Tummy Time

[Riley2019]

My daughter was 14 weeks a couple of days ago, when I lay her on her tummy she isnt lifting her head at all, she just cries and eventually I have to give in and pick her up. When I’m holding her in a sitting position she holds her head up fine, isn’t too wobbly so I’m not too worried, but I’m really struggling with her laying down.

Lots of babies dislike tummy time. My DS didn't like it so we didn't do it. He's fine now at 2.2

That’s quite normal at the stage, but I’d really recommend preserving. What I found helpful was:

• Putting her down on her tummy and immediately getting down to eye contact level, chatting away, smiling etc, to encourage her to lift her head
• Putting her on her tummy while she’s on your chest
• Most importantly, committing to put her on her tummy for very frequent and short increments throughout the day - even 30 second to 1 minute intervals . It will add up eventually, and she’ll hopefully go longer.

Tummy time isn’t just about neck support, but also about the ability to eventually bear weight on her hands, etc, which strengthens fine motor skills. I personally didnt mind a tiny bit of crying (would pick her up after less than a minute), but did it so regularly enough that my DD quickly tolerated tummy time longer, started enjoying it, and it became her default position by 4-5 months.