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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

DESPERATELY seeking some reassurance...

38 replies

romilly · 25/07/2006 20:19

Please please take a minute to tell how old your baby was before they could roll back from their tummy to their back?
My dd is giving me heart failure because she has just learnt to roll onto her tum at 4 months but she gets stuck and cant roll back - so grinds her face into the mattress and doesnt turn her head to the side at nights. its making me a nervous wreck frankly.

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Original poster

romilly · 25/07/2006 20:48

bump

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SSSandy · 25/07/2006 20:49

sorry I can't remember, just bumping it along for you

Original poster

romilly · 25/07/2006 20:52

thanks SSSandy - appreciate it...

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Hopingforabump · 25/07/2006 20:52

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

PiccadillyCircus · 25/07/2006 21:04

It took DS a couple of weeks to roll the other way (can't actually remember which way he went first ).

DD is 10 months and still no rolling.

Weeross · 25/07/2006 21:10

My Ds did the same thing around 4 months and was sleeping on his tummy all the time although his head was too the side ... he took about 6 weeks from then to learn to roll back. My advice would be to put him on his tummy lots during play time so learns to strengthen his arms and lift his head up when needed HTH x

Original poster

romilly · 25/07/2006 21:17

thanks hopingforabump!

PC - i would prefer that my DD was not rolling just yet tbh.

weeross - i have been doing the tummytime thing but she doesnt yet get the fact that it is much comfier to turn her head to the side as opposed to squishing her face into the floor

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Orinoco · 25/07/2006 21:17

Message withdrawn

ilovecaboose · 25/07/2006 21:22

Mine started rolling over one way at about 5 months and it was ages and ages b4 he ever rolled back over. I think he only did it to one side as well for a while.

bramblina · 25/07/2006 21:33

Heavens romilly, 4 months is early isn't it? I think ds was about 6 months front to back, but he's 2 weeks from his first birthday and has only rolled back to front 3 times! I think it's very different. for every baby. He has only been crawling for 2 weeks, he's quite a lazy/contented one(?!). So I would guess that if your dd can roll back to front this early then she'll probably do the other quite quickly too. Or at least I hope so for your sake! HTH

goshme · 25/07/2006 21:39

My dd2 rolled both ways from 16 weeks! Am now amazed cos dd3 can't do this at 7 months!!

cjmummy · 25/07/2006 21:56

hi, i think my ds started doing this at about 4 months .... and he was crawling by 6 months, so watch out! it seemed to take quite a long time though before he had the strength to roll back and i spent many a night getting up and down turning him over when he got stuck so i know how worried you can get! i agree with weeross about putting her on her tummy lots during the day to try and strengthen up her arms and neck etc (though my ds hated this!). give it a few weeks and she will probably be rolling her way across your living room floor!!

horace · 25/07/2006 22:06

Took both of mine at least three to four weeks before they rolled back. The face grinding and screaming is, IMO very wearing for both of you!I found it best to leave them for a while - thats the only way they can learn to get back - not if the're really upset tho.

Original poster

romilly · 25/07/2006 22:11

thanks orinoco, ilovecaboose, bramblina, goshme and cjmummy - it does seem early to me, but as she's my first i have no idea. i am just wondering how long i can keep up this nightshift rescue-watch! i am more knackered than when she was newborn and that was pretty intensely knackering!

interesting about the crawling thing...i saw her trying to move her back leg up when she was on her tummy the other day

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tigertum · 25/07/2006 22:12

Hi Romilly

My DS did EXACTLY this. It was at this point that his real sleeping problems began because me and DP messed up his ability to sleep long stretches at night by waking him up and rolling him back. Can't remember how long it took but it wasn't that long. His then prefered sleeping position was on his tummy with his bum in the air.

Don't worry, if she has done it of her own accord it's safe and she's strong enough to mover her neck or make a fuss if she gets in a bad position.

She will work out how to get herself back really quick, especially if you give her lots of floor time and a bit of enchouragement with toys, slight leg pushes etc.

If she follows my DS's super-active baby pattern you might find her mobile by 4.5 months, fast crawling by 6.5 months. Get ready to babyproof!

