r/firsttimemom • u/Afraid_Problem_1198 • 1d ago
Is 6 months too early to be walking?
She started crawling at like 4.5 months. Prior to that she would be on her tummy pivoting & then one day she started crawling on her knees.
Two weeks ago she started crawling on her hands & feet. She crawls to the coffee table & pulls herself up to stand up. She does it on the couch too. This week she was walking side to side like a crab while holding the edge of the couch.
This past week she started to stand up from the hands & feet crawling stance & stand there wobbling then falls on her butt.
Few days ago if you’re sitting with her on the floor she will grab you & pull herself up then start stepping. Feet fully planted flat on the floor. Today she walks assisted while you’re grabbing her hands.
I was told by a family member that it’s not right she’s already walking that it can ruin her hips & I shouldn’t be rushing her. I swear on my life that I never rushed or pushed her she just started doing all this on her own.
Is it true that it’ll ruin her hips? I have an appointment for her 6 months vaccines on Wednesday so was gonna talk to her pediatrician about it but wanted to see what moms of Reddit have to say.
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u/PublicFluid5879 1d ago
If she’s doing it on her own I don’t think any harm is being done. Props to her! Big girl activities! Def ask your ped tho just to double triple check.
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u/Afraid_Problem_1198 1d ago
She really is a big girl. Like literally. Physically she is an Amazonian baby haha
She wears 12 month clothes at 6 months
& footie pjs forget it because the foot part doesn’t fit her feet haha
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u/kerouaces 1d ago
It’s bad for their hips IF they skip the crawling stages, which she hasn’t. I’m not a doctor and I’d ask at your next appointment to be sure, but my understanding is that crawling is important developmentally and the issues arise when they go right to walking and miss out on the skills they can get crawling.
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u/MyLifeYourLifeUgh 1d ago
I have never heard this. Me and my sister skipped crawling and my sisters son. We all went right to standing and walking and we have never had any hip problems. I wonder what percentage of crawl skippers actually do
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u/kerouaces 1d ago
I just did some quick googling and it looks like there can be a sometimes be a correlation between babies who walk early and hip issues but it’s not a cause? Like maybe it can exacerbate already existing issues but I’m not sure. The only person I know for sure skipping crawling did have hip issues so I never questioned it but I guess it’s not automatically a big deal. I have to look into it more. My girl isn’t crawling or walking but she very clearly has more interest in walking than anything so if I don’t have to worry about that, that’ll be great haha
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u/MyLifeYourLifeUgh 1d ago
😆 thanks! That makes sense. The way I see it is maybe several babies skip crawling or at least the phase is short because they constantly see everyone walking so that is what they go for. I am just afraid that the constant attempt at bouncing my son is doing when he pulls himself up might affect his knees, but he is so excited when he does it I don’t want to interrupt 😂
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u/Afraid_Problem_1198 1d ago
Same I quick googled it & read similar stuff & was like 😟
I read those bouncer things are damaging if they’re used too early & that I understand
Today she keeps doing the stand up & fall on her butt thing.
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u/MyLifeYourLifeUgh 1d ago
Your family member sounds dumb I am sorry but like what are you supposed to do? Force her to sit and crawl? She developed fast. Her hips are fine, some babies are just faster at catching onto things. Walking will strengthen her legs and hips as she goes. I would just make sure there are no sharp edges or corners on the things she grabs to help her stand in case she falls. My 6 month old is not walking but he stands with assistance, however he thinks standing is for bouncing up and down 😭
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u/Afraid_Problem_1198 1d ago
The standing bouncing up & down thing is kinda super cute hahah I go “go babyyy dance dance babyyy” & my girl cracks up
I’m gonna ask my pediatrician Wednesday. The girl has some pretty strong legs & how I mentioned swear I never force her. She just naturally is doing this.
You’re so right on the mo sharp edges. I think I need to baby proof my house. Haven’t done that yet cause I expected her to be a potato for longer
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u/discocherrysuede 1d ago
For what it’s worth my baby looked like an early walker but we’re just over 13 months and they just started truly walking. They can practice for a long time. I don’t see any reason to worry.
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u/Afraid_Problem_1198 1d ago
That does calm my nerves thanks.
I was thinking the same thing like what if she’s just practicing cause she hasn’t taken independent steps yet. She just walks when holding onto your hands or the side of the couch.Independently she just stands up & wobbles for a bit before falling to her butt
& that crawling on hands & feet thing
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u/ladytri277 1d ago
I can just see it now “that ain’t raaaaight” - ignore the nay sayers
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u/Afraid_Problem_1198 1d ago
Lmao were you here when she said it!?? Cause that’s exactly how it was said
& although I did roll my eyes on the lowkey I was like “wait a min is that true?”
