Does/did your baby hate tummy time?

[rbnyc]

We can't get Garrison to do tummy time for more than 4 or 5 minutes, and that's really pushing it. He screams the whole time.

He can lift his head up from tummy position , almost 90 degrees, but he can't push up with his hands and arms to lift his upper body.

He's a very strong kid. He's 3 1/2 months old. He's been holding his head up for at least 2 months. He can sit up unsupported for a few seconds, and sits up for a long time with minimal support. His legs are very strong, but he's weak on his tummy because he can't stand being on his tummy.

Did your baby hate tummy time? Did you do anything about it? Does your baby hate tummy time? Do you worry about it?

Garrison and I want to know.

:)

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

1. My son always liked it. n/t

[Pithlet]

2. It's probably nothing, but

You should mention this to your ped. Since he can sit up, and is so strong, I doubt there's anything wrong, but it's always better to be overcautious. Don't wait for his 6 month, go ahead and call him/her and explain the situation. They may want to look at him just to be sure. Like I said, it's probably nothing more than he just hates being on his tummy. A lot of babies are like that.

[rbnyc]

5. He's going for a 4 month check-up anyway.

So I will tell the Dr. then. You're right, it is probably nothing, but I tell Garrison's Dr. everything.

Thanks.

:)

[Pithlet]

13. Let us know.

4 months, already? He's getting big. :)

[abelenkpe]

3. connor hates tummy time

It is frustrating because he has started to roll. He will roll over in his sleep and wake himself up and start crying. There have been a few times when he enjoys it though, but not for too long. I will rub his back and encourage him and that will help extend his tummy time. If he is on his gyminy he will see himself in the mirror and that will engage him for a while. It also makes it easier for him to figure out how to roll back onto his back on his own. Whenever he rolls back onto his back I love him all up and tell him how good he is doing. I'm thinking of getting a mirror for his crib to see if that helps him get off his belly in the crib, too. I'll letcha know how that goes. But for the most part he just doesn't like being on his belly. So I would really like to hear about other babies experience with tummy time too!

[rbnyc]

6. How old was Conner when he started to roll?

Let me know how the crib mirror works out too.

:hi:

[abelenkpe]

11. Amazingly

Connor has rolled back onto his back all day with no help. I put the crib mirror in this morning, but I'm not sure if that is the reason he is rolling successfully back onto his back or if he has just figured it out. Seeing himself definitely gives him something to think about other than being on his belly. If nothing else it seems to help extend his tummy time before he starts getting uncomfortable. Connor started rolling right at four months. If he hasn't already started I'm sure Garrison will be rolling like crazy soon too. I wish Connor was doing better at sitting up. He sits up fine for small amounts of time usually when he is concentrating on something. Lately he has become obsessed with this small stuffed rhinoceros rattle. He keeps chewing on it and turning it over and over. It's strange what captures his attention.

[wildeyed]

4. Oh how my daughter hated tummy time.

She would fuss the entire time. One day, I put her on her tummy in the crib, left the room and she suddenly stopped crying. I thought, my, this is going well! When I went back in, she had managed to flip herself onto her back and was lying there happy as a clam. That was the end of tummy time for us. Why the back of her head is not as flat as a pancake, I will never know.

My son was the exact opposite. Hated being on his back, and he could not sleep on his back, either. Ended up letting that one tummy sleep, with the peds blessing, just to survive.

So from my experience, it would seem that a preference for tummy or back is in-born. Be glad you have a back guy, making the decision to let your baby tummy sleep is difficult.

[rbnyc]

7. Indeed!

That would be a tough call. But sometimes you just have to let baby make the call.

Thanks.

[cally]

8. Oh, I remember those days

Both hated it. I would lay out those baby books, toys, and lay down for tummy time. Looking back, I think I was insane. I still think it's important and yeah both my kids hated it.

[rbnyc]

9. I do all that too.

Toys, books, mirrors, me on my tummy in front of him. I guess it's not the worst thing in the world if he's a late crawler.

:hi:

[wildeyed]

10. My daughter never crawled.

It was heaven. I would sit her down on a blanket with a few toys and books and not have to worry at all. My son started inching around on his tummy almost immediately, then learned to climb soon after. Keeping an eye on him was always an adventure. If I lost track of him for more than a few minutes I would automatically look up to find him.

Don't worry about the crawling. People used to worry that babies who didn't crawl would have learning disabilities later, but I think that has been disproved. I think as long as you give the babies the opportunity to explore and not keep them cooped up in a play pen or bouncy seat all the time, then they should develop at their own pace.

[abelenkpe]

12. Me too

I lay down on the floor on my belly and do leg kicks and roll around hanging out with my little guy. He likes to mimic his mom and dad so I figured it might help.

[gollygee]

14. My daughter hated it

Her pediatrician said that as long as she was held most of the time rather than lying on her back, she would be fine without specific time devoted to lying on her tummy.

The problem that created the need for tummy time was that pediatricians were finding that babies were spending so much time lying on their backs taht their heads were getting flat and they weren't getting neck and upper body strength. But if you're holding Garrison a lot, he won't have those problems.

[rbnyc]

15. Good to know.

We hold him a lot, and his neck is very strong. Thanks.

[gollygee]

16. She was a late crawler too

A late walker as well. But she's running all over the place now!

Lilian has always been more ahead in language and less ahead with physical things. I've read that kids sometimes focus their efforts on one or the other and will be early with one and late with the other. But they usually catch up.

[bleedingheart]

17. My son and daughter detested it..

it is normal but it is a good thing to do....prepares you for the other stuff you will encounter that they detest...like cleaning their rooms ...

[AwakeAtLast]

18. O.K., here's the best contradiction,

My daughter hated tummy time (awake), but loved to sleep on her stomach! And yes, she is still that contrary!

I think the reason that some babies don't like it is because those neck muscles are being used differently and they are not used to it. It will get better!

[phylny]

19. My girls never minded it.

Of course, they were born "back in the day" where babies were "allowed" to sleep on their tummies, so it wasn't something foreign to them :) In fact, our youngest one had reflux, so it was impossible to even fathom letting her sleep on her back.

[amandae]

20. My oldest daughter hated it when she couldn't hold up her head

Once she got that down she was okay with it for short periods. She never did crawl on her hands and knees, but always did that "Marine crawl" and ended up taking her first steps just before she was 10 months old. My other two didn't really seem to mind tummy-time.

:hi: