Rolling over is an exciting experience for both mom and baby. But some babies are having difficulty in achieving this developmental milestone.

Why does a baby only roll one way? is a problem for parents Rolling over includes rolling from back to tummy or tummy to back?

Also from left to right and right to left. To do this specific activity babies should improve their coordination and strength to twist the body to achieve the movement.

Rolling over is the first movement type of your baby attempting to change its body position. For some babies, this ability starts within one month of age.

Generally, rolling starts due to a reflex activity. The inborn reflexes are very much helpful for babies to improve these skills a lot.

So rolling over is one of your baby’s first steps towards becoming mobile.

Rolling over is a developmental milestone. It happens with reflex activity in newborns. Babies change their body position with this reflex at the beginning.

1. What is rolling and why it is important

Your baby needs to move its body parts or whole body in different directions. So nature creates a mechanism before they are getting strengthened.

So they get the support of an inborn reflex activity and then with body strengthening with time, babies roll tummy to back and back to tummy first.

After they practice left to right and right to left turning by using their developed skill of rolling.

They gradually reach the time of improvement in their body strength and coordination.

Dear parents, this actual developmental skill starts at the age of three months but can take up to six to seven months.

The rolling can be considered a stepping stone in your baby’s development. It facilitates your baby to step up to its next developmental level.

So starting with rolling and the next stage is sitting.

Even if your baby is rolling in one direction, that is a sign of growing and they are reaching their developmental milestones.

2. Why roll in one direction

Complete rolling skill consists of four directions. But you may realize that your kid will roll in free directions.

Most parents assume their babies are left-handed and they roll to the left or right-handed.

But it is nothing to do with the playful side of your baby.  Sometimes your baby may be at the beginning of their learning skill and it takes time to master the skill properly.

So they show rolling in one direction most of the time. It takes nearly 6-7 months to roll both directions equally.

But with this time your baby may have installed a habit to roll in one direction. So it needs much practice to break out of the habit.

So don’t rush your baby but let them go through each of these milestones at their own pace.

3. Why do you think that your baby’s rolling unusual

Dear parents, As I mentioned above your little one is quickly learning how to master the rolling skill and figure out how to do it correctly.

Do you know the main character of your infant’s life? That is learning new skills quickly. 

Then they practice that skill over and over. This is how this repetitive movement is getting started. They master that eventually.

They finetune their new skills and use them in a different way efficiently.

Dear mom and dad, you may see that your baby tends to move in one direction at this time.

So this preferred direction may vary from baby to baby and I want to mention that IT IS NOT UNUSUAL.

So go ahead and try to help your kid as they are struggling with the new skill.

If you get a baby of 4-6 months with excessive rolling to one side I can assure you that they are enjoying their first experience of changing their position.

IT IS TIME TO CELEBRATE THE NEW SKILL OF YOUR BABY

4. Rolling with regard to the developmental milestones

The rolling happens with regard to the strength of the belly and back muscles of your baby. So some babies roll at 3-4 months of age and some babies roll at 5-6 months of age.

During the developmental periods of their life, most babies are trying to explore the surrounding world. So this rolling can happen in various ways.

When an accidental rolling happens, the baby is getting excited or upset with that movement. But with the early experiences, they gradually start to roll with a learning curve.

Some babies start to roll from their bellies and convert into a roll in their tummy. 

Some categories straightaway start to roll in their tummy as parents always try to increase the tummy time of their babies.

It is better to provide more activities for your baby to strengthen their tummy and back muscles then they can master the skill of rolling.

Also, they figure out how to get off their belly. So try to put your baby on your tummy on a flat surface and provide him/her with activities to do.

5. Accidental rolling and the inborn reflexes of babies

Rolling is the first attempt of your little baby to change its position. At the beginning of their life, babies change their body position by rolling with the help of a reflex activity.

These reflexes are inborn reflexes. Babies passing a few weeks always tend to keep their heads in a straight line, when they are lying on their backs.

But sometimes they change their head position and turn it in another direction.

So they need to turn their head into a straight-line position quickly. To maintain  this simple posture their  body is turned into a direction 

At the time your baby wiggle or kicks on its back, they roll automatically without meaning to.

So I need to mention here that rolling is a simple bodily mechanism without your baby’s intention at a very early age.

With the aging of newborn babies, the accidental rolling is decreased and the baby starts to maintain their body posture themselves.

So their body propositions are under control at a few months of age. So You can see a difference in moving the body parts at this stage.

6. How can you support your baby?

If your baby continues to roll in one direction even after 8-9 months or more, you need to look for possible solutions for that. Osteopathy may be one reason

What is osteopathy

In this condition, there are problems with evaluating the baby’s neck, back, hips, legs, and shoulders.

If there is an anomaly in these areas, those body parts cannot help your baby to roll.

So a clear examination is essential to identify these issues within your baby. If there is a problem your physician will suggest you a set of exercises to help boost these body parts. 

Here an external force is given to relax the tight muscles after they can promote the movement.

That external pressure boosts joint motion as well. Finally baby can roll in all directions.

After this treatment, your baby can move or roll in more than one direction.

Even after the osteopathy treatment, if your baby shows rolling in one direction, you need to consult your pediatrician again.

They might check the additional movement skills such as moments of hips, legs, shoulders, neck, or other areas with urgent medical attention.

7. How do you provide learning opportunities for rolling over for your baby?

For newborns and infants with two months

Increasing the tummy time is the main thing. It will help to strengthen the muscles of the back and other areas.

Also, tummy time encourages your baby to move their legs and arms eventually strengthening the muscles of the head, neck, and upper body.

Some babies are absent with tummy time. So the new rolling may be a strange experience for them.

So you need to distract them with a toy or an object if your child shows this behavior.

Your support is essential for these kids. You can use a rolled-up towel under the baby’s arms until they get used to the feeling.

Three to four months

The baby of three months can lift its head and shoulders off the floor by using its arms.

We can call these mini pushups. These push-up types help to strengthen the muscles then the baby can roll over.

So try to think of various activities to encourage mini pushups with your kid by placing toys out of his reach.

In this way, the baby can strengthen the arms, and later he can see the toy very well. Here try to keep the toy at eye level then the baby can reach the toy soon.

Five to seven months

By this age, the baby can head and push up well. Also, they can arch their back and lift their chest off the ground.

Also, the baby can kick his legs, swim with his arms, and rock on his stomach. These movement types allow your baby to roll in both directions.

8. Conclusion

Rolling in one direction shows that your baby has probably not yet gained adequate muscle strength.

But this needs more attention if the situation may exist for more than 7-8 months.

So your pediatrician can identify another medical reason why they are not rolling.

One-year landmark is ideal to seek medical attention for your baby unable to roll in several directions. These babies may not sit or crawl properly at the age of one year.