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• backwards is normal (Score:1)

  by jmm (276)

  It is common to go backwards when babies first start to move. Their head is the heaviest part of their body, so there is more weight over their hands than over their feet. With better traction for the hands, moving backwards is much easier.
  
  Going forwards allows them to move towards something that they can see and has caught their attention though, so there is incentive to learn how to adjust their actions to accomplish that (harder) task. (Some just learn to turn around and back up to where they want to
  • Creeping is normal, also (Score:1)

    by jordan (120)

    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 th
    • Re:Creeping is normal, also (Score:2)

      by cwest (1514)

      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

      --
      Casey West
      • Re:Creeping is normal, also (Score:1)

        by jmm (276)

        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 (Score:1)

      by pudge (1)

      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
      • Re:Creeping is normal, also (Score:1)

        by jordan (120)

        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 (Score:1)

          by pudge (1)

          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 Incredible Sliding Baby. (Score:1)

  by ct (2477)

  My son slid around on his back for months when he was young. He would arch his back and slide along the carpet touching only with his feet and the back of his head. He actually had a bald spot on the back of his head for a while from this. (He had ALOT of hair.)

  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