Tummy time

LaxMOM44 · July 2013

How much tummy time are you doing? We haven't done any, just her on my chest every so often and now I'm worried because she really sucks at it and generally just lies there. I can never find time for her to do it. Tips? Attached is a photo of her tummy time fail.

MrsNukem · July 2013

When mine were really young (1-2 months) sometimes they would fall asleep during tummy time. Now at 3 months if they just woke up from a nap and not fussing I will put them down on the mat for tummy time. Usually about 10 minutes or until they fuss. Then I change their diaper and feed them. Repeat throughout the day unless they are fussing.

I also practice holding them up standing and having them put weight on their legs and feet. They should be able to learn to lock their knees for a short bit. Also during tummy time I will push my hands against the bottom of their feet and they would push against my hand and propel themselves forward a bit. Teach them to coordinate moving their arms up with their legs to move forward.

HZ2012 · July 2013

I do the same as PP, but not as often on the mat. The pic is adorable though!

MrsM1111 · July 2013

We do it 4 or 5x a day for as long as she's happy doing it. Roll up a small towel and put it under her chest to help her - Abbie always stays down for tummy time like that. We put a mirror in front of her to encourage her to raise her head to look at the baby in the mirror. Sometimes I'll put her across my legs while I'm sitting so she gets the same muscles working as she tries to look around... Make sure she's wide awake because she might just be too tired for it...

coffeeandbooks · July 2013

LO is about two months now....it can last any where from 5 to 15 minutes....though typically closer to 5. I try to do it a few times a day.

Oohgurl · July 2013

We have done some everytime he is awake since birth. He hated it until this week. Someone suggested getting a Sassy floor mirror (i think that is what it is called) and we kept at it and kept at it. He finally is showing some real progress. So we hit it hard for about 5 days and he is doing really well and doesnt seem to mind it as much.

coffeeandbooks · July 2013

ohgrl, your baby is just so cute!!

LaxMOM44 · July 2013

mslaurats said:
ohgrl, your baby is just so cute!!

Thanks!!!

kryshy123 · July 2013

My pedi told me at her 2 month appointment to do tummy time ever awake period for a few minutes at a time. She was 9 weeks at the time and she wanted to see her hold her head up and push up with her arms for a period of time. Can your lo hold her head up while doing tummy time at all?

jayro10 · July 2013

OP, I am literally laughing out loud at your photo! And your description of "she sucks at it." Hahaha- oh man.
To answer your question though, we do tummy time most days but we miss some days. DH is a lot better at remembering to do it than I am, and I'm home with her all day. She lasts anywhere from 2 to 10 minutes. She tends to favor looking to the left when she's on her tummy, so we try to get her to look the other way which is hit or miss. She's getting pretty good at picking and holding her head up.

jedimindtrick · July 2013

We do it every awake period. Usually 10-15 min each. But we really have to focus on it because LO has torticollis. Try propping her up on the boppy pillow. The PT told us to do it this way because kids with torticollis typically hate tummy time. He has gotten so much stronger in the last couple weeks I've been doing it a lot.

Kashy · July 2013

MrsNukem said:
When mine were really young (1-2 months) sometimes they would fall asleep during tummy time. Now at 3 months if they just woke up from a nap and not fussing I will put them down on the mat for tummy time. Usually about 10 minutes or until they fuss. Then I change their diaper and feed them. Repeat throughout the day unless they are fussing.

I also practice holding them up standing and having them put weight on their legs and feet. They should be able to learn to lock their knees for a short bit. Also during tummy time I will push my hands against the bottom of their feet and they would push against my hand and propel themselves forward a bit. Teach them to coordinate moving their arms up with their legs to move forward.

This is what we do. We are doing it more now and have noticed a big difference. DS seems so much stronger.

ILoveSnacks · July 2013

I put LO on her tummy more often in the mornings, because she's happier that time of day so she lasts longer before getting mad. She'll last long enough where I can change my clothes and get ready to walk her and the dog. I've read recommendations get on the floor with her to encourage her but she ignores me so I just check in on her regularly to tell her she's doing great (also ignored) or to adjust her arms.

