Tummy Time???

My daughter hated tummy time as well so I took some advice from a firend and went out and bought a plastic mirror that I could lay on the floor...she loved looking at herself and now loves being on her tummy!

tummy time summy time...my kids hated it too! So we skipped it and guess what they crawled and walked and are now running

My son hated tummy time also. I found one of the boppy pillows that had toys on one side. It was made for tummy time. He was a little happier being propped up a little on the pillow rather than flat on his face.

Your daughter may not like it because it is difficult for her to do. If babies are not started very early with tummy time then it makes it that much harder for them later on. If you start her with a little bit at a time, which it sounds like you are doing, then that's great! Please do not give up because it seems to upset her. There are things you can do to help ease her into it such as having her lay on top of you on the ground on her belly or laying across your lap on the ground or if you're in a chair. Some babies can be held in front of you in a kind of upside down cradle hold.

While none of these may be easy as a mom, it's very important to keep trying and just be patient. She won't always hate it, especially as she gets stronger. It's not something you can just put them down on their belly and leave them there, especially at her age. A lot of babies will just roll over when they don't like it anyways. Hang in there and feel free to worry about it because it's a very important thing to do as a primary caregiver. Allowing her to succeed in crawling, and giving her a variety of positions to improve overall strength/coordination, will go a long way in keeping her happy in the long run!

Boppy makes a tiny little Boppy with toys attached to it by links (I think I got it at Meijer). This helped a lot with my daughter. Most babies don't like tummy time but I don't agree with some of the other comments, pediatritions stress the need for tummy time not just for the purposes of crawling but for other developmental milestones as well. GOOD LUCK!!

I know "tummy Time" is encouraged by everyone, but really I wouldn't worry so much about it at such an early age. My daughter didn't start liking tummy time until she was at least 7-8 months old when she could roll, & sit up on her own. Try a few min a day, She won't like it, but don't force it for longer time frames if she justs cries. good luck & this too shall pass...

Hi J.,
My boys were the same way. They were late crawlers, but are now running all over the place! I used to put a small mirror in front of them, and that seemed to work okay, but the reality is that they didn't like being on their tummy. Just keep trying, but I wouldn't get too discouraged. Kids do things on their own timetable and before you know it, they'll be crawling, walking, and running everywhere!
Best,
R.

Don't worry. We went through the same thing, and just keep adding time. Once Calli could slither along, she was content at being on her tummy and then progressed to crawling. As adamently as she hated tummy time, I figured that she would skip crawling, but it is just all about being mobile. I'm sure your daughter will be okay once she gets going. There is a tummy surf board (soft fabric) that Calli liked...it was the only way I got her on her tummy for more than 1 minutes for the longest time. Take care.

Don't stress about it at all. If she doesn't like it, drop it. Not worth the stress and I promise your baby will still learn to get around.

I wouldn't worry about it. My DD hated tummy time and is a perfectly normal 3 year old. My DS loved it and crawled later than my DD who never did tummy time.

There are things you can do with baby to build up those muscles. One thing is to lay baby down on her back then pull her arms to pull her up to a sitting position, then to her feet. There are other exercises as well, maybe you could google them.

It's just my opinion that if someone you know put you in a position that made you cry, would it be appropriate to keep forcing you to do it? I think if it's something that makes the baby unhappy enough to cry then there's probably no need to force them. Just my .02.

My daughter hated her tummy time too so we tried to do it in short bursts. Though in the end I think it was her extreme dislike for it that motivated her to get up and move...

J., Tummy time is very important not so much for the crawling but for stregth... get a tummy time matt that has activities on it also lay on the floor with her. my son hated it at first but i would surround him with toys to him him distracted and i would also lay on my tummy i nfront of which he enjoyed! give these things a shot!

She'll learn to crawl whether you do tummy time or not. And if it's upsetting her, it's really not worth doing. Babies develop in spite of us, not because of us.

My daughter hated tummy time!! We would put her down and she would plant her face into the blanket and cry. When we went in for a doctor's visit, the doctor said she had torticollis. So, I took her to my chiropractor, and within a week or two of treatments, she loved tummy time! The chiropractor compared it to if we had a really bad kink in our neck and then someone made us lay on our stomach and look up... ouch!!!!! Good luck!

few mins at a time is all they can do right now, it's like beginning a workout, you don't start running marathons right off :) not to worry, it sounds like you are doing it right, they do cry a bit at first but do build up the stomach, back, neck arm muscles as they go along. It seems really sad a thing to do, but babies don't know any other form of communcation, so crying is what we get for a while :) By about 7 or 8 months she should be strong enough to do it for a little while longer, and might even being doing the frog-crawl, or commando crawl i think some people call it. Have fun, most babies don't care much for tummy time, but same w/ me and exercise, i don't like it but know i need it! cheers!

