PSA: Re tummy time.

FutureMrsLemon

I have seen a ton of posts lately about tummy time and wanted to share some information with you that I got from the lactation consultants/nurses at my weekly mom's group at the hospital. After reading this on 0-3 I always thought it was okay to do "tummy time" with DS on our chests. He absolutely hates being flat on the ground.

Well last week they were answering a question re: tummy time and began to address the "on the chest" issue. They said it is absolutely not effective to do tummy time on your chest. They said it MAY be somewhat effective if your husband lays flat on the ground and does it with LO (because he has no "pillows" on his chest to prop LO up with). But that doing this doesnt use the same muscles that doing it on a flat surface would, and that tummy time should be done on a flat surface like the floor with no overly fluffy blankets. You want to make sure you "tripod" their arms (putting them on their elbows almost) and you should do it for thirty minutes a day (even if its broken up). 

Also using a Boppy for tummy time is completely ineffective too. They equated it to doing sit-ups in a recliner. 

Now I am not saying that they are right, or that they know everything. But it made sense to me. And I cant even tell you how many times I have read a post about tummy time and how many people are doing it with LO on their chests (me included). So now I at least make the effort to put him on the floor three times a day for however long he will tolerate it (usually only 3-5 minutes), because I dont want him to be delayed with lifting his head and other milestones. 

I just wanted to share this with all the mama's like me out there who may not have realized what tummy time is actually for and how to do it correctly.

Krystyn2.0

I use the floor because I've noticed that while her neck control is great while on our chests, she's not using her arms.  Tummy time is for both the neck and arms, so now we go to the floor a couple times a day

blissfully_caffeinated

I've been taking LO to a developmental therapist. She said tummy time on your chest or a boppy was fine as long as LO gets his arms under him and raises his head up. She even encouraged me to do it with him on a big exercise ball. I think doing it on the floor requires a little more strength which is both good and bad. It will help develop muscle use for short periods of time but LO will get some endurance training being at an incline. I think a combination is ideal. Ultimately, I'm inclined to believe someone who deals with developmental issues over a lactation consultant.

Starfish113

My pedi said tummy time is fine on your chest until 1 month, then you should move to a mat.

FutureMrsLemon

blissfully_caffeinated:

I've been taking LO to a developmental therapist. She said tummy time on your chest or a boppy was fine as long as LO gets his arms under him and raises his head up. She even encouraged me to do it with him on a big exercise ball. I think doing it on the floor requires a little more strength which is both good and bad. It will help develop muscle use for short periods of time but LO will get some endurance training being at an incline. I think a combination is ideal. Ultimately, I'm inclined to believe someone who deals with developmental issues over a lactation consultant.

Good to know, well try a combo of both then. That takes the pressure off a bit. 

Bride2b2004

blissfully_caffeinated:

I've been taking LO to a developmental therapist. She said tummy time on your chest or a boppy was fine as long as LO gets his arms under him and raises his head up. She even encouraged me to do it with him on a big exercise ball. I think doing it on the floor requires a little more strength which is both good and bad. It will help develop muscle use for short periods of time but LO will get some endurance training being at an incline. I think a combination is ideal. Ultimately, I'm inclined to believe someone who deals with developmental issues over a lactation consultant.

I second this, Rome wasn't built in a day.  Also, 30 min is a LONG time for LO and I would work up to that as baby gets older and only do as much daily as LO will tolerate. 

auslyn804

Yeah I think the wording of "completely ineffective" is a little extreme.  Maybe it's not as effective but it still does something. It's a good start for getting lo used to tummy time if they can't quite handle it flat on the ground yet.   

rchelone

At our 2 week appointment, our pedi said while it's good to have her on our chest to prevent flat spots, the only time to really count toward her "tummy time" is flat on her belly on the floor/mat. He says to leave her as long as she'll tolerate it, and even if she isn't too happy with it, it's important to get AT LEAST 30 min daily, but he'd prefer an hour now.

She's gotten much better about it and can even roll over now. At our 2 month appointment, I mentioned how she's not a big fan of tummy time, he said try a mat with something to entertain her - which totally didn't work. She does much better if I lay on the floor next to her and make eye contact with her.

l_elizabeth

blissfully_caffeinated:

I've been taking LO to a developmental therapist. She said tummy time on your chest or a boppy was fine as long as LO gets his arms under him and raises his head up. She even encouraged me to do it with him on a big exercise ball. I think doing it on the floor requires a little more strength which is both good and bad. It will help develop muscle use for short periods of time but LO will get some endurance training being at an incline. I think a combination is ideal. Ultimately, I'm inclined to believe someone who deals with developmental issues over a lactation consultant.

I totally agree!! 

smittysoup

Oh FFS - have any of you ever seen a 3 year old who is unable to walk because they didn't get enough tummy time?  I sure haven't.