Tummy Time

[joannec]

Hi everyone,
My almost 12 week old HATES tummy time. I've done all the usual to help (I think) enjoy it but no! He gets fussy after a minute tops and any longer results in tears etc. I've tried varying the times of day etc to no avail. Robin Barker's Baby Love book says blow it! It's not that important and don't bother, especially of it's stressfu; but my midwife/early childhood nurse is adamant that it is essential. Any thoughts or current evidence based findings would either soothe my mind or not, but at least then, I'll know whether to persist or not. Thanks guys,
Jo
(mother to Noah 29/7/05)

[Nikki~Nathan&Danielle]

It certainly does help back and neck strength but I don't know of research going either way, except for it being recommended (although a friend of mines dd didn't like tt and never rolled or crawled, she bum shuffled and then went on to walking).  If it were me I'd probably take my baby to an osteopath to check that there's nothing physical causing pain and discomfort - ie tight neck/back muscles etc from the pregnancy or birth.

Not sure what things you've tried, but here are some that come to mind:

Have you tried lying on the floor with baby on top of you looking down at you

Baby lying across your lap face down

Baby lying tummy on the floor with an interesting movie on tv (baby einstein or something) to distract

Oh, and one minute is better than nothing, so I'd persevere with what he'll let you do.

[Arwyn's mom]

Jo,

I don't have any research for you but I do believe it is important for building muscle strength in their necks and upper body. We are given alot of literature that stresses tummy time too.

What I did was roll a large blanket up and put a quilt over it so that my lo would have her chest up on the roll and her arms hanging over. This way, she could look down at the toys below her head and start to move her hands to touch them. It was way better than having her face planted in the floor, getting all frustrated. I had her do her tummy time like this until she could hold up her neck, then removed the roll.

HTH

[Luisasmum]

My DD hated it too. She actually slept on her tummy from about 6 weeks but she hated play time tummy time. I think it might have been due to her reflux that she didn't like it. As soon as we had that under control, she loved tummy time! So I wouldn't worry too much. Just keep trying every now and then coz babies change their minds on a daily basis!

[travis's mum]

I did not know it was important to have tummy time :oops: . How often should I aim for a few min in each A-time or just once a day and for how long?

[Nikki~Nathan&Danielle]

I give my dd as much tummy time as she can handle.  She now rolls onto her tummy as soon as she's on the floor and can stay there for a good 15mins playing with her toys in front of her before fussing.  Start off slowly and if your bub is happy, just offer it a couple of times a day, maybe when you do nappy changes if you like.  Tummy time is directly linked to being able to crawl - although some babies who don't like tummy time will sit independently and then lean forward and begin crawling that way.

[joannec]

Thanks for the helpful and quick replies Nikki, Ankie and others
I was told that TT doesn't work if he's not on a hard surface, to which I correctly responded that my stomach certainly wouldn't count for one, ha ha. However, I did try him lying on my tummy tonight and he didn't fuss for at least 2 or 3 minutes which is a great improvement. I also love the rolled up towel/mat/blanket option and will add that in tomorrow. Very much appreciated, BTW, I haven't come across any research either but will post a link if I find anything good.
Cheers, Jo

DS - Noah 29/7/05

[joannec]

Hi Travis's mum, sorry I forgot to add this to my last post  :oops:
I guess tummy time shoud be at least 10 to 15 mins a day as my midwife stressed if he only does it for 1 minute I should aim to do it 10 to 12 times a day!! I think at this stage, that's not going to happen but I'm going to try for at least 3 or 4 lots of 1 to 2 minutes. One of the Moderators might know the recommended amount, they are excellent.
Cheers, Jo

[Joey'sMom]

My ds hates tummy time too.  I know it's important, but seriously, what's better: letting your baby SCREAM bloody murder so he gets his exercise, or having him have a different kind of activity time that may or may not delay walking?

