Fedding and Rolling Over

You might want to sart feeding her a breakfast /diner or luch/diner cereal. As to the rolling over do not think that you have to go by the book. Some kids do things at different times.You can practice with her. Gently roll her from side to side putting first one arm up then the other as you go from side to side. This will help her get the patern of what she can do down pat.

Don't worry - it will come. My first son started everything early- he was standing up by 6 months and cruising by 8 but my younger one is taking his time with everything. He didn't roll over until he was 6 months old and he was able to sit up by him self(from his tummy) at 7 months. As long as everything else seems fine and on target, don't worry. Every child is different.

In regards to the feeding your baby when she wakes up, most doctors say that once they are past 12 lbs. they dont have to eat at night anymore. I have twin boys and at about 5 mths i stopped feeding them at night and "trained" them to sleep through the night. I unfortunately had to use the crying method but after 1 week it worked and they realized that nighttime meant sleep time. U wont get much sleep the 1st week cuz u have to let them cry, go to them and keep elongating the period that u go to them. Not everyone agrees with this method but it worked for me, it didnt take long, and it shows the babies how to sleep on their own. In regards to rolling over, dont worry. My kids were late too, but were on time with everything else. (They are 16 months old now- by the way - & i used to worry to) Dont compare your baby with anyone else and with what the books say. I did that and i worried for nothing. One of my boys is 3 weeks ahead of the other one but they are two diff. babies and every baby reaches their goals at diff. times.

Hi Allison, I just joined this site, and I while I was reading your post, I said to myself~ "boy, this brings back memories! LOL!" The reason why I say this, is because my "baby"~ is going to be 18 in 2 months, and I remember all the fear and the worries of when my daughter was that age.I don't know how big your daughter is size wise, but my daughter was 9.6oz, 21 inches when she was born, and even through pre k, and grade school, she was the tallest and most mature child mentally as well. Sorry- didn't mean to go on, just wanted to share a little about my child {the old lady- lol}, but all children are different, and usually at your daughters age, they are growing, teething, imitating mommy or daddy in trying to form sounds of words a bit, but they also get hungrier, and what you can try to do, is take some of the rice cereal, and mix some of it in with her milk, not alot, but just enough so it will make the milk a little heavier, and in this way she will feel fuller, and more content to sleep longer through the night. You might also want to warm it a little~ it will have a more tranquilizing effect, but just make sure that your burp her a little, making sure that she's digested it enough before putting her to sleep. My daughter was the spit up queen, so I used to have to roll up a towel, and put it behind her, and have her sleep on her side, so she doesn't spit up while she slept.
As far as her not rolling over the right way~ don't worry about it, each child find's their own comfort zone, my daughter never crawled forward, and we put her in a walker, and she used to push backward, instead of foward, but she went strait to walking, but because she was a big baby~ and tall, she didn't take her first steps until she was 15 1/2 months. But believe me, your little princess will be just find, I used to say to people- "look- they have to walk at some point, their not going to go to college, crawling on their hands and knees! LOL!
Just wait until she's 17 ma, that's when the fun starts, you'll wish she was back to crawling again- lol! {just trying to make you laugh hun :)}But seriously, all children are different, and have different motor skills. I have a twin brother, and we were born in the late 50's, mother's techniques were a little different then, but hey- we're still here- lol, but like I said, she will be fine. You might want to take a toy that she likes, and show it to her to get her attention, and slowly move it to side that you want her to go, that will also work sometime too. I hope that what I've shared with you will help somewhat, but just remember that God's in control, seek Him for wisdom and guidance, and He will give it to you! God bless you sweety~ D. L.

Most likely she is going through a growth spurt. Try adding a cereal or veggie feeding at dinner time, and then a bottle late.

As for her not rolling over, don't worry about it. Some babies hit their milestones very early, others a little late. As long as she isn't several months beyond the expected time then she's fine. She'll roll over when she's good and ready. What you read in books for baby milestones is just a basic guide line.

