So far Bella has mastered rolling from her tummy to her back, but can’t make it from her back to her tummy. As my dad pointed out, she doesn’t have much motivation to do so since she being on her tummy means less visibility and less range of motion.
But she’s getting better at holding herself up. I’ve noticed her up on her hands, not just balanced on her forearms. And she’s begun to be able to reach for toys and bring them to her mouth while lying on her tummy. Which means that she’s often content to be on her tummy for much longer periods of time.
But then she gets frustrated because she often ends up pushing the toy out of reach. So she rolls over to her back. But then when she’s on her back she also pushes the toys out of reach. They often end up just over her head, right where her arms can’t quite get them. And then she gets frustrated because she knows they’re there.
So in the past I’ve been coming to her aid and moving the toys to where she could reach them. But today I had a brainstorm: what if instead of moving the toys, I move her. More specifically, what if I show her that by rolling onto her tummy she would be able to grab the toys once more.
I’ve done that a couple of times now and I think she’s getting the idea. Just now she was 3/4 of the way onto her tummy, only the arm underneath her preventing her from completing the reverse roll. I think she’s now got the motivation. She now just needs to master the technique.
If I just keep demonstrating how it’s done, like I demonstrated how to roll from tummy to back, she should be able to figure it out.
Hooray for my smart Bella, the problem solver.
Update:
No sooner did I hit post, but I looked down and she’d done it. She was on her tummy where a moment before she’d been on her back.
I began to applaud her and she flipped right onto her back again. But then I went to go tell Dom and when I returned she was on her tummy once again. Now there’s going to be no stopping her.
And I just realized how much baby-proofing we’re going to have to do now that we have a roller. She’s not going to be confined to a quilt on the floor anymore. She was already beginning to scoot herself off. . . .
And now she squeals and squeals, delighted with herself. So happy!
