when did your baby start bearing weight on legs

My son didn't bear weight on his legs til he was 8 months old. Our ped was very concerned. We took his to physical therapy starting when he was about 9 months old. He didn't walk til he was 20 months. He will be 3 in December and I just got back from gymnastics class with him where he ran, jumped, hung from the rings while kicking over a bolster and jumped on a trampoline. Everyone kept saying they move at thier own pace but I really didn't believe it. With that said, if you see continued delays, ask your ped about it. It can point to issues with motor planning skills. Good luck!

I posted almost this same thing last year when DS was almost 8 months old. He had zero interest in standing at all. We called to schedule an early intervention evaluation and literally the next day he was trying to stand up. By the time he was 9 months he could pull up and stand without holding onto anything. He took his first steps at 13.5 months and now at 17 months is running, trying to skip, trying to jump, and kicking a soccer ball all over the place. Our pediatrician wasn't too conerned that he wasn't bearing weight at 8 months but said we could go ahead with an evaluation for our peace of mind. We did go ahead with the evaluation, and I would recommend that you talk to your doctor about if this is right for you. DS's eval showed that he BARELY qualified, and he actually never got services because by the time we were to have his IFSP meeting he was already standing.

Just wanted to chime in here that I understand your concerns...especially if you're a first time momma. :) Certainly, talk to your pediatrician; and if your child continues to be 'non-weight-bearing...don't hesitate to contact your local Birth-Two program. The eval is often free...and will give you peace of mind should his reluctance to bear weight continue. Additionally, the eval may give you insight to any other possible problems. We've used the Birth-Two programs for three of our last four babies. Currently, we have a baby that has hypotonia (low muscle tone)....who also has some delays. Regardless of how those delays pan out---(whether severe or moderate...or even minor)......the Birth-Two program will help in all areas. Certainly, the eariler the intervention, the better. Good luck! Sincerely, Linny

I think not bearing weight at 5 months is outside the norm and you should ask your ped about it at your appointment. That said, I am assuming you are using the term "not bearing weight" the same way a doctor would meaning he won't put any weight on them if given the opputunity. Like pulls up his legs rather than stand on your lap to bounce. Not holding any weight when you "stand" him up after changing his diaper etc. . . On the otherhand if you mean he is just not "holding" his weight, that's perfectly normal.

Honestly I always thought that kids only bounce with their legs after 8 months or so... I remember my BIL playing with DS at 6 months and trying to get him to walk and he couldn't bear weight on his legs at all... he was pulling up at 10 months and walking at 12.I think it's too early to worry about it. Keep in mind that in some places Early Intervention will only do evaluations every 6 months, so if you do it now and it's too early, you might have to wait until 11 months to do another evaluation, and by then other issues might have appeared.I'd wait for your next appointment and talk to your pediatrician then.

Thanks all. I posted the same question on another parenting forum as well. The consensus seems to be that this is not abnormal for this age. We will ask the pedi when we go for his next visit in a couple of weeks. Nevada Jen, I guess I mean when we try to bounce him on our lap, he does not want to put weight on his legs (he will for 2 seconds and then will try to collapse or bend his legs instead).

I can't recall with Tyler honestly, but Matty has since he was 3 months at least. Now we are working with EI for him to "relearn" the skill because his support is not "quality"...His therapist said that often when children learn or do things too early, they don't learn in a correct way. He also rolls over the "wrong" way. They adapt the skill to the limited muscle strength they have, or they stiffen ALL their muscles because they aren't able to tighten just the correct muscles to produce the skill. Matty can do a "quality" stand when you hold his hands about 50% of the time. The rest of the time he just tightens his whole body and that's the "non-quality" stand stand and we have to correct it. She theorizes that Matty (who is a fairly needy child) learned this way for a variety of reasons, which can include not enough free play time to kick his legs etc. Now he gets plenty of time on his back, and stomach and his muscle tone is developing nicely :)So...don't rush :)

With your explanation of what you mean by non-weight bearing I agree with the others. Proably not something to be concerned about. It interesting to me how different "normal" babies can be. (Of course, it was frightening everytime I thought my kids were behind). They develop these skills at suck wide age ranges but by 3 they are all about the same physically. I have also heard that no matter how advanced (or behind) your kid seems mentally, most are about the same by second grade. I can already see the leveling happening with my DS's peers at age 4.

We put our kids in the exersaucer and jumperoo when they were 4 months old. The exersaucer should be adjustable. We put it on the lowest setting for the kids and then moved it up as they grew. We've only had one child in our home who didn't bear weight at the appropriate time. She just wasn't interested in doing much of anything. She wouldn't do even simple things like grasping and holding onto a plastic ring. Showed no interest in holding her bottle. She was approved for occupational therapy through early intervention services. My kids are not a good example for physical stuff. DS was walking at 8 months and DD at 9 months. When they hit 12 months old they looked they had been born walking. DD never learned to crawl properly. When she did crawl it was what we called a crab crawl where she went to one side instead of straight. DS was the Road Runner of crawling.

Our little guy is a little over 6 months and just started bearing weight. I too was concerned that he wasn't yet doing exactly what you described, because they really can start doing that as early as 3 months old. I put him in the exersaucer at the lowest setting, where if he wants he can touch the floor. I'd say it took about 2 weeks or so for us to notice a difference. It's been almost a month, and he bears weight all the time now on his legs. I'd see if the saucer will let you put it on a lower setting, or possibly the seat can be moved lower. Most are pretty adjustable and go low. I would bring it up at his next visit and demonstrate to the dr what you mean. Our FS is having PT to work on his overall muscle tone. But I noticed a big difference once we started using the saucer.