Help! Baby Can Only Roll over in One Direction

No worries on this one. She's young. I don't think mine even rolled over until lots later.

As far as sleeping, the docs say that if she's strong enough to roll over, she'll be fine. When a mom on this site asked about tummy sleeping, you should have seen the response. Everyone came out of the woodwork to admit their babies were tummy sleepers. It's more common than you think, although we're shamed into hiding it.

Have fun, I loved that first year.

She hasn't forgotten. It's just easier the other way and to cry for your help. Her frustration will cause her to do it on her own if you don't "save her". Otherwise, you can cross one of her legs over the other, gently, until she's on her hip. Then a litttle further until she flops. Make sure you yea and clap your hands. Whenever you're teaching the smallest of skills. When they make you happy, they're happy. Don't forget to exercise those little legs as if they were your own so she stays strong and she'll tire out and nap for you if you do a few "repeats". Enjoy that tot. Wish I still had a little one.

Sounds very normal. Let her 'tough it out' a little bit and give her a chance to practice going from belly to back again. Note, I'm not saying leave her there crying for hours and hours but don't just rush in at the sound of the first cry and flip her over.

Just keep playing with her and encouraging her to move in both directions. Help her when needed but don't do all the work for her!

I wouldn't worry. My little one couldn't really roll from tummy to back until probably 5 or 6 mos. She only did back to tummy and then got stuck. However, she started cruising at 8 mos., walking at 9 mos., and climbing flights of stairs like there's no tomorrow at 11 mos. They are all different and master different skills at different times. I would just do some more tummy time if you're really worried.

Hi Jennifer:

I just went through this last month when my son was 7 months old. Here is how we so,lved it through trial and error. My ped had told me months ago, when he started rolling that if he rolled to his stomach and fell asleep that was fine. After rolling him back for a few days, I knew that we were just teaching him that if he rolled to his stomach and cried we would come in to rescue him. Without any other alternatives, I had to let him CIO and fall asleep. (Which was hard because I'm not an advocate of CIO.) Nonetheless, it worked after 2 tries and he has now become a great sleeper and within days could roll around the crib again both ways like an expert. He does sleep much of the time on his stomach. Maybe this is what he needed to do all along to become a good sleeper. :-)

Good luck to you and your little one!

A.

this is very normal and will pass in time. Really there is nothing you can do to teach her to flip, but give her time.

Chances are night and nap will be killed cause of this skill. You may want to place her against the side of her crib for a bit and roll a blanket up against the other side of her to keep her from flipping.

When my Son was learning to roll over he sometimes got stuck and then cried so I found a game on line to encourage him. It's called the tootsie roll. I would help roll him over a few times in each direction while speaking in a soothing cheerful voice. Saying things like oh here we go over and over we roll the baby. Yeah! When I noticed on his own he was having more trouble with one side than the other I would spend more time rolling him to that side. This helps with their confidence and reassures them that it will be ok and shows them the way. Then when they are rolling over on their own if you see that they are getting stuck start encouraging them to go for it and if need be give them a little nudge up so that they can roll over and let them complete the roll. All the while just talk them through it your her Mom she needs to hear you to feel safe.
She will get past this in no time and enjoy rolling your little tootsie! My son still loves the tootsie roll and he's 2!

Yes, babies will often unlearn then relearn things! If you're very concerned you could have Early Intervention do an assessment. Occupational Therapy could help if needed.

Our son did the same thing. The doctor said some babies are afraid to flip from belly to back because there's a moment in the flip they are not in control and it scares them. Whatever the reason, he still sometimes gets upset when he's on his tummy and he's 14 monhts. He also skipped the crawling stage, probably because you have to start by being on your belly! But he walked early, since that was his only option for getting around by himself.

Babies tend to "bank' a skill that they have mastered when they are working on a new one. She has not forgotten how to roll, but is just trying to master going the other way. Believe me, soon you will have a child who is mobile and getting into everything. Enjoy every momnet, they grow up very fast!!

My daughter did the same thing at 3 1/2 mo. she figured out how to go back to belly, and would scream to be flipped back over but as soon as I would flip her she would roll again. Then she figured out belly to back, but refuses to do it. I finally figured out why, she isn't upset about being on her belly she's upset she can't crawl yet. She knows how to flip over and now that she's 5 1/2 mo. I watch her almost flip back to her back and then stop herself because she doesn't want to flip. She also started stiffening up when I went to flip her. I've only seen her go belly to back 4 times ever but I know she knows how she just doesn't want to. I wouldn't worry about it.