Tummy time?

[~clover~]

I've always done tummy time either on us, after a bath with no nappy, or just with no nappy.
DS loves having his nappy off, & always has (well not the first few days), so that helped us.

[Butterfly_Princess]

I found that if you roll up a towel and place it under their arms across their chest - kinda holding them up from the floor a bit - helped a lot.

Yup i was gonna suggest this one!!
Also another thing that I find is good...is when im sitting on the couch, ill put my legs together, and place her on her tummy on my lap, facing outwards so her tummy is in the little indent between my legs IYKWIM ??

Isabell wasnt keen on tummy time at that age either, but once id started using the towel idea, she slowly started liking it, then slowly i took the towel away.
Also my MCHN told DP and I that starting tummy time is good before 12 weeks, but its not essential, its at 12 weeks and after when tummy time is of its most benefit. That could be wrong, but its what MCHN told me.

[Laranna]

As the others have said, tummy time doesn't have to be on the floor. Lay her on you, across your lap or hold her face down across your arm.

I also second the rolled up towel, it made a big difference to DS's enjoyment of tummy time. I wouldn't worry about her not learning to lift her head up, she'll do it. I'm going through this at the moment as DS has great head control (checked by paed today) but he's not pushing himself up...he's had heaps of tummy time...so it's just a wait for him to get stronger.

[Jewel]

DS2 hates tummy time too when he's on the floor or anything by himself. He too carries on until we turn him over or pick him up. Takes a while to settle down sometimes. He even hates it when I turn him over to massage lotion on his back after a bath.
He loves when he's laying on our chests though.

[Indadhanu]

Okie dokie girls, am gonna try the towel thing. Thanks, hopefully she likes it a bit better.

[Dragonbub]

We tried everything with Caden to get him to like tummy time to no avail. He finally got it at around 6 months when he could roll well back and forward, then crawled at 8 months and walked at 10 months, so I really think that he just developed in his own time. My sis has just had her 4th bub and is amazed at how much has changed since her second youngest who is five. She says tummy time was not such a big issue then, and her bub crawled at four months, so although it is important, if they don't like it then it is not the be all and end all.

Good luck!

PS there are "tummy time nazis" out there that harp on about how important it is. But I believe a happy bub is more important, so ignore them if you can

[amberj]

Sounds like tummy time problems are pretty common. My bubs JUST started kind of liking it, like literally in the past couple days. He is 3.5 months (almost 16 weeks).

Just wanted to add my other favorite variety of tummy time position, and I hope I can explain this right.... you lie on your back on the floor with your legs bent 90 degrees at the hip and at the knees (so the lower part of your legs is parallel to the floor), and then rest your baby tummy down on your shins facing you and hold their hands. Their head extends beyond your knees so they have to hold it up, but they can look down on you- my baby thinks that's HILARIOUS. Requires a bit of balance, but I manage it with a 7kg+ baby, so it can be done!!