5 1/2 Month Old Still Hasn't Rolled Over

My son was the exact same way. He finally rolled over at 6 months, didn't crawl until 10 months, and didn't walk until he was 14 months old. He was just fat and lazy! LOL Don't worry though, my son is now almost 9 and is definitely not lazy or slow anymore!

Don't let the Doctors and their charts or "normal" time frames scare you! My daughter didn't do anything until she was almost a year old. She didn't roll over until she was 10 months...and that's b/c we did it for her. She would scream as though she was in pain. The Dr. found nothing. We were all concerned that something was wrong b/c she didn't roll over, she didn't want to sit up alone, make noise, anything. We'd put her in her walker and she'd just smile at you. Needless to say, around one year, she started to sit up by herself and at 13 months, just stood up and started walking and saying words. It was almost creepy! LOL But now, she's a healthy 8 year old, that doesn't stop running OR talking! So, don't worry - You're the Mother...and we know our kids better than anyone else! Good Luck!

Hi R.,
Do not worry about it. While most infants do, EVERY baby is different. My first rolled over early,however my second did not roll over until she was 7 months and she is 8 months today. The Doctor said that she will do it in her own time, which she did. She is a little chunkier than my first daughter and the doctor said that it would take her more effort because she had to learn to shift her weight. So don't worry. There is nothing wrong with your baby. I PROMISE. He will do it when he is ready.
T.

Please dont worry. My stbxh exwife has a son that is 3 days younger than my daughter. He was rolling over (back to front, grabbing his toes and smilling about a month before my daughter. Now my daughter is doing all of that plus talking, sitting up, and crawling and he is not showing any signs of sitting up or crawling and they are both 6 months. All babies develope at a different pace. Even twins. What other milestones is your child doing? Just work with your little one. Put toys to his sides and have him reach for them. Im sure he will be fine. He might just be a very relaxed child and in no hurry!

As long as he is getting plenty of tummy time, I wouldn't worry yet. You can't force him to roll over. Your job is just to make sure he has the opportunity to try. He will do it when he is ready. My son was pretty much "behind" on all the gross motor skills. He didn't walk until he was 16 months. He's almost 19 months now and thriving. I worried (still do) just like you. You're a mom, so you will always worry.

R.: I concur with these other moms that your son sounds completely normal. I do have some tips:
1) As another mom suggested, look into ECI (Early Childhood Development). They can come evaluate your child and offer developmental therapy if they deem him qualified. When I had foster twins, one of our twins qualified because she was behind for babies her age. (but again ECI may feel he is on target)
2) One thing they showed us to help the little twin learn to roll from back to side was to put her on her back, lean her to let's say her right side and "help her" by pulling her left knee toward her right in the direction of a roll onto her tummy. It helped her with her tummy/side strength. And it gave her a little push plus the idea she could do it. And she learned how! She just needed practice on those muscles. Also, we would sit her on our lap and lean her a little side to side to help her develop her core tummy/side muscles. That seemed to help too.
3) And for rolling tummy to back, we would help her prop up on her arms (straight) since she had trouble getting up on her arms. Once she mastered getting up on her arms, she rolled over by accident and learned from there.

Good luck, your little one can do it!

One of mine didn't roll over til 5 months and the other not til 5 months. The range of "normal" is quite broad. Check out the ECI (early childhood intervention) website for a better ide of "normal" range. But don't stress about it. They'll do it when they're ready! The good thing is, he WILL do EVERYTHING. :-)

My second baby was late on sitting, rolling, crawling...but she started running at 11 months and hasn't stopped! I too was worried because my first did everything way ahead of schedule. My advice is just try to be patient, play with your baby as much as you can, and they'll do it in thier own time!

