When Does a Baby Roll Over?

Posted on November 14, 2007 in Health & Safety, Parenting by little mochi

I’m not an expert on infant development or anything, but aren’t they supposed to be able to roll over by now? Little Mochi is four months old, and he hasn’t even learned to roll over yet. My cousin’s baby started to roll over last month and he’s only 2 weeks older than Little Mochi. Strange. I’ve been told it’s because he is so chubby that all the baby fat gets in the way of him rolling over.

In a way, it’s great because I don’t have to worry about him rolling over in the middle of the night and hurting himself or rolling off the bed when I turn my head for one second. But is he developing ok? The pediatrician didn’t seem to make much of deal about it. But if you’re a first time parent, you know exactly what I mean. I’m paranoid and overprotective. I am constantly worrying about his development.

If he hasn’t learned to roll over yet, then when will he begin to learn? He doesn’t even try to roll over. I would assist him by pushing him to the side, but he simply turns right back on to his back! Should I be worried? Or is it really just the baby fat? And if it is the baby fat, does that mean all his other milestones will be shifted to the right?



Comments

16 comments to “When Does a Baby Roll Over?”

  1. kimberly McC on December 7th, 2007 7:52 pm

    Hey =). Just read your post. I too am a first time mom and my baby girl is 4 months and 4 days old. She hasn’t mastered rolling yet either. She sleeps on her tummy and sometimes she’ll flip herself to her back on accident…but that’s only happened a few times. Babies all develop different..they’ll be slower in some things and faster in others. I wouldn’t worry about it =). It’ll come. In the mean time, enjoy the freedom you still have in him NOT rolling over =). It will end before you know it!! Hope this helps!
    kimberly

  2. cathy on December 8th, 2007 9:38 am

    I’m actually hoping that he doesn’t roll over. I know I’ll have to keep two eyes on him instead of one when he starts to roll over.

    I honestly believe he’s not going to roll over. I think he’s going to skip that milestone and jump right into sitting. All he wants to do when I lie him down is use his abs to push himself up. He’s successful in pushing himself up half way!

    By the way, your girl is cute too. I love her big eyes. Something that is rare in an Asian baby! :-)

  3. kimberly McC on December 8th, 2007 10:36 am

    Thanks =).

    ya, it’s really nice having that little bit of freedom still, knowing that if you leave the room for a minute, your baby’s not going anywhere =)!

  4. cathy on December 10th, 2007 10:13 am

    Hi Kimberly

    I noticed in your post that your baby sleeps on her tummy.
    Please check witjyour pediatrition. It is now reccomended that all babies sleep on there back to reduce the risk of sids.

  5. crystal on February 6th, 2008 7:58 pm

    hey Kimberly

    i wouldnt worry too much about your baby sleeping on its back becuase my three month old has always slept on his back. I had many health nurses and doctors tell me that it was alright as long as you keep nothing in his crib/cradle…ex.. teddy bears and extra blankets.
    anyway my little one has not masterd rolling over either but when he wakes up he pushes his bum in the air and tries with all his might but his arm gets int he way!!

  6. Jen Mom of 5 on April 19th, 2008 8:06 am

    My 5th is 11 weeks old & sleeps on his belly. I would have never done this with my 1st! In fact in 1996 (when he was born) it was recommended that babies sleep on their side. My 2nd was born 6 wks early weighing 5 lbs & the hospital put him on his belly in the NICU. I was shocked & frantically demanded to know why he was on his belly. He was born in 2001 & SIDS info was everywhere “Back to Sleep” was the big slogan. The nurses reassured me that he was on monitors & was fine. They put him on his belly because “he would sleep better & maintain his body temp better thus burning less calories & would gain weight easier. Since this time I have continued to put my babies on their bellies to sleep. None of my boys have had flat heads or any other complications. I also think belly sleeping helps with upper body strength. My pediatrician was surprised last visit that my then 2 month old was able to lift his head so well & push up with his arms. I wasn’t surprised because everyday at every nap he practices this when he wakes up. Besides as soon as they can roll most babies end up on their belly. If you are a believer you know that the day you were to be born & die has already been determined. So if my baby is going to die an untimely death it will happpen if he is sleeping on his back or his belly. God has already determined how long I will enjoy the precious gifts of my 5 boys I can’t change that I’m not God. With that being said I pray that my children will live long happy lives and I will enjoy the gift of their children as well. So belly or back? Do what suit the needs of your family.

  7. cathy on April 19th, 2008 7:34 pm

    I am curious, if you believe that God has a predetermined plan, do you but your babies in car seats? Do you get them vaccinated?

