past week alone she has learned to crawl (Yay for crawling at 10 months old!), stand on her own for about 10 to 15 seconds without holding onto anything, learned to cruise the furniture from one end of the room to the other, learned to get on all fours from her tummy, and learned to pull her self up from a seated position. Crazy right?!?! All of this has been in the last week alone. It has completely blown me and Kevin away! Oh and she even said “Hi “for the first time too!
Anyway, the point of today’s blog is not only to share all of her new development, but to share how we encouraged crawling at 10 months old. I had posted to Instagram Stories a few times that she wasn’t crawling and blogged about it here on Ali Luvs. And I got multiple emails from different moms stressing the importance of crawling. While I appreciate the concern and appreciate them sharing the knowledge they had, I honestly didn’t stress about it too much. Our doctor wasn’t concerned that Molly wasn’t crawling so neither were we. But still, we thought it was worth trying to do exercises to encourage her to crawl. We looked some up on YouTube and none of the explanations really made sense to us. But then one day when we were at physical therapy (Molly had to go to PT for a few sessions so we could learn stretches to help stretch out her neck because she had a very minor case of torticollis – which has already almost completely corrected itself with the stretches!), Molly’s physical therapist asked us about her crawling. When she found out Molly wasn’t crawling, she showed us some things to help encourage Molly to crawl.
Quick thing to note. The reason we didn’t start these exercises earlier is because everything I had read said that a baby would crawl when they were ready. So I didn’t try to push it. But I wish we had seen the physical therapist 6 weeks earlier. It would have saved us so much stress and Molly would have been so much happier!
This is what we learned:
1. She put Molly on all fours and pushed gently on her little wrists to show her that it was OK to put weight on her palms. Molly hated putting weight on her palms and would never do it so this was a good way to show her that she could do it.
2. She also encouraged us to do the wheelbarrow with Molly. I would hold her legs and hips and encourage her to walk forward on her palms.
3. The third exercise was holding Molly in the position of being on all fours. The reason we needed to do this is because Molly would never get on all fours. She just hated it.
Anyway, I hope all of this makes sense. I’ll do a little video later today when Molly wakes up from her nap to show you these three exercises. I’m not sure my explanations are that great. Ha!
Oh and it’s important for you to know that when Molly did all three of these exercises, she would usually cry the whole time. But after only four or five days of doing these exercises once or twice a day she started crawling on her own! I am so incredibly proud of her!
Up next, walking!!!!! As you can see in all these pics, Molly is so close to walking on her own! Her pediatrician thinks she’ll walk before she’s one. That’s in a little over a month! One thing to note for babies starting to walk, is make sure you have a pair of soft bottom shoes for your little one as they learn to walk outside.
I want to end with this. Molly LOVES her new found freedom! And so do mommy and daddy! Before she could crawl, she would just lay in one spot or try to roll across the room to get something (not very efficient and she could only move laterally) so she would often cry. Cry until I went and helped her stand up so she could walk holding my hands to get around. My back was KILLING me! Now I am able to leave her to play by herself (With my eyes still on her obvi) while I clean up or respond to an email here and there. Some people told me that I would be exhausted once she started crawling. It’s been the opposite for me! I can finally sit down for a minute while she gets around on her own. Thank goodness for a baby safe space with a child gate! Ha!
OK, that’s all I’ve got for now. I hope somebody found this blog helpful. Come back later today and I’ll post a video to this post demonstrating these exercises.
And my SUPER comfy maxi dress is under $50 FYI! Details below first pic!
1. MAXI DRESS | 2. NECKLACE | 3. SANDALS | 4. MAMA BRACELET | 5. LOVE BRACELET
6. $10 RING SET | 7. STATEMENT RING | 8. MOLLY’S ROMPER | 9. MOLLY’S SHOES
1. MAXI DRESS | 2. NECKLACE | 3. SANDALS | 4. MAMA BRACELET | 5. LOVE BRACELET
6. $10 RING SET | 7. STATEMENT RING | 8. MOLLY’S ROMPER | 9. MOLLY’S SHOES
1. MAXI DRESS | 2. NECKLACE | 3. SANDALS | 4. MAMA BRACELET | 5. LOVE BRACELET
6. $10 RING SET | 7. STATEMENT RING | 8. MOLLY’S ROMPER | 9. MOLLY’S SHOES
What great news! And the photos are the cutest!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
I love these pics 😉 Framers for sure!
Thanks for the tips!! My little one is almost 9 months old and sort of dragging herself across the room so I’d be interested to see if the exercises help her as well!!
