9 Month Old Not Rolling Over

I remember worry about the same thing with both my son and daughter. Neither of them really rolled over until they could crawl. It seems odd, I know, but they hit ever other milestone early or one time and they're three and five years old. (Come to think of it, they were also late jumpers. It took both of them forever to be able to jump of the ground with both feet.)

I am a pediatric physical therapist - and have worked with children from birth to 3 years old for the past 9.5 years. If your little guy isn't rolling over between the months of 4-6 then there is a little bit of a red flag for anyone who has training in developmental stages. I would suggest getting in touch with your Early Intervention State funded program - wherever you reside. You can always look it up online or call information for Early Intervention phone numbers.
Good luck!
A.

Dear A.,

It is difficult to determine what is going on with one developmental milestone amongst the hundreds your little one is progressing through. Rolling from prone (tummy) to supine (back) and the reverse are a part of gross motor skills which develop at varied rates from one child to the next.

With that said, according to the Hawaii Early Learning Profile chart from Vort (you can order them online) the prone to supine roll should come in between 2-5 months and the supine to prone roll should emerge between 5.5-7.8 months. At nine months there does appear to be some delay in this skill. Mind you that it is only this skill we are talking about.

What I would suggest is that you take a look at the chart I recommended, which is used by early interventionists, and see what other milestones have been met, or discuss milestones with your pediatrician in detail. If you are worried about his development you can also get an evaluation from an early intervention clinic (CSUN has one) as doing a little work earl on with baby may catch him right up. He may catch up on his own of course, but I would still do an evaluation to make sure other areas aren't impacted as well.

So don't worry as most likely he will catch up and outshine all expectations, but be proactive and like you have been and keep on top of your precious bundles development!

When our girls were little, I went to a parent ed class once and they suggested putting the toddler or little ones in a large towel......and gently wrap them up with their heads and feet out...on the floor.....and then gently let them feel the sensation of rolling by lifting one side of the towel....and let it unwrap the child. This motion is what they need to feel is 'ok'...and it sure worked for us to get them to learn to roll over soon thereafter. Let me know how it works for you! Good luck~

Hi-I have worked as a counselor in Early Intervention (birth to age 3) for almost 10 years now with two of the local Regional Centers. There may be a slight delay in your child's gross motor skills. Your local Regional Center can do a free developmental evaluation. There is the Regional Center of Orange County if you reside in the Orange county area and there is Harbor Regional Center ###-###-#### which covers areas from Manhattan Beach down to Long Beach and all the way north to Norwalk. I'm not sure where you live, but e-mail me and I may know which Regional Center you reside in. When you call you just say "I would like to refer my 9 month old for a developmental evaluation due to possible delays in gross motor skills". Best of luck. J.

I am not trying to worry you, but as a pediatric occupational therapist, knowing that you can get services if the child is delayed over 30%, I would seek at least an evaluation. I don't know where you are located, but if you are in south Orange County, I work at a local clinic. You can call your local regional center and find out how to get an evaluation. You could wait and see, but if an evaluation will give you some recommendations (if services are not necessary) why not pursue it for now and see what happens. I am just not a proponent of the "wait and see" attitude of many pediatricians. Why not see if you can at least get some suggestions. Is he fearful of movement? Is he resistant to movement or hates head being tilted to rinse his hair or lay back to change his diaper? There may be something happening as to why he cries with laying down. Why not get it checked out by an Occupational Therapist or Physical Therapist. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

there might be a problem. address this with your doctor. he should be rolling over all the time. I know this may sound weird but maybe his ears are bothering him. maybe there is alot of fluid. It may hurt to roll over actuall. get him checked out.

My first boy did the same thing. He never really rolled over as a baby. As a matter of fact, he didn't roll around until he did it while playing around long after he turned 1. He is 4 1/2 now and very normal and active. He is a people person though and has shown so since he was born. I attribute it to that. Why be on the floor rolling around, when he could be up, facing all these beautiful people?? LOL At least that's the way I looked at it. I think your baby probably just isn't interested is all. I worried about it too, but after a while when he was developing normally doing other things, I didn't worry any more. If all else is normal, I wouldn't let it get to you. Good luck with your boys, I have two boys too! They are wonderful!!

