Rolling from Back to Front First

Orchid86

So, DD has been rolling over like a champ lately...the problem is that once she gets onto her tummy, she has trouble getting back onto her back. I read that typically babies learn to roll from front to back first (from 2-5 mos) and then learn back to front between 5-7 mos... Anyone else's LO roll from back to front first and when did they learn the other way around???

jdouglas84

Mine didn't. She started rolling from belly to back at 9 weeks. She just rolled from back to belly yesterday, and has been doing it consistantly since! Once she rolls to her belly, she won't roll to her back again.

mom2binKC

I'm a pedi PT, and from my experience, babies over recent years have often started rolling back to front first as a result of less time on their tummies and the Back to Sleep campaign.  It used to be that a lot of babies slept on the tummies and spent a lot of time on their tummies, and eventually they would push up, get off balance, and sort of topple over onto their backs by accident for the first time.  After that, they learned to do it again and again.  But nowdays, babies on are their backs so much that they don't get a chance for this to happen.  So they sort of skip that step, learn to roll back to tummy, and then get frustrated that they can't roll back.  Until one day they figure it out.

My son rolled back to tummy first, and I was kind of embarrassed because, being in my profession, I know I should have been putting him on his tummy a LOT more of the time. But he has terrible reflux and barfs everytime he's on his tummy!  He actually just started rolling tummy to back.  It's not really a big deal either way, but that's the explanation I give parents when they ask.  Just make sure LO is getting lots of tummy time, and when she gets "stuck" on her tummy, HELP her roll back, but don't do it all for her.  She may have to work at it a bit in order to learn.  GL!

melknee78

My LO has been rolling back to belly for about 6 weeks now and at the beginning of that time she rolled belly to back for a day or two but not since then.  It is frustrating during the day because she gets mad after about 10 minutes on her belly but she rolls over onto her tummy to sleep at night.

sweetkakes419

DS rolled back to belly on Sunday, and then rolled belly to back yesterday!  So only 1 day difference.

Cornbreadsmom

Mine hasn't rolled either way yet (and who knows what will actually happen), but it seems like he is going to do back to belly first. Whenever he's on his back playing he rolls right to his side and is trying to kick his legs over. He just needs to get his arm out of the way!

Orchid86

mom2binKC:

I'm a pedi PT, and from my experience, babies over recent years have often started rolling back to front first as a result of less time on their tummies and the Back to Sleep campaign.  It used to be that a lot of babies slept on the tummies and spent a lot of time on their tummies, and eventually they would push up, get off balance, and sort of topple over onto their backs by accident for the first time.  After that, they learned to do it again and again.  But nowdays, babies on are their backs so much that they don't get a chance for this to happen.  So they sort of skip that step, learn to roll back to tummy, and then get frustrated that they can't roll back.  Until one day they figure it out.

My son rolled back to tummy first, and I was kind of embarrassed because, being in my profession, I know I should have been putting him on his tummy a LOT more of the time. But he has terrible reflux and barfs everytime he's on his tummy!  He actually just started rolling tummy to back.  It's not really a big deal either way, but that's the explanation I give parents when they ask.  Just make sure LO is getting lots of tummy time, and when she gets "stuck" on her tummy, HELP her roll back, but don't do it all for her.  She may have to work at it a bit in order to learn.  GL!

This makes A LOT of sense...and was something that I was kind of wondering as far as tummy time goes. She gets frustrated when she can't roll back onto her back and even though I try to help her rather than do it for her she just hasn't been able to get it yet. I pretty much let her try to figure it out until she starts fussing. She just hasn't been able to get it - I think she has the idea but doesn't know what to do with her arm. I guess we will just keep working on it. It's frustrating right now because she is CONSTANTLY rolling over, so I constantly have to help her back onto her back.

krystal0707

I talked to my pedi about this more out of curiosity and he responded similar to mom2binKC. (can I say that I love that a PT pedi used the work barf)  ;-)

sasky

DS can roll both ways, but started with back to belly and finds that way much easier.  He still often gets "stuck" on his belly when he rolls that way, especially in his crib (which makes nap time a real pain in the butt!).

Pedi suggested more tummy time to strengthen his arms and get him rolling from belly to back easier.

intelgal

my DS just started rolling from back to tummy too ... I have been increasing his tummy time but it's tricky since he spits up if I put him on his tummy within an hour of feeding

ms_mellor

mom2binKC:

I'm a pedi PT, and from my experience, babies over recent years have often started rolling back to front first as a result of less time on their tummies and the Back to Sleep campaign.  It used to be that a lot of babies slept on the tummies and spent a lot of time on their tummies, and eventually they would push up, get off balance, and sort of topple over onto their backs by accident for the first time.  After that, they learned to do it again and again.  But nowdays, babies on are their backs so much that they don't get a chance for this to happen.  So they sort of skip that step, learn to roll back to tummy, and then get frustrated that they can't roll back.  Until one day they figure it out.

My son rolled back to tummy first, and I was kind of embarrassed because, being in my profession, I know I should have been putting him on his tummy a LOT more of the time. But he has terrible reflux and barfs everytime he's on his tummy!  He actually just started rolling tummy to back.  It's not really a big deal either way, but that's the explanation I give parents when they ask.  Just make sure LO is getting lots of tummy time, and when she gets "stuck" on her tummy, HELP her roll back, but don't do it all for her.  She may have to work at it a bit in order to learn.  GL!

Thanks for this info.  And this totally makes tons of sense!! 

Mrs.Keith2B

Brody just rolled over for the first time on Sunday -- back to belly. He immediately rolled back onto his back. Yesterday he rolled onto his belly within 5 minutes of me putting him into his crib. I tried rolling him back over, but he rolled right back onto his belly and slept that way all night long. Sometimes his arm closest to the floor/matress gets stuck under him when he rolls so it makes it really easy for him to roll back onto his belly.

DrDPM

DS rolled back to belly at 3 mo 3 days and then belly to back 1 week later.