tummy time = the devil

LimaD

Does anyone else's baby HATE tummy time? My DD freaks out and starts crying/screaming almost immediately. On the one hand this frustration has helped her to roll over (started rolling over a few weeks ago), but on the other hand her tummy time sessions last barely a couple minutes and she needs to be working on her neck muscles

light52

You may be doing this, but make tummy time as fun as possible.  Save special toys that only come out for tummy time.  Get down on the floor with her and play with her.  It may only be a few minutes to start with but eventually she will learn to love it.  I sat through a very interesting seminar on how important tummy time is for development (way more than just for neck muscles) and the speaker said to make tummy time into party time.  Many times we leave a child on the ground and do nothing and wonder why they dislike it.  Instead, turn it into one of the best times of the day so they will learn to love it. 

Cellis

DS hates tummy time. We have certain toys we only play with during that time and I lay on the floor with him talking to encourage him. He still hates it. He does much better when I lay him on my chest. He likes to try to lift his head and look up at me.

BrittanyDoesDerby

Try putting her in front of a mirror, if you can. Or prop her chest up on a boppy. LO will do about 15 solid minutes of tummy time in front of a mirror with black & white things to look at or propped up on her boppy.

beachbum482

Our LO doesn't like it very much either. We find that if we put him tummy down and arms outstretched in his Boppy he likes that a lot better and will usually be pretty content for 15-20 minutes sometimes. He can still lift his head but can take little breaks by resting it on the cushy Boppy. This also does wonders for getting rid of some of his gas :P 

cmhicklin

I was lax during my 1sts tummy time, and it contributed to a flat spot. And then she had to wear a helmet. Just keep at it! And use a boppy until LO gets a little more comfy with it. 

CarolynTheRed

I found this helpful. Especially the hold to carry baby, and the lap soothe suggestion.

LimaD

thanks everyone! I don't know why it never occurred to me to use the boppy.  Just tried it and she still wasn't a fan but lasted a lot longer than just on her tummy. baby steps

kerbear135

Our LO doesn't seem to mind tummy time, but sometimes she prefers to lay on our tummy to do tummy time instead of on the floor...maybe your LO would like that too?

rjeller32

I don't know how old your LO is, but mine is 7 weeks, and we only do tummy time for maybe 5 minutes max. They really get frustrated fast sometimes, but like PP's said try and find toys to keep her attention and get down to her level, make faces and fluctuate your voice to keep her trying to lift her head. They don't need to do it for a long time, just as long as they are doing it, maybe a few times a day.

mellie86041

Our LO hates tummy time too. No matter what I tried, she would throw a fit almost immediately. I have found that using the tv helps to get her to tolerate it. I prop her up on her boppy on the couch, while I sit on the floor directly in front of her. I have the tv on behind me, and she pushes herself up to try to see it around me. 

Vana&Renn

We do tummy time on this thing https://www.babyzonedirect.com.au/fuzzy-baby-bear-mat-circle-blue.html

my LO loves it, he spends all of his tummy time talking to his bear mat. We can do about 20-30 min tummy time intervials.  

FairyDuster003

Try tummy time on your chest. DD loves that and will hang out and talk to me for a long time. I'll also put her on the bed or couch and get on the floor in front of her and talk to her... She's still not too interested in toys but she loves to talk.

FairyDuster003

CarolynTheRed:

I found this helpful. Especially the hold to carry baby, and the lap soothe suggestion.

FairyDuster003

CarolynTheRed:

I found this helpful. Especially the hold to carry baby, and the lap soothe suggestion.

FairyDuster003

CarolynTheRed:

I found this helpful. Especially the hold to carry baby, and the lap soothe suggestion.

thanks, i like this

ObLaDi

We do almost all of our tummy time on our chests. I'll occasionally flip him over for a bit during diaper free time on his changing table, but he's not a big fan.

PathwaysMom

My LO hated TT too! But I avoided it with her and she ended up late meeting milestones and needed physical therapy to catch up.  So I did it with my 2nd baby in small spurts, working up to longer periods, and she tolerated it better.  Try when your LO is most content, and make sure you get right down there with her.  If you can do TT after every diaper change, she will learn to expect it. Or play with a fave toy or mirror, because it will distract her. For more tips, check out this great resource: https://bit.ly/YDanN1

But keep trying, because it's so important to help reach milestones and avoid those pesky flat spots!