Have you put a soft towel under her or the boppy pillow to take the weight off? The water mats are good fun things too bat at. I would do on the back then on tummy then flip over when grissly then back to tummy. I also found the Bumbo chair helped strengthen there trunk by haveing to sit up then they are better on there tummy. Does she have reflux and dont do it after meals for a while. Hope she is doing better L.

Oh the joys of tummy time!!!!!!!!! My son is now nearly 10 months and is crawling all over the place. The reason I mention that in the beginning of my response is that he HATED tummy time. I'd put him on his belly & within seconds he'd cry and scream. It was better, not great still, if I put him on my belly and played w/him. However, he learned to roll over pretty early and I think it's because he hated being on his tummy so much!!!!!!!!! One night I put him on his belly and, of course he cried, I let him be for a little bit b/c I didn't want him to think that everytime he cried I'd pick him up - so I turned around for a couple of minutes to put some stuff away and he stopped crying, when I turned around I realized he had stopped b/c he was on his back!!!!!!

Don't worry so much about the amount of time = if she can only take a short period maybe try it every hour for a little bit of time, then gradually increase by a minute or so. I thought this would never pass and was sure my son would have a completely flat head - he doesn't and he did just fine - now he prefers to sleep on his belly - I put him on his back in his crib and before I'm out of the room he's rolled over to his tummy!!!!!!!!

Good luck - your little one will be just fine!!!!!!!!!!!

I tried a couple of things which worked well for my kids. One was putting a mirror on the floor in front of them. When she's on her tummy she can see herself and then you ask things like, "Where's the baby?" and "Who's the baby in the mirror?" I also put favorite toys a little ahead of them and helped my kids play with them. You could put a little book down and read and flip the pages while she's on her tummy too. Be patient, slowly but surely she'll get used to the feeling and crawl when she's ready. Also try different times of day to make sure it's not the pressure on her belly after eating that's bothering her. Good luck!

Don't worry about it. Just do what you can. My 15 year old daughter never crawled. She pulled up and started walking around the furniture at 8 months. My 2 year old hated tummy time and he learned to crawl without a problem around 7 months. I did find with him, that when I had shoes on him, it was harder and he wasn't interested. If he only had socks on, he did much better at getting around and was less frustrated. My nine week old also hates tummy time. I try to put him down for his n ap on his tummy, and then when he is asleep, I will flip him to his back for proper sleeping.

Good luck,

Jen

It is important to do tummy time... not even so much for crawling (as crawling isn't really a critical skill and some babies skip it altogether), but for arm and neck strength. A minute or two is fine. My daughter cried too, but a few tears didn't stop us. I used a mirror so that she could look at herself which she liked very much.

We experienced the same thing with our daughter. I bought a Boppy tummy time mat. It has a "miniature" Boppy that has toys attached to it and it goes on a cute mat. My daughter really hated tummy time and would scream, too. Once we bought the Boppy timmy time mat, it seemed to help more than anything else. You can find it at Babies R Us where you find the baby gyms. If you have any questions, feel free to email me @ ____@____.com Good luck!

We used a mirror and she loved it! Good luck, and do it in small doses.

My daughter also cried during tummy time so I did not put her on her tummy much and she turned out great!!! The other thing she never got into was rolling over where other babies at 5 months were doing. My daughter is now 10 months old and holds here headup and crawls all over the place. I think it is important to put her down on her tummy for a little while and once she gets upset turn her over. I personal do not think it is a major issue. Hope this helps!

Any little bit is fine, but if she's crying, don't force it. I have 3 boys, and we did tummy time with varying sucess. My youngest HATED being on his belly, and he crawled earlier than my other two. Just try & get some, she will eventually tolerate it more.

When our baby was younger he absolutely hated it when we weren't holding him 24-7. There was no way we could put him on the floor for 2 seconds without a screaming fit. We did a modified 'tummy time' to allow him to develop the necessary strength.

Try doing tummy time in a recliner. Sit down and hold the baby facing you. Recline the chair all the way back so that you are almost horizontal and talk with, sing to, make silly faces at your baby. Even if your baby isn't excited about playing with you in this position, it is a different visual perspective for her to check out her surroundings - you may find her looking around the room as well, which also gives her the opportunity to strengthen the arm and neck muscles. Our baby absolutely loved this tummy time and he also had the opportunity to practice rolling to the sides - of course our hands were always right there on his stomach/side at all times. If you're not comfortable with a recliner, try laying on the floor with a pillow under your head and your baby on your chest.