diff --git a/libs/checkpoint-postgres/langgraph/checkpoint/postgres/__init__.py b/libs/checkpoint-postgres/langgraph/checkpoint/postgres/__init__.py
index c2a8ea985..aa20f5339 100644
--- a/libs/checkpoint-postgres/langgraph/checkpoint/postgres/__init__.py
+++ b/libs/checkpoint-postgres/langgraph/checkpoint/postgres/__init__.py
@@ -448,11 +448,12 @@ class PostgresSaver(BasePostgresSaver):
 
         Two-stage query, both stages cover ALL requested channels:
 
-        * Stage 1 (paged): dynamic SELECT over `checkpoints` with K parallel
-          JSONB key lookups (one column pair per channel) — no subquery, no
-          aggregation. Pages newest-first by `checkpoint_id` with a cursor;
-          page size is `_DELTA_PAGE_SIZE`. Stops paging when every channel
-          has found its seed or the chain is exhausted.
+        * Stage 1 (paged): dynamic SELECT over `checkpoints` with three
+          columns per channel: its version, an `EXISTS` probe for a stored
+          blob at that version, and its inline value. Pages newest-first by
+          `checkpoint_id` with a cursor; page size is `_DELTA_PAGE_SIZE`.
+          Stops paging when every channel has found its seed or a page comes
+          back short.
 
         * Stage 2 (per-channel UNION ALL): one branch per channel reading
           `checkpoint_writes` filtered to that channel's specific
diff --git a/libs/checkpoint-postgres/langgraph/checkpoint/postgres/base.py b/libs/checkpoint-postgres/langgraph/checkpoint/postgres/base.py
index 607c6d58d..00019c5a9 100644
--- a/libs/checkpoint-postgres/langgraph/checkpoint/postgres/base.py
+++ b/libs/checkpoint-postgres/langgraph/checkpoint/postgres/base.py
@@ -431,9 +431,11 @@ class BasePostgresSaver(BaseCheckpointSaver[str]):
           (a) it found a stored value for its channel — a blob or an inline
               primitive (channel becomes seeded),
           (b) it reached a real root (parent_of[cid] is None — fully
-              materialized at this point), or
+              materialized at this point),
           (c) the next ancestor cid isn't in `parent_of` yet (waiting for
-              a later page; the cursor stays put).
+              a later page; the cursor stays put), or
+          (d) the target's own row isn't in `parent_of` yet (the walk has
+              not started; no cursor is set, so a later page retries).
 
         Mutates `chain_by_ch`, `seed_ver_by_ch`, `seed_inline_by_ch`,
         `walk_cursor_by_ch`, and `seeded` in place.