or 4 months. But despite lots of back time (playmat, back to sleep, strategically placed toys out of reach) she doesn't seem to have much interest in rolling over. She'll make it over to her side and then seemingly give up. (Her lower arm gets in the way?) We've let her be to see if she'll make the turn on her own, and also given her some verbal encouragement. No luck.
Sometimes, she'll rotate around or scoot 180 degrees on her back to get what she could have gotten just by rolling over.
I know "they" say that rolling over isn't a milestone, but I'm a little worried. Have other moms gone through this? I'm trying not to be bothered by the "all her friends are doing it" paranoia... :)
As a side note - she is sitting up unassisted and has been for some time.
Thanks for your insight!
Mom 1
This happened to us with my son who is now 23 months. He was sitting and not rolling and we thought he would be fine, so we did not press the issue. At 12 months, he was not even close to walking, so our pediatrician put us in Early Intervention. I am really glad we did that because the rolling was crucial to him building the core strength he needed to finally walk. I am not sure why he was not rolling, but it was one of the building blocks he was really missing and once he started rolling with her guidance, the rest came quickly. Not sure if that is your situation or not, but we were very grateful for the help.
Mom 2
My son was a chunk and probably rolled over twice by 8 months. Once he got sort of crawling (backwards) he decided that rolling was useful to get into a new position and started to use it. If she is sitting then I would not worry developmentally, rolling is just not her thing.
Mom 3
Well, my daughter was the same way, and she's fine now at 25 months. She sat early but just never got in to rolling over - or crawling, for that matter. She stuck with the butt-scootch. I think that her abnominal muscles remained a little weak until somewhat recently, but she was cruising before 12 months and walking independently a few months later, and now she runs, rolls all around, climbs on everything.. .
Mom 4
My baby will be 9 months tomorrow, is crawling all around, and rolled from back to front for the first time last week (twice, in one day, and not once since then). He rolls front to back maybe once a month. He's my third baby and I remember my first was absolutely determined to roll and figured it out early, but this guy just doesn't care to and I'm not the least bit worried. They are all different, and I think you'd see deficits in other areas if there was any reason to be concerned.
Mom 5
I understand your anxiety but I really don't think you have anything to worry about. Sounds like your daughter is totally normal. My son (12 months) had a similar issue in that he started rolling from front to back around 4 months but never got the hang of rolling from back to front. His arm would get in the way and also he didn't really like bonking his head on the floor which would inevitably happen on the few occasions when he would manage to flip all the way over. He's a year old now and achieved all his milestones right on target or even a little early. I think the main concern is that the baby is mobile at all, not that they achieve some goal by a certain age. In fact, some babies never roll over or crawl at all! The fact that your daughter is sitting up, scooting around and maneuvering herself into the position she wants seems to suggest she's doing really well. Maybe she just likes doing things her way and not "by the book!"
Mom 6
Hi - I have a slightly different take than some of the other respondents to your question. My daughter also did not roll, but sat, played, interacted, and later, walked on time. Someone suggested that I get an evaluation by the Early Intervention people, and it was *terrific*. They explained that while everyone hits milestones at different times, and rolling might not be "her thing", it can be a sign of lower muscle tone and that specific exercises (I know, it sounds crazy for an infant) can help. They showed me how to encourage her by placing toys just so, and play specific games that built core strength. It was free, high quality, in my home on my schedule and was very educational for me in many ways.
hope this helps!
Mom 7
Hey - I am so relieved to read your comments. My baby boy, William Mario, will be a year old next Friday. Only recently he has shown interest in rolling (in the last three weeks). Before that, he was happy sitting and playing with the toys close to him. I changed play mat at least 5 times, then put him to play on the rough rogue which we have in our living room. He would prefer to lye down on the rogue than to try to reach for the toys that were not close to him. I tried all sorts of tummy time toys, from mirrors, including one with sea animals attached to it playing a music each time the boy was touching it to different types of pillows, including an inflatable one with rattle balls, books opened in front of him, a special wooden toy with letters a physical therapist suggested that I use, balls of all colors and textures, wooden blocks, even my cellphone, the remote control and my shoes! - my boy wanted to play with them so badly! -, now we have even started a music class which is supposed to encourage gross motor skills in babies - yet, a week from his first birthday, my boy has not shown interest in crawling. He can stand up but not for long and with help.
William standing up all by himself (for few minutes) in the yard of his new house
I am now thinking that I should just be happy with his recent "rolling exploits" and stop looking for toys, tools, exercises, classes, ideas from other moms. Perhaps all I should do is play with my boy the way he likes playing and enjoy every moment of it. Surely, when he decides it's the right time, he will stand up and I don't expect that he will start walking right after that. He will probably only start making tiny baby steps. And I will no longer worry about what should come next.
William's Mom