[joannec]

Hi Joey's mum,
I agree, I'm only going to do it each session until he wants to cry and then end it. I don't want activity time, which is usually glorious to become feared and unhappy. I did TT with him lying on me on my bed this morning and he lasted a minute. I guess I worry about the rolling over and being able to correct himself from back to tummy etc, especially when the swaddle comes off. I wonder if it affects their ability to do this? Any ideas?

Cheers, Jo :?

[deb]

Tummy time is not just important, it's REALLY important! Tummy time develops a number of things, including upper body and neck strength and control, vision (babies have to learn to focus on the floor, which eventually translates into focusing on everything else), and brain growth in general. That random movement babies do with their arms and legs? Not random. If you put them on the floor and put your hands behind their feet, it translates into scootching around on their bellies, and eventually into crawling, and that motion helps develop coordination.

And yes, it counts as tummy time on a softer surface (like MY belly! LOL) if they're exercising their arms, upper body, and/or neck/head. Even holding your baby horizontally will get him to hold up his head, which is a start.

The more you do tummy time, the more they'll get used to it, If you can do a minute, great - go ahead and do another minute later in the same A time, and maybe even another, and build it up. Put them on your belly and smile at them, give them something fun to look at.  Put them on the floor with a toy just out of reach and put your hands behind their feet to help them scootch towards it.

Wanna learn more? Check out http://www.childbrain.org.

[Nikki~Nathan&Danielle]

Thanks Deb!  While you're here on this thread, what was it specifically that you did with Nat to help her crawl so early?  Was it the hands behind her feet?  I've been doing that with Danielle but she seems to face plant a bit...  For ages she would only "fly" until I showed her how to put her arms out the front of herself to prop herself up, she's very strong there now but not really too interested in pulling her knees under her belly yet.  Any tips?

[deb]

Yes, the hands behind the feet was a big one till she figured out how to make it all work and get up on her hands and knees. For the longest time she scootched along on her belly with her face still on the floor on one cheek or the other. LOL I actually got a big remnant of vinyl/naugahyde, almost 2 meters square, and put it over our living room carpet so she had something to crawl on w/o getting rug burn; when we went to visit grandparents I was taking a big quilt to put down for the same reason.

Onc she showed an interest in any of her toys (or in anything, for that matter), it was a matter of putting her where she could see it and helping her push herself toward it and then letting her have at it when she got it, along with lots of encouragement.

The way our schedule worked, she'd feed on waking, then spend some time in the bouncy seat and we also did some stuff with her grasp reflex and made funny faces at her and so on, and once the food was settled down more she'd be spending time on her tummy, starting small and working up. It wasn't a big deal because we also had her sleeping on her tummy from the get-go, much to our pediatrician's consternation. :? (You would never know from her that it wasn't really so long ago that "they" recommended tummy sleeping and discouraged sleeping on the back. :roll:)

Anyway, one day Nat worked out getting on her hands and knees. I don't think I put her down that way that time, I just looked over and there she was, looking like she hadn't a CLUE what to do next. Then she graduated to pulling up her knees, then pushing her body forward onto the floor, then bringing up her knees again and pushing forward again, and moving around that way. A couple weeks ago she started pushing her bottom up into the air and trying to bear crawl, and then a few days after that she started really crawling.

That's how it's worked for us. Not sure how "textbook" we are in that regard, but I have to say the results have certainly astonished me. :shock:

[Nikki~Nathan&Danielle]

Thanks!    I think I will continue to work on the hands behind feet thing with enticing toys (ie Nathan's water bottle  :roll: ).  She is really good on her tummy but gets a bit ratty since she has only figured out how to roll from back to tummy but not back again.

[joannec]

Thanks Deb,
I did it again today and Noah handled it for a couple of minutes and actually laughed at me during it before crying, so that's progress. BTW, he was on my tummy. I have been letting him push against my hands instinctively, talk about mothers intuition! It seems to distract him as well   Will keep it up in small increments, don't want to sour the A time.
Cheers, Jo