My son is almost 5 months and we started the cereal just before he turned 4 months as per my doctor. At the time, my doc said to start with 1 tsp with 1 oz formula during the day. When we recently went back for this shots, he said that now I could add another cereal feeding in the evening. So he has one cereal feeding during his morning feeding and one during his last feeding. You should also up her ounces per feeding. That should definitely help.

As for the rolling over...as long as she is on track with everything, there is nothing to worry about. Keep up with the tummy time and she'll get there.

Good Luck!

Hi Alison,

When I started feeding our six-month-old daughter cereal, she started waking at 11 pm--which she had never done before. It lasted about a week, and then she returned to her normal schedule. It happened again when I started giving her cereal twice a day. And again, she returned to the routine. I think it's a temporary disruption--maybe something about their bodies rejiggering because of the change in diet. hope this helps!

try keeping her up until after last bottle at 9pm, also just know that as soon as you have 1 routine established, something else will change. babies are ever evolving and you just have to go with the flow. routine and structure are important but you also need some flexibility. as for rolling over and other milestones, some babies never do, as long as most things are appropriate, as you say, i wouldnt worry

dear alison,

take everything you read with a grain of salt. there are general milestones and expectations, but no child is the same.

i wouldn't stress about the rolling over as long as she continues to gain new skills. my daughter, who is a perfectly normal 18mo. rolled from tummy to back, but not from back to tummy until she was 10 months old. she could have, but just hated her tummy and therefore had no motivation to get herself in that position. i'm a physical therapist, so trust me, i tried every day.

as far as the waking up, she may be going through a growth spurt. they start to wake up and may be hungry in the middle of the night because they are growing and requiring more calories. the books say they last about 3 days. my experience was like most of my friends' and it would last 7-14 days. the known ones are ~3 weeks, 6 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months, but can occur at any time. and when they go away, they have sort of the same thing happen when they learn new skills. mine would wake up in the middle of the night and just laugh and babble to herself, play music, etc. for an hour in the dark with no one there.

Children do things at different times. Don't panic because your daughter is not rolling over according to the guidelines. You can mention it to your doctor at your next well-baby visit. If it is of concern, the doctor will let you know. If your daughter is otherwise, happy and healthy, hallaluia!

I started my son on cereal at around 4 1/2 months and found that it disrupted his sleeping habits. I actually took him off the cereal for about 2 more months. I don't think his digestive system was ready for it. This may be the case with your daughter. Also, just because she is starting to eat cereal doesn't mean that she is going to want the bottle just as much as before. She is still very young.

As for the rolling over, don't worry about it! My son rolled from belly to back at 2 weeks old and did this a couple of times in the following weeks and then stopped and didn't roll over for months! He actually didn't roll over from back to belly in his crib until he was older than a year and there was nothing wrong with him physically. Just keep doing the tummy time and play with her toys close, but not too close, to entice her to roll over. She will do it when she's ready.

Good luck!

I found when Anna started waking up at night when we first started feedings, that I needed to give her more during the day. Sometimes more in one feeding and sometimes adding on a new feeding. Of course, something else could also be going on, like teething.

Anna did the same with the rolling. She when from her back to her stomach and got stuck as she couldn't roll back. I think it was around 6 months that she started rolling all directions and everwhere! She's working on creeping now at 8 months.

That is great!! You have to remember that everything is new to a baby and you need to go slow with the introduction of new foods so that you can see how she reacts, also remember that she is growing and will go through several growth spirts where you will feel like you are feeding her everytime. Try to give her 1 -2 ounces more in the bottles during the day. Are you giving her the cereal in the morning? WHen she wakes up is she kicking/crying? If so the iron in the cereal may be too much for her to digest and would like a stomach rub.
Keep her on tummy time building on a minute longer every other day, you want to stregthen her neck and back muscles and she will roll over. Remember toput her to sleep on the side on a wedge pillow with her leg crossed over. My child would neder move, anywhere I put him he would just sit there, then when he was 14 months he literally just got up and began walking. lol

My son rolled over for the first time a week before he was 5 months old--back to tummy, and then didn't do it again for a few weeks in either direction. Don't sweat that one, and don't push it--if she's on target for everything else, she'll get there in her own sweet time. The range for "normal" is really big!

