tummy time

trudibell

Ok, so my thunking four month old hates tummy time.  He has learned how to roll from tummy to back, so now tummy time either involves us constantly putting him back onto his tummy, or putting him in his Boppy limiting his ability to flip onto his back.  Unfortunately, he tends to fall asleep when we do this.  I'm really concerned about flat spots, so I tend to let him nap like this, only if I am sitting literally right next to him and can hear him breathing.  However, I've read the point of tummy time is for them to exercise their neck muscles so they will hold their heads up and he's obviously not doing that while he's napping.  Any advice?  

And yes I know the SIDS risk but I literally won't leave his side when he's napping on his tummy on his Boppy and make sure his nose/mouth are unobstructed and can hear him breathe.

aibrean

Have you tried doing tummy time on you? We did just about 0 tummy time until she was 4 months and then two weeks ago she learned to roll. She already started to try and sit up at 3 months so she was working her muscles and the pedi said she was strong at her checkup.

What I did was put her on my belly and lay flat so she was more interested in mommy than the actual activity.

love-esther

Put toys in at eye level on the mat with her. I started tummy time as soon as belly button healed and at first he hated it, but I put interesting things front of him and he started loving it. Keep the time short relative to your child's interest is key also. At first, a minute or two. Then five, ten, etc. At two months, my son could turn full circle. At four months, he scooted around in a walking downward dog. At five months, he figured it out and learned to crawl properly.

steelerbaby29

My son hated tummy time too until he had better control over his head. What worked for me was a baby mirror and a toy that had lights and music. He would be so interested in the mirror or the toy he would forget he was on his tummy! If he really likes being on the boppy you could try a rolled up swaddle blanket under his chest that way he is raised off the floor a bit but not on the boppy all the time.

hkitsune315

My son hated tummy time too for the first few months. Even now he can only deal with it for about 5 minute increments. However, he has great neck control because we had him do tummy time on us. We would either be sitting on the couch and slumped back or sitting in our recliner fully reclined. I think it's a good way to gradually get your child used to being on their stomach.

babybranch

My son loves his tummy. He will lay on his back for a bit, but then will fuss until he can be on his tummy. During "tummy time" we usually put open books and toys in a half circle around him to stimulate his vision and it also gives him some fun stuff to look at