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Tummy time - arms falling out

2 replies

NaviMom · 14/08/2025 16:59

My (nearly) 14 week old son keeps on falling out of tummy time. He had been doing quite well on tummy time, ie: propped up with shoulders above elbows and could stay there for a few minutes tracking whatever toy I moved in front of him. But since about 12 weeks he keeps on ‘falling’ out of that pose as if his arms aren’t strong enough to keep him propped up or he’s in pain. He tends to put both arms out in front, slightly superman, and then face plants. I pull him back into the propped up pose but have to hold his hands to keep him there, otherwise his arms fall out again.

Some context - he’s had a double inguinal hernia repair at 7 weeks old and he has a cows milk allergy. Conscious both are tummy related so perhaps why he is doing this, but noted he could do tummy time perfectly 8-12 weeks so not sure why we seem to have regressed

Unclear as to why he’s doing this. Could his arms be in pain or does this suggest weakness we should be concerned about?.

Tummy time - arms falling out
Tummy time - arms falling out
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Goldpanther · 14/08/2025 21:50

14 weeks is young to be able to move from lying to propped up on arms, I think 5 months is the average age for this, so sounds like your baby is totally normal!

He needs to learn to go from lying down to propped up on arms, so needs to build his upper back, shoulder and arm strength, and just being propped in the right position won't help, he needs to wriggle his arms, practice lifting and holding his head etc. positioning toys just out of reach in front of his would encourage him to reach his arms forwards too.

I think the other related things to practise are when lying on his back, playing with toys in his midline, grabbing/holding toys with both hands. Those activity gyms when babys lie on their back and battered at toys are also great for practicing arm movement and building up strength.

NaviMom · 16/08/2025 14:52

Lovely - thank you @Goldpanthermuch appreciated. So sounds like I should start him propped up but let him take his arms out and move around (as long as those gyms you talked about) rather than trying to just keep him propped up with my support.

I’ll let you know how we get on!

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