- Norms and first coup attempts 2 months: exploring possibilities
- 3 months: first attempts
- 4 months: back to side
- 5 months: from back to stomach and back
- Exercises to help strengthen muscles
Norms and first coup attempts
Children have certain standards regarding when they should make their first attempts at turning over, and when turning over onto their side has already become a common occurrence.
2 months: exploring possibilities
A very active and curious baby can make the first attempts to roll literally 2 months after birth. After all, this is exactly the period when the baby is trying to study her body, trying to control it, and begins to fully see and hear. Every day while he is awake he learns something new.
We advise you to read how to do it yourself: build a changing table for a baby, sew a sling and bumpers into a crib, and also how to crochet and knit a hat and pinettes.
3 months: first attempts
At the age of three months, the child has the following successes:
- holding the head, shoulders with emphasis on the stomach, arms;
- touching the face, looking at hands;
- turning the head towards the sound source, lying on the tummy.
Attempts to roll over onto the stomach are now possible, which can hardly be considered a full-fledged rollover.
But after this, the baby is unlikely to want to lie quietly and peacefully on his back. Important! From three months onwards, it is not recommended to leave the baby alone, especially on a changing table or on a crib without sides.
4 months: back to side
At -5 months, children begin to roll over more confidently, because when the muscles are strong enough, it seems to them that they can do anything. At 4 months, the child perfectly raises his head, looks at his legs, bending and lifting them closer to his eyes, and then rolling from back to side occurs.
5 months: from back to stomach and back
Another question: at what time does the toddler roll over onto his stomach? Usually, at 5 months, a child can lift himself up in his arms, sway, and push off with his legs, which has a beneficial effect on muscle development. At this time, the desire to turn back and forth appears.
Child development is an exciting and very delightful process. Every day new features appear, skills are acquired, and the baby improves physically. We advise you to find out what happens to the baby at: and 9 months, what he can do and what he learns, how he grows and looks.
Types of baby rollovers
For a baby, there are three types of coups, which he masters gradually:
- on the side;
- from back to stomach;
- from stomach to back.
- The first thing to appear is a side flip. Most often, the baby turns over to reach the object of interest to him. You can help the child turn over by showing a new bright toy at some distance from the side. The child turns over on his side at approximately 3-4 months.
- The next stage is a rollover from back to stomach. The sequence of the revolution can be different: starting from the upper or lower part of the body, then the arms move after the body. Turning onto the stomach occurs between 4 and 6 months.
- Rolling from stomach to back is not of particular value to a child. If a motionless position on the back is familiar to a baby, then after 3 months the position on the back is no longer interesting to the baby. Thus, there must be good reasons for turning from the stomach to the back. If you are concerned that your baby still does not roll over, get him interested or teach him using special exercises.
Factors influencing a baby's motor activity
At what months does a child begin to roll over onto his side and stomach depends on natural reasons:
- nutrition and weight. Chubby babies (usually such babies are bottle-fed) are less mobile;
- temperament. Cholerics and sanguine people strive to quickly learn everything around them, so they turn over before phlegmatic or melancholic people;
- heredity. When expecting early achievements from a child, first find out what you were like at that age;
- help. For example, place visible toys near the baby's crib that encourage him to roll over;
- praise. A baby, like an adult, needs praise. If some of his actions make his parents smile, he will thereby attract attention to himself more often and develop faster.
Important! Having turned over, the baby may get scared, since he has not yet learned to get back on his own. Try not to miss this moment to help the baby return to his back.
Problems that may arise
There are various reasons why babies don’t want/can’t roll over in time:
- injury to a child during pregnancy or childbirth;
- Neurological diseases can greatly affect the activity of the baby. These problems can be solved through exercise and massage. But here you need to act only after a doctor’s prescription;
- problems also occur due to infection, hypoxia or asphyxia. But here, too, only a pediatrician should care for the child.
When to start learning
Each baby develops differently and a delay of one to two months is quite normal.
A newborn baby cries for any reason - this is still his only way of communicating with a new unfamiliar world. From time to time he may suffer from colic, to combat which you can use drugs such as: “Infacol”, “Lactobacterin”, “Bobotik”, “Lactobacterin”, “Mikrolax”, “Creon 10000”, “Linex”, “Sab” Simplex", "Bifidumbacterin", "Plantex", "Baby Calm", dill water and glycerin suppositories.
But there is still a medical chart showing when, on average, the baby begins to roll over:
- 4 months - from back to side;
- 5 months - from back to tummy;
- 6 months - from tummy to back.
Did you know? Even in the mother's womb, in the third month, the baby's fingerprints appear.
It is important that training is timely. The most favorable time to change the position “on the back” is when:
- muscle tone decreases;
- hypertonicity goes away;
- the child already controls his movements;
- it is desirable that he holds the head;
- the baby can pull his legs towards his tummy;
- lying on his tummy, the baby rests on his forearms.
And now - on your back!
Having mastered the tummy roll, the newborn will consolidate this skill for some time. This means that the time for relative peace for parents has passed! You will no longer be able to leave your child alone on a bed without sides or on a changing table, because this mistake can lead to his fall.
