Back to: Therapist
Questions & Answers - Motor Concerns
I have a few concerns about my 5 1/2-month-old daughter. She has
strong neck control and holds her head very steady. However, when on
her stomach, she won't push up hardly at all. She lifts her head,
but never uses her arms to push up. She also really doesn't try to
roll at all. If you leave her on her belly long enough, she will
just lay her arms back and lay down. Also, she won't bear any weight
on her legs when I put her feet against a hard surface (or my lap).
I remember my older daughter doing all of these things by now. Can
you tell me if I should be concerned?
Depending on where you look for a developmental milestone chart you
will see
varying age levels listed for the motor skills you mentioned.
Most charts differ by a few months. Also, it's always natural to compare
when you have another child who may have completed these motor tasks at
a different pace.
Having said that, as therapists we look for babies to be pushing
up on extended forearms on their bellies by around 5-6 months,
rolling smoothly with coordination in both directions within the 6-9
month old period (you may read that most babies are rolling in both
directions by 5 months, but many babies still do this purely by
accident and not purposely at this age), and fully bearing weight on
feet and bouncing in a standing position by around 7-9 months (many
babies are just starting to bear weight on their feet around 5
months of age). All babies develop at their own pace. I would
encourage you to mention these concerns to your pediatrician at your
next well baby visit so he can observe your daughter. Red flags
would be if you feel your baby's muscle tone feels too floppy or too
stiff, or if she prefers one side of her body over her other (such
as keeping her head turned to one side frequently or rolling to only
one side). It is great that you are doing tummy time with her, since
this is indeed the most important time for her to develop and
practice the skills you mentioned. It sounds like she has nice head
control and neck strength, so maybe she needs to develop more
trunk/core strength. You can encourage her to play with her feet
when on her back, tucking a blanket roll under her hips to help her
raise her feet and place rattle socks on her feet to entice her. You
can encourage her to push up on extended forearms by rolling up a
small blanket and placing it under her armpits so that her chest is
now lifted and it makes it a bit easier for her to place her
forearms/hands on the floor.
Lay on the floor in front of her and entice her to push upwards
with mirrors and toys to reach toward. You can also place
her on her
tummy over the lower part of your leg, knees bent under her
in a sort
of kneeling position so her chest rests on your leg and
encourage her
to put her hands down on the floor to bear weight on them.
You can
facilitate rolling during play with her, gently guiding her
at the
hip and opposite shoulder or simply tip the blanket by
lifting a
corner to help her get the momentum to roll over. You can
let her
play in a side-lying position (left and right sides) and
then
practice rolling side to back or side to tummy. You can sit
her on
your lower leg, straddling your leg, and gently lift her up
and down
to encourage weight bearing on her feet. Also while in a
sitting
position with her feet touching the floor you can very
gently apply
pressure to her knees so that her feet feel the pressure of
the floor
beneath her. Since babies learn new skills almost daily
during these
early months you may want to give her another month to
practice.
However, if you are very concerned right now, or if your
pediatrician
has concerns or if you do not see anymore progress with
these skills
by 6-6.5 months I would call your local early intervention
provider
to have a free physical therapy evaluation completed to
rule out any
concerns. Your local early intervention provider is:
Montgomery County Infants and Toddlers Program Administrative Office
51 Monroe Street, Suite 1700
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: 240 777-3997
Program Director: Ronnie Biemans
Back to: Therapist
Questions & Answers - Motor Concerns
Return to Top