Baby 7 months not sitting

My baby has down syndrome and is 7 months old. He is still not sitting up and does not put any pressure on his hands at all. What can I do?

[specialmom]

Hi there.  Well, first let me just say that all kids do develop at their own rate and some kids can have nothing major going on but just be slow at developing some motor skills.  Okay, remember that.  But in case there is more going on, it is best to investigate this which it sounds like you are starting the process of doing.  Early intervention can do wonders.

Where do you live?  I would certainly see your physician and ask for a to be referred to a developmental pediatrician.  Here in the US, we have a national early intervention program for birth to 3 years.  You would also get a referral to this through your primary care physician.  They evaluate your child and look where they may need some help such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy (often employed for feeding issues of infants) and begin to set up appts.  Some are in your home and some  you go to their office but it is offered to every citizen to help their children.  So, this is a good option for you if you are in the US.  If not, do see a developmental pediatrician.

Your child could have some motor planning issues or dyspraxia.  My son is mildly dyspraxic which means that the messaging from his brain via the nervous system to the muscles is not processing correctly.  So physically doing some things that are new to him is difficult.  

How is your baby doing socially?

[eri92]

Hi, thank you for your response. I live in Nassau, Bahamas, and unfortunately therapists of any kind are few and far between. He sees a physical therapist every two weeks and a stimulation therapist every week. Other than that all other therapists are private and costs more than I can afford. The physical therapist says that his arms and back need to be strengthened. However, I do alot of research and work with him at home, for example, I discovered some exercises to work the muscles in his mouth to help with speech and feeding, etc. If you know of any sites where I can obtain information to assist me, please let me know.

Socially, he is a joy. He smiles at everyone if they just look at him and talk. He is focusing very well and babbling very loudly, consonants and vowels. Also, he eats pureed foods really well, and is now teething. I am concerned though about the fact that he does not seem to be growing well. Is that common with babies with down syndrome?

[specialmom]

Oh no.  With down syndrome, you would conclusively know he had this at birth.  There are certain characteristics that they would identify right away.  

Now, My son has sensory integration disorder and mild dyspraxia.  He also has weak core muscles.  I'm going to look through my things and on line to see if I can find some resources for you.  My son was diagnosed later and working with an infant is different than the things I did with my son as he was older.

I am guessing one thing to strengthen the core muscles is to put him on his tummy.  He may hate this----  my boy did as a baby.  'tummy time' was torture for him.  But keep trying it and put some fun things he will want to touch out away from him so he reaches out and may lift a bit to get it.  I'll look for ideas for you.  As he gets older, I know many things.

I'll be back soon.  You can pm me any time or I am on the sensory integration forum which you can find from the community list.  

[eri92]

Thank you so much.