Tummy Time? Babe not turning or holding head up?

[ashleyc]

I went to a Mama's group today and noticed that several babies younger than my 11 week old son were really holding their heads up well when on their stomach and even pushing their chest away from the floor.

I am not trying to be a big "my baby vs other babies" type of mom, but I have noticed that my son isn't lifting his head much during tummy time.  We probably started TT around 6 or 7 weeks and perhaps do it twice a day for 5-10 minutes. A few weeks ago, he was lifting his head a bit and turning it from one side to the other.  He wasn't really clearing the floor, kind of bump, bump, bump face planting from one side to the other.  But more recently he doesn't really do that anymore.  He kicks a lot with his feet like he's trying to make a crawling motion and he does eventually get frustrated and start crying so I'll pick him up.  

He doesn't mind being on his stomach but he seems to just lie there and suck his fist and not do much that will strengthen his back/neck muscles.

When I hold him upright over my shoulder, he does lift his head up and look around.  Sometimes it flops some but he's definitely lifting his head there.  He was also 3 weeks early so didn't know if this would affect this development some?

Should I be at all concerned about this?  

[Adaline'sMama]

Not.at.all.

At 11 weeks some babies can, but it is nothing to be worried about. But, its hard not to be a "my baby vs. other babies" type of mom. Its totally normal to compare your child to others of the same age group and wonder if your baby is developing at the same rate.

[ashleybrook]

those 3 weeks early do make a difference. in my opinion, i'd subtract those weeks and compare more to 8 week olds...i don't know if it's very scientific or not, but that's what i'd do. and as PP stated, babies go at things differently and progression can look like many things. :)

[BabySmurf]

a agree with pp's.  i think my DS was able to do these things earlier because we slept chest-to-chest, which means he was on his belly a LOT.  it still took him a lot of work to hold his head up and push up on his hands since he hated tummy time while awake.  i found that using my boppy pillow to prop him up allowed him to see things better and gave him more motivation to want to do it on his own.  i thought DS was early to do this, and I think my first real pictures of it aren't until 11, 12 weeks old.  and at this age, i think being a few weeks early will still have a pretty good impact on certain *milestones*, but even if you don't take that into consideration, your LO isn't *late* on it.  hth!

[anne1140]

My son is almost 13 weeks and still doesn't do this well. I've been worrying a bit, too. 

[evabea]

Not sure if this is helpful, but my dd was pretty slow with tummy time (hated it for so long) and lifting/pushing up. She crawled right at 8 months, and walked just after 12 months, and is a joy to watch in motion. Every kid has their own pace, it seems. Older folks do seem to expect faster stomach actions since they raised kids before the "back to sleep" push.

[MarineWife]

check out this article

http://www.janetlansbury.com/2011/08/the-case-against-tummy-time-guest-post-by-irene-gutteridge/

[APToddlerMama]

Originally Posted by MarineWife 

check out this article

http://www.janetlansbury.com/2011/08/the-case-against-tummy-time-guest-post-by-irene-gutteridge/

I think that article has a few good points, but is a serious stretch.  OP-- Definitely true that having a baby restrained in a swing, bouncer, etc. for long periods of time isn't a good thing.  But, tummy time can be brief, several times throughout the day, and you can make it less distasteful to your baby by holding up toys in front of his face, etc.  And yes, you can adjust his age to his due date when knowing what to expect.  If you do tummy time for a while and don't see much improvement, you might want to ask his doctor about hypotonia.  It can be a sign something else is going on, or occur without a cause.  Both my son and husband have hypotonia.  My husband is totally fine, excelled in sports, etc.  I didn't even know until our PT pointed it out.  With my son, he has required more work to stregthen his core so he can keep up with his peers.  I wouldn't be worried too much at this age, but I'd keep an eye on it. 

[erigeron]

Interesting article. I admit I don't get too into tummy time mostly because I have a hard time believing that something so structured that our foremothers never did with their babies is really as necessary as all that. I put her on her tummy sometimes when I remember to, but just for variety really. She also spends time flat on her back, reclining on her tummy on a parent, in the BabyHawk, or tummy to tummy with me to nurse, and only limited time in her car seat (we have a convertible car seat, so she is only in it when actually in the car). *shrug*. I think she gets time to move her body in a variety of positions throughout the day. The "tummy time" mandate may be more helpful to people who would otherwise park the kid in the carseat all day.