How do you keep them from rolling onto their back?

lstaylor73 · April 2009

The boys have mastered rolling onto their backs and are just starting to put real weight on their arms at full extension but only for a moment. My biggest problem is keeping them in that position. I can keep them distracted for a good bit but as soon as they get the idea of what I'm doing they roll right over. I can not get them to willingly roll onto their bellies to save my life. They will lie on their sides and roll back and forth excellently. Just not onto their bellies, probably because of their feeding tubes.

If your LO didn't roll on to their belly how did they learn to get themselves into a sitting position. This is the only reason why I want them to roll on to their belly. If I can get them to see the connection to belly and crawling I'm certain they will be crawling within a month from now.

Any suggestions? (We are working closely with EI but can only get weekly sessions so I spend my days working on this with them.)

TIA!

mcdev · April 2009

Although Keira doesn't have a feeding tube, she does the EXACT same thing. ?She can roll onto her belly just fine, but it is impossible to keep her there. ?I feel like your boys and my Keira are in the exact same place developmentally. ?So many times you post something and it is precisely what I am wondering about myself!! ?

kcswifey · April 2009

I can't keep Logan on his tummy either! He will stay there for a couple of minutes but then whines and rolls over! I am interested to see what people say! When Logan had his evaluation yesterday the PT recommended using an exercise ball to do tummy time on? She also mentioned to have him do it on an incline. I have no tips about getting them to roll onto their tummies. My kiddo did it once and never again! I am looking forward to our weekly PT sessions more and more!

Aidge · April 2009

Sam HATED being on his tummy and then one day- BAM- he loves it now and can tolerate it for 10 minutes+. ?When we were trying to get him to stay on his belly, we would entice him with toys (putting them juuuuust out of his reach and then bringing them closer) so his mind would be on getting the toy and not how much he hated his tummy time. ?Per our OT's direction, we held his hips down (he didn't mind actually) when he was reaching for the toys so that he wouldn't just roll back over to get them. ?We also put him on his belly in his round saucer sled (again, per our OT), as it is harder for him to roll on this. ?It almost forces the baby to stay on their bellies. ?I know this sounds harsh, but as soon as he started whining and fussing, we stopped. ?We didn't want him to equate tummy time with anxiety. ?So we waited on his cues and one day he just loved tummy time! In the meantime, though, enticing with toys (read: "not allowed toys like the remote, cell phone, etc.) helps to distract them. ?We also found that putting him up against a wall so that his feet touched the wall (while on his belly) helped him to tolerate it, as he concentrated more on his feet than being on his belly. ?I'm sure there's more, and I'll write more when I can remember! ;-)

SBMBride406 · April 2009

I know this is probably not helpful, but I really think that babies have an innate drive inside of them and when they truly are ready and willing, it will come. Encouragement helps, of course, but they will definately do it sooner or later. Marino hated his belly and seemed to have no interest in crawling for so long. We had a full 3 months where nothing happened...we'd put him on his belly and he's roll right over...now he is commando crawling everywhere and prefers being on his belly b/c he's more mobile that way. Again, I know I'm not being helpful, but my advice is not to stress too much and it will come.

Are they more willing to be on their bellies on their bellies on the boppy or on the bed (you at eye level)? Those might be more comfy...

ijack · April 2009

EI taught me to roll her toward her side from her back and then help her sit up by bending at the waist (I would hold her arms and then pull her up, eventually she would hold only my arms and pull herself up to sitting), with the idea it would help her learn to sit up. Um, BS. There was NO way she was going to sit up like that. She couldn't get herself into sitting (from the floor) until she figured out crawling, even though she'd already mastered cruising and bending down to pick stuff up.

When they are on their bellies can you kind of *show* them crawling so that they'll understand there is a reason to be there?

TriciaJoy · April 2009

We're having the exact same issue. I was calling him roll-y-poll-y tonight because I roll him onto his tummy, he rolls to his back.

I have been making him work a little harger but putting his arms down at his sides so he has to move his arm out of the way to roll. That keeps him on his tummy for a minute or so, but he's figured that out pretty well now, too.

I have a *LITTLE* more luck putting him on his tummy on my chest then reclining.. then I put my hands around his hips and get him up on his knees.. that lasts maybe 3 minutes if I'm lucky.

It's definitely slow going. I have a hard time believing he'll ever 1) Roll onto his tummy from his back (like Ev & Cam, ,he'll roll all around and onto his side, even leaning forward where he's almost face down, but he won't actually go onto his belly) or 2) crawl.

ijack · April 2009

T&L, if it makes you guys feel any better E was a super late crawler. She was cruising and doing walking related stuff a full 2 months before she started crawling. I really thought she would skip right over it, but she figured it out. I think for her, she learned that she could get between items to pull up on if she crawled

NotJustAnAuntie · April 2009

ijack:
EI taught me to roll her toward her side from her back and then help her sit up by bending at the waist (I would hold her arms and then pull her up, eventually she would hold only my arms and pull herself up to sitting), with the idea it would help her learn to sit up. Um, BS. There was NO way she was going to sit up like that. She couldn't get herself into sitting (from the floor) until she figured out crawling, even though she'd already mastered cruising and bending down to pick stuff up.

When they are on their bellies can you kind of *show* them crawling so that they'll understand there is a reason to be there?

We did it all.. showing him how to crawl, "making" him crawl by moving his knees and hands forward... PT showed us exercises... NOTHING worked. He was always perfectly happy laying on his back. He *could* roll, he just didn't.

Now that he's crawling, he's always on his belly, and recently mastered getting from his belly to sitting (in a TOTALLY different manner than how PT showed us to do it, btw!)

They'll get there... they just haven't seen anything important enough to motivate them! LOL

TriciaJoy · April 2009

I think if anything is ever going to entice him to do anything, it's going to be one of the pets. (We have 3 cats and a dog. Yes, we're nuts.) But I need a therapy animal because mine run away too quickly. I need them to lay JUST out of reach for a while.

Susan_KW · April 2009

Zoe just started to tolerate being on her tummy. She used to hate it, but now she's ok with it. It wasn't anything I did, just something she started to be ok with on her own. Plus, this monday she just figured out how to roll to get from point A to point B

I don't know when she'll be able to get to sitting on her own. We're no where near that yet.

C.P.C. · April 2009

I agree w/ the pp when they are ready they will do it. We put Tarynn on her tummy a few times throughout the day and she would fuss after a minute or so, and when she learned to roll over she would just roll right back on her back. The last month or so she just started loving tummy time. If I put her on her back she rolls straight to her tummy. Now she will stay on tummy time for a good 1/2 hour.

How do you keep them from rolling onto their back?

Re: How do you keep them from rolling onto their back?

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