My 9-Month-Old Is Refusing to Crawl — And Honestly, I Respect the Hustle

 So my 9-month-old has officially entered the “I could crawl, but I’d rather just vibe” phase of life.

We’ve hit all the milestones leading up to it. The sitting. The rolling. The weird full-body planking like she’s training for baby CrossFit. All signs pointed to crawling… and then? She just… opted out.

Like, nah. Hard pass. Love that for her.

Every time I put her on the floor with the encouragement of a motivational speaker (“Come on baby! You can do it! Mommy believes in you!”), she gives me a look like, “Why? The toys come to me. You come to me. Crawling sounds like capitalism and I’m not interested.”

She can crawl — I’ve seen her pivot, wiggle, and scoot with the strategic planning of a tiny general. She just… won’t. Because, apparently, crawling is for peasants.

And yes, I’ve Googled “what if my baby doesn’t crawl” more times than I’d like to admit. I’ve read the articles. I’ve seen the forums. I’ve spiraled at 2 a.m. watching her lying completely still like she’s in a baby spa, while everyone else’s baby is out here doing laps around the house like they are a competitor in the Kentucky Derby. 

But here’s the truth I keep reminding myself of: babies are weird little humans. They do things in their own time. They always figure it out — often just to spite us. So maybe she’s not crawling today. That just means she’ll probably skip crawling entirely and go straight to demanding snacks and car keys.

And when that happens, I’ll wish for these days when she stayed exactly where I left her.

Until then, I’ll be over here cheering on her stationary rebellion and pretending I’m not secretly relieved I don’t have to baby-proof the house just yet.

Stay strong, fellow floor sitters. Your time will come.

Did your baby skip crawling too? Let me know in the comments below. 

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