Tummy Time - how much per day?!

[GeorginaA]

I'm getting a bit concerned about all this "tummy time" babies are supposed to get... particularly because I've just realised mine (9 wks) isn't getting any

How much time are they supposed to spend on their tummies. I know it's supposed to be supervised time, but fitting it in during the day is really hard work. I can't put him on his tummy straight after a feed (he needs to be upright for a good 15 mins or he sicks up everywhere - ditto if he's put on his tummy until about 30 mins after a feed) or before his naptimes as it just gets him tired and frustrated really quickly. That leaves an optimum window of about 15 mins about three times a day but that invariably clashes with getting food ready for my eldest.

Please tell me it's not crucial at this age and he won't still be lying on his back staring at the ceiling as a teen

Seriously though... is there supposed to be an amount of time I should be aiming for? 15 mins a day split into small sessions? 30? All play time (eep... the playmat will be permanently in the wash....)

a woman I worked with reckoned the only health professional she trusted was her dogs vet

Tummy time is neccesary now because people don't carry their babies anymore. Therefore they don't get the exercise that they need.
I have always carried my baby in an appropriate sling it helps build up their head control as well as being a great from of exercise for me - much needed.

I think worrying about all this really is pointless, babies learn head control no matter what you do with them. Having said this though, mine like being on their front if i put them on a cushion or two so their head was higher off the ground, so they could see properly. This has also worked with a couple of friend's babies. The only thing is that this does require careful supervision as they tend to roll off it a lot.

Is this something new? I don't remember being told to give dd1 time lying on her tummy and she's 7. She learnt to roll over onto her tummy at 4 months.

dd2 is 9 weeks old and if she's lying on my chest holds her head up. And if I'm winding her up on my shoulder she holds her head up to see whats going on over my shoulder, usually nothing there but the back of the chair though. She's had quite a strong neck since she was really tiny though liked to lift her head up then let it crash back down on my shoulder, how she hasn't broken her nose on many an occasion has amazed me.

poppy1978 - if only HVs took this approach certainly my instinct is that DS will do things in his own time, but this is being overridden by my HV.

dd gets frustrated on her tummy (4months)but spends most of her day there as she rolls over everytime I put her on her back. She doesn't particularly like her chair but enjoys her bouncy door chair.
Her favourite position as a newborn was on her stomach on dh's chest and never really liked to sleep on her back.
There was a couple of weeks where she didn't like it probably about 8-10 but I used a v-pillow so she was propped up with something to look at and didn't have to stand over her.

I've never given ds allocated tummy time and he doesn't have a problem with his neck muscles. IME, there were plenty of other opportunities for ds to practice eg, when I was holding him at my shoulder he would look up to the lights and that was at only a few days old. I did try 'tummy time' when I read about it but ds hated it. Just like a stranded turtle. Now at 8mos he is nearly always on his tummy - I just let him get there on his own.

Am I the only one who thinks that some of these concepts, like 'tummy time', are a bit over-egged or have I been born 100 years too late? I do find myself muttering 'pile of nonsense' when I read about some of them.

'over-egged' is a good phrase
Sometimes I think Miriam Stoppard's editor pushes her to fill her pages with ideas like this.

Am on my 3rd dd and have never heard of tummy time. but my HV avoids me

All mine hated going on tummy but I can't see it hampered them much. they still learnt to crawl etc at normal times.