Rolling Over

[tunibell]

Okay, I know all kids develop differently, and I'm really trying not to stress, but...

DD has always hated tummy time (even tummy-to-tummy time). She used to spit up a ton, especially if she was placed on her stomach, so I think this might have something to do with it. Because of the lack of TT, she rolled late at 6.5 months.

She's now almost 8 months old, and while she can roll (although she doesn't do it much), it seems to be difficult for her. It always takes her about 30 seconds to complete the manuever, and it looks like it takes a lot of work, both to think through and to execute. Sometimes she just lies there and waits for someone to come roll her over. :rolleyes:

Does this sound normal??

[Jenyfer9]

While I don't have an answer to your question, I don't think that thisBecause of the lack of TT, she rolled late at 6.5 months. is correct to say. I slacked on the tt, and both my kids rolled pretty early.

I would ask your ped what he/she thinks. They'll let you know if you should be concerned about it.

[glensgirl]

My DS is almost 9 months and just started rolling over consistently maybe 2 weeks ago. I knew he could roll, just chose not to. I asked the dr. at 6 months and the nurse at the mom's group I go to ( maybe a few days before he really started rolling) and neither were concerned. They said he was working on other things.

[NYN]

my DD did not start to roll agressively (to move from one place to the other) until way after 9 months. we knew that she could roll (we had seen her do it once or twice) but she just never chose to do it. she would either just lie there on her back or she would sit and just stay seated with her toys for really long lengths of time. my pediatrician did express concern over this but we never followed through on it. my DD was very late to develop all her gross motor skills but by 13 months she was walking like a normal toddler.

[Sevilla]

How are her gross motor skills in other areas? Is she on track with other stuff and rolling over just isn't her thing, or does she struggle in all areas? If its in all areas it could be a muscle tone issue.

[tunibell]

Sevilla - Good question, I hadn't thought about muscle tone. She's definitely a "solid" feeling baby (not limp or anything) but she can only push up on her arms for a few seconds before collapsing under her own weight. Not sure if this is because she doesn't get enough practice (haaaates her stomach) or if it is something systemic. She can balance on her legs for a good 10 secs or so if I hold her up by her hands.

[Sevilla]

If she's a chunkier baby that can make it harder to get mobile and maneuver b/c she has more body to coordinate and lift - her muscles have to work harder in a sense. Feeling 'solid' doesn't necessarily coorelate with muscle tone though. One thing you could do is lay her tummy-down on an exercise ball and roll it back and forth to strengthen her core muscles for a few minutes a day. You can also do 'blocking' where you help hold her in a crawling position while you read a book or play with a toy, and that helps her learn to support her weight with her arms. If you look at the milestone charts on http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/baby/babydevelopment/6634.html, how does your DD fit with them? I think they're pretty accurate. Being 'behind' in one or two skills isn't a big deal, its more if all/most of the motor skills are behind that you'd want to talk to the ped or look into some exercises to help.

[HollyMN]

I can relate, although I don't really have much wisdom here. Caleb didn't have much tummy time for the same reasons as your baby. He rolled for the first time at 7 months (more like he rolled most of the way and then tipped over), and he didn't move in a series of rolls until after he was one. He didn't really "struggle" with rolling like you describe, he just didn't try to do it.

From what I read at the time, rolling isn't that big of a deal and pediatricians don't look at that anymore. However, Caleb WAS behind and still is in gross motor skills (although he's making huge progress lately, he has a ways to go to catch up). There is nothing "wrong" with him, nothing medical, but he was behind enough for our pediatrician to recommend physical therapy at his 12 month appointment.

If your daughter is like Caleb, make a point to continue to do floor time with her. I wouldn't know what to recommend because we didn't do it because Caleb hated it (and I had bad back problems at the time), so we just found other activities that we both could handle. I wouldn't stress out about it yet, just find some way to do it, you're probably going to have to work harder to figure out what she likes than those with kids who love their tummies.

Eventually, Caleb didn't mind when I was lying on the floor next to him and playing with his toys and ignoring him. If I was lying flat on the floor and wasn't looking at hime, he wouldn't get my attention to fuss at me to pick him up like he otherwise would. If I was playing with his toys, he watched me and eventually slowly moved towards them. I didn't try this until he was 11 months and we were stressing that he was almost a year old and not mobile at all. I was just sort of "patient" with him until then, waiting for him to get mobile on his own time, but he needed more prodding than that.

[mom2amelia]

My oldest DD didn't roll over until after she started crawling. Her ped was pretty sure she was physically capable of rolling over, but for whatever reason she just didn't want to. She hated tummy time and only started to crawl after she'd already learned to sit on her own (but not get herself in a seated position on her own) and she'd lean forward to get a toy and end up on her belly. This was around 9 months. Until then she was NEVER on her belly and had never rolled over. Ever.