My Baby Crawls Weird, is it Ok?

My DD started crawling last week. The first couple of days she did it on all fours moving her arms and legs correctly. She was really slow though.

Now she crawls with one leg tucked beneath her like a regular crawl, one leg out to the side to push with and both arms in front of her on the ground. She is in a half sit half crawl position. Is this ok or should I be concerned. She always pushes with the same leg sticking out to the side. I thought she may get tired of it and go back to crawling normal, but she's getting faster and better at this weird method.

Any thoughts?

Mona

 

My Zack did exactly what you are explaining. He was later diagnosed with Scoliosis, and she said the way his spine was curved, the way he crawled was probably easier on him than in the normal position.

 

It's amazing the ways they find to get around! I used to compare Emma to a walrus when she was crawling!! It was hysterical! I think it's fairly normal to have a different way of crawling. I would only worry if she wasn't using her arms or legs in other ways.

 

KYsweetheart - Would the scoliosis have shown up on an U/S of the spine? My DD had an US of her spine about 2 months back due to some concerns about a sacral dimple. At that time, they said her spine looked normal.

Thanks!
Mondeep

 

Yes, I think it most certainly would show up on an U/S. Because Zack had an x-ray of his done, and it showed up, so I would think it would definitely show up on an u/s.

Zack does have 2 dimples on the bottom of his back, which is an indicator of scoliosis.

 

For a few weeks when Eli first learned to crawl he did the army crawl but would only use 1 leg to push him self. It was always the same leg! I worried about it and planned on asking the Pedi at their next appt but he started use both by then. I also noticed when he first learned to pull up he would favor that same leg and use it first. As long as she is moving the other leg/arm and can do things with it I'm sure she is ok. She may just be coordinated enough right now to do the reg crawl with one side.

 

I don't think you need to be worried, but you can always mention it to their pediatrician. My niece crawled in a similar fashion when she was younger. She is now almost 18 months and she walks and runs around without any problems. I think babies just do what is easiest and fastest for them.

 

My Emma did that for a couple of months, then she started crawling normally. It's pretty common actually, I read a statistic that said something like 25% of babies learn to crawl this way.

 

My son crawled that way. He was quite fast at it! Someone told me it might be because the harwood floors we have were hurting his knees. Interesting theory. I've read there are many "normal" ways to crawl.

 

My daughter crawls exactly the same way.She started out crawling "normally". To me it seems like she's fed up with crawling and is trying to walk at the same time. Now she goes back and forth between the two.Some days on both knees, other days knee/foot combination,some days both.

My son commando crawled for a long time,but crawls on all fours now.There is no "normal". As long as they are trying to get from point A to point B,I think you just have to try to let them experiment and find what works best for them.