Sounds like maybe he just isn't motivated enough at the moment, but I'm sure the motivation will come. My second baby boy was very "un-motivated" in the physical activity department - he just didn't seem interested in moving around much. He finally started to low-crawl on his belly at 9 months, but never even really tried to get to toys that were out of his reach before that. He didn't get up on hands and knees until he was a year. I didn't worry about him, though. He was getting plenty of tummy time (which is great for brain development) and I heard that as long as they have the opportunity, they develop at their own perfectly-prescribed pace. He is now a very active 2 year old little boy who loves running around - you would never know he was a little late with any of the physical milestones.
One game I used to play with him was "rolly-polly." When I was pretty sure he was capable of rolling over, but not showing much interest, I would grab his chunky little thighs while he was laying on his back, and roll him back and forth from tummy to back, singing, "rolly-polly, rolly-polly." He thought it was hilarious. His big brother (15 months older) thought it was, too, and he would often go to try to "play" the game with little brother if I wasn't doing it all ready. I don't really know if that helped, but it sure was cute to get all of those giggles! And he did all of those things in time, just a little slow. But as I said, you would never know it today!

It sounds like he just skipped rolling over and moved on to better things. You could test him by laying him on his tummy and letting him do whatever on his own. If he just crawls for a long period of time and never rolls over to try out anything...you might have a reason for concern. The second child sometimes does less because they are always helped out by parents and the older sibling so that is something to consider. I would say that if he is hitting all the milestones and skipping one it's not an issue unless he is completely unable to go from laying on his tummy to sitting after being left to do it himself for a good period of time (10-15 minutes without assistance). Really, if he gives up and cries and someone gives in and puts him in the seated position; he can’t develop the concept of doing it himself because he knows he doesn’t have to. Best wishes.

He sounds like a normal baby. Don't worry, he'll get around to rolling over soon.

My son only rolled over maybe twice before he started crawling at around 9 1/2 months. Once he was crawling a lot he started rolling over a lot more. He walked by 13 months which was 2 months sooner than my daughter who rolled all the time. So I don't necessarily think it's a developmental problem.

Sounds like my son, don't worry, he'll do it eventually. My son rolled over for about 2 weeks, showed he could, then stopped, had no interest until he started crawling.

Hey A.... my suggestion would be to simply nurture those things that he/she is doing or liking to do and continue to help in the area of rolling over. If you become concerned as time goes on, then consult your pediatrician whom may be able to give you more insight on how to help further along or give you suggestions as to why he is not rolling over.

I pray that it gets better for you... God Bless!

Mrs. Rae Q'!

Go to a chiropractor. My son wouldn't crawl, but seemed ready and otherwise healthy and strong, I was at the chiropractor for myself, the chiropractor noticed my son on all fours and kind of whining, he picked him up, gave him a quick adjustment, very gentle, and when he laid him back down, he immediately took off crawling. Sounds like a religious miracle story :), He was totally ready, he was just a little misaligned and couldn't get a joint moving.
I tell everyone now to get a chiropractor check for all babies. I have 8 children and after birth I take them all in to be realigned after being yanked out by their head :)
The newer chiropractors in particular are trained in pediatrics and are very gentle and use noninvasive techniques.
Your son might have a sore or stiff shoulder or neck that prevents him from making that first movement to turn over.
By the way, I am not against traditional medicine, I also go to regular doctors and get shots etc. This was just quite eye opening for me and when I thought about the yanking that goes on during birth, it makes sense to check out their neck and shoulders after they are born.

My 9 year old was like that. She rolled over once or twice and then never wanted too. Then right about 9 1/2 months she just started crawling. I was worried then, but now she is 9 years old and extremely bright and flexible and coordinated so I worried for nothing. Some kids are just particular I guess. :)

He will do it in his own time. It took my son a while too. I have just learned to be patient. If he is meeting other milestones I would not worry about it. Also, my Dr. said their size has a lot to do with it. My son tends to be on the bigger side.

A.,

My daughter (now 16 months) didn't roll over until after she started crawling! Even then, my mom had to 'teach' her how, she just wasn't interested. I wouldn't worry about it as long as all of his other 'milestones' are close to on schedule.

-M.