You might try putting her forearms more under her shoulders, facing forward, like an adult doing a plank. The pediatrician showed us that and LO can hold her head up higher that way so she gets less PO'd. Of course her arms sneak back out to the sides and she face plants, but I'll move them back in after she starts grumbling.

mommatotwo2 · July 2013

LOL, yep that's pretty much what DD's tummy time looks like! I try to do a few minutes every day, but she hates it!I do it a little more often with her lying on me, she'll hang out that way a little longer.

drhibbard · July 2013

How much tummy time are you doing? We haven't done any, just her on my chest every so often and now I'm worried because she really sucks at it and generally just lies there. I can never find time for her to do it. Tips? Attached is a photo of her tummy time fail.

That's our tummy time too. DD even has the same hair swirl in the back. That could be my kid. Lol. I have a lot of intentions but the time gets away from me. So tummy time is 5 to 10 minutes only once a day on a blanket or her play mat. She'll lift her head for a few seconds in the beginning. She fusses shortly thereafter.

PumpkinAndThePeanut · July 2013

Your pic is so funny! We barely had time for any either, plus they hated it and one of my daughters was particularly bad at it. We did a lot on our chests though. All of a sudden, right at 3 months, they both got it and are really good at it. It wasn't due to lots of practice, that's for sure.

PumpkinAndThePeanut · July 2013

MrsNukem said:

I also practice holding them up standing and having them put weight on their legs and feet. They should be able to learn to lock their knees for a short bit. Also during tummy time I will push my hands against the bottom of their feet and they would push against my hand and propel themselves forward a bit. Teach them to coordinate moving their arms up with their legs to move forward.

I do all of this too. I probably wouldn't have thought to but my mom did it when she was visiting and they liked it, so I have kept doing it.

TundraGirl · July 2013

W has torticollis and is doing physical therapy, so he's now doing 3-4 sessions a day for at least 5 minutes a day. He is propped up on a small peanut- When we went out of town for a few days, I wasn't as picky about it; when we got back, he struggled with it. Now we're back into the swing of things and he's slowly getting stronger.

TundraGirl · July 2013

* peanut-shaped pillow

wjv · July 2013

That picture is hilarious! Haha! We really only do tummy time once a day for anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes

that's it. It just all depends. he doesn't really like it, so I don't do it. I need to get better at that! I am the worst!

KLJ3 · July 2013

I'm awful at remembering to do tummy time. We do it for maybe five minutes twice or three times a week. Luckily, DS can lift his head pretty well at 12 weeks. He would, however, prefer to concentrate on shoving himself across the floor with his face planted. He's gonna rip his nose off.

ALP514 · July 2013

My LO hated tummy time in her begging stages as well. Since she was very young after I changed her diaper I would turn her on her belly on the changing table which is also the dresser ( standing right next to her at all times) while I picked out her outfit for the day. That helped her get used to the position. After doing that for a while she started liking tummy time alot more. She is two and half months now and is loving tummy time, especially when we put the tummy time mirror in front of her. I find that she participates more after her mid morning feeding and afternoon feeding so typically 9/10 or 3/4. She can last anywhere from 2 min - 10 depending on how active she is at the time. Keep at it mama!

blush64 · July 2013

I do from 1 to 3 minutes at a time. It's not her favourite thing. She is much happier on her back. She just turned 2 months old.

Edit I don't do anything to try and get her to do anything. I find babies will figure things out as they are ready to. My sons hardly got tummy time at all and were quite early at meeting their milestones. (I wanted to point out that I don't believe meeting milestones early actually means anything.)

Edit She started rolling a few weeks ago so most times she ends up just rolling on to her back.

rebaann · July 2013

mslaurats said:

LO is about two months now....it can last any where from 5 to 15 minutes....though typically closer to 5. I try to do it a few times a day.

This is about where we are. She does hold her head up great on my shoulder or if I sit/stand her up, but she's not so awesome about pushing up off the floor yet.

LaxMOM44 · July 2013

Thanks I think that gives me some ideas and definitely some hope that I am not depriving my child if a vital learning experience.

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