Tummy time hurts my heart :(

izzourclue · April 2011

Our pedi recommended 10-15 min of tummy time several times a day at our 2 month appt. DD hates it. If I catch her at the right time of day, she'll tolerate maybe 5 mins before she starts crying. Most of the time she will start crying right away. I don't really have the heart to make her do it when she is so upset so I pick her up. We probably aren't getting enough flat on the ground tummy time. We do some on my chest, the boppy etc...

So my question is, do you let LO cry during tummy time? If so, how long? Is it better to get the tummy time in even when they are so upset by it?

weberm05 · April 2011

As soon as LO starts fussing I turn her over to her back. She usually tolerates about 5-10 min at a time.

I just do what she wants...if she doesn't want to do it then i don't ha ha

lulu3061 · April 2011

I don't think letting her cry will help things in the long run, she'll just get p!ssed every time you lay her on her belly.

Have you tried putting a mirror by her face when she's on her tummy? Or, laying right in front of her and putting her arms back under her whenever she falls?

Sorry, we don't do enough tummy time here either.

KandyKayne · April 2011

My DS hated tummy time until he had really good head control. I never forced it and now he loves being on his tummy. If you are not comfortable with that much time just do it as long as she is happy.

And to answer your question I let him cry for a few seconds he would end up putting his head down so I would pick him up and let him play on his back.

Bailey81 · April 2011

When he would fuss early on, I'd make him stick it out for a few extra minutes. I think it's too important to just throw in the towel. I always got down on the floor with him (misery loves company?) and encouraged him by singing softly or using a mirror. Propping open a book in front of him and reading to him also took his mind off the fact he wasn't happy. Good luck.

shabiriya · April 2011

This is what my DD would do. I would not let her cry. Now she can turn from back to tummy and loves doing it. We are still working on tummy to back. I would say follow your baby's cues.

kcl22 · April 2011

She is still on the younger side to like it since I'm assuming she can't move around much. Another couple weeks and she'll like it more. J hated it and I never let him cry, if he clearly wasn't into it we just tried again later.

Hyfagal · April 2011

She either whimpers face first into the floor or falls asleep. There is no other reaction to tummy time.

izzourclue · April 2011

lulu3061:
I don't think letting her cry will help things in the long run, she'll just get p!ssed every time you lay her on her belly.
Have you tried putting a mirror by her face when she's on her tummy? Or, laying right in front of her and putting her arms back under her whenever she falls?
Sorry, we don't do enough tummy time here either.

This is how I feel. When she's crying, she's not doing anything to exercise her neck/back/arms. She's just laying there crying into the floor. We usually do tummy time in her baby gym so there's a mirror and all sorts of colorful crap to look at. I am also there talking to her and at face level so she can look at me. I also hold her sides a bit and try to put her arms under her. She sometimes tolerates it better when my hands are on her sides sort of holding her. Of course DH is a man and when someone says, "do 15 mins." he thinks we should do it no matter what. He usually defers to my comfort level though and won't just let her cry either even if he thinks we should to get the time in.

kehgirl · April 2011

Vivi doesn't like tummy time very much either. But like yours she will do it for a few minutes at a time. I found the trick to prevent crying was to flip her to back before she got frustrated. Let her get a few minutes of easy play and then roll her back to her tummy. This back and forth idea really helped give her more tummy time without the tears!

Acendaneil · April 2011

When DD was between 2-3 months she wouldn't really fuss...she'd just kick it as long as she had a pacifier. After that, she would really cry, but I would pat her back until I could tell she'd start to calm down, she would normally fall asleep. Now she just rolls over onto her back and refuses to be on her tummy. She would normally cry for maybe 10 minutes at the longest.

littlei3776 · April 2011

I may get flamed for this but we rarely did tummy time with DS. As soon as he learned to roll (about a month ago) I can't keep him off his tummy. Every time we put him on his back he rolls over to his tummy.

CDM419 · April 2011

A little tummy time is better than none! My DD loves it now that she can roll back and forth and 'play' while on her tummy!

