The first time I heard the phrase "tummy time" I was at my friend Jenny's house. She was describing to me about how having hardwood floors is not 100% awesome because carpet is nicer for "tummy time" with her daughter.
Tummy time? What the heck is that?
I honestly thought it was a phrase that she made up, that is until I started reading baby books. Apparently this is a common phrase used by parents and doctors alike, and it's important for motor development and preventing flat heads in babies.
So being the diligent mommy that I am, I try to get Bean's tummy time in every day. There is just one huge problem. Bean HATES tummy time.
If I put him flat on his tummy, 98% of the time he will just lay there like a slug and scream. Oh how he screams. He turns bright red, tears stream down his face, he snorts. . .it's extreme. I've found that if I prop him up on the Boppy pillow he will tolerate it for maybe 2 minutes, but then he just screams again. I think I read babies should get 10-20 minutes a day of tummy time? Yeah right.
I've also tired tummy time with him laying on my stomach facing me. Again this works for about two minutes, and then he either screams or falls asleep.
I really can't imagine him even attempting to crawl when he acts this way when I put him on his stomach. I know it's important for muscle development, but I find myself skipping tummy time because I hate to see him so upset.
Is this something he will eventually grow out of? Any tips for making tummy time better?
He has seriously only been semi happy on his stomach twice. . . and it happened to be during our weekend photo sessions so I had my camera to document it. I suppose this shows that he can hold his head up like he should, so we must getting something out of tummy time. . .but he's only really done it twice.
Iris always hated Tummy Time too. We would do a compromise where we would put her on our laps facing out towards our knees while she was on her tummy. She liked that a lot more. It wasn't until about 3 and a half months that she started being ok with any sort of Tummy Time.
ReplyDeleteOh my heart. Your baby is so perfect. I love the picture more than anything! : ) I don't think Kaish liked tummy time. I can barely remember any more. What a lovey baby : )
ReplyDeleteDon't worry too much. "tummy time" was created because we stopped putting babies on their stomach to sleep, so child development professional recommended tummy time so that the baby's core still had opportunities to be engaged and strengthened. Luke (and the rest of them) hated tummy time; I think it was because it's uncomfortable due to they have to work really hard to hold their head up to not be eating the floor; also without the establishment of object permanence the babes were probably scared because they couldn't see me. So....
ReplyDeleteDo different activities to engage his core, which you do because you are an awesome mom. He will eventually enjoy floor time! Lots of love!
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