I try not to be one of those moms that constantly compares her kid to others, or worries endlessly about their developmental progress. I remind myself:
- It’s not a competition
- Bella is unique
- Things will happen when they are supposed to.
But sometimes (like when your kid is 4 days shy of 8 months old and still doesn’t crawl) it gets a little hard not to have a few worrisome thoughts run through your head. All my friends babies can crawl, some of them are even getting ready to walk! The thing was, Bella could get in the crawling position. Heck, she could go from there to sitting and back just fine.
The actual concept of moving forward seemed to puzzle her. She would rock on all fours, then shoot herself forward like a cannon and land on her stomach. This seemed to eventually get her to where she wanted to be – with a few chin burns along the way – so I suppose she didn’t see any need for moving her arms.
Today I sat Bella down near me as I folded laundry, and pretty soon a toy rolled out of reach. She took a head dive forward, and then propped herself up on all fours to try to get it. I watched in amusement for the cannon to begin.
To my surprise, she suddenly moved her arm, then the other, and began to go forward! I think she shocked even herself because she ended up going so fast she bonked her head on the bottom of the crib before I saw what was happening.
And didn’t care – she actually bonked it again trying to get the toy and still didn’t care. I had to move her away from it because she’s seems to have inherited her Daddy’s hard head. (Seriously, he used to crush beer cans on it before I asked him to stop.)
Then, I pulled her back away and waited to see what she would do. She looked around, saw the laundry basket – reached up and pulled herself up on it!
I was so proud. Many hugs and kisses followed with Bella looking very pleased with herself.
Later, I sat her down on the floor to repack her diaper bag and she fell over sideways.
Baby steps. 
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This is a tad long but she does get moving eventually, and it’s pretty funny looking -
Twitter: becomingsarah
says:
SO SWEET! I love that video – it reminds me of just a couple months ago in our home =)
In all seriousness, I vote for not worrying about milestones like crawling. Every kid is different and in the end, as long as they’re happy and healthy, who cares when they sit or crawl or talk? It’s not like they go off to college crawling, right?
Well. Unless they’re drunk.
Sarah @ BecomingSarah.com just wrote Heart melt
Twitter: lifeasaSAHM
says:
Love it. LOL.
As long as Bella doesn’t go off to college doing the cannon, things will be great.
Hailey is 2 days away from 9 months and doesn’t crawl. She doesnt even get on all 4′s. She can move her arms real well and go in circles, but doesnt go forward or backwards.
I am worried. And I hate that.
Alyssa just wrote I miss me
Twitter: lifeasaSAHM
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It just suddenly happened for us. Really, like she’s been stuck with cannon for months and I was getting worried that maybe she didn’t know what else to do. But it was like it just “clicked” in a minute.
I’m sure it’s that way for a lot of babies. But it really doesn’t help the worrying. I think some kids are just laid back about stuff – others are go getters. My friends 5 month old can already crawl!
Twitter: Erin0802
says:
That is so great! Bella is adorable! Congrats!
ps- what kind of video camera do you use? I’ve heard good things about FlipVid…
Erin just wrote Saturday Morning
Twitter: lifeasaSAHM
says:
I have the HTC Droid – DO NOT BUY IT. Omg, I hate this phone. I mean, I love what it does and the concept of it, but it’s full of bugs and is always shutting off, won’t let me answer the phone or call out, has to be restarted all the time… Rrrr.
I usually use my camera and then upload it, but the battery went dead today.
Twitter: bkatedesigns
says:
She is soo cute! Love the crawling video! We get Bailey crawling in a couple videos now! They are adorable when they first start to crawl!! YAY Bella!
Cindy @ This Adventure, Our Life just wrote Smiles in a Pretty Dress
Twitter: theleakysippy
says:
awwww! that is so cute! i was getting worried about C being a little over 8 months old and not crawling. i could see him mastering parts of it but couldn’t put it all together until this past week. now, he is into EVERYTHING! i knew that would happen but unlike my girls, he is trying to get into everything. but, i love it and i love seeing all his milestones!
bella is so cute!
mama23bears just wrote he can crawl-
Twitter: goodgirlgonered
says:
Yay! Now the fun REALLY begins!
Andrea just wrote Rolling a 2-
Twitter: ajdplusthree
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I LOVE it. She is such a cutie. I also really like that you used the cat, the frog and the camera to bait her
She is off to the races now!
Twitter: harmskills
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my son didnt crawl till almost 10 months of age. So you are still waaaayyyy in the range of normal! congrats to Bella on this fun milestone
harmskills just wrote Its Vacation Time
Yay! Wonderful news! I felt the same about Big C. I thought he would never crawl! All he would do is rock. The finally, he just up and crawled. No transition or starting out slow. He just went from rocking for full out crawling!
Stacey@MoAM just wrote What Do You Want From Me
I’m so the same way with the whole comparing Abigail to other kids. And GO BELLA! She is so cute. Abby, though she “crawls” she has yet to get up on her hands and knees…it’s more of a scoot. So yeah, let’s just say I’m jealous that Bella can do that
.
Twitter: lifeasaSAHM
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Abby sat up way before Bella – I remember seeing that pic of her and thinking, “Oh my, Bella can’t even do that with me holding her yet!”
They’ll all be on the same page before you know it. Then we’ll be comparing missing teeth and grades.
perhaps when we are comparing those things you will have snapped out of it and moved to the PNW so we can be PTA moms together
metta1313 just wrote Day 191- The Great Outdoors and a Hot Tub Time Machine-
I was so in your shoes just a bit ago – reminding myself that it isn’t a competition and that they do everything in their own time…but still wondering and worrying when my little guys would catch up to the others his age. One of my best friends had a baby on the SAME DAY and her little guys was walking at 6 1/2 months, before my dude even was crawling (in fact, he got around by scootching backwards on his head – to the point where he earned himself a nice bald spot). But now, Austin is speaking in complete sentences and her little one just babbles, with the occasional word thrown in, and I’m the one reassuring her that he’ll talk when he’s ready…and I know it to be true.
Congrats to Bella!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tiaras_trucks
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She is adorable! Great video
At least she was happy with the cannon; Dylan gets so mad during his patented move (it’s more of a face plant and push off than a cannon). I know he’ll get it eventually, but that didn’t stop me from modeling crawling for him today. Seriously? Like that was going to help him figure it out?
angela just wrote The Lost Photos
Twitter: MrsMidatlantic
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My best friend’s baby is 10 months and still not crawling. Don’t worry – she’ll surpass the other babies in other ways!
Twitter: jessvillalpando
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New reader here! Love your blog!
I’m still waiting for my little one to roll over. I think she might skip that whole stage and just go straight to crawling or something! We’ll see!
Congrats Bella!
She.is.adorable!!! Holy cuteness…if my baby wasn’t asleep on my chest I would’ve clapped when she finally made it over there. Cutest crawl ever! And so funny that she went right to the camera (?) and not the frog. Even at this age they seem to know what’s off limits and go right for it…too funny!
Heather just wrote Craziness
Go Bella! Next time you turn around she will be skipping!
Not There Yet just wrote Round Three – Results
Twitter: ninjapanza
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So she for-real crawled AND pulled up to standing? All in the same day? I think that’s pretty super cool.
Sara just wrote Christmas 2009
Twitter: lifeasaSAHM
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Yes! And not quite standing but close – she was pulling up and got just about there. I don’t think her arms/legs are quite strong enough yet for that.