PSA: Don't forget tummy time!

[rparker]

Exactly what the title of the post says :) Please remember to put your lovely babies on their bellies every day! 

[artgoddess]

Or hold them so they get the same practise they would if left alone on their tummys

[liliaceae]

Yeah, my advice would be: don't worry too much about tummy time.  Hold and wear your babies, and they don't really need it.  If they like tummy time, go for it, but if they don't, it's not a big deal. :)

[sheashea]

Ditto. Ds loved to be held, worn, but was not so down with scheduled tummy time until he rolled over at 3 months and then he wanted to roll onto his tummy all the time.

[miso_soup]

Dylan HATES tummy time! He gets frustrated with not being able to see anything, I think. On the plus side, when he gets angry he really begins to kick and pick his head up and move it around. So it is fulfilling it's intended purpose, I guess!

[rparker]

I don't know about scheduling it, but I think that there are benefits to tummy time that are separate from those of being held/worn. When a baby is being held s/he doesn't get to practice rolling/crawling or pushing up with his/her arms. My older daughter HATED tummy time so I didn't do it very often. She learned to roll on schedule, but she was 9 months old before she began to crawl. FWIW she was held/carried constantly except when she was asleep... we couldn't really put her down.

When we do tummy time with Livia now she seems to tolerate it more if someone lies down on the floor and maintains eye contact with her and/or if we put her mirror or a visually striking (i.e. black and white) toy next to her. She also likes it if we put her on her stomach while she's on her changing table because it lets her see a lot more. 

I've also been trying to let her spend some time each day sleeping on her stomach while stretched across my lap. It seems to both help with her reflux and give her a break from the time at night she spends sleeping, swaddled, on her back. (And also the time during the day that she sleeps in her papasan swing while I cook/clean/do things with her sister.) I really like wearing her (and it lets me get more done), but lately she's spitting up so much that it's less messy to just hold her when she's awake and put her down when she's asleep. I feel kind of guilty about this because her sister barely tolerated being put down for naps and as a result was held way more.

[EzzysMom]

Alternatively, we didn't do tummy time with DD1 and she walked at 8 months. But she was carried and worn all the time because she insisted on it. I don't worry about it if the kid looks reasonably strong.

[ILovePie]

DS1 didn't do tummy time.  He crawled by 7 months and walked at 9 months.

DS2 has, since he was days old, pushed away from me in carriers (I cannot safely wear him in the moby anymore - he manages to free his arms and wiggle in a way that is going to get his whole body out the top!).  He's safe in the Ergo and uses his arms and holds his head up.  He's pretty darn sturdy for a 2m/o!

All that to say "meh" about tummy time :)

[Honey693]

Does anyone else have a toddler who has to shove their face thisclose to the baby during tummy time?  DD1 likes to "help" and that means sticking her face in the baby's and shrieking.  It's kind of funny, but I think she's freaking out the baby.

[CherryBomb]

Originally Posted by Honey693 

Does anyone else have a toddler who has to shove their face thisclose to the baby during tummy time?  DD1 likes to "help" and that means sticking her face in the baby's and shrieking.  It's kind of funny, but I think she's freaking out the baby.

Yes!  It drives me crazy!  Dd3 will be 3 in March and she's really bad about this.  Dd2 is 5 and does it too, but she's very low vision so it's hard for me to tell her not to because she has to get close to see.

Dd3 also tries to "help" when I'm nursing by poking my boobs

[stellamia]

Originally Posted by Honey693 

Does anyone else have a toddler who has to shove their face thisclose to the baby during tummy time?  DD1 likes to "help" and that means sticking her face in the baby's and shrieking.  It's kind of funny, but I think she's freaking out the baby.

Yes! It's seems the main way DS2 relates to the baby is by being thisclose. 

Personally, I don't worry about tummy time. Both my boys hated it so I never pushed it and they both crawled at 6 months and walked before they were a year. If there were a specific need for it I would do it... Otherwise, I'm not going to force the issue. I put her to sleep on her stomach and she can already turn her head from side to side. 

[treeoflife3]

my kid was walking at 11 months without tummy time.  Although I wish she had been willing to do more of it... setting her down more would have helped my sanity!  I wasn't prepared as a first time mom for CONSTANT holding and baby wearing while trying to get things done didn't work.  Either she was sticking out and in the way or there was too much bending over and I didn't feel okay with that.

[honeybee]

I think 9 months is a pretty normal time for babies to start to crawl. I think each of mine started somewhere between 7-9 months. Each kid has his/her own timetable, and there aren't really any long-term advantages to crawling or walking earlier. We put Camden on his belly for the first time at 4 weeks, just to get some pictures and he shocked us by pushing his torso way up. He's really strong just from holding himself up in the carrier. He may actually like tummy time, but I'm not sure I want to give it to him. I have a friend whose baby is starting to crawl and pulls himself up at 5.5 months... and Camden's just not allowed to grow up that quick. So, no tummy time for him!