How to position baby throughout the day?

[Snellytheelephant]

Hello all,

I am at a bit of a loss of what to do with my nearly 4 month old throughout the day. It’s not so much about entertaining her but more about where to physically put her. We have been mainly using a bouncy chair and a playmat/gym (with a foam mat and layered blanket under it because of tiled floors). I’ve read online that babies shouldn’t spend more than 20 minutes at a time in a bouncer (to be honest she would usually be in it for around an hour before we read this). We have also noticed a bald spot on the back of her head so are reluctant to put her on her back too much, either. She still doesn’t enjoy tummy time but has recently started to roll from her back to her front and seems to like it a lot more when she’s managed to get there herself, though it does seem to wear her out and she can’t stay on her front longer than a few minutes without faceplanting the floor! We had also been sitting her on our knees for cuddles (miss independent does not like being cradled anymore!) but I’m worried about too much time in that position hurting her spine. Can overuse of the bouncy chair hurt her spine too? That’s usually her favourite place. It feels like she is simply awake too much to be able to follow all the guidance online and I’m really not sure what to do for the best during the day. We live overseas so don’t really have the support of health visitors to help with things like this, so would really appreciate any advice! Thank you ☺️

Used to take mine out in the pram every day (only place DC would nap in the day)

I mix it up for my four month old - sat on my knee, sat in her bouncy chair, lying down on her playmat, tummy time, sat on the sofa... Wherever's convenient.

It's normal for babies to lose their first hair so don't worry about the bald spot.

My 5 month old is an upright baby, only lying down for about 3 hours at night, rest of the time sleeps on me or in the carrier (it's getting a bit better now though), and he still got a bald spot on the back of his head. Its growing in again now. So don't worry about the hair loss, it's completely normal.

My advice is if she doesn't mind lying on her back then make the most of it, it's a lot harder carrying around a rapidly growing baby over your shoulder or in a baby carrier all day everyday.

And I think the bouncer is fine as long as you are close by to watch them. My HV suggested this for me.

I never heard that about bouncers and know loads of people who used to bounce their babies to sleep in them so they must have been in there for way longer than 20 minutes! Mine certainly were and no visible damage.

Have you got a sling or baby carrier? I used this a lot for mine. Also I used the bouncy chair if they were happy to sit and watch what I was doing. I wouldn't worry too much - soon they will be mobile and you'll be wishing you could strap them in a bouncy chair 😊 as they tear your house apart

I never heard the 30 mins rule about bouncy chairs. I heard 30 mins rule for car seats if it is a newborn and 2 hours rule for older babies. Are you a first time parent OP ? All young babies will have bald patch at the back of their head until they can sit unaided which will be at 6 months so you're nearly there. I would watch for flat head rather than bald head. The best thing for your baby is being on the floor on his back or front with toys around so that they can practice their gross and fine motor skills. Having said that my 4,5 old is rarely on his back on floor as he has reflux. He is usually on his bouncy chair, sitting on our knees or sitting up supported. I would go with what baby likes most but also try to encourage floor play. My older was usually on her back on the floor and she dis have a bigger bold patch but hair grew there once she can sit up unaided. It sounds like your little one is doing really well. Maybe try to encourage tummy time a bit more as it will give the skills that baby will use for crawling x

Thank you everyone, that is all very reassuring! Yes Lynsey5, first time parent - how can you tell 😬🤣 I do think I fret about a lot and perhaps read too much into guidelines I see online, but it’s just not knowing what is right or wrong, if there even is such a thing with babies! I’ll keep her where she is happiest and try not to worry about her bald spot unless it goes notably flat. Thanks again, all 😊x

Ignore the bald spot, and no her head is never going to get a flat spot. Her head is perfectly resilient. My Dd practically lived in a bouncy chair, never heard of rules about time. You'll both be fine.

If you're on Instagram, milestones and motherhood has loads of advice on this, how to get a balance of baby spending time on back, front, side etc (when awake of course)