Tummy time

[MelliehaBay93]

Hi,

My 3-month old doesn't lift his head at all during tummy time. We use a feeding pillow each day. He stretches his legs and lower parts of his body but I don't see much movement around his head/neck. More often than not, he ends up falling asleep on the pillow?

I know he's still young but is there anything I can do to help him gain control of his neck muscles please? Should I be putting his arms under his chest instead?

We use interesting toys with sounds and lights to gain his attention but it doesn't seem to make much difference.

I've tried to put him on my tummy/chest but he seems to find this more difficult as he cries and screams.

Can you put him on the floor? Looks like the pillow would be hard for him to push himself up on.

He is on the floor in this photo. Our HV suggested this and said the floor will be good for him as it's a hard surface. She also recommended using this pillow.

My baby was the same and took a long time to be able to lift her head in tummy time. What eventually helped was laying her across my chest so she would then try to lift her head to look at me. Babies will do things in there own time so don't put too much pressure on yourself ! X

If it helps, I have two adult DC. 26 and 25. Tummy time wasn't a thing back then and I laughed when I first heard of it a few years ago. My DC are physically fine without it!

Just put baby flat on the floor (on a mat) and don't worry about it. They all do things in their own time. The best way for babies to figure out their bodies is unaided and not propped up.

Echo this!
3 months is still young. Give it a break and try again later :)
Don't stress and worry about all the things HVs, the internet and well meaning people might say, it'll happen in good time.
You never see (normal healthy) adults who can't hold their heads up 😂

I am very jealous your baby will fall asleep on his own. Head control will come x

Either it wasn't a thing when my children were babies or I never heard about it but either way not doing it has had zero impact on their lives

Millions and millions of people live and have lived perfectly well before someone invented it

My eldest hated tummy time so we stopped trying. They never bothered with crawling, just got up and walked.

Don't worry about it, children learn different things at different speeds. Your child is probably doing brilliant at something else.

Try rolling up a blanket and popping it under his armpits. Then pop his hands under his shoulders or face. The pillow is too high for him to be able to move properly.

Does he have a head turning preference? What about head control when he is lying on your chest/being burped/in a carrier?

https://startwellbirmingham.co.uk/reducing-sedentary-behaviour/

Unfortunately baby equipment companies keep making more and more ‘essential’ items that keep babies confined and unnaturally positioned. Babies also spend much more time on their backs now that we have recognised how important this is for safe sleep. This means that babies are now not developing skills on the expected timeline. These skills are vital for things like weaning where a certain level of head control and core strength are essential. It can also lead to plagiocephaly (flat head).

So yeah, tummy time (or an approximation of it) is somewhat important.

Nine year old DD hated tummy time. She’d just lie on her tummy and rest her head to the side 🤣 She was a late walker (almost two). I don’t even think it was a thing when 19 year old DS was a baby. Anecdotal only but both developed normally and have no physical problems. Do your best don’t stress over it.

It doesn't look like he's touching the floor though, his body is resting on the pillow? I'd just put him directly on the floor.

I think babies do things in their own time OP, they really are all different little people! You're doing all that you can, so let yourself off the hook and try not to worry. I found DC just suddenly surprised me one day by holding her head up, was a shock!

If you use tiger hold when carrying baby it is useful as tummy time, it also an efficient way to carry baby as have a hand free

don’t use the pillow pop him straight on the floor with no equipment

There was no such thing as tummy time when my three were babies. They are aged 30, 26 and 23.

It certainly doesn't seem to have affected them at all.

Hold his bum down, and try to take some of the weight of the head by pulling down gently with your hands around the hips. Babies heads are very heavy! Have them flat on the floor, do they have good head control in a carrier/sling or lying on your chest?

You never put them on their tummies at all?

Every time you change nappy turn him over and put on tummy for 30 seconds

He's not on the floor, he's on the pillow. The pillow is on the floor. Put him actually on the floor/play mat. A flat surface will actually make it easier for him.

Could you try lying down and propping him up on your chest so he can see you? Or lying opposite him so he has your face. My six month old still hates tummy time (except now he just rolls out of it!) but we keep going with it because it’s good for him! Another thing we do but it’s probably too much for a three month old, is lie him over my leg because he needs to weigh bear on his arms more!

Oh and we did lots of tummy time on my knees (he had bad reflux so being a bit upright helped). So I was on the sofa, knees bent, baby sitting but looking away from me, his head bopping just above my knees looking around the room. He loved it.

@NotForTheMoneyandNotForTheApplause you probably did it without realising because nothing was named. It’s only a thing now b because there’s scary rules of putting a baby down for a nap and if you don’t do it right the baby will probably die. Babies have always laid on their tummies time to time but it’s normal, probably never realised it was happening, but it’s still important for The development

I didn’t. It wasn’t a thing when mine were babies.

They were also all eating (sucking) on toast and eating purées from 3 months too though so advice was different then.

All fit and healthy now as adults.