I agree that she is probably having a growth spurt. Have you tried giving her the rice cereal just before bedtime? I've heard of people trying that to stretch out the sleeping time. Takes longer to digest and fills them up more.

Welcome to the world of unknowning parenthood!! I have a 10 mos. old son who is STILL not sleeping through the night. Sounds like your little one is doing just fine and if she's hungry, is going to wake and need a little something. My little guy is doing the same. Some nights he wakes only 2x, then others, it's 3. Crazy. This is my second child and the best I can offer you is each child is different and develops the ability to sleep longer stretches on their own at their own pace. Maintaining regularity as much as possible and keeping lighting, noise to a minimum for the middle of the night feedings helps them know it's not play time and it's take care of business and back to bed. It will come....

As far as rolling over, again she'll do it when she's ready. As long as everything else is developing and growing as it should, don't worry. If she wants to go from back to tummy rather than tummy to back, she'll figure it out and probably once she gets it, there will be no stopping her. Lay her on her back and put a favorite attractive toy just out of her reach so she has to try to go for it. That may encourage a little more movement. It'll happen when you least expect it, so keep the camera ready!! Good luck....

Alison,

A lot of babies have rolled from tummy to back by now but bring it up at the 6 month appointment and if the doctor isn't worried, I wouldn't be either. Babies do things on their own time. My first did everything later than I thought he was supposed to and people bugged me about everything. I just did what the doctor and hubby and I felt was right (minus the CIO which I can't do and my children sleep fine now). Each child is different. She'll do it when she's ready. Her schedule will change from time to time too as she goes through growth spurts and whatnot. I wouldn't be too worried about specific schedules if she's just waking up one extra time once in a while. :)

Hugs,
L.

Alison,

As far as the waking up at night, maybe its time to up her ounces. The 4-5 ounces may just not be enough for her anymore. As far as the rolling, I think I have a question up her asking about the same thing! My daughter seemed to take so ling to do things, but was actually right on schedule. The truth is, there is no schedule for when they start doing things... they just do it when they are ready. My daughter started with a half roll, rolling on onto her side, and then finally made it all they way when she was around 6-7 months. Dont rush it! Soon she will be walking and running around and u will miss her being a tiny little baby! Good luck and give us an update!

HI Alison,
I have a 7 month old grandaughter and she too was a little late and hesitant about rolling over. However she finally did at a6 1/2 months. I did find a chart about development and it mentioned that anytime between 4 and 9 months is in a normal range.
As for the feeding and night waking, I would say to add the extra cereal feeding around dinner time and you could mix with a vegetable if you think. As you must know already only intrduce one new food and keep on it for 5 days so as to identify any allergies.
But commonly about 6 months babies do wake in the night again for a couple of reasons. One- they wet more and need changing and 2 they want to play and they want the assurance that you are there.
I am a pediatric nurse and the phone triage book says that you should go in change your baby and put her back down and pat her on the back for assurance but do not play or talk to her except to tell her it's time to go back to sleep. Do not turn on a light in the room but maybe a hall light or nightlight so you can see to change her.She will get used to that non gratification and will eventually sleep all night again.
As for the wet part, you may need to switch to a more absorbant diaper for night time. I just had to do that with my grandaughter. We went from pampers swaddlers to regular more aborbant pampers.
Hope it all goes well.
M.

I would feed her if she eats it...she may be going through a growth spurt!! Good luck!

Hi Mom - Don't panic - she sounds completely normal. Every baby does it at their own time. And not everybaby does everything like the books say - some may not crawl at all and some may not sit until 7 months - all are OK. As long as she is steadily progressing - she's probably just fine.

As far as the midnight feeding goes - give her the cereal in the evening and she will probably sleep thru the night. She's getting to be a big girl and it's hard to stay full on liquids alone.

Good Luck and God Bless.

remember with children moving every child is different, some do it early some take longer, maybe upping tummy time to 2 or 3 times a day or maybe putting her on her side to help start the process