Please let me know if they help!!!! I hope they do! xoxo
My friends that have had babies keep reminding me that all babies develop differently. It’s hard to not to compare! For example, your little Molly is only a couple of weeks older than my Sadie, yet my Sadie still doesn’t cruise while holding on furniture or stand on her own for a few seconds. She has been doing the army crawl since she was 7 months and crawling on all fours since last week. Yet, I read about how Molly has been meeting all these other milestones before Sadie and it makes me concerned and start freaking out about whether there is something wrong with her! My point is that all babies are different in their development and unless they are way behind and they’re pediatricians are concerned, we shouldn’t either. Comparison is the thief of joy!
This is so great and helpful! My 9 month old daughter isn’t crawling and just rolls all over like how Molly used to. We thought we had tried everything and curious to see if this helps us. Thank you for always sharing!! xoxo
I’ve loved following Molly’s development. My daughter was born just a few days after Molly and she’s very far behind with her gross motor development. She’s army crawling (ish!) but not really interested in moving and is no where near pulling up. We’ve been doing PT for about a month now. Sometimes I feel like we’re making tons of progress and sometimes I feel so defeated. It’s all-consuming. I’m constantly worrying that she’ll never get there and I’m thinking about our exercises all day. The day she crawls and walks will be such a happy day in our house!! Just know you’re not alone and there’s another baby girl even further behind yours ?! Thanks for your honesty! She’s precious! Love her name too!
Are any of the dresses you share nursing friendly? I usually live in maxis all summer but I’m struggling to find something functional that still looks nice. If not, how do you make it work when out and about with Molly?
Thank you for sharing these exercises! There are lots of babies that have similar challenges. I’m an occupational therapist and have worked with infants in the past. One thing that parents may not realize is how important crawling is for future fine motor skills. The muscles in the hand have to be elongated before they can be activated for use and weight bearing on the palms helps to do this. This post will be helpful to so many parents!
Hi Ali! I sent you an email message a few days ago about the video you posted of Molly crawling with her leg out. You’re probably wondering why I care so much, I’m not trying to be one of those annoying moms! I just feel so passionate about this topic because so many moms post videos of their babies crawling the same way on Facebook and in mom groups I’m in. While pediatricians are so amazing and are so knowledgeable, they often times will say things are “normal” when they really mean they are “usual.” They see a symptom enough times that they say it’s normal just because they have so many patients with the same things. But, that doesn’t mean it’s normal! I know you have such a strong social media following that you could really get the word out about this crawling issue because it’s so common!! If you haven’t already, I ask that you please read the email I sent. 🙂
What does it matter how her baby is crawling…? Lol
Thank you so much for this post! I love reading your blog and following your Instagram, especially after Molly was born. My little Charlotte is about a month younger than Molly, and we are currently in the same situation. She army crawls/drags herself around but won’t do the traditional crawling. I am definitely going to try these exercises!
About how long do you practice each of these exercises? I tried them earlier with Char and she was crying, like you said Molly did, but I wanted to make sure I didn’t tire her out either.
Thank you for always sharing your experiences! It’s so nice to know that there are other moms out there going through the same kinds of things 🙂
I can totally relate to worrying about development. My daughter is 5 months old and just learned to roll from back to front. Most of my friends said that their babies rolled much earlier. All babies and different develop at their own pace. BTW, love the dress!
This blog was very inspiring! Our babies are only a week apart and my little one isn’t crawling yet! I’m going to try these excersises and see if they help! Fingers crossed!?? thanks for the advice!
I can’t wait to try these excersises with my son! He is trying so hard to crawl.. just not happening yet! He’s my little roly poly.
Thank you for sharing!
My little guy was the same way! I was so concerned something was wrong. Finally started crawling at 10 months and then at about 11 months and a week he started walking by himself! And by his birthday he was RUNNING! Kids are all so different.
Hi Ali,
When did you introduce Molly to a bottle and start pumping? My baby is 8 weeks old and I’m going back to work in August. She’s been nursing exclusively up to this point but I’m trying to decide when to start a bottle and pump to have enough milk when I return to work.
You should start it right away! They recommend introducing the bottle when baby is 3-4 weeks (one a good latch it’s developed). We introduced it at 4 weeks and my like guy hated it, so we had to experiment w several different nipples. Have you been pumping to build your stash up? I started doing that right after baby was born to build my stash (I believe Ali said she did the same) your supply can drop when you go back to work all you’ll want to do it early!