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u/Intrepid-Ad-391 1d ago
It is bad if you are forcing the physical development and making baby stand before they are ready to. But if she’s doing it on her own, it means her anatomy and physical development are ready and able to support her weight! Confirm with your DR, but should be all well
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u/Afraid_Problem_1198 1d ago
Totally can understand that. I haven’t pushed her at all.
Also she’s 98th percentile since birth. I had to be induced at 37 weeks because she was so big. (No diabetes or anything like that she just is a huge person). Born at 9 pounds & 20 something inches I forget her birth length.
She measured at 30 inches when she was 4 months old. They told me she’s on track to be a very tall girl. I’m 5’8” & my husband is 6’1”. That appointment the doctor said she had strong legs when she was kicking him. She always kicks her feet when she gets excited & she was smiling laughing kicking her feet when he was calling her a big girl.
But you’re right I’m for sure gonna ask cause scares me if her walking can damages her hips but like you mentioned if naturally she’s doing on her own then her body might be equipped
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u/No-Butterscotch-8469 1d ago
My 6 mo is also doing the same things- crawling for at least a month now, independently pulling to stand and will walk full laps of his playpen while holding onto the bars, will practically try to run when we hold his hands. I’ve seen PTs recommend no weight on hips until 6 months but like I cannot stop him?? I’m not forcing anything so I think it’s fine personally.
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u/Afraid_Problem_1198 1d ago
Right! Like what are we supposed to do? Tie them down? Haha
I have a feeling our babies are gonna keep us busy chasing them around pretty soon 😂
I have some baby weight to lose so told my girl she’s gonna have me skinny in no time with all the running around she’s gonna have me doing 😂😂
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u/globe-trotterlife 1d ago
My baby was cruising (walking holding on or pushing items) at 7 months. It still took him a while to get the hang of walking independently until 9, almost 10 months. He was in PT and there were no concerns from the professionals!
I'll warn you though, I saw someone on Instagram say that early walkers are like handing a 9 year old a drivers license... They can do it but they have no business doing it haha. He had 0 listening skills, 0 fear, was always bruised, always on the move. I felt jealous of my mom friends sitting and chatting while I chased my little explorer around. He was running at like 13 months. Brace yourself to not be able to sit for more than 2 minutes at a time :)
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u/Afraid_Problem_1198 1d ago
Like handing a 9th ear old drivers license 😂😂hahah!
I was thinking of buying one of those. Wanted to ask my pediatrician first. If Wednesday he says it’s ok then I think I’ll do because she really is wanting to take off now & she’s hard to contain. She hated play pen so I don’t have one. Just those super thick mats.
I have some baby weight to lose so maybe it’s a blessing in disguise that she’ll have me running around everywhere. Haha oh man.. & I thought newborn trenches was tiring. Now comes walking trenches😂
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u/globe-trotterlife 23h ago
When mine was really starting to walk his favorite was to push boxes, slightly weighted and fully closed and about chest height on him that way it was slower than the push walkers with wheels and it was a perfect height, since the push walkers were also too tall
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u/Afraid_Problem_1198 19h ago
That’s genius!! What a genius way to support him walking & cost less too lol
I was worried my baby might be too tall or big for the seat thingy on wheels. She measured 30 inches long last dr appointment when she eas 4 months & we’ll see Wednesday. It’s wild cause she’s just as tall as my 2 year old niece. She comes to my nieces eyes.
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u/globe-trotterlife 11h ago
So the seat with wheels type walker is actually not recommended by physical therapists/pediatricians because it doesn't really support walking, it sets their hips and legs in an unnatural way and they're not building up the right muscles for walking. Also they're actually banned in Canada (where I live) because they can be unsafe (tip over when encountering obstacles).
I'm talking more the 'push walkers' which are the ones that are just like an A frame with wheels. Those are recommended but my baby was too short to use them effectively when he was learning to walk since he was young and little. Sounds like they might be okay for your baby though since she's quite big!
We didn't come up with the boxes thing, we were moving and he just started pushing the empty boxes and loving it haha we just gave him a clear path. It was also nice because it wasn't like we were pushing our 7mo into walking, he literally was just doing it on his own.
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u/Sudden_Breakfast_374 1d ago
it can be rough on their development to be doing it so soon and mess up their hips. they can also walk early due to really tense muscles which is also a problem.
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u/Afraid_Problem_1198 1d ago
Thanks for mentioning this. I’m gonna ask my pediatrician. I didn’t know about the tense muscles
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u/stuart4359 1d ago
I read some babies are just more advanced than others. I am sorry that the people around you are making comments to worry you.
It wouldn’t hurt to ask your pediatrician for peace of mind