When my son was around 7 months, I remember him scooting his way on his belly to be closer to me when we had floor time. A few days later, I got up to get something out of the kitchen. I turned around and saw him go from seated position to hands and knees, then a few short synchronized movements later, he was at my feet. My little sack of potatoes was now mobile! We had a crawler on our hands! Babies meet milestones at different times. As parents, we would like them to certainly meet these milestones, and if possible, sooner rather than later. Crawling is one of the major milestones that parents never forget. You can prepare your child for this step with the tips I’ve gathered below. Remember that most babies will meet these milestones with little to no intervention, but a little encouragement never hurt. Here are 7 tips to help encourage your baby to crawl. 1. Build up muscle Your baby has to strength train as well. Our youngest hated tummy time on the floor, but loved tummy time on a bed (supervised, of course). I would also lie on the floor and have our baby do tummy time on my chest. You can encourage arm strength by place their arms on a pillow while their lower half remains on the floor. 2. The right bait Different babies will need different motivation. You can try different toys. Some babies react to shininess and color, others react to sound. Some babies are motivated by food or a bottle, or perhaps a favorite pacifier. My baby simply preferred me. He liked being held and cuddled so he would always want to be where I was at. 3. Monkey see, monkey do Try having your partner or older siblings crawl to you, maybe even the family pet. Then when they come to you, make a big fuss about it and praise them enough so your baby can see what happens when people crawl to you. 4. Resist the urge to cater Be mindful of you or other family members’ actions when it comes to minding the baby. Most families always want to cater to the baby. So they usually end up bringing toys to your baby or end up carrying them around everywhere (I was guilty of this). When your baby shows progress in crawling, try to make a conscious effort at least once a day to make toys less accessible or perhaps encourage them to follow you to different places as opposed to carrying them. 5. Improve the army crawl or scoot Once your baby has really good head control and they start to army crawl on their own, you can try to improve their movement by reducing the friction. Dress them in footie pajamas and place them on a slick (and clean) surface so it will be easier for them to glide. 6. Try more babyproofing This is anecdotal evidence, but for my kids, it seemed that as soon as I put up a baby gate to discourage them from entering a certain area. That would be the first area they would crawl too. Some kids like a challenge! 7. Minimize time being boxed in There’s lots of baby gear out there. As your baby gets older, you can try to limit their time in carriers, jumpers, bouncers, strollers, play yards, etc to help encourage free movement as long as the surrounding area is safe. Think about it like a fish in a pond. It’s about making the pond bigger so your baby has more room to explore.   These tips worked for us when our son was a baby. With our newborn, we’re going to try them again to see so we have another happy crawler. And once they are on the move, lots of things changed. Our attention with them had to be more proactive, our furniture set-up had to be safer, and our diapers had to accommodate their little moving bodies. We have been Pampers fans ever since we brought the kids home from the hospital. Once they are crawling, that’s when we use Pampers Cruisers which offer the best fit and dryness for babies on the move. Luckily, the time is right to stock up on Pampers Cruisers and other Pampers products at Sam’s Club while saving time and money. Sam’s Club has an offer through October 31 for $8 off the purchase of two Pampers diapers or wipes items AND free shipping or Club Pickup. For busy parents, you can skip the register and make stocking up diapers a cinch with Club Pickup and the Sam’s Scan & Go app. Is your baby crawling yet? What helped your baby crawl?  

This conversation is sponsored by Pampers at Sam’s Club. All opinions are my own. When my son was around 7 months, I remember him scooting his way on his belly to be closer to me when we had floor time. A few days later, I got up to get something out of the kitchen. I […] Read more…