That’s so exciting all the new things she’s learning. It’s so fun!
I love the dress because I actually own it haha. I bought it for my Easter dress and it’s so cute and comfy!
Happy to hear that Molly is developing so well!! I love your blog posts… ever since the sleep training tips I took from you, the development of my lil girl (9 months old) is thru the roof!!! She started crawling on Motthers day ? And her too has done exactly what Molly has done in a week, it’s so crazy!!! I have to agree with you though, everyone said I’d be exhausted once she starts to crawl, I breathe a sigh of relief that I can sit and she can play without my help!!! These girls are amazing!!!
How fun! My little one isn’t crawling yet, but has minor torticollis as well! Can you share some of the stretches you were advised to do?!
I love reading your blog, especially as a new mama! Thanks for blogging and being real!
Erin
Hi there! I worked for Early Childhood Intervention in Texas and I do those exact stretches with the kiddos that I work with everyday! She is crawling great and standing and cruising well. It was good for you to be on top of it and talk with your pediatrician. It’s better to be safe and knowledgeable of what is going on with your babies development. ?
That’s great to hear she’s crawling. My Ten month old (on Tuesday) still isn’t crawling yet and just started showing interest in it. She’s got some chunky legs so can’t get her leg from underneath her. And same with Molly, seems to be afraid to put some weight on her palms! Going to try these exercises tomorrow. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the tips! My daughter is 9 months and isn’t crawling either. I’ll be honest I’m not worried and my doctor isn’t either. I mostly think she isn’t crawling because she HATES her tummy and won’t give it more then 10 seconds until she rolls over. But I will be interested to try these and see if it makes a difference! I appreciate all of your honesty!
I was so worried about my 10 month old son not crawling and found myself comparing him to babies that would crawl at 7 months. His pediatrician said everything was normal and not to worry. He was able to pull himself up and stand with no issue so I just figured he wasn’t into crawling. All of a sudden one day he started crawling like it was no big deal…like saying ‘ hey guys, I can do it, I just didn’t want to’ Now with his one year birthday less than a month away, he is taking steps all on his own. I think as first time moms we worry so much about milestones and forget to enjoy our babies working at their own pace. P.S. Molly is the cutest ever!
I bet you anything that sleep training also contributed to her hitting all these new milestones! Sleep is SO important for babies in that regard. How is sleeping going now? Still well I hope. I have an 8 month old that I think is starting to hit the 8 month regression I’ve heard about yay!
Did you most the video of the crawling exercises?
Thank you so much for these tips! My 10 month old still isn’t crawling so I will be trying these exercises 🙂 looking forward to the video!
My little one crawled at 9 months and immediately started pulling herself up and cruising along furniture. I thought for sure she would be walking before a year but no ma’am. She got so efficient at crawling that she had no need to walk. She could get anywhere by crawling and could get there quickly. She just started walking at 15 months. They do everything on their own time!
Thanks so much for these tips! My son is just a few weeks younger than Molly, and I have loved following you and seeing how similar/different Molly is from my boy. He has yet to begin real crawling (he is army crawling), and I decided to try out several of these exercises this morning to see if they help. Thanks, again!
Thank you Ali for sharing these tips. My son is almost 9 months and instead of crawling will just roll around the room which as you said is frustrating for baby and mom! I look forward to seeing the video. Thank you so much!!
Can’t wait to try these tips with my 10 month old! He isn’t crawling yet and shows no interest yet. He’s miserable when we do any kind of tummy time exercises. Looking forward to the video post:) thanks for all your updates.. love them!
For those with babies still not crawling…
My baby is the same age as Molly and just started walking on her own a few days ago… I think she started crawling at 7 months. We went to PT very early on because of nursing issues so the PT would give advice for everything, and she was also a bit behind physically – holding up her head, etc… the PT said that all the milestones for babies are getting pushed back because:
1) Not enough tummy time. Especially now that babies aren’t supposed to sleep on their stomachs, tummy time because much more important.
2)Because of all the “containers”/”baby holding devices” – rockers, swings, bouncers, jumpers, exersaucers etc etc. She pretty much nixed all of them and said babies should be on the floor playing as much as possible, or in your arms. (She gave the ok for putting her in a bouncer seat for 15 min here or there so I could get something done, but my baby hated it so she wasn’t in there much).
