Could this be mild cerebral palsy?
I am concerned about my granddaughter who is just over a year who I look after 2 days a week.
She has reached physical milestones early on the whole, she could sit at 5 monhs, crawl and pull herself up on furniture at 8 months and walk round furniture at 9 months,she started walking using a pushalong toy at 10 months BUT she is showing no signs of walking unaided which I know is normal but one of her feet is definitely different to the other. She has no balance issues, she can stand on her own for a considerable time. The problem with one foot is that she seems unable to voluntarily flex it . If you try and flex her foot you meet a lot of resistance, when walking with her pushalong she is very much on tiptoes with 1 foot, with the other it is a normal walking action. I think she is unable to walk because once she lifts that foot it drops and she is unable to flex it up.
The Health visitor looked at it briefly and said wait 6 months which my daughter seems happy with although she does admit there are differences with her feet.Everything I have read suggests that most foot problems do sort out by 18 months but when 1 side of the body is different to the other it should be investigated further.
She was a breech baby turned at 36 weeks, born by emergency section as heart rate dropping. When born the doctor said the cord had been compressed and squashed. She was also quite skinny (according to hospital) and put on weight very quickly.
Please tell me if you think I am being an over anxious grandmother or whether you think it does need further investigation.
Sorry it's so long -thank you.
Hi my son was born at 32 weeks, he met pretty much all his milestones as a baby, he was very clumsy and dribbled a lot but we just put that down to his personality etc, as he grew he got more and more clumsy and started walking on his tip toes, he finally got diagnosed with cp at the age of 9, so if you're concerned get it checked out, i wish i picked up on things earlier, but him being my first child i had nothing to compare him with so didnt pick up on the little things he should of been able to do. Its better to get it checked if its not then thats great but either way at least you'll know and your grandchild will get the best out of life starting now and not have to wait years for someone else to pick up on it. Good luck xxx
Dear Michie,
When you are playing with your granddaughter, is she using both hands, or just prefer to use one hand?
Hi there,
If you're anxious I'd definitely encourgage your daughter to take her to your GP. I'm sorry to say I haven't had the best experience of midwives or health visitors - they have tended to look for easy answers rather than being alert to potential problems.
It is probably nothing, but it's not worth worrying for the next 6 months.
Good luck,
Nicola