SoDoMojo · April 2011

DS really hated tummy time at first too. I didn't do it with him as often as I should've cuz I didn't want to upset him, but DH would always make him do it. He'd let him fuss for like 10 mins before getting him up. But DH would stay done on the floor talking to DS the whole time, so DS never got too upset. Plus we'd do a lot of tummy time on our chests.

Eventually he stopped hating it and now is a tummy time pro. Once they get stronger they probably don't mind it as much.

Strunella · April 2011

I don't let DS cry the entire time, but I also don't pick him up at the first sign of unhappiness. While he's crying, he is moving his head, arms & legs in protest. He does seem to be getting better, but there are good days and bad days. He's also been known to just take a snooze or suck his thumb while admiring himself in the mirror.

jnaden2 · April 2011

I wouldn't worry about it. When they cry go ahead & pick them up. My LO still doesn't like tummy time. In fact he rolls from his back to front & then starts crying because he's on his tummy. lol...He finally just learned how to roll from his front to his back. My doc wasn't concerned about it as long as he has good head control. I always tease that he's never going to crawl because he won't stay on his tummy long enough to learn. Big Smile

Just keep it up, but I wouldn't force it.

SuperThat1006 · April 2011

Don't be legalistic about it ... just do it when you can.

My DD hated it, too. At first, we started trying the Boppy, which she was great with.

Then what ultimately got her to tolerate it was doing tummy time while "practicing" to roll over. It seemed she was okay with it if she thought she did something.

Don't force the issue ... your child isn't going to stunt in development because she's not spending 10-15 minutes several times a day on her stomach.

izzourclue · April 2011

ChrissieW3:
Don't be legalistic about it ... just do it when you can.
My DD hated it, too. At first, we started trying the Boppy, which she was great with.
Then what ultimately got her to tolerate it was doing tummy time while "practicing" to roll over. It seemed she was okay with it if she thought she did something.
Don't force the issue ... your child isn't going to stunt in development because she's not spending 10-15 minutes several times a day on her stomach.

Unfortunately we are both engineers so its hard for us to not be too literal and to follow directions. That's why I post here so I can tell DH that she's normal and other people are having similar issues and its ok.

izzourclue · April 2011

Thanks for the replies Ladies! It helps to know that other babies hate it just as much and she's totally normal. I do think I'll try the flipping back and forth thing though.

SuperThat1006 · April 2011

izzourclue:
ChrissieW3:
Don't be legalistic about it ... just do it when you can.
My DD hated it, too. At first, we started trying the Boppy, which she was great with.
Then what ultimately got her to tolerate it was doing tummy time while "practicing" to roll over. It seemed she was okay with it if she thought she did something.
Don't force the issue ... your child isn't going to stunt in development because she's not spending 10-15 minutes several times a day on her stomach.
Unfortunately we are both engineers so its hard for us to not be too literal and to follow directions. That's why I post here so I can tell DH that she's normal and other people are having similar issues and its ok.

LOL. Well, here's DD at three months FINALLY tolerating being on her tummy after a wonderful suggestion on TB to use the Boppy.

Ananke · April 2011

I haven't read all the replies yet, but wanted to say that I never once let DS cry during tummy time. He got very little straight up tummy time on the floor, and he was "early" with every single physical milestone. I can't imagine letting them cry during tummy time would help anything. Most of DS's tummy time was on my chest since he hated it so bad. He'd still be a little elevated, which helped a little.

kristen0393 · April 2011

DS will only tolerate tummy time on his mat for a couple of minutes but if I put him in his crib and sit next to him he will go for much longer. I don't know if it's because the matteress is more comfy or because he can see me better but whatever works!

TBLilyRose · April 2011

I would let DS fuss/cry for a minute or two if he was still "working" but if he was just crying into the floor, then I'd flip him because he wasn't trying to move. He did tolerate it more if he was propped on the Boppy. Now that he can roll tummy to back he seems to like it because he knows he can get out of it if he wants to!

d&a914 · April 2011

I think of it kind of like us working out. We should be working out like an hour a day at least but working out 10 minutes here and there all day is better than nothing. Just get in a few minutes several times a day, and it will still help LO build strength. They eventually get the hang of it and don't get fussy quite as quick! GL!

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