So because of all that, we didn’t use any devices (despite my family constantly urging us to use them), and my she spent most her time playing on the floor, we made more of an effort with tummy time, and we also had some stretches and exercises she taught us. I wouldn’t have known all this was so important if it wasn’t for the PT… thankfully she caught up and now seems to be doing pretty well with the gross motor skills… the crawling, standing, cruising and walking she all did ENTIRELY on her own… I didn’t encourage her at all! In fact, I wanted her to crawl longer because I was told that’s the only time they really build strength in their upper arms/torso. She’s still crawling but now she’s all about walking!
The PT also said do not give babies walkers, do not “walk them” with your hands – so I have never done that.
From more reading I saw a general rule about “containers” – and that includes carseats FYI… no more than 2 hours a day, maximum. So if you’re driving a bunch one day, then skip any containers other days.
Here is a link to a bunch of articles from OTs (occupational therapists) on other tips for babies:
https://otconnections.aota.org/aota_blogs/b/pulsecheck/archive/2014/12/01/don-t-put-baby-in-a-container-floor-time-is-best.aspx
This is also a good article about baby gear:
http://www.candokiddo.com/news/2014/9/28/ways-to-reduce-your-babys-time-in-baby-holding-devices
Good luck all!
Thanks for the exercises, Ali! My girl is almost 8 months and just starting to show interest in crawling so I’m excited to do these excercises with her in the near future. Although maybe I’ll hold off… I kind of like that she can’t move yet! ?
Where is the video for the crawling exercises? love you Ali!
Hey Ali,
My daughter is 7 months old and was inchworming her way around the house for 2 weeks but could not figure out how to use her hands. I started doing the wheel barrow with her like you suggested and in 2 days she started proper crawling! Thanks for Sharing the PTs tips 🙂
Hi Ali! A few weeks ago in an IG story you gave the name of the Etsy shop where you bought the rinseable bibs. Will you please provide again? Thanks! Love (rather, Luv) your blog! 🙂
If you are talking about the ones she said she rinses and then hangs to dry, they are Jujube. I just ordered a couple from their website.
Hi Ali!
I absolutely love the dress but is it normalon the link that color is no longer available?
Love you from Montreal
Where is the YouTube video?
Also how long did you practice with her each time?
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Appreciate all of your tips, so very helpful. Are you still going to do the video? Thanks again Ali!
Ali! I have a baby girl, Shiloh, that’s just a few weeks behind Molly and she’s not crawling yet either. Have you posted those videos of the exercises yet that helped Molly crawl? That would help a lot!! Thanks so much for being so honest on your blog! Helps me so much and encourages me to chill out when I feel like Shiloh is a bit behind 🙂 I wish our baby girls could get together to play!!
Did you post videos on Instastories of the exercises and I just missed it? If so, could you post them here or point me to where they are? Thanks!
Hi Ali, I recently found out I’m pregnant and I am super excited! I follow your instagram stories and have seen some of the things you have for Molly, like your playmat, and the little walker seat you feed her in! I was wondering if you could do a blog about your favorite baby gear? I am starting to look for what I need and there are so many options it’s overwhelming. It would be nice to know what you have used and what you like! Thanks!!
I really appreciate this post so much! I have a 9 month old little boy who refuses to crawl! It is easy to look at the development of other babies and compare and think something must be wrong!? Our doctor isn’t concerned at all but it is really encouraging to hear that not all babies crawl at 6-8 months in fact some bypass crawling all together! I hope that’s us 🙂 I’m enjoying this sweet phase of not chasing him around and not rushing his growth! He is already getting too big too fast for this mama!!
Hi Ali,
Will you still be posting a video of the 3 exercises to follow up to this great post? Also, how long and how often woukd you do them? Thanks so much, fellow mama!!
I would love to see these exercises in a video example. My little one is almost 10 months and ins’t crawling. I have been stressing over it so much!
Molly is such a cutie!!! <3
Oh My goodness ? I love this picture, Ali!!! She’s adorable ❤️
Hi Ali!
First off–love you, your instastories (I watch them religiously!), your blog and of course your sweet baby! My son is 8 months old and basically has no desire to crawl and it is starting to freak me out. I know he is just developing at his own pace but I can’t help to worry…just a little. I was interested to see if you had done any videos with the exercises Molly was doing to help her crawl. I like a good visual for trying new things with babies!
Thanks so much 🙂
Aly
I felt the same way as you did! I always saw parents posting about how their child was doing this and that and mine wasn’t. I had to really tell myself that mine will do it when she is ready to and not compare other babies to mine! My daughter started crawling at 10 months and then started walking at 14 months! You just have to let them do it on their own! And as much as you want her to be walking and doing things it just gets harder!! Enjoy it because time goes by so fast!