Tummy Time
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Tummy Time
July 2002
Hi! I have a 5 1/2 month old who HATES tummy time. He
screams his little head off like I'm torturing him somehow. Recently
he's halfway perfected his rolling over abilities, which allows him to
go from back to belly, and he does it EVERY time I put him down
on his back. But once he gets to his tummy he can't figure out how
to get back so he'll lie there screaming and screaming and
screaming..... At first I would go and get him and flip him over, but
he needs to learn how to do this for himself, no? But he doesn't
seem to realize that going back the other way is an option so he just
lies there and yells. I've tried to distract him with toys, I've tried
giving him a little start roll and letting him finish (he doesn't) and
I've tried just leaving him there. Eventually I just can't take the
horrible wailing anymore so I go and get him. Does anybody have
any suggestions or advice? Thank you!
Jill
Our daughter didn't like tummy time either until we propped her
up on the Boppy. That way she could see & play with toys in
front of her. From then on, it was fun. Just make sure to stay
with him so he doesn't just put his face into the Boppy when he
gets tired - tummy time was great for tiring her out!
KBracken
I remember those frustrating times with my own daughter.
Thankfully within a month she learned to roll back, which I'm sure
your son will pick up as well. I remember trying to teach my baby
how to move/fling her body so she could get off her stomach, but
she didn't want Mama's help. I think this is just part of the
process that babies have to go through to learn a new skill
(crawling, walking, talking). It sounds like you're doing all the
right things (letting him try on his own, and picking him up when
you can't take it anymore).
Lucy's Mom
Both of my daughters hated being on their tummies and would
scream their heads off when placed on their tummies (per the
suggestion of their pediatrician, who thought that they needed
tummy time since they were so seldom on their tummies by
choice). I'm not sure what to tell you about what to do when
your baby is on his tummy, other than help him figure out how to
roll back over again. I just thought it was pure torture
to ''force'' them to be on their tummies. Neither of my girls
crawled and both walked early, at 10 months. Neither seems to
have ''suffered'' for lack of tummy time, although I was warned
about many dire consequences due to their lack of tummy
time/crawling (including, by several teachers, of not being able
to read well because of their inability to crawl??). Well, given
that the older one started reading at 4, I wasn't very worried.
In any case, I didn't force them to be on their tummies and they
are both fine. Good luck.
-- mom of girls who hated tummy time
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