June 2014 Moms

Tummy time/ lifting head

My daughter is 6 weeks tomorrow and I'm a little worried about her neck strength. When I'm holding her upright she holds her head up pretty well. She can hold it up and look around, although she occasionally will be a little wobbly. Tummy time is a struggle though. I try to wait a while till after she eats because she has reflux and spits up pretty bad so half the time she's asleep by the time we can do it. When she is awake, she tolerates it for about 2 minutes before she starts crying. When she's on her tummy, she can turn her head side to side or hold it even with her body if she's propped up on the little pillow, but won't lift it up to look at me. She also doesn't really push herself up on her arms either. I'm a FTM and just don't know if I should be concerned. Her little milestone packet says she should be doing them by 2months but it seems like most babies are doing it much sooner. Sorry this is so long and I will ask her doctor about it, just wondering if anyone here knows!

Re: Tummy time/ lifting head

  • I second everything @Tdonatoni‌ said.
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  • My daughter is just a day younger than yours and its a hit or miss with her on the tummy time. It really depends on her mood and strength at the time. There were a couple times (and we do this multiple times a day) where she can lift her head up pretty high, and most of the time she is just wobbling around. I think your baby is doing just fine and baby changes so quickly that tomorrow can be completely different than today.

    Oh and my mom told me that my brother used to have a huge head when he was little that he would lean his head against anything he could. His neck just couldnt support his big head or he would get tired after awhile (he was also super lazy). He turned out completely fine. My parents were worried at the time but now they just laugh about it (to this day still... Glad i wasnt the lazy one).
  • Charlie does with his head and neck strength and control when he's on one of us. He sucks during legit tummy time. he's six weeks today. If you have a boppy, try having her do tummy time draped over that. Sometimes it gives them the lift they need to really work their muscles.

    Married DH 7/30/11

    CSC arrived 5/7/12 

    CHC arrived 6/2/14

  • ktcort13 said:

    When we do tummy time in the floor, dd lifts her legs up instead of her head. She has no problem lifting her head when she's laying on one of us .

    Yup, same with my DS!
  • ktcort13 said:

    When we do tummy time in the floor, dd lifts her legs up instead of her head. She has no problem lifting her head when she's laying on one of us .

    This is DD exactly. She can lift her legs super high so I figure she's good. :)


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  • Right now they are strengthening the muscles that run along the neck and back that will help them lift their head later on. So it sounds like your lo is doing great! Picture it like if you were trying to build up your biceps. It would take a while and the process would be very gradual. Same with babies!





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  • ktcort13 said:

    When we do tummy time in the floor, dd lifts her legs up instead of her head. She has no problem lifting her head when she's laying on one of us .

    This exactly. I also find doing the mat hard because of timing and reflux.
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  • Agree with PPs that there is a huge range for milestones.... comparing to other babies will drive you crazy. I used to feel bad since there was this girl in DS #1's daycare class I called the super baby, she did everything so far in advance I always was worrying about DS#1 but now at age 3 they are the exact same level.

    If she doesn't like tummy time then it makes sense she isn't quite as strong but she will catch up. DS#1 hated tummy time due to reflux too and he eventually got there. My pediatrician said it doesn't have to be all on his belly, any position that involves using his neck muscles helps get him there. It is always good to share any concerns with the pediatrician but it sounds like you are in the normal range.
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  • From what I understand (I'm a FTM and what I am saying here is from what I read or were told by my LO's doctors) lying on the tummy flat on floor is the end goal since it a lot of effort for babies to lift their head against gravity when they are completely horizontal. It's better to use different versions of tummy time, like the ones mentioned by PP here, that are closer to vertical position.

    I didn't know this couple of weeks ago and used to only do tummy time on the floor. AJ hated it.  
    Now I added the football hold and her neck is getting stronger... basically when I walk around the house with her, I carry her tummy down on my forearm and she loves to look around :)
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