Infant Mobility Milestones: Transitional Movements

Once your baby has mastered stationary positions such as lying on their belly, sitting, and standing, it is important to promote movement in and out of these positions. Initially, children have to be placed in these positions in order to practice and become independent, which is part of typical development. However, the excitement starts when children learn how to move from one skill to the other, which overall increases their mobility. These transitional movements help increase play and help your little one explore their environment. Below we describe each key transitional movement and when babies can typically perform them. 

Rolling Over

Babies should be rolling from their belly to back by four or five months old. Rolling from back to belly is a bit more complicated, so babies generally acquire this skill by five or six months old. Tummy time is an important aspect of developing this skill, and encouraging your baby to rock side to side or reaching for toys while they are playing on the floor can also help promote rolling.

Side-lying to Side-sitting

Between ages six and seven months, babies can typically sit up. This is when they become very active! Encouraging your child to play in a side-lying position and teaching them to transition to sitting from this position is a good way to build their core strength and mobility.

To encourage your baby to practice side-sitting, place a toy to the side of your baby while he is sitting up. Encourage him to reach just out of his base of support to get the toy, and watch how he moves his legs to a side sitting position. Practicing this transition will prepare him to get into a crawling position.

Sitting to Quadruped (Hands and Knees)

By eight to nine months, babies are pushing into quadruped position and are getting ready to crawl. Help your baby get onto her hands and knees from a sitting position so that she has more opportunities to begin crawling.

To help your baby transition from the quadruped position to kneeling, place a toy on a support surface such as a table, chair, couch, etc., and encourage your child to transition from hands and knees to a tall kneeling position at the support surface.

When Do Babies Start Crawling?

Babies typically begin crawling around nine months old. Once your baby is comfortable in quadruped position, you can start encouraging this stance to help promote crawling.

Kneeling to Standing

By nine to ten months, children begin to pull themselves up to stand at a support surface and practice standing and cruising along furniture.

Walking

Once babies can stand upright unassisted, they begin trying to walk. Don't be surprised if your baby seems unsteady or walks very hesitantly at first. She is experiencing balance on her own two feet for the first time! With practice and time, your baby will adjust to walking and begin to love exploring this way.

Remember, these transitions are all part of typical development and most of the time happen naturally. If you feel your child is having trouble with any of these movements or positions, our physical therapists can help promote mobility and strength in order to achieve important gross motor milestones.

Photo by Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash