My baby seems to be strong. The problem is, her arms are stronger than her legs right now. When she wiggles around on the floor she gets places, She moves all over the place. Again, the problem is, she's moving backwards. That's right, she moved a solid five feet backwards yesterday.
Also during her adventures she ripped the lace off of her blanket. Are babies supposed to be that strong?
Creeping is normal, also
jordan on 2002-06-21T14:10:12
It's also common for babies to pull themselves along (or push themselves back) with their arms before they can use their legs for anything much. It's called creeping.
My daughter did quite a bit of creeping. At some point, can't remember where it was exactly, she was rolling over a lot as a means of locomotion. She would sight a destination, orient her body parallel with it and then roll over 'till she was there. It was fun to watch.
The developmental stages of locomotion always fascinated me. When they attempt a new method, it's always quite a bit more difficult and requires a great deal more energy than their old method to get to the same place, but they still insist on using the new method (unless they are in a big hurry). This is especially noticeable when they start walking. They work hard at walking to places that would be easy crawls.
I think it's a bad idea to actively encourage them to change their locomotion method with anything but attention and praise. Don't put her up on her knees nor hold her hands above her head when coaxing walking. (This common practice of holding their hands above their heads to support early walking is discouraged by developmental experts, it interferes with balance development and development of musculature in the legs.) I'm no expert, and some of this kind of thing for fun is probably OK, but you actually see parents that are always walking their children around with support thinking their helping when in fact they're hurting.
Re:Creeping is normal, also
cwest on 2002-06-21T14:42:50
My wife and I have taken the approach of doing almost nothing. We praise her when she moves around and all, but we don't try and make her walk. She's only four months old.:-)
But as I stated, our baby seems very strong. She has been standing up since about two months. And it wasn't the kind that is a reflex when she was younger. When she is laying on her back we regularly hold her hands as she pulls herself up to a standing position. She rarely likes to be pulled to a sitting position.
Her blance is also very good. We are able to hold her gently around the hips and she can stand for long periods of time. She can lean forward and bring herself back to standing. I'm amazed.
But as for locomotion, we're going to just see what happens. She has wowed us so far.
Re:Creeping is normal, also
jmm on 2002-06-21T14:49:05
She has wowed us so far.
With an encouraging attitude like yours, she'll still be wowing you decades from now.Re:Creeping is normal, also
pudge on 2002-06-24T14:31:21
Our daughter has been supporting her own weight, upright, with her legs since before two months, and has even taken steps while we help her balance. She was almost turning over, just using her legs, after only a few days. And smiling. She is not yet three months and is pulling herself into a sitting position. She's totally buff.
My wife thinks it is all the protein she ate while pregnant, and brestfeeding. I think it's the genes.:-)
She inches around a lot, and usually goes forward on her stomach, or "backward" on her back, because her legs are so strong. I dunno if most babies use their arms before their legs are good for much, but our daughter has very strong legs. Her legs are her primary means of movement, by far. You have to be careful if she starts getting excited, because she just starts kicking/stomping, and she can do some serious damage.
Ow.
Re:Creeping is normal, also
jordan on 2002-06-24T15:43:51
Well, as I said, I'm no expert. I thought that little ones typically have more strength and coordination in the arms than legs initially. I assumed this is becaue they had more use for their arms with grasping, etc.
Probably a lot of variability in this, just like practically everything else about them...
Re:Creeping is normal, also
pudge on 2002-06-24T15:48:11
Well, ours did nothing but kick while she was in the womb, for months. So her legs were already quite ahead of the game when she squirted out.:-)
The "Do Nothing" approach is actually good at this point. Many people think that getting a baby up on it's feet quickly is a good thing, when in reality it's the exact opposite. A baby's bone structure and general muscle structure is not built for that so early.
Of course, today I watched my son play T-Ball (He's 6 now.) They grow up VERY fast. Enjoy what you've got every day.
