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D.C. Area Babies
How can we make tummy time more fun?
J hates, hates, hates tummy time. So we hate doing it because it makes him miserable and cranky. So he doesn't get a lot of on the floor tummy time. He actually has pretty good head control from being held upright after eating due to reflux, though.
But I want him to have the opportunity to start rolling over and to get the tummy time sensations. What can I do to make it more tolerable for him?
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Re: How can we make tummy time more fun?
Ditto! I also did the trick with laying the girls on my chest on their bellies and that seemed to work better than time on the floor/play mat. It just seemed like one day, they both started liking being on their tummies and both are belly sleepers (though I still put them down in the crib on their backs).
But I'm also writing to say not to worry too much. M spent very little time on his tummy as a younger baby, because he also loathed it. But when he figured out how to move around on his belly (scooting, crawling), he LOVED it all of a sudden. Now he spends more time on his stomach than not. I know it's hard not to worry, but it will all work out.
I have no helpful tips because both of my kids hated tummy time. HATED. It became so unproductive to even try, because they (especially DD) would start crying the second we put her on her stomach and just lie there and wail. The only way she'd tolerate it at all once she was a few months old was if we propped her chest on the Boppy and draped her arms over it. So...with DS, once we learned he didn't like it, we didn't pursue it. The were hitting most of their other milestones and already had really good head control. DD was a late crawler (and never rolled) but was walking before her first birthday. DS was on target with rolling, crawling, and walked a few weeks after he turned one.
I know that doesn't do anything to make tummy time more pleasant for any of you, but maybe it'll ease your minds a bit. I'm all about trying, frequently, in short bursts, hoping that one of those times it'll "take"...but not pushing it if Baby just isn't getting anything out of it. I'm sure pediatricians would say otherwise, of course...
We also just endured it. He got tummy time on my chest, or he'd tolerate a few minutes of me laying on my back and balancing him on my lower legs while I sang and made funny faces.
have you tried laying down next to him so he can see your face, either side by side or facing him?
I am so glad other people have the same problem! He's actually got pretty good head control - our guests at Easter dinner were very impressed with how he was holding it up and looking around (I haven't really been around newborns that much so I didn't think it was a big deal).
We will generally try a couple of times a day and scoop him up when he gets frustrated. He doesn't start wailing for 2 or 3 minutes but just kind of flails helplessly and says "eh, eh, eh" into the mat. He seems better with it if we prop his chest on a rolled up blanket. We try to do naked time every day to dry out his little butt, and he loves that, so we may flip him over the next time we strip him down, lol.
I'm always amazed when people say their kids can only sleep on their tummies when they're that little - since J can't stand being on his tummy ever.
H hates it too. I usually wait until she's in her best mood, plop her down, and then pick her up a minute or two into it when she starts screaming. I do find that using the boppy helps prolong tummy time... maybe because if she drops her head while propped on the boppy her face doesn't get smushed into the floor/mat/blanket like usual.
She doesn't get nearly as much time as she probably should but the time she does get (or time on my chest) seems to be working fine b/c she can hold her head up like a champ.