Tummy time help wanted.

chile_chicken · March 2010

I was at a Parent's Centre course today, and there were a few 9-12 week old babies who had their heads and half of their torsos right up off of the floor. My LO is nowhere near doing this. He absolutely hates tumy time- he will just keep his face on the floor and scream. Should I be worried or is it one of these things that babies just do in their own time? I have no idea what I can do to encourage him to get up and make it more enjoyable for him. Any suggestions would be great.

SimarikSmokin · March 2010

Dont even worry about it. Like you said you should compare Jim to other babies some learn things faster some take their time. As long as your dr isn't concern you shouldn't either! Ps mine hated tummy time but by 3.5 she didn't mind it because that's when she started rolling

OCMom2009 · March 2010

I would try putting him in other situations that encourage the same behavior (lifting the head/body). The two things I do the most are 1) put her on me with her head on my chest because it encourages her to lift her head to see me. She doesn't "love" it but she'll do it. 2) I put my feet on the coffee table with my knees bent and lay her on her tummy on my calves with her head by my knees. She'll lift her head to see me that way, too.

Try anything that will get him to lift his head to see what's going on. I know babies develop at their own rates so I wouldn't get worried or anything, just work on it. We just had our four month appt and the pediatrician put her on her belly and made her lift herself up to see if she could do it.

FWIW, Sam still hates Tummy Time.

maudiemode · March 2010

My LO HATED tummy time. He would cry every time he did it. I started to just do it more often and try to distract him when he was on his tummy (wave a toy in his face, etc..). Eventually he got stronger and did fine. I put him in the bumbo alot too. No worries, but I thought something was wrong. Now he can sit unassisted (most times) and plays on his tummy all the time .

monica93555 · March 2010

My lo's pedi suggested putting him on a table supervised (of course) instead of the floor because when they are down on the floor everything seems so big and intimidating to them. I did this and it definately was helpful. We are now doing tummy time on the floor. However, he still doesn't like it enough to be consistently rolling over.

Gl!

MaybeBabyTime · March 2010

Try putting a mirror under his head so he can see his face. I act like an idiot during tummy time. I get on the floor with him, read him a book, talk to him...anything to squeeze 5-10 minutes out.

maudiemode · March 2010

maudiemode:
My LO HATED tummy time. He would cry every time he did it. I started to just do it more often and try to distract him when he was on his tummy (wave a toy in his face, etc..). Eventually he got stronger and did fine. I put him in the bumbo alot too. No worries, but I thought something was wrong. Now he can sit unassisted (most times) and plays on his tummy all the time .

I meant to say I "thought" something was wrong too but I was just being a worry wart.

MaybeBabyTime · March 2010

monica93555:

My lo's pedi suggested putting him on a table supervised (of course) instead of the floor because when they are down on the floor everything seems so big and intimidating to them. I did this and it definately was helpful. We are now doing tummy time on the floor. However, he still doesn't like it enough to be consistently rolling over.

Gl!

So true! DS does MUCH better doing tummy time on his changing table versus the floor.

chile_chicken · March 2010

Thanks ladies! I guess it is just one of those things I have to keep trying. I will try him on his change table and I also like the mirror idea. I have a hard time getting him to look up because he doesn't want to look to the front, he just puts his head to one side, but I will just continue to try different things.

tak2002 · March 2010

Do you have a Moby wrap, Baby Bjorn or other carrier? I found that Henry LOVED looking around and basically got ample "tummy time" from that! (it helped him build neck muscles while not boring him or putting too much weight & pressure on him.)

Also...tummy time doesn't have to be on their tummy alone. Put your LO on your tummy and play like that...it won't feel so much like work to him!

TashaLee · March 2010

My DD still isn't a tummy time fan, but she's better than she used to be. Before she would only tolerate it for maybe a minute or two at a time, and we tried everything. The only thing that seemed to help was putting her on her tummy after each diaper change (as long as it wasn't right after a feeding). That way she was up higher and she seemed to like that better. We're now doing tummy time on the floor for about 5-10min at a time. She still hasn't rolled belly to back, but she can roll back to belly.

Every baby is different. I was worried about lack of tummy time too but we just kept working at it. That's all you really can do. Some babies never enjoy it, some love it, and others learn to tolerate it.

PathwaysMom · March 2010

Generally by the end of their 3^rd month birthday, a baby will be able to hold their head up and push up on their forearms while on their tummy. In order to achieve these milestones, offering plenty of opportunities for Tummy Time is key. It will strengthen their neck, arms and core muscles and help avoid flat spots. To help you make TT happen, Pathways Awareness has developed some tips on their website: https://bit.ly/8IhuuF. They also have an AAP-endorsed brochure so you can track your LO?s growth and development and make sure he?s on track: https://bit.ly/6NUpfi.

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