Tummy Time Advice

Upper West Side · July 2013

DS can't stand tummy time. I can only get him to do it for a couple of minutes before he starts crying hysterically or falls asleep. I lay on the floor with him and try to engage him during the time, but he wants nothing to do with it. Any tips/tricks?

VPGIRL06 · July 2013

how does he do in the carrier? or on your chest? Tummy time on the chest still counts and I'm pretty sure when our LOS push off our chest in carriers that counts as well...

=Lee=B · July 2013

Is he falling asleep while on his belly? If so leave him it's a great way to get him off his head!

Have you tried different times of the day? My daughter always LOVED tummy time in the early 2 months she is no less thrilled about it but I have noticed if I do it first thing in the morning. So, she wakes, diaper change and feed then tummy time she has a lot more patience for it than later in the day.

Have you tried it with a naked baby? My daughter loves to be naked she gets so excited and lies there laughing non-stop flailing and wiggling about. I started to have her do tummy time while naked and she lasted a long time. I have a waterproof soaker mattress pad that I put on floor. When she pees on it I put a thick towel on it and put her on that to buy a little more time. Then wash both for next day.

You can also try different locations...on the bed, on the couch, on floor in different room etc.

If all else fails and he won't calm for tummy time find other ways to get him off his head, my daughter goes in the baby carrier for 1-3hrs each day still, this counts as tummy time as she's off her head. She's now old enough for the jolly jumper and exersaucer too. They won't help build that upper body strength but they help prevent flat head.

Shabutie · July 2013

Try propping him up on a Boppy like in my siggy pic. My baby likes being propped like this(as opposed to laying flat), I guess because she can see around a lot better. She will stay up like this happily for a good while before she starts to get upset and want out(and that's when I get the good pics, haha :P)

randimarie86 · July 2013

My DS hated it for a while, but I found that he liked to be on his changing table mat/pad thing. So I would put that on the floor for a few minutes everyday and he did fine.

mnj05 · July 2013

You've gotten some good tips already, but just stick with it. DS did fine with tummy time until 2-3 months, then hated it. All of a sudden, about two weeks before hitting 4 months old, he preferred it and will stay down longer.

Babies go through phases of liking and not liking certain things, so stick with it. A few minutes every day is better than nothing!

Jcat123 · July 2013

My LO hated it until recently, and sometimes she still isn't in the mood. She was being a bad napper and my dr said she need more tummy time to tire her out. Like yours, she would start crying after a minute or two no matter what I did. I told the dr this and he said crying doesn't hurt her and she should be on her tummy 15 mins at every feeding. It was hard to listen to that crying baby, I tell you! But one day, I put her down and not a sound. She lasted the whole 15 minutes without crying. It will get better! This has really taught me that babies change all the time.

=Lee=B · July 2013

Jcat123:
My LO hated it until recently, and sometimes she still isn't in the mood. She was being a bad napper and my dr said she need more tummy time to tire her out. Like yours, she would start crying after a minute or two no matter what I did. I told the dr this and he said crying doesn't hurt her and she should be on her tummy 15 mins at every feeding. It was hard to listen to that crying baby, I tell you! But one day, I put her down and not a sound. She lasted the whole 15 minutes without crying. It will get better! This has really taught me that babies change all the time.

Wow...glad I don't have your doctor!! My doctor and the nurses have all said once they cry end tummy time and try again later. Seems like very out of date practice to have your patience force their crying baby to do tummy time after every feed. Not to mention following that advice my baby would be doing tummy time 11 times a day, that would be just under 3 hours of tummy time a day!!

Upper West Side · July 2013

Thanks for all of the tips! I really appreciate it. I'm going to put them to use tomorrow. Hopefully one of them works!

poppyc8 · July 2013

agreed about the naked or diaper only tummy time keeping them more interested. i also find that he is more into tummy time right when he wakes up from a nap. he gets so excited! he hates tummy time after he eats or even within 20-30 minutes of eating so now we just do tummy time before feedings.

Jcat123 · July 2013

=Lee=B:
Jcat123:
My LO hated it until recently, and sometimes she still isn't in the mood. She was being a bad napper and my dr said she need more tummy time to tire her out. Like yours, she would start crying after a minute or two no matter what I did. I told the dr this and he said crying doesn't hurt her and she should be on her tummy 15 mins at every feeding. It was hard to listen to that crying baby, I tell you! But one day, I put her down and not a sound. She lasted the whole 15 minutes without crying. It will get better! This has really taught me that babies change all the time.

Wow...glad I don't have your doctor!! My doctor and the nurses have all said once they cry end tummy time and try again later. Seems like very out of date practice to have your patience force their crying baby to do tummy time after every feed. Not to mention following that advice my baby would be doing tummy time 11 times a day, that would be just under 3 hours of tummy time a day!!

we ff her 5 times a day, and don't do it at her last feeding, so it ends up being an hour a day. She could either cry during tummy time or cry whe she was overtired and wouldn't nap. It is the lesser of two evils for us. Plus she gets all that good time off her head. I have also heard people say to pick them up when they cry. Every baby and dr is different and no one has the perfect/right answer.

PipSqueak0313 · July 2013

poppyc8:
agreed about the naked or diaper only tummy time keeping them more interested. nbsp;i also find that he is more into tummy time right when he wakes up from a nap. nbsp;he gets so excited! nbsp;he hates tummy time after he eats or even within 2030 minutes of eating so now we just do tummy time before feedings. nbsp;

I have heard that you shouldnt do tummy time right after feedings as the pressure on the full belly can be uncomfortable for many babies. Makes sense to me since I dont like laying on the floor to play with lo right after I eat a full meal either.

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