3 month old hates tummy time

[atpeace]

DS is going to be 3 months old on Monday, and hates tummy time! When he's on his tummy, he'll just lie with his head to one side (turns it both sides) and suck his fist for a few minutes, and then he gets squirrely and fussy.

As a result of this limited exposure, he doesn't hold his head up or push his chest up off the floor with his arms like I've been reading he should be doing according to developmental scales. He holds his head up pretty well (whit the occasional flop) when he's held (he spends most of his time either sleeping on his back, or being held upright in someone's arms), and loves to sit up, and likes to "stand" and be bounced as well.

How essential is tummy time, why doesn't DS like it, and what can I do to encourage his development?

[ChocolateNummies]

Will he do tummy time on you? I often lie down with ds tummy down on my chest/stomach. He can look at me and I can kind of "rock" him by gently pushing him towards my head over and over. My skin kind of moves with him then bounces back making a rocking/bouncing motion.

[Knitting Mama]

Cecilia (5.5 months) also hated tummy time with a passion. Some of the things we did to help her build strength that didn't require a lot of tummy time were:

- Wearing her upright a lot. This is the biggest one right here. This builds a huge amount of core strength, neck strength and head control
- Tummy time on me or my husband
- Tummy time on the Boppy (draped over it). For some reason she was a little happier with this.

The first one, far and away, made the biggest difference. I would suggest finding what kind of carrier-- wrap, Mei Tai, soft structured carrier-- works best for you and makes him happy, and wear him a whole lot!

[katelove]

We were at a talk given by an occupational therapist a while ago. She suggested using a firm pillow/rolled up towel etc under their chest to prop them up. Or laying them on a birth ball and rolling/bouncing them gently around. I also sometimes put J on her tummy on the changing table and kneel in front of her so we're at eye level.

[FrugalGranolaMom]

My DS hated tummy time too, he would cry after about 30 seconds of being on the floor but he loved lying on either my chest or DH's. Try laying on the floor with him on your chest and working with him that way. We also noticed that he did a little better if he was up higher and could see things, like on the couch or the bed.

Be patient and keep trying and remember that every baby is different so try not to worry too much about the charts. (I know, easier said than done)

[tillymama]

My DD hated Tummy Time with a passion until she could put herself there from sitting at 6 months. She didn't roll until then either because she was never on her Tummy for long enough!!

We wore her upright a lot...and I'm sure I've read that that's just as (if not more) beneficial than regular Tummy Time.

DD crawled at 8 months and walked at 12 months...so I don't think she's been affected negatively

[sunnygir1]

Both my los hated tummy time too. We held and wore them a lot. We also laid them on our chests while we were lying down, sitting, or reclining -- it doesn't have to be totally horizontal, even just leaning back in the recliner a little with the baby on your chest gives them some great exercise.

My kids were definitely slow to hold their heads up, but they both crawled at normal/early times. Dd walked at 14 months, and ds is standing, but not yet walking at 12 months.

I would just try not to worry about it too much -- just do your best not to leave your baby lying around on his back (floor, crib, bouncy seat, crib, and carseat) all the time...lots of holding and baby-wearing when you can.

[Blessed1]

Originally Posted by Cecilia's Mama

Cecilia (5.5 months) also hated tummy time with a passion. Some of the things we did to help her build strength that didn't require a lot of tummy time were:

- Wearing her upright a lot. This is the biggest one right here. This builds a huge amount of core strength, neck strength and head control
- Tummy time on me or my husband
- Tummy time on the Boppy (draped over it). For some reason she was a little happier with this.

The first one, far and away, made the biggest difference. I would suggest finding what kind of carrier-- wrap, Mei Tai, soft structured carrier-- works best for you and makes him happy, and wear him a whole lot!

I agree!! My hubby has held our little girl upright over the shoulder since day 1 (she will be 4months Oct 15) and she has had excellent head control at a very early age. She never (and still doesn't) liked to be held other than being high up on the shoulder.
She doesn't like tummy time either but does tolerate it on a Boppy! lol Funny. And for some reason she can tolerate it on her changing table. Just not the floor.

[ShanaV]

This very topic was just recently discussed here, with good responses. Don't worry!

http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=1259923

[Julia'sMom]

DS hated tummy time. I admit I didn't do it with him, especially since he learned to roll. DD2 was way ahead of him as far as neck strength adn lifting her chest off the floor. DD2 also sat a couple of weeks before DS. However, DS did beat her to crawling, by 1 day. He is also beating her at "cruising". So, I don't think tummy time, or lack thereof, made much difference.

[MamaPhD]

DD hated tummy time too, but I think she hated the floor rather than the position. She would put her face straigt down on the floor and cry. I did a lot of holding her upright then lean back (so she is kinda on her tummy on me) when we played. I never did "floor time" with her more than once a month or so to see if she was into it yet. Then we would just play. There are plenty of ways to get your little one in shape. I think of it like any type of excersize. Sure some people run on the treadmill everyday but I probably get the same amount of workout going to the playground or cleaning the house, yk? Same with babies!

[leigh09]

my kids hated it unless they were completely naked, then life was great - even on their tummies.

[blake201]

My girl is 3 months old and has always hated tummy time on a non-human surface... so we just put her on OUR tummies and lie on our backs. And we were told in a baby safety class that tummy time in a sling or carrier counts, so we carry her a lot, and baby girl has excellent head control now!