DS is 7 months old and ^still^ not rolling. How can I encourage him?

[MadameMoe]

DS is a great little chap and really chilled. Maybe a bit too chilled! He still hasn't rolled over, not even once . I'm not worried about about his development, he seems fine, but I think it's be nice for him if he was a bit more mobile.

He rolls onto his side a lot and mysteriously slowly turns in circles when he's on his mat on the floor. He's getting the hang of sitting unsupported, he can manage a minute or so. He wont lay on his tummy for very long, he can, but he hates it IYSWIM. The (equivalent of) the HV isn't worried about his development BTW.

DD was late-ish rolling, I'm not sure how old she was (maybe 5 or 6 months?) but she was certainly proficient at rolling front to back and back to front at this age...

So, is there anything I can do to encourage him to roll?

Cheeky bump

I think that some children just hate lying on their stomachs. DD did and refused to roll. As long as you and the GP/HV are happy with his development in general I wouldn't worry to much.

Naah, he'll do it when he's ready. He's obviously happy as he is.

DS didn't crawl till nearly 1, at which point he shot off across the floor at high speed, making me wonder if he'd been practicing in secret.

Make the most of these last few days/weeks of immobility. Once he gets the hang of it you will wonder why you wished he would hurry up.. You will spend every moment running after him, removing hazards/valuables /breakables etc.

Thanks all! I suppose we'll just have to wait patiently

I'm really not worried about his development, generally it seems to be absolutely fine. ALthough I don't 'do' baby books so I can't be 100% sure. Maybe I should check out one of those 'milestones' lists somwhere. I suspect that maddness lies that way though...

The only problem with him being immobile is really that he's so big and strong now that he can't really tire himself out enough to sleep properly. The baby bouncer works well but obviously I have to seriously limit his time in it.

3littlefrogs - lol. DD is only 2.2 so we're relatively baby-proof already and, anyway, we have a baby prison

i was worried about my DD1 who never moved. she started walking and crawling at 15 months and rolling over at 16 months . all v odd but now she is very active and agile at 20 months. hard not to worry but they6 really do do it in their own time

Floury - blimey. How did you tire her out?

FWIW, ds2 sat up at 5 months, was crawling at 8 months and now at 10 months STILL CAN'T ROLL, in either direction! So it doesn't mean that he won't be able to do other things until he can roll. It's quite handy actually cos if I need to leave the room for a moment I can lay him on his back and he won't go anywhere! I also know someone whose daughter started crawling (at 6 months) before she could even sit up....

DD is 9 months and doesn't roll or crawl. The only drawback that I can see with this is that the other babies her age from my antenatal group can all move around so come over, take her toys and then move off again and she just sits there gormlessly. She doesn't seem too bothered about not moving though and she still sleeps pretty well at night

I recall ds rolling once (a few times, on one day) fairly early on, then I don't think he ever rolled again. didn't crawl either until after he started walking holding onto things (realised he needed to crawl to get between objects). don't worry. he'll do it in his own time. or not, if he doesn't want to!

Ds didn't roll until he was nearly 2. Seriously. He could walk before he rolled. He liked to sleep on his tummy and would spend a good 15 mins crowbarring himself off the bars on his cot to turn over.

He is now 3 and doesn't seem at all disadvantaged by his earlier inability to roll over.

My 7 months on Monday DS has rolled over from tummy to back exactly 5 times. Never from front to tummy. Now, when you put him on his tummy and say 'roll over DS!' he gives you a look that says 'I've done that already. Must I really do it again?'

He does, however, sit up very well from a half recline in someone's arms. So well, in fact, that he sat up, grabbed a toy that was next to us on the sofa, and lay back down without over balancing or anything.

So don't fret. He'll get there!

DD1 rolled at 8 months - didn't crawl until 10.5 months.

DD2 crawled at 10.5 months also, but didn't roll until 11 months.

FWIW my almost 7 month old isn't rolling either - not worried, it's a pain in the arse when they start DD1 was def rolling by now both ways, but DD2 is twice as heavy and I do wonder if heavier babies find it a bit more difficult?

She's not all that brilliant at sitting up either. They can't do everything at once - she's busy learning to shove food in her mouth herself and screeching and in between both of those things is very happy to lie on her back and watch the world go by...

dd2 didn't really roll at all. I don't think they all do

my ds1 crawled before he rolled

my DS never rolled, he just crawled at around 7 months and then got up and walked at 12 months....

dont worry!

If the HV isn't worried then you shouldn't be.

Why do you have to seriously limit his time in the bouncer? If he's enjoying it, let him bounce.

I wasn't worried that my DS couldn't roll till 7 months but I thought I'd help him out a bit. I popped him on a pillow on his front with his arms over the front of it and gently rolled him to one side off it onto the bed, whilst holding on to him to make sure there was no shock element. He thought it was a brilliant game and loved it. He did it himself after that. Hope that doesn't make me sound completely loopy or a bad parent! As others say, enjoy the immobility while it lasts!!