Original poster

romilly · 25/07/2006 22:25

horace - sorry crossed your post - 'wearing' is exactly the right word for it!

tigertum - good to hear i am not the only one constantly rolling her back. i did wonder if this might cause sleep problems later on, just when her sleep was getting so good.

thank you for giving me some reassurance.

so what do you do to teach them to roll back? push their leg up? and where do you put the arm that is in the way!? i know i am such a novice i must sound ridiculous to some of you mums

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tigertum · 25/07/2006 22:39

His sleep was really good at that point. I remember because he started sleeping through the night and I got bloody mastitis!!!

We destroyed these good habits by constantly rolling him back all the time and it made no difference, he kept rolling back again.

I use to give him lots of floor time and every so often (as its v.important to let them work it out for themselves) when he was almost there but getting stuck, I would gently help him. Dont know if it worked allot but if she anything like my DS, that will be her new 'trick' and she'll keep doing it until she's sussed it.

It's exhausting having a super-active baby but very, very rewarding too. We wouldn't have our DS any other way.

nikki48023506 · 25/07/2006 22:43

My ds1 didn't roll either way til he was about 5 months, but dd has already done it (from belly to back) at 10 weeks. She sleeps on her belly though and has lots of tummy time so I guess that's good. Took her for orthopaedic review today as she has clicky hips and surgeon was really impressed how strong she was!!

Original poster

romilly · 25/07/2006 23:04

tiger - thats a lovely positive way of looking at it - i look forward to the rewarding part - even though i will look about 80 yrs old by next week

nikki - i better get working on the strength-training sessions then!

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lazycow · 26/07/2006 08:15

Ds rolled back to front a couple of times at 31/2 months - Then started doing it regularly about a month later. Once he started doing it regularly I remember getting up every night - several times (on top of the 3-4 times he was waking anyway) to turn him from front to back because he was trying to roll back and was crying because he couldn't.

After a week of this I bought something that had rolls on each side to stop him going back to front while in his cot. This worked for about 1 month - he went back to waking the normal 3-4 times instead of 5-6 times.

Then he started waking more again - so in my usual fog of those times I started bringing him into bed again for some of the wake-ups and I noticed that he sometimes woke and wanted to roll onto his front and sleep like that. He was about 5/6 months by this time - he still hadn't learnt to roll onto his back again from his tummy but he could lift his head well so I took the bed rolls in his cot away and he went back to normal sleeping again. I think he rolled tummy to back at 6/7 months old - After that he would roll everywhere across the room and didn't actually craw until 8/9 months. He then didn't walk until 16 months, though just like rolling he took his very first steps at around 13 months but took ages to do it regularly.

Original poster

romilly · 26/07/2006 13:54

thats really interesting lazycow - i have some of those rolls but have been told by several people not to use them because they kick them out anyway and they become an added suffocation risk. what a nightmare! there is no solution as far as i can see - and believe me i have been racking my sleep-deprived brain for an answer!

we had a dreadful night - about 20 wake ups because of her getting her arm stuck under her now when rolling onto her front. even daytime naps are a joke now too - the same fiasco of her rolling, getting stuck, me rescuing her, then she wakes up too much and neither of us are getting anywhere near enough sleep.

wish i knew what to do....

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youknowwhat · 26/07/2006 14:25

I have left both DS1 & DS2 decide how they wanted to sleep as soon as they have been able to roll over. I wouldn't worry too much, if she is unconfortable she will let you know!
Re getting stuck, I have put some rolled towels on both sides of the cot under his bed sheet and that seemed to help.

Original poster

romilly · 26/07/2006 20:05

i would agree youknowwhat - with your theory of letting her decide to sleep how she is most comfortable, but that is not the problem as she seems to hate being on her tummy and cant get back by herself.

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lazycow · 27/07/2006 18:00

Have to admit ds never kicked out the rolls - but they were a sort of changing mat type thing with rolls attached by at each end . It would have been difficult for ds to kick them away as they were attached to each other and he was lying on the mat ITSWIM. If you just use loose rolls than I could see the problem

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Original poster

romilly · 27/07/2006 20:38

thankyou so much for link lazycow - i actually have one of these positioner things from jojo maman bebe, but i have been told not to use it - apparently there is also a risk of overheating with them. i know it is ridiculous, but i am totally paranoid now.

still having very little sleep too. just desperately hoping that she will either stop rolling or learn to roll back.

really appreciate all of your help though

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