Kids are on their own schedule. Rolling over is a combination of the baby's new found neck and trunk strength and coordination and a bit of luck. Things you should look for now--does your baby have good head control? When you pick him up does his head lag behind or need support? When he is sitting on your lap can he "sit up" as long as you are supporting his hips and legs? Is he reaching for things in any supported position? Can he lift his head and potentially shoulders off the ground when laying on his stomach? If he is having problems in any of these pre-rolling skills then I would ask your doctor for an assessment by a Physical Therapist. The other thing you might consider is his weight--if he is a big boy then he has a whole lot more to move and it just may take additional time. If you want to work on rolling with your baby, start with a lot of tummy time. This is where his back and neck muscles will get a work out. One of my boys went from learning to sit (and this sitting skill came a month or two later then his older brothers) to walking in 2 months time (which was earlier then brothers) so don't worry!

Yes my daughter was the same way, she took forever to rollover, both ways. She finally rolled over back to front when she started crawling. Her doc was not concerned so that gave me a little relief. I would just wait it out and try and encourage it as much as possible.
I would put a toy above her head and try to get her to rollover that way but she would move herself to get it and not rollover...when she started crawling I would lay her on her back on the floor and walk away sometimes I would roll her over to show her how, but other times I just let her figure it out...and she did.
Good luck!
A.

If I worried every time my Dr. told me when my baby should do something I would of gone crazy!!! Watch your baby and see how she/he is doing. My little guy was FOREVER rolling from his stomach to his back (at least 6-7mths). And he was about 5 five months old before he would go from back to stomach. I know it's really hard to no worry, but try not to. He/she will get it when they are ready. Just remember to always try lying them on their backs/stomachs and help them roll, they'll get it!!!
Good luc

Hi R.,
More than likely it is nothing to worry about. My daughter took her sweet time hitting all of her milestones. She didn't sit up on her own until 7 months, didn't crawl until a week before her first birthday, and now she is a week away from 17 months and is still not walking. I know she rolled over late too but I can't rememeber the timing of it off hand. Our pedi said it was nothing to worry about, all kids develop at their own pace. He said there is nothing physically wrong with our daughter she is just not motivated to do those things. Try not to stress and compare your baby to others it will just drive you nuts. With rolling over our pedi did show us how to help her roll over because she was very late. I think if I remember correctly we held her hands while she laid on her stomach and took her through the rotation gently turning her hands, arms and head as needed. Not sure if that really helped or not but she did eventually roll over. Probably would have done it anyways around the same time.

Hang in there, I am sure he is fine. I worried and stressed over my son doing things "on time" and he always did them, just when he got ready. All babies are different, and the great thing about them is they have their own timetable and personality. If you want to encourage him, lay down beside him and place a toy just out of reach. Even if it doesn't help him roll over, it will give you some fun together.

Please don't worry. I agree with the others. All babies move at their own pace. Work with him a little. Have fun and enjoy your precious little angel!

4 Ideas (from experience)
1. Stop worrying - it won't make him roll any faster. :)
2. Call ECI, ask for an evaluation. That will help with step 1
3. LOTS of tummy time, get on your tummy facing him and roll... let him watch you (tummy to back comes faster than back to tummy)
4. Put something just out of his reach, so he needs to travel to get to it - rolling is still my baby's favorite method of traveling, and he's running. Move it gradually as he gets more adept at either scooching or rolling.

S.

as long as they are getting enough floor time i wouldnt worry too much, they all do it in their own time! :) my son isn't always 'on time' with his stuff either... but he is advanced in other ways... and the dr said he's fine.

I second the other mama's advice on this one. All babies do different things at different times.

Are there any other developmental milestones that your baby HAS made on time? If so, then I wouldn't worry about this one too much quite yet. Also, if your baby was born early, that slows things down some too. Work that tummy time with toys. Try to find ways to make it a game for baby. Before you know it, baby will figure out how to roll over to get out of tummy time and will be moving onto other developments.

My baby was born two months early and she didn't really get the hang of the rolling over stuff until 8 months or so. Another thing...we are talking about a couple of months of behindness, not years of behindness, so really there is no reason to panic unless doctor is concerned. And believe me, your doctor has seen the gamut, he/she will know if you should start to look into intervention, etc.

Overnight my baby started doing everything we were late on. Rolling over, crawling, babbling, teeth, etc.

Hope this helps ease your mind a bit.