Baby Not Rolling over at 6 Mnths Old (ECI Recommended)

My daughter rolled over ONE time just before her 6 month appointment. Only once though, then she didn't do it again. She hated to be on her tummy and would just lay there and cry and scream. We still made her have tummy time everyday. She wasn't held all the time, but she still didn't want to roll. She finally started rolling more regularly around 9 months, at that time she still wasn't crawling. She crawled at about 10 1/2 months and walked right at one year.

ECI might not be a bad option, but I'd recommend putting him on the floor. We have hardwood floors too. I made a palet out of two quilts. The hardwoods haven't hurt either of my kids. So, put him down there and get down there with him - that's what we did. We'd even set a timer for 5 minutes and did that 4 times a day so she'd get her tummy time.

Good luck!

We had ECI come to our home and evaluate my daughter when she was 5mo old for physical delays. She had torticollis, a condition where the muscles are shorter on one side of the neck and they tilt their head all the time. She is now 3 and perfectly fine! My now 5mo old son has undergone 2 heart surgeries and is developmentally delayed due to the lack of tummy time we were allowed to give him. ECI now comes to work with him weekly. They are absolutely wonderful!! I so enjoy all the tips and help they give me on things I could do besides just tummy time. There are so many "tricks" that I had no idea about that help him enjoy being on his tummy and working those muscles.
ECI will come in and do an overall evaluation of your child regarding all the developmental milestones. If they feel that the developmental delay is enough to receive services then they will tell you that your child qualifies, and for what services. The parents are VERY encouraged to be involved and you will help make a plan as to how often they will come, and they will be teaching you things to do to work with him between visits. As soon as you feel comfortable with his development and they feel the service is no longer needed; it is considered complete and they terminate the services.
One of the things I love is that we have an ECI Coordinator and if I ever have any questions or just want to know of other activities for children in the area she has all the information and is always available for me to call!
I have been very pleased with ECI and knowing that the evaluation is absolutely free, it can't hurt. He probably is perfectly fine and will be rolling in no time; but they may have some tools that you don't and can help him achieve the little milestones faster. Just a thought. Feel free to email me if you want to know more; or get our Coordinators number.

Best of Luck,
M.
____@____.com

I don't know much about the ECI intervention, but I'm sure they help.

My little one was not rolling @ 6 mos either and she got tummy time and hated it! I still put her down on the floor for tummy exercises and even tried to entertain her, but that did not work for her. She also barely crawled, when she did crawl, it was with on one knee and the other leg raised(strange). She did that for short time and at 12 months she walked. She only had 4 teeth at 1.

I discuss my concerns with the pediatrician and she didn't see any delays/concerns. Each child is different and they reach their milestones at different times. My little one is very happy, energetic and right where she should be according to her, not a book!

Hope this helps.

Give her tummy time.

N.,
My daughter is a preemie (born 2 mos early) and she's almost 22 months old. From a developmental standpoint, she has been about 2-4 months late with a lot of things. Not everything, some of the more complex things she's done early, but a lot of the motor-skill things. With rolling over, she was almost 7 months old before she really got the hang of it. She just started consistently walking everywhere about three weeks ago, right when I was about to pull my hair out (just kidding about the hair).

When Dr.'s look at skills that babies ought to be hitting, they ask whether the kiddo can do it, and if not, is the kiddo showing "emerging skills", like signs that they are on their way to doing it. Like would your son sort of twist over sideways to grab a toy, if so, that's an emerging skill. My Dr. has been kind of relaxed about most of our milestones because of the fact that there has always been evidence of "emerging skills" and of course we were factoring in her adjusted age due to prematurity. So we set boundaries, like, yes, baby should roll over around 6 months but if she isn't doing it by 8 months, then we are going to set up ECI. And she always has come in just under the wire with whatever skill we were watching for.

I don't think holding your son really affects his ability to roll over, but I do think it would be good to spend a little time with him over the next few days on the floor. Lie him down on his back and hold attention-grabbing toys up over him to try to get him to reach for them, then slowly bring it down to each side, trying to get him to reach for them and twist over. Don't spend more than 5 or 10 minutes at a time doing this. That is what we did to help our daughter on this one.

As for ECI, I don't have any experiences personally, but everyone I know that's had them have had nothing but great things to say about it.

I do find it sort of strange that your son is on the mark with all his other milestones and the Dr. is worried about this so soon. Every kid is different and some things they do early, some late, some on time. Work with your son, be sure to ask the Dr. plenty of questions including recommendations for excercises or games you can play with him to help him on this, and don't sweat the ECI. If your son's on track, likely that will be a very temporary situation anyway as he will probably pick this up super-quickly with their help if he hasn't figured it out before then.

Good luck, let us know what happened!

Hi N.,

I have a 9mo boy who did not roll over from his belly to tummy until a few weeks ago. I guess since he's my second I wasn't concerned. He was well over 8mo when he decided to figure out how to roll over from tummy to back, in fact he was sitting up on his own before he figured out how to roll. The rolling and crawling came within 2 weeks. I admit, I had a hard time putting him down...he's so lovable but then I realized I needed to give him tummy time so he can learn how to be mobile. Personally, I would give your baby tummy time every day several times throughout the day for a month and then decide if you want to call ECI.

ECI is an optional program which can be very helpful when needed. They come to your house and cost is minimal if there is any involved at all. They don't charge you for an evaluation so having them come out is not a bad idea. All it will due is help answer any questions and hopefully take some of the stress away. They will also show you some exercises you can with your little one to help them.

Not rolling over can be a red flag for motor issues so your pediatrician is right in raising the question.

Having said that I would also add that you are under no obligation to call ECI and have them come to your home. If you feel that your baby is simply held all the time I would try putting down a rug or mat and giving your little guy some tummy time and see what happens.

ECI is optional. When they come to your home they will weigh and measure your baby and ask you questions regarding his development and your concerns. They will feel his muscles for tone and see if they see any red flags. They may or may not recommend monitoring or some motor therapy.

As a side note...don't let your pediatrician get away without answering your questions. Telling you something might be wrong is scary. Make sure you ask your questions and get the answers you need to make an informed decision. Otherwise you are just adding worry and stress to your life.

Good luck!

Do you have a "chubby" baby?? If you do, sometimes it takes them longer to roll and crawl. My daughter never really cared to roll....maybe a few times, but she pretty much went right into crawling...Put him on the floor for some tummy time, and see if he tries! Good luck!