Cruising
Also called cruise, cruiser, cruising along furniture
Cruising is when a baby takes steps while holding onto furniture, moving sideways along the couch or coffee table. It usually comes after pulling up to stand and before first steps alone.
How it's said
Mine cruised on the furniture: sofa and coffee tables.
DS2 is an early cruiser (never crawled).
He pulls to stand, cruises and climbs.
Who says it
Where it came from
It borrows cruising, getting about without a set destination, for a baby walking unsteadily while holding onto furniture and walls. Wiktionary lists it as a stage on the way to walking unassisted, often around 10 months.
Researchers use the word too. In a 2011 study, Adolph, Berger and Leo put "cruising" in quotes, defined it as moving sideways while holding onto furniture for support, and called the babies doing it cruisers. Most babies in the study crawled and cruised at the same time for several weeks before they walked.