My baby’s developmental milestones - rolling over. What do I need to know about rolling over?

When your baby starts to roll over it can be an exciting time for both you and your baby. But sometimes babies have difficulty reaching milestones such as rolling over. Perhaps you are reading this as your baby is not rolling as expected? 😕

At Osteo for Families we understand you may be concerned if your baby is not rolling as you would have thought. Our Osteopaths see babies with difficulties achieving milestones such as rolling over. 

What is rolling over?

Babies will start to roll from one side to another as they get older. Rolling over includes rolling from back to tummy, or tummy to back; from left to right, and right to left. They are improving in their coordination and strength to be able to twist their body to achieve the movement.

🕑When does it happen?  🕑

Rolling over usually happens between 3-6months.

Why is rolling over important?

All your baby’s milestones have a part to play in your baby’s development. Like stepping stones, mastering one will help set them up to move onto the next. So mastering one milestone (like rolling over) helps them to move onto the next milestone (like sitting). 👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽 

Moving from their back to their tummy requires them to develop the strength and coordination to move the arm over, swing the leg over, twist their spine and use their muscle strength to pull themselves over. You yourself know what it’s like to try to turn over in bed after a long day, sometimes it’s hard. Babies are learning it from scratch so it’s really quite an achievement to manage all those components together! 

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How can Osteopathy help my baby?

If your baby is  struggling with rolling or only rolls in one direction, Osteopathy may be able to assist. 

With a thorough structural assessment of their back, neck, shoulders, hips, arms and legs, we are looking to encourage their ability to access their full range of motion needed to roll over. We also have tips and exercises to take home to help them along.

For example, if you baby’s back and rib cage are tight or stiff and is restricting the twisting movements needed to roll, they may struggle to roll or only roll in one direction. Osteopathic treatment involves a light pressure to relax tight muscles and increase joint movements to promote good range of motion for your baby to use how they want!

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Other important information?

***Do keep in mind, every baby is different!!! One child may be advanced in one type of milestone and less advanced in another (eg. Verbal). If a child is an early achiever in one type, they tend to be early on the rest of them too (ie. tummy time - rolling - sitting - crawling - cruising - walking. Find more information on these milestones on our website soon ).

Other considerations to acknowledge is your baby’s age at birth: for example, being a premature baby may affect the times that they meet these milestones as well. If your child is outside the usual age range guides, that is ok too, we can help be a part of your support team to assist them where we can. 

Other kids skip milestones altogether. As Osteopaths, we would try to see if there are musculoskeletal issues contributing to the skipping of milestones, and try to assist in helping your child integrate the skills.

If you have more serious concerns about your baby’s development, we encourage you to consult with your medical practitioner. 

In the interest of your  baby’s growth and development, we are happy to keep in contact with your healthcare team (GP, Maternal Child Health nurse, etc) in order to allow for good communication and understanding between us.

If you require an osteopathic consultation for your baby, please contact us on 0416 161 411. 

As Osteopaths who treat babies, we do see babies who struggle with milestones. With a thorough structural assessment of their back, neck, shoulders, hips, arms and legs, we are looking to promote their ability to access their full range of motion needed to complete these milestones.   

To book an appointment, please follow this link https://osteo4families.cliniko.com/bookings