Resistant to Tummy Time/Rolling Over

VegasFox · August 2015

hey all! My little man is going to be 4 months in 2 days, and I do tummy time with him multiple times a day anywhere 10-15 mins (depending on how much of a temper tantrum he throws) He HATES tummy time. He gets so upset that he turns almost purple. So obviously I stop right before that even happens. How can I make tummy time a little more enjoyable? I lay in front of him, I lay toys out... But he just HATES it. At almost 4 months he hasn't even started to try to roll over. I help him get started but he just gives up and lays there crying. I know that every child is different and he will get it at his own pace, but I just need some ideas to help him out.

Advice please?

tdegarmo1 · August 2015

My LO also hates it. LOATHES it! Haha! He didn't roll over until almost 5 months and now at nearly 6 he still hates it but rolls onto his belly almost immediately. Fun times lol. I asked his dr at his 4 mo if I should be concerned and he said rolling isn't a milestone so he wasn't worried

SMac2013 · August 2015

My babe hates tummy time with a passion! He'll be 5 months next week and isn't rolling over yet. I'm not worried about it. I started putting him on his tummy every time we change a diaper and have a noisey toy in front of him. He still hates tummy time but he tolerates it better. I figure he will just crawl later than sooner. I am not going to force him to do things he hates.. Laying on my tummy hurts so I can just imagine how he feels. I think you doing a lot of little 10-15 minute times. I got a mirror to put Infront of him, he loves watching our dog so I will prop him up on his boppy and play with the dog Infront of him, have him look at books, put interesting toys Infront of him too. He loves plastic water bottles! Any sort of cup he is obsessed with now so I will put that Infront of him on his tummy. Try different things but I am in the same boat with the 10-15 minute times. Hope it gets easier!! Good luck!

sunnyday016 · August 2015

Hold him upright on your chest instead. That counts as tummy time. I honestly wouldn't worry about it- he will learn to roll and sit just like everyone else!

ladyteach0505 · August 2015

Start with the Boppy! Seriously revolutionized our tummy time! She can do it without it now after a month of building up!

saric83 · August 2015

Ditto on DS hating it, but it got so much better for us when we figured out ways to do it when he's higher and can see our faces better. So we do some of it on the boppy too like PP, and sometimes I put his activity mat on our bed, and I kneel on the floor right in front of it. We also use an exercise ball (I sit with my back against the couch, the exercise ball between my knees and holding DS on the ball facing me).

But overall, I just spend a lot of time holding him upright facing me since that's quick and easy to do without pissing him off too much. And the little stinker has figured out that when he's flat, if he just leans his giant head to the side a little, it pulls him right over, so he can roll. Unfair advantage and tummy time is done in about 20 seconds, and he loses his shit when I constantly flip him back over like, "Damn you, mom! I earned being on my back there!"

marg12 · October 2015

My LO loves music!!! So when it was tummy time I would but on baby songs. She started to like tummy time. I would lay on the floor and sing to her too. You know like abc's, where is thumper? Songs like that

lisajo25 · October 2015

My baby would scream after a few seconds of tummy time... I eventually decided to let her realise tummy time isn't always a bad time by turning her over before she cried then every time she would go a bit longer and longer. First I would turn her over after a couple seconds next day maybe 5seconds then 10 then 30 and so on always before she would start to cry. I never watched the clock or counted just knew it was longer amount of time. Now she is nearly 6 months not yet rolling but she's ok with about 10-15minutes on her tummy before she cries.

delujm0 · October 2015

DD hated it when we put her on her tummy. Sometimes she's tolerate it on top of a boppy but that's it. When she first learned to roll over onto her tummy she would imnmediately start screaming about it. but after a week she learned how to push up with her hands, and to reach for stuff while on her tummy, and she likes it now. She actually rolled over and slept on her tummy last night for the first time after her MOTN feed, and she was out cold for another 4 hours, which is super unusual for her (a lot of kids sleep better on their bellies, but the advice now a days is to not let them do that until they can get there on their own). I went in to make sure she was breathing more times than i'd care to admit this morning. ;-)

The daycare teacher said that a lot of kids pure hate tummy time until about the 4 month mark, which was pretty accurate for my experience. We did a lot of tummy time on a pillow or on our chests, which is not as good, but which she tolerated a lot more.

DebMJames · November 2015

I used to stress about this too. My son hated it and would only be on his tummy for a minute or two before he started wailing. I mentioned it to the health visitor when we went to baby massage and a couple of mums said they'd gone through this too and their babies were now fine with tummy time. Literally 2 days later from out if nowhere my boy rolled onto his tummy and has never looked back. It's like his clothes are weighted lol. Put him on his back and he immediately rolls onto his front and plays quite happily. Babies find their own way in their own sweet time. Thus definitely taught me to relax and not stress so much about milestones and stuff. As long as he's happy, making progress, doing or trying to do stuff for his age I'm happy. I wouldn't hesitate to speak to my HV if i thought there was a problem though. Your little one will get there x

Oh my boy was 17 weeks the first time he rolled so a similar age to yours

kristyn831 · November 2015

My baby rolled from belly to back at 3 weeks. As he's gotten older, he hates tummy time and probably hasn't rolled over in months. He sits up in his bumbo and has great head control. He might just be one of those kids that doesn't crawl like I was. I was walking before 9 months and skipped crawling altogether.

kde4 · December 2015

Our boys also really hated tummy time. We had two screamers! I found a few different ways to make it more tolerable for them. I propped them up in a Twin Z pillow (a boppy would work too), and I tried putting interesting things on the ground in front of them. A friend gave us this floor-quarium (as we call it), which is filled with water and they were mesmerized by it! That kept them happy on their tummies much longer. I wrote up a list of the tummy time alternatives that worked for our boys. I hope it helps you too. Good luck, mama! https://www.theydontfeedthemselves.com/top-5-tummy-time-alternatives-twins/

Bickey11 · December 2015

prop him up on you. if 10-15 minutes is his max, do 5 at a time. My son is 3.5 months and rolling both ways. He hated it at first, so i laid on the floor with my head, neck & shoulders elevated on a pillow and let him lay on me. Then we transitioned to a boppy for a day or 2, before putting him on the floor. I can't keep that turd on his back anymore

momma2char · January 2016

I know this is an older post but my baby hated tummy time so I tried putting her infront of the tv on the couch which worked for a few weeks. She then discovered she could just lay there with her head resting on her hands and look up with her eyes instead of lifting her head! Little stinker. Anyway, now I use a yoga mat on the floor which has more grip and prop up one end of it and she really enjoys it!

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