Should I Be Concerned? - Montgomery, IL

I wouldn't be too concerned. All kids develop at their own pace. I have three kids - my youngest is almost 13 months, and he won't point to anything :)! He rarely does anything on command. Is there something you are reading that tells you that she should be doing those things? I stopped reading those after my first. Also, as far as crawling - my daughter(my first) started the army crawl at 9 months, did that forever, then crawled a bit, cruised, walked on her knees, and then finally walked at about 16 months. Now at almost 5 she's a little ballerina, and you would never even know most of the kids her age were walking way before her.

If you are concerned, her 12 month appointment will tell you more, but I just had mine with my son, and the doctor deemed him just fine. She wanted to know if he had any words(which BTW, my daughter was talking so much earlier than my boys, how about yours?), what he was doing physically, how he was eating and sleeping, and that was about it.

Having three kids really has made me realize that babies grow so fast and at such different rates, that it's easy to worry if you let it bother you. If you sit back and enjoy the milestones as they come, life is a lot less stressful!

Good luck!

I'm assuming you've already talked about your concerns with your doctor, if not, I would start there. Most doctors in my experience aren't concerned until an infant is 18 months and still not walking, but it doesn't hurt to seek advice earlier if you're concerned.

Most likely, she's just taking her sweet time! I've known 2 children who did not walk until past 16 months, and there is nothing wrong with them. Kids develop at their own rate, and each is different, even among siblings.

Best of luck!

Hm. Have you discussed this with her pediatrician? What did they say at her last well baby check-up? Have them do a full evaluation on her.
Does she respond to loud noises? Consider the idea that she may having hearing issues, which is a reason she could be delayed (balance is in the middle ear).
If she is "content" most of the time she may just be a little slow learning, there is nothing wrong with that either. =) ALL children are different, with their own development schedules. Especially if she has a brother that does everything for her, why should she? Cover the bases with your doctor but try not to worry too much. She sounds like a real joy.
And hey, welcome to the area! *HUG*

My daughter didn't start crawling until almost 11 months (scooted as well), and didn't start walking until almost 15 months. She had no interest in walking at all. She could sit up, but didn't start pulling up until almost 1 year old.

The only thing I would be concerned about is her not having a response to hearing her name, or the commands you mentioned. I would talk about these things when you have her 1 year checkup and see what your pediatrian recommends.

I definitely agree to bring your concerns to the PED. All kids develop at different rates (as all the baby books suggest) but just for your own peace of mind, maybe you should just ask the Dr.
My daughter is 8 months, has 4 teeth, sits, stands, crawls faster then a frightened insect and gets into EVERYTHING!!!!! My coworker has a baby 4 weeks younger then mine and does none of the above.
Does she respond to loud noise? Perhaps something on t.v.? Everytime the Comcast on-demand song comes on it always catches my daughter's attention because she knows one of her favorite shows are coming on. If you feel she is not responding to sounds then maybe having her ears checked is a good idea. My neice also had to have tubes put in her ears and her advance in development after that was ASTONISHING!

It might just be a developmental delay in her or it could be something more. Did you have her hearing checked? She could be deaf or not hear very well or maybe her ears are just clogged with wax. If that's the case, it makes your sense of balance off, so she might feel weird to stand or scared that she's going to fall.
If her hearing is fine, then I would watch her closely until she's 18 months and if she still isn't doing what you think she should, then I would take her to a neurologist.
I don't want to alarm you, but my daughter was diagnosed with autism when she was 4 years old and she's very high functioning. If it's something like that, the earlier you catch it the better. The Doctors say that if you can get them diagnosed and start teaching them in a special way by the time they are 2 years of age, then they have a better chance of being closer to normal when they get older.
GOOD LUCK!!

While yout daughter may be a "late" bloomer your concerns are also valid ones. I work as a PT in Early Intervention. The concern isn't that your daughter isn't walking but that she doesn't really want to bear weight through her arms and legs. I would definately discuss referring her for some evaluations through EI. I can give you lots more info if you are interested! Feel free to email me if you do (I also live in Naperville:)).

Have you had her hearing tested? It might be a try. My son was like this until he got tubes put in his ears. Bring up your concerns to your pediatrician, they will tell you or help you. Some kids don't crawl, so go right to walking all children are different and some people tend to forget that. I remember when my sons wasn't talking much how petrified I was that something was wrong, but you know he started talking soon after I wrote on Mamasouce about it. Good luck and let us know what happens.