Don’t feel I do enough with my DS

[Becproc23]

My DS is 9 weeks old and I feel I don’t do enough activities with him during the day. I will spend a bit of time reading to him aswell as showing him black and white image cards etc.

I was asked by the HV on her final visit if I had done any tummy time with him. I sometimes burp him on my shoulder, which apparently is a form of tummy time, but I hadn’t put him on his front on the floor or anything at that point, and I felt guilty about it. I now feel I’m not doing tummy time enough. How long do you spend with your babies doing tummy time in the first few months?

Please don't stress. Not all babies tolerate tummy time (mine was lucky to get 5 min every day: once he could roll off his tummy it just stopped happening), so just do it as and when you can.

Your baby is only just discovering the world. All he wants is cuddles and to hear your voice. Show him the housework you're doing and tell him about it. Honestly he has so much to learn and everything and anything is fascinating.

Don't stress about tummy time!

If he will tolerate looking at the black and white cards on his tummy, do that but if he hates it honestly don't bother. Nothing bad happens. My DS loathed tummy time until he could roll onto his tummy himself so I just didn't really do it. He's doing fine.

All I did with my 9 week olds was get them to sleep, change their nappies, feed them, cuddle them, get them to sleep, change their nappies, feed them..... That's all they need at that age. My first absolutely detested any form of tummy time- screamed like a banshee whenever I tried it. Did her absolutely no harm. Don't worry about this, honestly.

Thanks so much guys!! This has been so reassuring for me @DragonbornMum @FrizzledFrazzle @Miriam101

All he needs right now is to be fed, clean, warm and comforted. Don't stress about the other stuff.

I really had no idea what i was doing with my first and didn’t know tummy time was a thing I should have been doing- so I didn’t. She’s fine. Just the same as her siblings whom I did occasionally encourage to thrash about on their tummies as tiny babies. I reckon it’ll be fine.

OP, please don't worry and enjoy your baby son.
When my son was young like yours I
just sat and cuddled him as much as l could. This is what your going to be up against now, relentless expectations until he is an adult so my advice would be to nod politely but go with what feels best for you.

It’s already been said many times but you have nothing to worry about!
Cuddles, milk, love, hearing your voice… he has everything he needs. And as a PP said, everything is fascinating. He hasn’t even discovered his own hands yet, you don’t need to worry that he’s not getting enough stimulation because he’s learning from every little thing around him. You’re doing just fine.

Don't worry about tummy time! My little boy had a huge umbilical hernia when he was little so physically couldn't do it and it hasn't affected him xxx

I remember crying to my mum when DS was three weeks old because I wasn't 'stimulating' him enough 😂😂 (she put me in my place). I also remember the tummy time stress and someone asking my how many five year olds I saw with no neck muscles. I chilled out a bit then 😂

Mine used to like sitting in front of the washing machine in a bouncy chair! The nice thing about little babies is that everything is new and wonderful. Keep cuddling and you won't go wrong

We used to do tummy time at nappy changes just for as long as they would tolerate it, even if it was only 30 seconds. It seemed to help as my younger two sat up at an earlier age than my eldest who I never did tummy time with.

But in general don't worry. They develop on their own, you don't need to do anything special, as long as you're not restricting their development by keeping them in some kind of device all day every day.

Let him have some free time to kick around and make sure you talk to him sometimes, then clean and fed and everything else is a bonus! Don't worry, you're doing great.

Honestly you are being hard on yourself. Many people won't have done formal tummy time yet. A 9 week old baby is still so little. A hv has bought it on to your radar so you can try it for a few minutes a day, less if that'sall baby will tolerate. What is important is engaging with baby and you are doing all that and more.