Further more. It takes on average from several days to a month when the baby begins to roll over from his stomach to his back. This is an even more difficult skill, but the little champion is ready for it. By the way, it is not at all forbidden to provide your little one with some help. To do this, take your favorite rattle and wait until the baby is on his tummy. Show the toy and, when the baby concentrates on it, slowly begin to lift it above his head. Noticing this, the baby will no longer be able to lie still and will want to roll over. He will begin to make similar movements. When your baby rolls over from his stomach to his back, help him. Repeat this funny exercise several times, and very soon your child’s collection of skills will be replenished with another achievement.
What not to do
Well-known pediatrician Evgeny Komarovsky believes that when trying to help a child develop, for example, teach him to roll over on his side or stomach, parents should not rush. There is no need to hang a baby at 4 months in a jumper, or put an older baby in a walker. Remember that early verticalization in the future threatens the child with serious spinal disorders, including disability.
We advise you to familiarize yourself with the features of choosing and using a fitball for infants, as well as jumpers.
If you still want to help your child, do everything carefully and competently. Do not teach your child to sit or stand if his muscles and spine are not yet ready for this. Everything will happen on its own - that’s how nature intends it.
The baby stopped turning over on his stomach
If the baby used to be able to roll over onto his stomach, but then stopped, it may be a change in muscle tone. The following situation is also possible: the child tried to roll over, it worked, but he felt that it was difficult and decided to “not strain” for now.
We can only guess what your little one feels and thinks, but actions could be like this:
- just wait (the baby is not yet ripe for revolutions);
- Do the exercises above to re-teach your baby to roll over.
How to teach a baby to roll over
Let's look at how to teach a baby to roll over from back to tummy .
- Place the baby on his back and hang or hold a toy over his face. Move it smoothly from side to side at a distance of 20-30 centimeters. When the child becomes interested, move it to the side so that he cannot grab it. If you can’t roll over on your own, gently push him.
- Bend the child's leg, bring it over the other and carefully rotate the pelvis in the same direction. Give your other hand to the baby - by grabbing it, he can roll over.
- The baby is still on his back. Extend your hand so that he grabs it, and place the other one under the child’s feet as a support.
- Baby on his back. Throw one of his legs over the other so that the knee touches the surface on which the child is located. Because he becomes uncomfortable, he will try to roll over.
Now let's decide how to teach a child to roll over from his stomach to his back .
Place your baby on his stomach, pat him on the back, let him feel calm. Place a noticeable toy not far from him, draw attention to it. Move it smoothly from side to side, then place it on the side, at a short distance from the child. When the baby reaches for it, give him a little help by letting him roll over. A little later he will begin to roll over from his stomach to his back on his own.
Roll over on your stomach
Here are some simple techniques to show you how to teach your baby to roll over onto his stomach.
- The child is in a supine position. Show your baby a toy that might interest him, and then start moving it up and down, right and left at a distance of approximately 30-50 cm. Fix the toy so that it is out of reach for the baby and is on one side. If your child has difficulty turning over, give him a gentle push. You can see how this exercise works in the video.
- The second way to teach a child to roll over onto his stomach is as follows. It is necessary to bend the baby's leg so that the hips are also involved in the movement. Turn the baby's pelvis in the same direction. Extend your hand to the baby so that, grabbing it, he turns over. There is no need to pull the child: he must complete the coup himself, as shown in the video.
- In this method, mother’s hands act only as a support, and not as an assistant. Place your baby on his back and let him grab your hand. Place your other hand under his feet. The hands should act as a support so that the baby can roll over onto his stomach, as shown in the video.
- Place the baby in the supine position. Move one of your legs in the other direction so that the child can reach the surface. The baby will have to roll over to get out of this awkward position, as shown in the video.
Although these exercises are designed for rolling onto your stomach, elements of them can be used to teach your baby to roll onto his side. For example, you can show your baby an interesting toy or nudge him with your hand. An interesting option might be to use a diaper. To do this, place the baby on a diaper on his back. Then lift the edges of the diaper and roll your baby lightly on it. These exercises are good for stimulating inversions.
Massage and water treatments
When teaching a child to roll over independently, you can use a massage that strengthens the muscles.
The little one should feel good and warm; if he is sick or in a bad mood, the massage should be rescheduled for another time. Prepare diapers and special oil.
First, remember your feet well from all sides, move on to your calves and thighs. If the child has high tone, stroke and relax the muscles; if the child has low tone, stimulate him with spanks and weak blows with the edge of your palm. Then move on to your arms: remember well your palms, hands, elbows, shoulders. Do everything carefully and painlessly. Talk to your child so that he is not afraid.
After thoroughly massaging your arms and legs, move on to your chest, tummy, back, and neck. It’s good when the massage is performed by a specialist, but if the child is absolutely healthy, the mother can do everything on her own. Alternatively, take your baby to a massage therapist and watch how he massages.
It is also recommended to train the baby’s body and stimulate its muscles using water procedures. It is very good to use a swimming ring. It is put on the neck, secured with a clasp, and the baby is placed in the water. The baby is not disturbed by his mother's hands, he is in free swimming. In addition, the circle frees the mother from possible lower back tears.
Did you know? Babies can “see” light even in their mother’s tummy. They open their eyes in the seventh month and can “follow” light while in the womb.
