Tummy time

[yummymummy1920]

My DS is 12 weeks old and won't go on his tummy for more than 2 minutes.. I've mentioned it to the HV but she said you just have to get him used to it however he literally screams until he is blue in the face until I turn him over.. has anyone got any tips or tricks on how to build him up..

He has very strong legs and neck just no strength in his arms

[Pipsicola]

Try to put some toys in front of him or try doing it over your legs so he's not quite flat on the floor but still on his tummy.

If it makes you feel any better my 6 month old only just has started to tolerate tummy time and most of my friends with babies have said it's impossible to do for any amount of time.

I'd try your best, but try not to worry too much. He will get there eventually.

[jobrum]

Same here, dd loved being propped up with cushions, hated being on her front. Also was around 6 months when she started to tollerate it. Just do it for a couple of minutes every now and then.

[Metalhead]

Tummy time is seriously overrated IMO. Both of mine hated it, both sat up by 5 months and crawled by 9, so I wouldn't worry!

[Acardwithbigletters]

It really doesn't matter, my DS is 6 months and I never did it with him as he cried so much. He still learnt to roll etc by 5 months and now he is fine.

[Heirhelp]

Try laying on the floor on your back and put your baby on his tummy on you. Put him on the floor put prop up his arms and chest on a flat cushion. My lo was the same as yours until she could roll onto her tummy herself.

[spacefrog35]

I used to pop a rolled towel/ blanket under her chest/armpits. It helped a lot until she had the strength to hold herself up.

[g1nthemystery]

My son was exactly the same. I made him do it once a day until he cried (he would be fine for a minute or two and then get frustrated). Eventually he enjoyed it enough to stay there for five minutes. I found that he hated it enough to learn to roll over much earlier from front to back and back to front. Just let your child do what they feel is comfortable for them and they'll let you know when they're tired or frustrated.

[yummymummy1920]

Thank you so much for the comments. It's a lot easier to know that it's not just me struggling.

[JayDot500]

My nephew hated it too. He went straight to standing up unassisted (at 6 months) and is now taking small steps at 8 months. He doesn't crawl much/well but it's not a necessity.

[Orsono]

You don't need to worry about it, just stop doing it. The idea that we need to somehow deliberately 'train' a baby to strengthen them up is a myth - gross motor development is a natural process that will happen just through the normal stuff you do with a baby, like holding him on your chest so he holds his head up to look around. Trying to make a baby do something they hate is not going to help them develop. Tummy time wasn't even originally meant to be about developing strength - it was introduced after the safe sleeping advice changed to placing them on their back, to try and avoid head flattening. But as long as you're not leaving him lying down or in a seat for hours a day, this isn't an issue.

If it's any reassurance, I didn't ever place DS1 on his tummy after doing it once or twice and him hating it. He developed completely normally.

[octoberfarm]

We had the same with our LO, but eventually started using the nursing pillow to prop him up with so he wasn't completely flat on his tummy, and (although I know it might be a bit controversial) popped a lion king song clip on the laptop in front of him- it worked like a dream and he now doesn't mind at all :)

[lostowl]

I don't think I barely did tummy time with my 2nd and she has a lovely round head at 14 months. I did TT with my first and she got a little flatness. Go figure!

[GoBigOrange]

Every time I laid my son down on his tummy he ended up absolutely incandescent with rage. It didn't help him learn anything either - he would just be flat on his (puce) face screaming with fury - far to irate to notice toys or cartoons or anything else meant to distract him.

I gave up on subjecting him to something he hated, tummy time on a play mat was officially scrapped. I just used to lie with him on top of me for a little while every day (which he was fine with, and did try to push up then) and he figured out crawling and rolling in his own time, and by 13 months he was running and climbing everywhere, so I don't think it had any particularly negative impact on him. His head is a lovely round shape too!

[TheUnseenAcademic]

My GP told me not to bother with it after I expressed concerns at a routine check (probably the 6/7 week check). He thought it was completely unnecessary. My DS just screamed and, more recently, my DD also screamed, then learned to flip herself onto her back straight away. Don't stress about it!

[Digestive28]

I wouldn't worry, we didn't do "tummy time" as such but I would lie down with her on her tummy on my chest, she seemed to tolerate this better and was still on her tummy and gradually started to lift her head to see me. Hope that provides a compromise for you

[scarednoob]

DD hated it and I felt bad for not really doing it. Then she learned to roll there herself - and then she liked it. Don't worry too much about it!

[Spudlet]

Put him on you. If you feel brave, lie on your back, raise your legs with bent knees (so your lower legs are parallel to the ground) and lay him along your shins with his head peeking over your knees to look at you. Flying baby! Hold on to him (obviously)... And be aware you may get puked on DS loved this. We learnt it at baby yoga, which was very good for ideas on making tummy time tolerable for him.

[Spudlet]

Found a pic

www.embodywellness.co.uk/images/library/mother-and-baby-yoga-510x360-(2).jpg