Learning to Crawl

Leo is crawling since May 6 — it took him 8 months and 29 days to reach this milestone. ( more pictures )

For weeks Leo had been pushing himself around on the floor. First backwards, then in circles, finally getting up on all fours and lunging forward. Check out this video I happened to shoot the day before Leo began to crawl:

Although crawling is not considered a real developmental milestone — around 5 percent of babies never crawl and just proceed straight to walking — it’s waited and watched for like little else. “When will my baby crawl?”, “Why won’t my baby crawl?”, ” I wish by baby wasn’t crawling yet!” are regular topics when I meet other Moms. For some mothers crawling marks the end of a more or less peaceful time. For others, like me, things start to improve immediately when that squirmy, rambunctious little bear finally takes off on his own. See Leo leave his room to discover the world on his own:

Crawling generally begins at 6 to 10 months. Typically it comes after a baby is able to sit well without support. But Leo went from lying to crawling without sitting independently in between. Although he seemed strong enough to sit, he always toppled over. What was going on?

My quest to answer this question led me to discover the amazing complexity of childhood reflexes. Reflexes give babies learning experiences that build the foundation for motor development and sensory integration. If the reflexes are too weak, too strong, or retained for too long, they can interfere with normal development.

Leo was born with a very active tonic labyrinthine reflex (TLR) in extension. When he looked up (extending his neck and altering the position of the semi circular canals in his vestibular system) the muscles in his body would contract and stiffen. During normal motor development, a baby uses this aspect of the TLR to help him pull himself to stand. Perhaps this is why Leo wanted to do “up” all the time.

An overly active TLR in extension disturbs the emergence of the head righting reflexes (HRR), which are essential for balance and good control over the upper part of the body. If a sitting baby starts to fall over, the HRR will automatically center it’s head over the midline of the body so that the baby can balance himself. If the baby tilts too far, he will extend an arm to prop himself.

Leo has trouble with this, which is why he frequently topples over. Luckily, Leo’s pediatrician spotted his need for some help with his motor developments and recommended physical therapy. Now we are helping Leo do the things that didn’t come to him naturally and his motor skills are improving.

Here’s Leo in his new play pen:

The play pen which we borrowed from friends is a great help in the study. As you can see, we always have the gate open for Leo to crawl in and out, but the pen is positioned to keep Leo out of our book shelves.

Leo is now very mobile and very curious. He likes to follow me around the house. He is pulling himself up on everything he can reach, whether it’s the bars of his play pen or my legs. In the beginning he would pull himself up, not know how to get down and then start to cry. I would help him down and immediately he would pull himself up again. This could get very frustrating! Fortunately for both of us, Leo quicky mastered “down”.

See Leo careen off the edge of a bed:

To fully appreciate Leo’s achievement, let’s go back just 10 weeks …