  8. little mochi on April 19th, 2008 11:48 pm

    Well, it’s official. Little Mochi will not be rolling over. He’s now 9 months and hates being on his belly. I try to put him on his belly at least once a day so he can get used to seeing the world from that angle. But he is soooo lazy! He hates it. He’ll either cry really hard or just put his head down.

    He loves standing up. He loves it when I hold him up and walk with him. He’s probably going to skip the crawling stage too.

  9. little mochi on April 22nd, 2008 4:40 pm

    I have always put my baby to sleep on his side since the day he was born. I would switch between his right and left sides. And sometimes I’ll put him on his back, but never on his stomach. I”m glad that I did because he his is round and looks great - no flat head syndrome. I don’t know if I would want to risk my baby suffocating himself.

  10. nur on July 16th, 2008 9:21 pm

    hi, i stumbled here after googling up “why my baby isn’t rolling over”..

    my son is 6.5 months old now and still refuses to roll over. his cousins, one of which is 5.5mths and the other is 5 mths old, have started CRAWLING.

    Needless to say I am incredibly worried.

    Hopefully my baby will turn over soon.. =)

  11. little mochi on July 17th, 2008 10:20 am

    I don’t think you need to worry. Little Mochi is now 1 year old and never really learned to roll over on his own until approximately 10 or 11 months. Even then, he doesn’t do it very well. He now tries to sit up when I lie him down.

    The question of “When will my baby roll over?” or “Why doesn’t my baby roll over” seems to be such a common question for first time parents. I think the baby needs to be comfortable with being on his belly. I think that was a reason why our baby never rolled over. We barely gave him any tummy time.

    Perhaps you can give him some tummy time?

    If your baby doesn’t roll over, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. As a matter of fact, our baby never even learned to crawl! And he’s already taking steps on his own…

    Good luck!

  12. Jessica Hawkins on August 1st, 2008 10:57 am

    Hello,

    I must say I’ve been reading about little Mochi, and I am a little concerned. He seems a little slower on the physical develpment and I def. think this because of lack of tummy time…

    Is he walking at all yet? Can he sit up on his own? I’m curious to know. I have a 4 month old, well 4 months in a week. He has always been sleeping on his belly, but he was very strong at birth. He has always been able to move his head so that I don’t worry about him sleeping on his belly.

    I have been able to stand up with him, and walk with him since he was a month and a half, kind of strangge. He also strated rolling over at about 3 months and a week and now does it very well. He sits up by himself in his little bumbo seat.

    If you do not allow your child to sleep on their belly, I would recommend LOTS of tummy time during the day. I recently read an article that said since so many mothers have stopped placing their babies on their belly to sleep, physical development in infants has slowed drastically!

    Something to think about.

  13. little mochi on August 3rd, 2008 1:12 am

    Hi Jessica…thanks for your thoughtful comment. Little Mochi is now 13 months old and up and walking. He’s almost running now! There are babies out there who completely skip the rolling over phase and even the crawling phase. He knows how to get up on his own and also knows how to fall.

    It’s absolutely amazing how fast they can develop in to little people.

    I did use the bumbo seat to help with his sitting when he was 4 months old. I think those are great.

    I just think that Little Mochi was just too fat or something to roll over by himself. I do agree that extra tummy time would help and that a lot of parents do not give their babies enough tummy time. I was guilty of that. But in the end, everything turned out ok. He’s walking fine, starting to run, and very happy to have found his independence. =)

  14. Georgie on August 12th, 2008 2:39 am

    My daughter is just 4 months old… She rolled from her tummy to her back twice the day she was 3 months old… since then.. NOTHING!!! I put her on her tummy all the time cos i want her to roll again.. But she HATES TUMMY TIME!!! she just screams..

  15. little mochi on August 12th, 2008 11:08 am

    have you tried giving her her favorite toy while she’s on her tummy? How about having her tummy on your tummy?

  16. Anna on August 15th, 2008 3:23 am

    My son always sleeps on his back and this has not been problem learning to roll over. He has been rolling over from front to back since about two months (although not always on purpose - he pushed his head and chest up so high that the weight of his head topples him over).

    He has also now just started rolling from back to his front at just shy of 4 months. He has tried to crawl from a very young age but only recently started being interested in toys and reaching out for things, so I think the ability to roll onto his front came with the desire to want to grasp hold of his toys coupled with his desire to crawl.

    I would put the toys to one side of your baby where they can see them, they will then try to twist their body to reach the toy and eventually with enough practice they will be strong enough roll over and do so.

    I’m sure they will get there in the end it is just one of many things to worry about. My big worry now is getting him to take the bottle. He has been solely breastfed so rejects the bottle, the mere sight of it brings out howls of protest.

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