tummy time help

Our main tummy time was when we'd lie down on our backs and put him on our bellies. That was so much fun for him, b/c he'd get to look at our faces and interact with us, and of course pay attention to the milk-makers.

About the baby carrier, did you put him in and then get OUTSIDE, to move around, walk briskly, and so on? How many times did you try? Keep trying, get moving, and he might realize he likes it after all.

How much time is he spending on his side?

Is he spending any time on his back? His other side?

Is he uncomfortable on the other side? Have you taken him to a nice, gentle, chiropractor, to have his wee little spine checked out? The tiniest misalignment can cause discomfort and even pain, and having that taken care of with a lovely little gentle adjustment can make WORLDS of difference.

How about cranio-sacral therapy? That's lovely as well. My son's head changed shape within hours of having that done when he was 2 weeks old. It was so cool. I knew it was cool before; the first time I had it done I didn't have to wear my glasses for weeks (I was very blind) and my face felt relaxed for the first time in years (no one came up to me to ask why I was so tense, or to tell me to "smile!" like they usually did)...but to watch DS's head change was astounding. It also helped his latch.

Try those things, see if they help!

Try what I call the magic carpet ride: put dc on tummy on a large folded blanket and drag blanket around on floor (hardwood floors work well!). DD hated tummy time but would smile when we did this. I positioned toys around the room so that she would look up at them as we passed by - helps if each toy makes a different sound. Be careful, of course - no tight turns!

BTW, as much as she hated tummy time, DD wound up learning to roll over from back to belly, not belly to back. Go figure.

Good luck

He still hates being on his tummy even when he's laying on my chest. I went and bought an exersaucer in hopes that it might be better than tummy time for him but he's still so small his little chicken legs just dangle and unless i prop blankets all around him he just wobbles all around. I just bought a little round froggy pillow at walmart and i've been trying to prop him up on that so that his arms hang off the front but every time i do it he falls asleep like 5 sec later, and because of sids i'm so terrified to let him sleep on his tummy at all. I've even let him cry for just a few min but he gets so mad and roles over so he's laying on his back again. I've tried and tried again just to get him to lay on his side and if i can get it set up so that he can't wiggle his way out of it and he'll just cry until i pick him up or put him on his back again. I get so ill everytime someone says i need to make him lay on his tummy more because his head is so flat on one side. Anyways when the weather gets a little warmer i'm gonna lay a blanket on the ground outside and see if he likes being on his belly outside. well besides hating tummy time he's the happiest baby around. He smiles all the time, laughs out loud, roles from side to side and constantly wiggles. He loves to touch anything soft with both his hands and his feet. He's still so tiny, right now at 4 months he only weighs about 11lbs 5oz and is 22 in long. The doc said he was in the 10th percentile for weight and 5th percentile for height. i think he may be teething too cause he has so much slobber he gags on it and is trying to chew everything like a mad man. My grandmaw says i need to fatten him up but i don't know how. He's not ready for baby food yet and i'm not gonna force feed him. He drinks about 6-7oz every 3hrs except at night when he goes for about 10hrs before waking up to eat. I've tried waking him up at night to see if he'll eat but he's always to sleepy so i just let him be. Anyways I'll shut up now cause i'm just rambling on about everything. Thanks for the advice on tummy time everyone.

my oldest daughter hated tummy time too. I rarely put her on her belly because she would cry. She slept on my belly at night and that was about the only time I could put her on her stomach without her getting upset.

Eventually she walked at 9 months and never crawled. She would roll everywhere. She didn't learn to crawl until she was 17 months LOL. But she learned when it was time for her too. Babies and children will do that. When its time, they'll do it.

My second born daughter is soo different she loves belly time, and will spend like 10 minutes on her belly just playing. She started rolling at 8 weeks old. Go figure. Shes starting to realize now she can scoot herself around too.

I tried and tried to teach my oldest daughter how to crawl. Everyone kept telling me, she'll have developmental problems blah blah blah, She doesn't have any. Infact shes realllllly smart! Its amazing how smart she is.

The Nurse practitioner told my friend whos son is also in the lower percentile for height and weight, that theres got to be someone that size or else the whole percentile chart would be different.

baby up gotta go

Ds (5 months) loathed tummy time, so we just never did it. He was rolling in both directions by 4 months. Once he could roll himself he's been much happier with being on his tummy, but I've never forced him to lie on his tummy.

"I get so ill everytime someone says i need to make him lay on his tummy more because his head is so flat on one side."

Stay away from those people!

And hey, if his head stays flat (unlikely), well, my BIL's head is entirely flat on the back, and he's perfectly normal.

I don't think the exersaucer is a good idea, especially that little. Too much force coming up through the pelvis, just dangling there.

I think, maybe, you're focusing on this whole "tummy time" a bit too much. If he's a happy active guy, just go with that! I'm fairly sure that there are COUNTLESS cultures and countries who have no idea that their babies "needed" this "tummy time" thing recently invented, and yet most everyone is fine, yes? Just live your life with him.

Even though I mentioned the bit about laying him on your front, I almost NEVER did that with DS. I mean really, almost never. And yet he started rolling over at some point after 4 months, he pulled to stand at 6 months, THEN he started crawling : , and so on.

If he's happy and healthy and active...don't let this one little thing get to you so much.

Do you hold him a lot? I held my guy almost all the time. That's what we did for about the first 6 months, just sat around together.

As for the falling asleep on his front thing...that's only a correlation, if that, with SIDS. My stepmom is a NICU nurse and she thinks the whole thing is nonsense. She let her three sleep any which way they chose and didn't worry one whit about it. I would let DS sleep on his belly when I was in the room. Not that you have to stop worrying about it, but I think maybe you don't have to be SO scared about it. I'm sure sure the level of anxiety you have over this is good for ya, OK?

But first and foremost, stay away from those people wasting their days staring at your guy's head!

It's really nice to hear some reasuring advice from some momma's who have been through the same thing. Just hearing that all of your babies turned out just fine makes me worry so much less. I'm not saying that i won't worry because i think every good momma worries about their babies even when they're grown and on their own. We worry which means we care. My mom has told me she'll always worry about me so she'll never stop asking me to come to church because she loves me too much. I guess i'll be the same way about those sorts of things when my little Malachi is grown. Anyways, i think doctors try to worry new parents to much also. Before they released him from the NICU at the children's hospital for his heart defect they told to watch for this and watch for that such as decreased feeding and so many other things i think most new babies do anyways. I know he's small for his age but so was i when i was a baby. In kindergarden i only weighed 25# so i think the only reason i worry about his size so much is because his heart doctor made me. Well his heart is healing up slowly and i'm slowly starting to worry about that as much. I think that's the main reason i gave up breastfeeding so early because he would get so frustrated and i was afraid it would hurt his little heart. I really wish i could start breastfeeding again but my milk has dried up. Anyways thanks to everyone for the advice and everything.