Rolling over

[Aprilxxx]

Hi ladies,

So by baby boy is almost 18 weeks. I’ve been doing regular tummy time now for awhile. I know he has plenty of time to master it but he is showing no signs of trying to roll over. He was trying a few weeks back and always got so close but never actually managed it. This past week he has been bringing his knees up to his chest and moving them up and down as if he’s trying to crawl but his arms stay still (unless he is reaching for the toy I’m using as encouragement). He’s a big baby for his age as he is in 6-9 months in a lot of his clothes so I assumed he might take a while to roll but it’s like he’s just stopped trying! What happens if he doesn’t keep trying? Can he skip this milestone or will he just do it randomly one day? Anyone else’s baby gave up? XX

 

[WinterWolf]

My daughter rolled five or six times at 9 weeks and then never again until 7mo. She lost interest I think. She sat up on her own at 5mo, crawled at 8mo and walked at 11mo so definitely had no developmental delays. Just took her a while to get rolling haha. 18wks is still very young to roll, don't worry about it. He will do it when he's ready x

 

[Kitana]

It's all up to the baby! Some hit mental milestones faster than physical ones and vice versa. I've never known an adult not being able to roll over so don't worry too much unless there are lots of missed milestones. They make mothers worry so much sometimes but there is no reason too!x

 

[MoominGirl]

I wouldn't worry at all!! Babies will do things when they're ready.

My boy hated tummy time and had basically no interest in movement at all. Then he rolled at 5.5 months. A full rotation and hasn't stopped moving since! He crawled at 8 months and walked confidently at a year. So lack of tummy time and not rolling earlier definitely didn't hold him back!

 

[TTChloexx]

Hi April! I know our babies were due around the same time so just wanted to say Jackson is the exact same. He has shown no interest in rolling... he does wriggle a lot - I’ve put him on the play mat and found him completely off it when I’ve come back haha, but no rolling so far.
I’m not worried, he will do things in his own time just like yours xxx

 

[Aprilxxx]

Thanks for your advice everyone! I wasn’t worried about him not doing it I was just wondering if he could skip this because he didn’t seem interested in trying! But the day I posted this he actually did roll over completely out of the blue!! (And hasn’t anymore attempts haha)

 

[Aprilxxx]

Hi April! I know our babies were due around the same time so just wanted to say Jackson is the exact same. He has shown no interest in rolling... he does wriggle a lot - I’ve put him on the play mat and found him completely off it when I’ve come back haha, but no rolling so far.
I’m not worried, he will do things in his own time just like yours xxx

So lovely to hear from you Chloe! Glad Jackson is doing well. Xx

 

[TTChloexx]

You too love, hope your little one is doing well, great to hear he’s rolling, Jackson’s still not bothered haha! I think they can skip it, it wouldn’t surprise me if Jackson is crawling before he is rolling because of how much he wriggles!! X

 

[WinterWolf]

I've never heard of a baby to skip rolling - rolling helps them gain the body awareness/strength they need to crawl. Lots of babies roll/crawl in the same week though I think we only had a 2 week gap between rolling and crawling.

 

[TTChloexx]

Yep I know a few mums from my baby group that said their first borns crawled before they rolled - crazy how they do it! Not necessarily skipped but just done in the wrong order. Certainly helped my anxiety to know that when Jackson is nowhere near rolling at gone 5 months anyways