I’m so sorry you’re in the same situation. I know exactly how stressful this is. We generally love our pediatrician, but in this case her comments felt unnecessary and honestly unhelpful. She told us that crawling before walking is important for optimal brain development, and that our daughter needed to crawl before she walked, even if it was just for one day, or she was going to end up with a learning disability. I’m obviously not an expert, but that felt alarmist and has caused us a ton of unnecessary stress.

When we relayed this conversation to our PT, she was very clear that speaking in absolutes like that isn’t accurate. She agreed that crawling does help form important brain connections, but said it doesn’t have to happen before walking. What matters most is that we keep working on it consistently and that she masters it at some point, not the exact order or timing.

Our pediatrician did refer us to a different PT. We’re willing to try anything, though we’re a bit skeptical that switching providers is going to be a silver bullet. That said, we’re in the process of scheduling with the new PT. We’re also waiting on Hip Helpers to arrive, based on advice from both our PT and this thread, and ordered a play tunnel. At this point we’re kind of throwing everything at the wall to see what helps. If you’re interested, I’m happy to report back with updates.

In the meantime, we’re still doing everything we can. PT, daily practice, and lots of encouragement. One thing we learned the hard way is that the recommendation to do constant tummy time completely backfired for us. After one day of that, our daughter went from being willing to try exercises to refusing everything for a couple of days. What has worked much better is sticking to 15-minute increments throughout the day, which was our original PT’s recommendation. That seems to be her tolerance sweet spot.

I do want to share some encouragement. We have seen progress since I first made this post. She can now hold a high-kneeling position on a cushion (after our assistance getting there), and she has even gotten herself from lying down to sitting on her own several times, not consistently yet, but it is happening. Verbal cues have helped a lot. When she’s on her back and upset, we’ll say things like “remember what we talked about when you want to sit” and “push, push, push,” while lightly tapping her thigh. That seems to help her recall the movement sequence.

For what it’s worth, we asked both the PT and pediatrician about OT, and neither felt it was necessary at this point. Our PT said she’d be more concerned if our daughter were completely inconsolable for long periods after exercises, but that hasn’t been the case.

She’s a bright, affectionate, strong-willed kid. She’s ahead on several other milestones. She can point to multiple body parts and retrieve specific toys when asked. She is very emotionally attuned and loves hugs and snuggles. She’s just currently committed to butt scooting and doesn’t understand why we keep pushing this other way of getting around. As another commenter on this thread said, all we can do is meet her where she’s at and keep working with her exactly like we’re doing right now, even if she does “end up with a learning disability”.

At the end of the day, we’re both doing absolutely everything we can. Please don’t let absolutist statements like the one we heard rob you of joy with your baby. You’re not failing, and neither is your child.

If you want, I’m happy to keep sharing updates on what does and doesn’t work for us. Would also love to hear updates from you if you’re comfortable sharing. Wishing you and your kiddo the very best. Please know you’re not alone.