Tummy time help
VelociMama
Posts: 3,119 Member
My son is 8 weeks on Monday, and he HATES tummy time. We have tried to get him on his play mat with toys and laying with him, and he just hates it. He tolerates it for about 2 minutes, then he gets really fussy. He seems to like laying on his back looking up at his toys though.
Are there some tricks I'm missing here to make this more tolerable or comfortable for him?
Are there some tricks I'm missing here to make this more tolerable or comfortable for him?
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Replies
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My daughter is six months now but she hated it too. I couldn't get her to stay longer than a minute. But I tried everything and nothing worked.but she started rolling over and holding her head up good the few mins she was on her tummy. As long as he's doing it no matter how long is good. He's still working his muscles.0
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Max hated it, too. As soon as he figured out how to roll onto his tummy, he liked it a lot better. He can see more things this way. Now he prefers to be on his tummy.
Ben's fondness for tummy time will change with time, but in the meantime you can help him develop his arm muscles by carrying him upright on your chest or propping him up with a pillow under his chest (this sometimes works well on a couch because babies can see more from a higher point ... the whole face in the ground thing doesn't let them see much. I'd be mad, too
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Baby Nate is 8 weeks now and can't stand it. I use the boppy pillow and still only tolerates a few mins at a time but i do a lot of tummy on my chest and he loves that.0
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Both my boys hated it. Jayce is now 12 weeks and he does better. I asked the Dr about this and he said to get a timer out and start with just 2 minutes. No matter how much they fuss and cry they have to do the 2 minutes. Then, once they get better with that increase the time. Jayce is now up to 15 minutes at a time and he only cries the last few minutes. I haven't really heard of any babies that like tummy time, it's just something that they gotta do. LOL0
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Hi, i have 2. A three yr old and an 8 month old. Both of them hated it. They would scream right away, but everyone always says its so important for kids. Its recommended they get 20-30 minutes a day, but that seems impossible. When my three yr old was little i would put him on my chest and lay flat. That way he could see me and it seemed to work better. Now, my eight month old probably gets about 5 minutes a day. Shes the lazy type, so shes not even rolling over yet and she gets so frustrated! Hope this helps!0
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My 7 week old hated it a lot too at first. She seems to last a bit longer without screaming now so we work with that. She also loves it on my husband's chest so we do that a lot.0
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My son hated it, too. He would only really do tummy time when he was on one of our chests/belly, I guess because when he looked up he could see our faces. By the time he was 3 months old or so, he was better at it and liked it better, and at 4 months he was able to roll over. Once he did that, he only ever wanted to sleep on his tummy (which meant that I watched his video monitor like a hawk and didn't sleep for a few nights because I'd have to keep staring at him).0
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Both my kids hated it when they were under 3 mos... but as soon as they were able to roll, they prefferred it... even slept (and sleep) on thier bellies... which honestly freaks me out, but they're okay! I just kept trying until they were really agitated and picked them up... but then tried again in a few. Also (and I'm sure you're already doing this) but just make sure he hasn't just eaten or needs to be burped... that would cause more discomfort in that position.
Good Luck! 0 -
Don't worry, whatever time you can get in during the day is good. A few minutes throughout the day adds up.
I'm with everyone else- my son hated it in the beginning and then liked it when he was able to roll over. 0 -
My son is almost 7 months old sits up great does everything else but if you put him on his tummy he becomes instantly paralyzed and begins to scream his over sized head off. I don't know what his deal is but I'm convinced he will never crawl and will just go straight to walking. ONE thing though I have found that helps is airplanes. I put him on my shins and bounce him around and he LOVES that! Lifts his head fine so I know he's doing what he needs to but I'm still going to win this battle before he's driving!!!!0
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My daughter hates it too. She has now figured out how to roll over so when I put her on her tummy she cries for about a minute and then figures out to flip on her back. My doctor told me not to worry as long as she get a few minutes a day so she can strengthen her neck.0
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2 minutes on the tummy is GREAT for an 8 week old! mine is 6 weeks and he tolerates it for about 2 minutes before he's done. don't push too hard does he fuss the same way if you do tummy time with him lying on your chest facing you? mine seems to like that better.
i think how tummy time goes really depends on the preferences of your baby. my first (who is 2 now) LOVED it and would stay on his tummy all day if i would let him. my boys are night and day, lol.0 -
He is doing very well holding his head up when I hold him. I still cradle his head, but he's doing the lifting now though he tends to flop around still sometimes.
Tummy time on my chest is much better. He really likes that a lot though he tends to doze off after about 10 minutes.
Thanks to you all for the help and suggestions. 0 -
Glad to hear that option is working with you. Both of my little ones didn't really tolerate it until about 3 months - when they were able to hold their heads up on their own for longer stretches. Tummy time on your chest is still tummy time and it's a nice little bonding time for you and your son.0
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Also try carrying lo on their stomach or lying down next to them with favorite things. I used to only let my lo use technology on his tummy. He loves YouTube, and he felt better knowing I was right there next to him. I always carried him to the changing table on his belly too.0
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With my first baby I was so concerned about Tummy Time, even though my baby hated it. With my second I wasn't as worried so I would just lay on the couch with her on my chest and she seemed to enjoy being on her tummy and trying to look up at me. I didn't do NEARLY as much tummy time as I did with my first, but they both hit all their milestones at about the same time (my 2nd baby actually was able to hold her head up sooner than my 1st!).0
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I just recently figured out that Jaxon likes tummy time on my bed! On anything else he's okay for a few minutes then starts fussing/crying but when he's on my bed he's content for awhile 0
